The Number Of Gringos Living in Costa Rica

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  • #167496
    sprite
    Member

    [quote=”VictoriaLST”]”Useless eaters?” Excuse me? Retired people put tons of money into the economy. Do miles of volunteer work. “Useless eaters” my grandma’s eyebrows! Wake up, sonny.[/quote]

    “Useless eaters” is not my assessment. It is the assessment of the power structure, the money. Retired people do not put money into the economy from which they have retired. After all, taking social security payments is a withdrawal, not a deposit or creation of new wealth. For this reason, a nation’s government may wish to keep social security spending within its economy. My point is that social security spending is such a small amount that it hardly seems worth worrying about and anyway, since the stated goal is a world economy, does it matter where it is spent?

    Many retired people do contribute to society in other than monetary ways. But how many retired people actually do volunteer work? And of how much monetary value is that work relative to the cost of social security?
    And is doing work without pay taking jobs away from others who need the income?

    I think it is best to separate monetary values from real social values….unless you agree with the banksters who really do consider retirees as “useless eaters”.

    #167497
    davidd
    Member

    Sweikert

    excellent points!!! I guess that means your staying put..:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: since your general comments overall always seem to contradict someones opinion about things in general in the U.S.

    according to you

    things are pretty darn good back in the States.

    crime is lower in chicago :roll::roll::roll:

    yep.. things are looking mighty darn good

    glad to hear it.

    David

    [quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sprite”]
    “Useless eaters” is not my assessment. It is the assessment of the power structure, the money.
    [/quote]
    Aside from Mitt Romney I can’t think of too many who hold that opinion. If you look at how the US government treats older citizens, you can hardly accuse them of that type of contempt. The over 65 age group is catered to more than any other group of society. And its not just the government – how many businesses offer senior discounts? I happen to think they deserve a little extra consideration and its not just because I am within a few years of benefiting from some of those benefits. Most of us will have contributed plenty over our working lives and most people recognize and honor that.

    [quote=”sprite”]
    My point is that social security spending is such a small amount that it hardly seems worth worrying about and anyway, since the stated goal is a world economy, does it matter where it is spent?
    [/quote]
    Um, I believe that was actually MY point, not yours.

    [quote=”sprite”]
    …unless you agree with the banksters who really do consider retirees as “useless eaters”.[/quote]
    Who are these banksters who consider retirees as “useless eaters”? The people who run banks will cater to any group of people who have money and the age group that collectively has the most money saved up are the elderly. Seems to me that bankers look at the elderly as favored customers.[/quote]

    #167498
    Imxploring
    Participant

    [quote=”davidd”]Sweikert

    excellent points!!! I guess that means your staying put..:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: since your general comments overall always seem to contradict someones opinion about things in general in the U.S.

    according to you

    things are pretty darn good back in the States.

    crime is lower in chicago :roll::roll::roll:

    yep.. things are looking mighty darn good

    glad to hear it.

    David

    [quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sprite”]
    “Useless eaters” is not my assessment. It is the assessment of the power structure, the money.
    [/quote]
    Aside from Mitt Romney I can’t think of too many who hold that opinion. If you look at how the US government treats older citizens, you can hardly accuse them of that type of contempt. The over 65 age group is catered to more than any other group of society. And its not just the government – how many businesses offer senior discounts? I happen to think they deserve a little extra consideration and its not just because I am within a few years of benefiting from some of those benefits. Most of us will have contributed plenty over our working lives and most people recognize and honor that.

    [quote=”sprite”]
    My point is that social security spending is such a small amount that it hardly seems worth worrying about and anyway, since the stated goal is a world economy, does it matter where it is spent?
    [/quote]
    Um, I believe that was actually MY point, not yours.

    [quote=”sprite”]
    …unless you agree with the banksters who really do consider retirees as “useless eaters”.[/quote]
    Who are these banksters who consider retirees as “useless eaters”? The people who run banks will cater to any group of people who have money and the age group that collectively has the most money saved up are the elderly. Seems to me that bankers look at the elderly as favored customers.[/quote][/quote]

    One less Gringo living on the cheap in Costa Rica smoking cheap cigarettes and drinking $2 dollar beers at the Gringo watering hole….. constantly complaining about the Ticos and telling us all how much better things were back “home” in the states! LOL

    #167499
    costaricabill
    Participant

    [quote=”sweikert925″]
    Who are these banksters who consider retirees as “useless eaters”? The people who run banks will cater to any group of people who have money and the age group that collectively has the most money saved up are the elderly. Seems to me that bankers look at the elderly as favored customers and very useful people indeed.[/quote]

    Sweikert –
    as a relative “newbie” on this forum, it is obvious tht you are not aware of Sprites utter disdain for most things USA, especially the financial & economic structures. Before you get too far along in trying to debate “banksters” with Sprite, you might best be advised to search some of Sprites past epistles regarding “banksters”.
    If you choose to continue, be prepared to spend endless hours of trying to change “Sprites World” with no hope of succeeding.

    #167500
    Imxploring
    Participant

    Here’s an idea…..

    We get Scott to create two new forums….

    1….. WehatetheUs.com
    And
    2….. WelovetheUS.com

    This way everyone has somewhere to make their case pro or con against their chosen abode, post endless meaningless internet sources and statistics without having to express there own opinion, experience, and motivation in doing so, and vent their anger without having to distract the rest of us from openly exchanging information and ideas about navigating and living life in Costa Rica!

    So how about it? I already have two moderators in mind for the task? 😀

    #167501
    davidd
    Member

    imxploring

    :D:D:D great post

    and come to think about it.. your right

    in a sense it all boils down to personal choices because in the end it does not really matter what people say or do

    the most important thing is what is done personally.

    belief is something that is individual

    but the challenge is that everything is intertwined or interwoven.

    Issues regarding the U.S. is so interwoven with Costa Rica and the world that its difficult to have any kind of real conversation without discussing different points of views.

    would you not agree??

    can you imagine how topical this forum would be if all we had was pura vida this and pura vida that??

    It’s not real.. almost delusional

    I do see an influx of people that speak as if they are speaking from experience and they have never even visited costa rica.

    and I think we can all agree that there are differences between reading about Costa Rica

    and Actually living in Costa Rica.

    don’t you think???

    ok lets talk about why my electric bill went up 22% :x:x:x:x

    [quote=”imxploring”]Here’s an idea…..

    We get Scott to create two new forums….

    1….. WehatetheUs.com
    And
    2….. WelovetheUS.com

    This way everyone has somewhere to make their case pro or con against their chosen abode, post endless meaningless internet sources and statistics without having to express there own opinion, experience, and motivation in doing so, and vent their anger without having to distract the rest of us from openly exchanging information and ideas about navigating and living life in Costa Rica!

    So how about it? I already have two moderators in mind for the task? 😀

    [/quote]

    #167502
    Imxploring
    Participant

    [quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”imxploring”]Here’s an idea…..We get Scott to create two new forums….
    [/quote]

    Seems to me that Scott is perfectly capable of deciding what forums to run here but if he DID create 2 such forums I wouldn’t join either since I neither love nor hate the US.

    [quote=”imxploring”]
    This way everyone has somewhere to make their case pro or con against their chosen abode, post endless meaningless internet sources and statistics without having to express there own opinion, experience, and motivation in doing so, and vent their anger without having to distract the rest of us from openly exchanging information and ideas about navigating and living life in Costa Rica!
    [/quote]

    I’ve gone back and re-read some of your comments and you know what? A lot of them have nothing to do with Costa Rica either. Imagine that. In fact so have some of Scott’s. Yes, I am guilty of posting off-topic comments but it seems like I have plenty of company in that. And no one has EVER accused me of failing to express an opinion before, that’s definitely a first.

    [/quote]

    So very true. Lots of off CR topics do come up here. Scott included. And many replies, including my own, look to give another view or set someone straight on the issue being discussed. The big difference my friend is that only one of us (to my knowledge) has made the investment, financially or personally in Costa Rica. There is the big difference in the prespective and knowledge that defines the value and experience in our personal postings.

    Chicago is a wonderful town if that’s what you believe and the place you choose to call home. Infact I have family there. The US is a wonderful country with no problems headed down the right path if the same applies in your mind. While defending these same places in this venue I believe you will find a number of folks that may not share that that same opinion. Folks like myself that have determined there is a problem in the US. People willing and able to venture outside the norm. Individuals willing to take that big step based on their experience and knowledge. Are you that kind of person or someone that will just enter into endless debate with taking that big step? Do you every really intend to call Costa Rica your home even part-time or is this entire conversation just an exercise in “educating” the rest of us?

    After all the site is called WeLoveCostarica.com

    #167503
    Imxploring
    Participant

    Yes….. Education Is a wonderful thing! I think we all really enjoy coming to a forum about Costa Rica and learning how much Americans spend as a function of GDP on tattoos and perfume to improve our deficient overall knowledge in life!

    Personal experience and a history involving the topics discussed might go a bit further than Internet sourcing of
    statistics and “information”.

    So getting away from that debate…. what are your motivations for relocating to CR and your leaving the US? What attracted you to CR as opposed to staying in the Land of Lincoln or relocating to another area of the US?

    #167504
    davidd
    Member

    Sweikert

    whether or not you will actually take that bold step and move to costa rica is yet to be seen :D:D

    personally I don’t think so

    why?

    because you remind me of being part of the group of the populace that will talk a good talk but never take any action. Like most of Americans.

    And if by chance you do take a risk out of your comfort zone chances are you will be selling all your newly purchased items in 12 to 18 months from the time you move on [b]craigslist [/b]

    and I will be one of the people paying 30 cents on the dollar for your stuff. 😀

    If you read thru all your posts you seem to constantly engage in conversations that try to [b]”like you say educate people”[/b]

    Educate who?? people that live here???:roll::roll::roll::

    do you even speak spanish??

    instead of probing and asking discovery type questions about individual experiences of people that actually live here and work towards coming to your own conclusions as we all have subjective thresholds of what we will tolerate.

    you pretty much position yourself as if you know or have some sort of inside knowledge of living in costa rica.

    this is a by product of the internet. The internet is a wonderful tool but it’s not a diagnostic tool.

    recent example of the conversation regarding the fattening of ticos. The past 10 to 15 years has shown a dramatic increase in american fast places and the love affair that ticos are having with McDonald, wendys etc

    People that live here on a day to day basis see this themselves.

    yet your comments are such that based on your online reading research you don’t see the correlation.:oops::oops::oops::oops::oops:

    Again all this talk is really mental masturbation :wink::wink::wink:

    anyway

    Life is good

    david

    PS. I don’t know but I remember when I first started researching costa rica as a possible destination I did all the reading I could and I visited forums such as this one

    because I know for a fact that there is topical side of how things should be and how they really are

    and the goal was to find that balance of truth but even though I’ve invested hundreds of hours I knew this was just the tip of the iceburg

    so I never bought here until almost 8 years later

    after renting in various places

    I must have moved at least 7 times in 10 years until i found my sweet spot for lack of a better word.

    But I had an advantage of being latin and speaking fluent spanish.

    I could not imagine the trials and tribulations of learning another langauge AND living in a foreign country.

    btw I also had 2 semi successful brick and morter business here for 8 years.. one I sold and the other went bust. this however is another conversation.

    b

    quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”imxploring”]
    The big difference my friend is that only one of us (to my knowledge) has made the investment, financially or personally in Costa Rica. There is the big difference in the perspective and knowledge that defines the value and experience in our personal postings.
    [/quote]

    So you believe that your admittedly more intimate knowledge of Costa Rica makes you more of an expert on all the non-Costa Rican topics we’ve discussed? Well, I don’t understand that logic.

    [quote=”imxploring”]
    The US is a wonderful country with no problems headed down the right path if the same applies in your mind.
    [/quote]
    I have never written anything here or anywhere else that would lead to the conclusion that I believe that. Maybe you’d be so kind as to explain how you arrived at that.

    [quote=”imxploring”]
    Do you every really intend to call Costa Rica your home even part-time or is this entire conversation just an exercise in “educating” the rest of us?[/quote]

    Yes, and I thought my posts made that clear. My projected arrival as a full-time resident in CR isn’t until 2019 and I still have a lot to learn before I make that final decision which is why I have become a member here. Unlike you, I enjoy being educated on topics where my knowledge is insufficient.

    While I am here I do intend to challenge any incorrect information I see posted here on subjects I have knowledge of. I have a compulsion to do that, it’s just part of my nature. If you consider that “educating” others then so be it, but what do you have against education? None of us knows everything there is to know about everything so we can all benefit from a little more education.

    I do take the trouble to back up my facts and this seems to annoy you for reasons I truly don’t understand. Perhaps you could explain.[/quote]

    #167505
    VictoriaLST
    Member

    Dog fight!

    How about this: I love my country, not so crazy about my government.

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