‘Why’ we’re leaving the USA for Costa Rica

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  • #181041
    aguirrewar
    Member

    Why is it that %95 of the people in your website are Americans? Be nice? No profanity? and no name calling? What tone?
    Can I say in your WebSite the USA SUCKS! Or can I say in your websire Costa Rica SUCK’s.
    Can I say you SUCK.
    What is the diference?
    Let people vent, OK!
    This only makes more people come back and vent some more and we are all growing in your website.
    And thanks to your website. I am spending more and more time here.

    #181042
    *Lotus
    Member

    Rent or buy..it’s not that simple in my opinion,everyone will have a different agenda, mine was long term. If you have been there one time and have made the decision to live there, sell your home in the U.S. etc..perhaps renting for a year is a wise choice. If you have the discretionary funds, have been visiting the country for a few years and have grown to love it; you may want to invest in a piece of real estate. Lets speak about the central pacific; I believe this area will continue to grow and the fact that the Marriot corporation, Ramada corp and the St.Regis have invested in the area long term continued growth looks good. Not to mention all the other major developers who are building, and quite frankly this is the very begining of this cycle. But if i’m right the average joe or joane wont be buying a house anywhere near Jaco in 10 years. Think Cancun, Aruba the Bahamas these were not always booming vacation spots, and I think Costa Rica has a lot more to offer in the way of recreation and natural beauty. This country is especialy appealing to boomers who do not have big retirement funds and will rely primarily on S.S. income, where do you live in the U.S. on S.S. income with the beauty of Costa Rica. Some of my friends parents are living in trailer parks in South Jersey, growing up they appeared to be living comfortable lives until there pay checks stopped. These are the type of folks who fought for the country, had a flag out front etc… I wish I could convince them to go to C.R. instead of riding the bus to Atlantic City for the 20 dollar voucher you get…and there are tens of millions like them. So I bought some land and am building a small house and in 10 or 15 years when i’m ready to “retire” I have my little place in “paradise” all paid for…and if all I have is S.S. income I’ll be alright. And in the meantime I’ll spend my six weeks a year there or perhaps more in my own house. One size does not fit all when buying real estate anywhere and that applys to Costa Rica but it does depend on what your goals are and personal situation is.

    #181043
    *Lotus
    Member

    um I have and you have your amendments a bit mixed up…Also does the FIRST amendment right apply to a privately run Costa Rican website? I must say I really could careless how and why people are venting here anyway.

    #181044
    tropicals
    Member

    Fascinating discussion thread. I must admit I linger in the background and very seldom participate in these discussions however I was born and raised in St. Louis and still have family living there. I left there many years ago when Bobby Kennedy was shot and haven’t been back since then with the exception of some funerals over the years. I find it very depressing when I must go there.

    I have been visiting Costa Rica for years and have good friends living there year round now so they keep me up to date on the real deal there. What is the real deal? Depends on your income basically same as in the States. Live with bars on your windows and doors or extend the perimeter and live behind the fences of a gated community. Applies to both areas.

    I will be moving to Costa Rica soon and know that I will have some things that I will have to adjust to but am eager to do that. What I know for certain is that what is happening to the middle class in America is unsustainable and some changes they are a coming!

    #181045
    GringoTico
    Member

    Lotus is obviously correct. The Constitution and Bill Of Rights of the United States apply only to the actions of the government. They do not apply to the private sector, and certainly not to WeLoveCostaRica.com, of which Scott is Czar.

    #181046

    I think the United States is in a period of “sloppy government” and we continue to pay for it! But yet we have had such government many times in our past history, and probably will have it again in future generations. This is human history and the United States is not exempt from such trends of history even though our political system was the most different to come out of the 18th century. Maybe this could be the start of our historic decline or it maybe the period of challenge to the younger generation to build a better future. I think the jury is out on the future of the United States which is something I would never have said 30 years ago.

    However, now I look back on my 63 years on the planet, I think the cold war cost us in more ways as a nation even if we did bring down the Berlin wall. For example, no national health care program for any of us, people walking our streets hungry, cold and without mental health plus now no minimum wage for our poorer workers.

    I work in an office that is finally hiring younger legal professionals to replace us baby boomers who could easily be my children. I am struck at how technologically bright these kids are plus how well educated about the world. Most of them have never known the excitement of the first broadcast attempt by CBS from England to the US, they have had CNN all of their lives. Also, I think these younger people may be a bit more generous then perhaps my generation with our own fellow citizens. At least this is my hope and wish for their time in history.

    Why Costa Rica? These are my goals for retirement is simple: a constant temperature between 75 and 85; a ripe tomato each day for lunch from my own garden; eggs from hens I like and know; my own banana tree; and a slower way of life! Oops, I forgot a second cup of coffee each morning where I can pet my dog, watch my hens scratch and take in the view whether it is raining or sunny! Northwest winters are no longer to my liking or taste. I want to be warm!

    Tom in Portland

    #181047
    dkt2u
    Member

    I agree with some of your points Tom. The younger generation is definitely much more technologicaly savvy than most baby boomers, but that is whee our agreement ends on the younger generation. I would argue that most young people are not that well educated about the world, but are victims of their own technology and most are merely soundbite educated. I’m generalizing of course, but sit sometime and have a discussion or a debate with one of these young people on any litany of subjects and watch how they sit and repeat the same sound bites over and over to try and make their point. While technologically savvy, many of our young people are not really that educated. Have a discussion about history or geography with many young people. I’m not sure your reason for saying this younger generation is more generous than the boomer generation. The boomer generation has been the most giving in history, at home and around the world. I would argue this younger generation is perhaps the most selfish of all previous generations. They are definitely the most disrepectfull as far as in a public setting.

    National healthcare does not translate to good healthcare and in many examples around the world it basically translates to almost no healthcare because the systems just do not work and people fore go healthcare out of frustration with getting to see a doctor or as has been pointed out in other threads about healthcare in countries that have some type of universal care, people waiting sometimes a year or more for certain procedures, many times a potential life saving proceedure.

    I agree that mental healthcare is an issue with some of our homeless, and that should be addressed. I would not agree that the majority of the homeless are in that situation because of mental health. I argue this point because I have worked with the homeless and been around them in one of the homeless capitols, Santa Cruz, California. I have a friend that is among the homeless community there and on several occassions as he likes to call it, I go and spend a couple of days with him and play homeless. I don’t sleep in the shelters or eat free food, thus taking it away from ones who need it, or at least make out like they need it. I simply spend the day with him traveling around and sitting with his friends in the community. I met many in the homeless community that have been there for many years, and are there because it’s an easy life style for them and they don’t want to work and fit into what most of society would define as a normal life style. Of course I think that is the crux of the issue of why so many are looking for alternatives like Costa Rica, we want to get away from what most others consider “a normal life style”. That doesn’t make it bad, it just means we have come to a point in our lives where we want something different, something more simple. Many of these homeless people I met actually recieve up to $2000 a month from military pensions,etc. and choose to spend it on their recreational drugs and alchohal. They can easily get two meals a day and the various shelters and church programs, free shower facilities every morning, they can do laundry once a week, etc. All of this provided for the most part by members of the older generation. You don’t see the younger generation working in shelters and doing much in the way of volunteer work around the communities.

    People that say they are leaving the US because of Bush, conservatives, Iraq, etc. are some of the most short sited people you see on these forums. They are also the ones filled with the most hatred towards anyone and anything they do not agree with. That is why I pointed out in an earlier post, these people aren’t happy and will never truly experience the Pura Vida that so easily bantor about as one of the main reasons they moved to Costa Rica. You can not spew that kind of bile and really be experiencing Pura Vida. What will they have to complain about when the next political cycle puts who they thought was “their guy” in power. Well, you saw that this last election. The liberals swept into the Congress and the Senate with overwhelming victories in many cases. Where these people on this forum that have been very vocal of their opposition to Bush and anything conservative or Republican happy. Of course not. You actually saw almost immediate postings of conspiracy theories that the Republicans rigged the elections so that liberals would win so that in two years the Republicans could blame the Democrats for all the countries woes. You can’t win with these people when they are that short sited and gullable, and really you shouldn’t try. They are mired in thier own self pity and always will be. The saddest thing is that these people move to Costa Rica and immediately start critisizing other expats that aren’t fitting into what they think they should be doing, how they should be living, what type of house they should have, how much money they spend and how they spend it,etc. etc. etc. Hmmmm !!! hypocrit comes to mind doesn’t it?

    #181048
    apostle1
    Member

    “These are huge numbers and, of course, the Fed knew exactly where the money was going, just as they knew what the outcome would be in the long term. The effects of low interest rates and increases to the money supply are like the immutable laws of science. In this case, they act like gravity pulling the whole battered US economy into a bottomless black hole. It was entirely predictable.”

    Ridiculous. The housing bubble was a result of human greed and the over optimism that such greed engenders. Funny how this “scientific certainty” is only crystallized into words such as your post AFTER THE FACT. I suppose some elite government agency of omniscient intellectuals was responsible for 9/11 as well? Why is it so comforting to the human psyche to attribute catastrophe to a small conspiracy of actors instead of acknowledging the simple fact that no one can reliably predict the future? It’s like the psychic who never wins the lottery.

Viewing 8 posts - 76 through 83 (of 83 total)
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