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Imxploring, be careful with that gun, I read in the news not too long ago that they imprisoned someone who had shot a home invader dead, even though it was in self defense. The same thing happened to a few people who stabbed a person breaking into their car.
In a way I’m starting to think that maybe the new immigration law is preventing us from experiencing some traumatic things down there…
On the other hand you really have to put things into perspective… When you look around your house and count up the monetary value of what they can take, is it really more worth than a life? Even if that happens to be a low-life. If I can easily afford to replace a couple of stereo components and a laptop, then maybe that is a cheap price for living in paradise? Here in the states I’m more scared of getting my social security number and identity stolen, much harder to fix!
Regarding dogs; from what I’ve heard the Ticos don’t view them as pets/family members the way we do, and they don’t like dogs that much, and they think it’s barbaric to let dogs in the house etc… So seen through that light I can understand why they don’t offer condolences to those of you who have lost dogs. My heart goes out to you!
The cops who came to our hood after the spate of robberies told those who asked about getting a gun and shooting the perp to make sure that they shot the guy from the front, not in the back, and he had better be IN your house when you whack him! So don’t go tossing the dead body in the ditch; if you shot him on your terrace, drag his sorry you know what back inside! That’s what they do in the county where I live now, which is a Make My Day County!
When we were robbed the thieves got in because we left a door ajar in the adjoinng garage for our 4 dogs that slept in there.
Last night, we went to a Tico friends home for a celbration as did our worker and his family, and he insisted we have a ‘guard’ stay on the fsrm. When, my husband went to drive the guard home, he was sitting with the rifle at his side…
We now have firearm in both houses.
As I am writing this, my husband has gone to look for our three dogs as there is no sign of them, and this is very unusual, so we have to go with our ‘gut feelings’ The worker had seen them chase a rabbit a few hours before so my husband has gone of on the ATV to look for them, but thankfully they have just returned, exhausted. Even the one that was bitten by a rattle snake two weeks ago.
I have had to re-write this post, as I had to stop to speak with the local police who had just stopped by to make sure everything was fine, and delicately inquire if we would be giving the annual ‘gift’ the the local police force.
Which we will have every intention of doing.As a point to mention, the telephone repairmen have also just arrived to repair the phone we called in about, 2 hours ago! Can’t beat this service!!
Do you really think arming yourself and shooting people when they come in is the best way to handle the situation? I am not saying I have a better solution but if everyone has guns its only a matter of time before the criminals start bringing guns too and then everything gets more dangerous. If somone poisoned my dog to steal something I would absolutely want to shoot them in the head and hope they die slowly but having guns in America to defend ourselves has just led to the criminals having guns as well. They should just not let the criminals in the country in the first place.
We don’t want to shoot anybody….we just want to make a lot of noise!! And that is what most of those here want.
Sadly, as in any country, most of the criminals are ‘home grown’.Edited on Dec 12, 2008 17:05
I hate to tell you sprite, but that ‘hole in your security’ is a big one becuz that ‘couple hour’ window was the very time ALL of mine happened. i don’t think you undertand how insurmountable/disasterous the ‘issue of security’ is here, you sound so much like i DID…not having a clue that the ‘solutions’ can/do bring on mas/worse problemos. like the caretaker you employ can be the one who robs you or has amigos who do. OR worse yet, he can take your car (w/o a license) & kill someone, like mine did during my last trip to the states. I was told to get a ‘bravo perro’, so found ‘Rambo’ a wonderful german shepard. after falling in love w/him & giving him a ‘real life’ (for the 1st time not chained to a dirty area), i started worrying about his safety mas than my ‘stuff’, especially when i would leave w/my 2 little ones for a few hrs while he was left behind to ‘guardia’, which is when i feared IT might happen…wrong again. my whole ‘family’ found the poisoned meat after i let them out in the AM & the horror that ensued was literally the 9/11 of my life! The yorkie i brought from the states was killed by the ‘guardia Rottwieller’ next door to my 1st rental, 3 wks after i moved here…are you getting the picture/message yet? ALL these horrendous events were due to security issues. it’s not so much what you can/can’t DO about it, it’s the feeling of loss, not only of your most precious possessions, but your freedom in everyday living = hell in paradise.
I’m not going to get a gun, but I now have an alarm system and I’ve put poles on all the windows and sliders so they can’t be opened. Plus I have my dog. I’m literally 75 feet from the armed guard shack. I may be safer than some of my neighbors, but who knows? It’s all a crapshoot in Costa Rica, just like anywhere else. And how would they keep the criminals out of Costa Rica when some of them ARE Ticos, even though most of the crime is blamed on the Nicas? And yes, Sprite, bjallen as right when she said it could be your guard who sets you up, or your maid who tells someone who tells someone else about all the nice things you have. I don’t have a maid, and that’s one of my prime reasons why I don’t. When I’m old and feeble I’ll get someone to clean my house, but until then, I’d rather do it myself and minimize my risk and exposure.
We really don’t want to shoot them all…. just a few… then hopefully the word gets around! Although I really don’t have anything in my house that someone would want to die for… that’s not the real issue… it’s the fact that someone would have such little respect for my home that they’d have no problem invading it… and for that reason alone… if they come… I will shoot! Perhaps if the cost of such actions on some lowlifes part was being shot… there would be less folks doing it!
It’s easy to blame the victim for taking such drastic action… but remember… it’s the bad guy that brings about the whole situation in the first place.
Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society’s understanding. Isn’t time we as a people stopped being so understanding of bad conduct?
I am 58. I may not be an expert on human nature, but after nearly 6 decades of dealing with peolple, a certain level of knowledge about people based on experience is reached.
The man who caretakes my property is someone I have known for almost three years now. Without going into details, of which there are many, I’ll just say that I am sure he is trustworthy.We all have to make decisions every day in our lives from important ones to banal and unimportant ones. Whether or not we live happy lives depends almost entirely upon these decisions. Bad things happen to the best decision makers, but more often than not, bad things can be avoided by making the right decisions. Only you know if you are a good decision maker or not. Rely on that.
Sending a strong message that theft will not be tolerated will only go so far. When you are desperate, living in a tin shack, with nothing to eat but (hopefully) rice and beans, have a questionable future as to whether your circumstances will improve even a trifle, and you see gringos who seemingly have everything you will never have, AND they have plenty to eat on top of that, well, you can almost understand the need and the compulsion to steal. Couple that with the Latin mentality of “God helps those who help themselves” (to others’ things)and all you have to do is go to confession to be forgiven for such acts, it all starts to make sense. If you can swipe a cheap appliance from that gringo rico and pawn it for $5.00, and that’s more than you made in a day sometimes, you can see their rationale. I’m mostly in Costa Rica by myself (with my very aggressive and protective cattle dog), and now I have more fear than I had a month ago about whether I will be a victim or whether my house is protected well enough to be a deterrent to someone trying to break in (the alarm system on the windows and doors is very visible). As for trusting those who caretake out properties in our absence or even when we’re there, I feel as Sprite does — my guy is completely trustworthy. My biggest problem is that we have one resident who has hookers delivered to his house in a taxi. This can’t be a smart thing to do because it would only be logical for that hooker to think Wow! these gringos are rich, and I can’t wait to tell my friends where I was, and who knows who tells who what after that. The cops also blamed the other person who got robbed on her penchant for liking young Tico men whom she brings home, so there you go. Whether that played a role in her being robbed is still an unknown but it all ties in to being extra cautious about who knows what you have and who has access to your home. Sheesh. I didn’t want to have to incorporate all these things into my Weltanshaaung, but I guess it was inevitable.
Maravilla. Some very good points! It’s a shame that people make themselves more likely to be victims through their associations, conduct, and lifestyle! It’s a much bigger shame that these same foolish folks have brought this criminal element into your backyard to feed. You don’t deserve that. I have great neighbors and know that we’re all looking out for each other and understand that keeping questionable company brings problems. I have a line I’ve used for years for such circumstances. “If you don’t like the flies… don’t hang out with S***.” Seems to sum up the problem! I just wish more people understood this very basic idea!
Do you live in a gringo gated community, Maravilla? I think you are west of San Ramon, if I am not mistaken. I am not too familiar with that side. I am on the east side well towards Naranjo. I just find it hard to believe there is crime of any sort around there from conversations. I know Palmares has its issues especially during festival times, but further out, it all seems so tranquil.
Nope, our little community of 20+ houses is NOT gated, although we do have an armed guard at night. There’s crime everywhere, Sprite. And they don’t just rob the gringos; the Ticos get hit as well. Sigh.
I think the word that gets around is that you have a gun, and now they have one more thing to steal from you. I think that if more people have guns in their houses, more thieves will find those guns when the owners are not there and then they too will be armed. And if a home owner stands across from a criminal and you both hold guns who do you think will hesitate longer before they shoot? I think the criminal will be faster and more accurate because they came prepared to do that and may have done it before, while the home owner was startled and may hesitate longer… I just think it’s a bad idea all around, at least so far it’s fairly harmless crime, and not too many people are getting hurt.
Very interesting discussion. We’ve lived here 3 years in Escazú (gringolandia). Our house is a fortress: alarms, razor wire (which is beautiful to me now), heavy-duty bars, a gun (yes, I would shoot it no problem and no hesitation). I’ve been on the live-here-go-back merry-go-round plenty of times. We are staying. When it comes right down to it, our lives are better here than there, much better. The world is an uncertain place right now. I think the best thing to do is to make yourself as secure as possible, remember it’s only stuff and, except for a crazy drugged out person, they don’t really want to hurt you. They just want your stuff. I can live with this.
As far as the Caribbean side, it is very funky and laid-back. We lived in Key West for 30 years and PV (puerto viejo) is like Key West was in the ’70s. Hot as the dickens – we love the mountains of the central valley because it’s cool here! We couldn’t live in that heat again but we got to have our years living oceanside. I understand the allure! It’s a good idea to spend a few months traveling around if you can: visit an area for a few weeks, then try another area. I’m only four hours from PV now – I can go for a weekend. I’m two hours from Jacó, five hours from Uvita (my other favorite place here), two from Arenal (gorgeous). It’s all good.
As far as buying real estate, I wouldn’t do it without a recommended trustworthy knowledgeable experienced fluent salesperson at my side. I’m a real estate broker in the states, still managing property there. In the states you can do it alone, you have laws to protect you. Here you do not and there are a zillion people who will smile and be so friendly and let you sleep in their house and drive you around and take you for every penny you have. Unless you are really lucky, you’ll get taken. Take a recommendation. I would take Scott’s recommendation. I have never met crhomebuilder but I’ve been reading his threads here and on several other forums – I’d take his recommendation. Cuidado!
Great forum!
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