[sprite]

Thank you both for your responses. There are two reasons why I will ship a vehicle to CR rather than purchase there
1)I am unsure of the specs of new toyota imports into CR. I suspect the higher end specs are shipped to the States.
2) I work closely with freight forwarders in Miami and will have a discount for shipping costs.

I was unsure of the optimum age for paying the least amount in taxes. According to the article Scott referenced, 3 years seem to be that age. I think I read somewhere that vehicles over 4 years will pay a higher percentage tax.

[sprite]

I agree with your sentiments here and I’ll be watching this one closely to see how much footing the powerful money has in CR right now. The government has to maintain a delicate balance between ecological preservation and economic progress for citizens. The easy and quick path seems to be to invest more in colonial style tourism where the rich are invited to play in CR with all their toys just as they would back in their home countries.

[sprite]

Definitely try to find something around Arenal as soon as you can. I had a devil of a time finding suitable accommodations for my trip next month. I began looking in January and there was almost nothing available. Usually I just stay around San Ramon and always find something on the spur of the moment but this trip I am taking my two sister along to show them some of the tourist places. Make reservations as soon as you can because these places fill up fast. Costa Rica is starting to seem more and more like Disney World with lines for all the rides……

[sprite]

People just love to throw around anecdotal crime stories as proof that violent crime is rampant in Costa Rica. Here is another one: I HAVE NEVER BEEN ROBBED AT GUN POINT OR ANY OTHER WAY IN COSTA RICA. Of course, this doesn’t prove one thing or another about general safety in the country. And that is my point. In the end, what really matters is how people feel about their safety whether it is justified or not. And that is a subjective question and that can be modified and mitigated all kinds of ways to suit your own needs. So, take moderate, prudent measures against being a victim and let yourself be happy and feel safe. The odds are far in your favor that you will never ever even be close to a violent crime unless you behave stupidly or are extremely unlucky.

[sprite]

I also go along with Bardbard on tis one. Besides, we now live in a world economy. Corporations no longer restrict themselves to national borders and even less to political or religious goals unless there is clear profit in them. Regards Chavez, so far, he is acting just as a Venezuelan president SHOULD act and it is about time that that country had such a man in charge. The Venezuelan petroleum industry is at least not oriented to profit a few rich capitalists. It has more noble goals.

[sprite]

Iron fist? After the the dust clears from your iron fist approach, look around and see what kind of society you left with. Career criminals should be dealt with firmly but, as I said before, not all criminals are of that type. They need to be separated from the hard core criminals and dealt with differently. You might enjoy living in China or Cuba as they do use an iron fist.

Regards theft, the more you sacrifice your humanity in order to protect property, the more property will be worth in relation to humanity. Balance here in important.

[sprite]

There are no expeditious, easy solutions to this problem. Push in here and it bulges over there. Push over there and it bulges here again. There is a certain portion of human population which will always be criminal and that is one problem for which we may never have a humane solution apart from tough, legally applied sanctions against them.

However, the larger portion of crimes are committed, I believe, by people who would not normally commit crimes if their personal economic and educative situations were more positively inclined towards social cooperation. That problem can absolutely be solved but it isn’t easy nor quick and it requires an extremely enlightened society willing to make economic sacrifice for its less fortunate members. In other words, intelligently applied socialism. One for all, and all for one.

Is human nature capable of such magnanimous behavior? I certainly don’t know but look around the world today. How many places can you find where the entire society constitutionally bans armed forces and devotes the largest portion of its resources to more benevolent and worthy goals? Costa Rica is, for all its faults and shortcomings, a hugely positive experiment in the right direction for the entire planet. I hope it works.

Edited on Feb 07, 2008 05:17

Edited on Feb 07, 2008 05:21

[sprite]

Dealing with crime varies from culture to culture and even from one political philosophy to another. In Cuba, crime is dealt with harshly. That culture seems to have an affinity with the United States in regards to the liberal use of imprisonment. I am not sure how effective that is in either country compared to what is being done in Costa Rica but I do feel that the Costa Rican attitude in general is not inclined to using strong arm government to achieve its goals. Costa Ricans strike me as a people who are a bit more laid back and have an aversion for uniforms and guns and prisons. I like that. It may not last long if increased crime finally provokes a different response from the population.

I am more upset when I come across expats who feel the need to meddle in Costa Rican affairs so that the country will suit their needs better. Nobody advocates crime except criminals but thee are many different methods of dealing with this problem which do not involve right wing, jack booted, heavily armed police and an extensive prison infrastructure. You can’t line ’em all up against the wall and shoot ’em all.

Edited on Feb 06, 2008 11:11

Edited on Feb 06, 2008 11:16

[sprite]

Latin culture is a lovely blend of festive chaos. It has its dark side but I don’t see that outweighing the light side. A corrupt traffic cop holding out his hand for $20 doesn’t amount to the melt down of social order. People who lament these slight blemishes as major scars are saying more about their own intolerance to one aspect of Costa Rica than they are about petty corruption. There are so many more serious issues to be worried about. This is just something to muse about, not turn into a name calling cat fight.

Edited on Feb 04, 2008 18:51

[sprite]

The term “Gringo” can be given or taken one of three ways; good, indifferent or bad. The way you just used it was a bigoted, demeaning, bad way. I maligned no Tico or Cuban exiles with any of the many nasty, bigoted terminology out there because I am not a bigot nor was I maligning the Ticos for anything at all. There is corruption in Costa Rica, there always has been. That is no malignment on the average citizen.
You apparently have a chip on your shoulder as many Cuban exiles do towards progressives and their politics. after 25 years in Miami, I have learned the best thing to do is ignore it and move on.

[sprite]

sure are a lot of north americans who seem to want to impose their own set of values on Costa Rica. I would be more worried about corruption higher up than that of a traffic cop.
Leave the politics and the laws to the Costa Ricans. When in Rome…….

[sprite]

You said: “Not to mention the obvious, that we do things based on our OWN biases (cultural and otherwise) not another person’s or culture…”

When you move to live in another culture, you may behave according to the culture in which you grew up OR you may choose to try to conform with the culture to which you have moved. I believe it is easier for me to conform to the new culture as much as I can. Sometimes I won’t be able to, other times I will be able to.

Also, I am not rationalizing MY behavior by blaming another culture rather I am rationalizing a proper reaction to the behavior of ANOTHER within his culture towards me. If the friendly policeman asks me for a bribe after I have committed a traffic offense, and I am reading that this happens quite often, I may respond by paying him. My motive for doing so is that this is a common response within the culture.

Corruption is ultimately destructive for any society. I have seen the right wing reactionary Cuban community of Miami make a real mess of our city over the years with the same corruption they used in their home country before the revolution booted them out. They managed to establish the same corrupt behavior within our country because they were the dominant culture in Miami.But we are talking about a matter of degree here. If you march around with a black and white definition of right and wrong behavior, you are getting into the area of an unforgiving fanaticism. That is no way to get along anywhere.

Edited on Feb 01, 2008 08:45

[sprite]

I tend to bump up against the system here in the States. It is my anglo saxon heritage and genetic disposition to do so. I don;t think anyone would disagree that there are important differences between northern cultures and southern cultures and one of these differences is the propensity of Latin cultures to put family before god and country. This was an observation by James Mitchener, the writer. He went on to say that the result was a more relaxed attitude toward certain finer points of legalities. The tolerance of petty corruption comes from this. The northern cultures have their own set of negatives which I am aware of so I am not being a bigot here in this observation.

If you are honest with yourself, you know I am correct on this.I am not intentionally insulting any one here. I am married to a Latina and I have a son with her. There is far more to admire in the Costa Rican culture than there is of which to dispair. Come down off your high horse, walk with the rest of us mere mortals who may not have the energy to combat world evils. Relax, live with minor infractions…you’ll live longer…:-}

Edited on Feb 01, 2008 06:59

[sprite]

It is probably a good idea to leave our cultural bias about corruption back in the countries from which we came. My take on this is that as a North American, Costa Rican political issues such as corruption should be left to the Costa Ricans. I think it is quite alright for any tourist to resist when he has broken no law and is confronted with a corrupt officer trying to take money…if that tourist is so inclined. But remember that whether you pay the officer directly or go to court and pay a higher sum, the money may still end up getting soaked up by a corrupt apparatus. Every Tico has a large extended family. Who knows, maybe his uncle is the judge?
If am ever pulled over for no other reason than the officer is looking for a score, I may or may not confront him depending upon my own agenda at the time. If I am in a hurry, (never a good idea in CR) I may pay him. If not, I may just have a friendly discussion with the guy.

[sprite]

well, so far on this message board, NOBODY has paid into this “charity”. Maybe they have to stop 20 people until they nab a tourist just to collect $20.
Personally, I don’t argue with traffic cops. They are the ONLY uniforms in Costa Rica that we have to deal with. Who else is there to maintain any order, such as it is?

[Author]

Posts