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Costa Rica being primarily Catholic MAY create some hurdles. At least in the US the Catholic Church is fairly picky over who gets married in the Church. It can takes years to get the paperwork processed for the divorced and non-Catholic. Its actually easier if you are a heathen. . . A Catholic may marry any one they want but doing so in a Church with a Priest is a whole different matter. On the other hand there ARE other churches in CR.
Just something to look into.
My point is that it is NOT the lowest level security personell whom you are dealing with that you should complain to. THEY are just doing their jobs.
Complaints should go to the President, Congress and others who set such idiotic policy.
If you are worried about radiation (X-rays and others) then don’t fly at all. At high altitude you get as much radiation exposure as from a typical medical x-ray in a 4 hour flight. In fact the type of radiation at high altitude (Gamma rays AKA cosmic radiation) is more energetic than X-rays and more likely to produce genetic changes resulting in cancers. Airline pilots and flight attendants get many more times the radiation exposure that is allowed for nuclear plant workers. . .
The war on terrorism is much like the war on drugs. A total misguided failure. To stop illegal drugs you have to stop the demand, not the supply OR make drugs legal. To stop terrorism you have to stop making enemies. The US policies in the middle east for the past 60 years have made a LOT of enemies. The US anti-communist policies where we supported despotic dictators all over the world made us a lot of enemies.
The acts of 9/11 will never happen again. Passengers will take down any plane as they did on Flight 93 rather than let themselves be used as a WMD. Cargo transports are a completely different issue. The next terrorist attack will be something different. It does not take much imagination to come up with some horrific things based on simple everyday items. I will not list examples in an open forum. It may not take much imagination but I don’t think the bad guys have a lot of imagination. . .
Meanwhile, you ARE right about intrusive searches governmental abuses of fundamental liberty and privacy. But complaining to the wage-slaves is not the way to change it.
In North Carolina as in most US states the law says “up to $XXX” plus court costs. Typical speeding fines are $100 to $250 depending on how fast and where. In NC the construction zone fine is the highest at $250. Court costs can add $50 to $75. The last ticket I had was $125 including a low processing (court) fee of $25 for paying the fine in advance. Courts can also levi higher fines in aggravated cases and for DUI including revocation of driver’s licenses and jail time.
Other costs can include increases in your insurance. This can be a LOT more than the fine.
In total it is NOTHING compared to the new rates in Costa Rica. I suspect that Tico’s will do what is mentioned above and junk or abandon vehicles they cannot sell legally. BUT tourists (IE “rich” gringos) will pay and pay and pay. . .
So THAT is the big question. What will they do when you get to the aeropuerto or return your rental car and their computer prints out a notice that you have a $600 fine? I rarely have this much cash on me at the end of a trip. Pay the fines by credit card before you leave? Personal cheque?
I’ve never had any trouble with security at airports. They are just doing a boring almost degrading job that no one in their right mind would take. I just smile and be polite, tell them I understand they have to do what they have to do and I generally get treated nice. Insult them and give them a hard time and you will get treated the way YOU deserve.
I used to work in Nuclear Power plants and you go through the same stuff EVERY DAY. Same kind of guys. After one security guard shot out the window in the reception area playing “quick draw” and was still there the next day employed and bragging about it to the receptionist I figured they hired the guys that failed the psych tests as security guards. After having a gun pointed at me one too many times while being properly escorted by a plant employee I quit and refused to go back to that plant. . . The TSA folks are a joy in comparison.
OBTW – When you work in nuclear you end up in mixed company in your skivvies every day exiting the hot work areas after stripping off your anti-contamination clothing. Get contaminated and you may not even have your skivvies as they check and decontaminate you. . . Its not a pretty sight as about 50% of the workers are old flabby construction types (like me). Makes the daily entry searches a minor thing.
So don’t joke about everyone flying naked!
OFF THEIR MEDS: I had to ban a user from my forums this year. First time in a decade but I should have booted the guy years earlier. I think the problem WAS his meds. Lots of late night psychotic rants. We have open forums so I had to do it by a combination of IP and DNS addresses (a little technical and I had to write the code – all because of ONE guy).
One rant had to do about someone calling him a Yankee and how he thought it was insulting. We reminded him of all the positive uses of the term, “Yankee ingenuity, THE Yankees (ball team), Yankee Drill (a neat invention), Yankee Clipper (the great sailing ships made in New England). Things spiraled out of control into a flame war. After banning the guy he went on any forum he could find to call ME a so and so. . .
Imagine being behind THIS guy in line at airport security when he calls the TSA folks some derogatory term (and people do EVERY DAY), then gets treated poorly. . . . and a good chance you will too because you are one of THEM (the flying public and associated with the guy in front of you).
Smile, be friendly and courteous to them and they will usually be the same to you.
The Late Great Isaac Asimov typed at a rate of 90 words per minute with virtually zero errors. His average daily production was 2000 to 4000 words per 10 hour day (he was a workaholic). Back in the 1940’s he claimed he was paid 2 cents per word for short stories and novels. That is $40 to $80/day or $4 to $8/hr when the common labor rate in the U.S. was 50 cents and hour. He was brilliant, worked hard and earned a good living. He was the stereotypical writer who sat down, started typing and wrote a story from the beginning to the end.
That was a LONG time ago, labor rates, even in Costa Rica are much higher. The average person types 30 to 50 words per minute. Less than half Asimov’s rate so they might produce 1000 to 2000 words a day assuming they are as brilliant a writer as Asimov. So make that 500 to 1000 words for the normal person.
The people writing the ad may appear ignorant but their scheme is founded on writing statistics that they know cannot be met (7500 words/day) while making promises ($60/day) that are very enticing.
The ad may also be a scam. 7500 words per day and higher is possible for professional flow of consciousness writing such as writing fiction or personal thoughts. But writing on factual topics is much much slower. To imply that this could be a great part-time job is a come-on for the gullible or naive.
The 1 cent per word rate is a Tico labor rate. Going rates outside Central America are 30 to 200 times that. For a hard facts writing job that is probably even low by Tico rates.
What makes it likely that this is one of those “work at home” scams is that you would be lucky to produce 3 to 5 articles in a full day (unless it was all cut and paste from other sources – stealing). So now your “part time” $60/day job is a $10 to $20 for a full day job IF you get paid. Half that amount for true part time. If you don’t make the “minimum” you may be giving away your work. Many of the contracts for these things penalize the worker by not paying if they don’t produce. You get a nice condolence letter asking to keep trying. BUT, the work you (and many others) do still gets used for whatever (probably spam content of some sort).
250 words in about 2 hours (I did some research, answered the phone). Wow $1.25/hr! I could make $10/day working for these guys. . But I couldn’t meet the minimum.
[b]Economics of the Mexican Influx:[/b]
The economics of allowing migrant workers from Mexico and Central America into the U.S. has been called economic slavery. The illegals can truly be called slaves because they have have few rights and cannot complain about wages or working conditions.
Mexican laborers are not taking jobs that U.S. citizens won’t do, they are taking jobs at wages so low that U.S. citizens cannot afford to take. As I mentioned above, in construction they are working for less than what the wages were 40 years ago. When you live in our economy you just cannot afford do that for long. Since the 1970’s fuel and transportation costs are up 10x. Housing costs are up 10x. Food costs are up 5 to 8x.
How do Mexican’s work for less? They live in crowded conditions OR terrible conditions, commute in over crowded vehicles (more people than allowed by law). Most often they plan to return home where the cost of living is much less. AND they often work for cash under the table. Taxes and unemployment insurance double the paid wage a legal worker sees. To many businesses it is worth not writing off the cash labor rather than pay double. . .
On the other hand, the majority of businesses DO take taxes out of illegals wages and submit them to the Federal and State governments (including Social Security – about 7 billion a year). It is said that these amounts far exceed the costs in services. . . Those payments into SS will never be drawn against. So those that claim illegals are a burden on the local systems are just blowing smoke.
Even when workers are local citizens the pressure on wages in general keeps wages down. If a worker cannot quit his factory job and work construction then he has no bargaining power. If the factory worker cannot quit for a slightly lesser job then the factory office worker is in the same boat. . . Having the lowest paid workers making less than a local living wage reduces wages for everyone. It is the same effect as letting in a flood of slave wage import products. . . Which we do at great detriment to our industry in general.
Employers benefit from the lower wages even if they do not hire illegals.
Beside employers the banks and financial institutions make a LOT of money from illegals that send money home. International transfer fees are some of the most lucrative in the business. How many billions are sent home to Mexico? (18 billion in 2005 according to the World Bank).
Mexican laborers in the U.S. make money for everyone except the U.S. worker. . SO it benefits the rich and powerful. So while the politicians will talk about the problem, they will do nothing OR write totally ineffectual laws.
As far as Ticos in the U.S. are concerned, if, as noted above by others, they carry the same paperwork WE are required to do in Costa Rica, and do not break the law, then they will not have a problem. But if they work in the U.S. economy without the proper paperwork and do not carry legal ID they may be in trouble (just as WE would be in Costa Rica). On the other hand, they will be treated much more fairly than in almost any other country in the world IF they get in trouble here.
The economics are complicated and benefit the powerful. The longer it goes on the more entrenched the system. I do not know what the answers are but like all complicated issues the solutions if any will be equally as complicated.
[b]NEW Law?[/b] All this law is doing is requiring the police and businesses to actively do what the laws already on the books require. Collect taxes and not accept phony documents.
Mexico’s only concern is that they have economic and population problems and they want nothing to hinder their people leaving, going where they can earn money and send it home. Mexico supporting illegal immigration into the U.S. is virtually committing an act of war.
Can you imagine the U.S. demanding that a country accept as many U.S. citizens as wanted to illegally enter and work in that country? Or to allow them to live in another country unhindered by residency requirements? Wouldn’t it be nice to move to Costa Rica without restriction or paperwork and have the U.S. government back up that right? The U.N. and the World at large would be in an uproar!
On the other hand much of the U.S. economy is now built around immigrant labor and plenty comes in legally from many Central American countries. But the illegal numbers are much higher than the legal. Every country has a right to control such activities or their borders are meaningless.
The problem with this “cheap” labor is that it is also like cheap goods imported from Southeast Asia. It looks good on the surface but reduces job opportunities for citizens. In the construction industry in the U.S. there are now almost no common laborer or starter positions for young Americans.
When I was young these were some of the better jobs for those who wanted to work with their hands. They paid well and you could make a career working in construction. If you wanted and were a good people person you could move up to foreman or even management. Today however those jobs pay less than they did in the 1970’s! and employers prefer those workers who require less paperwork. We have record construction costs of 5 to 10x what it cost in the 70’s but wages are DOWN from 40 years ago????? There is definitely something wrong with this picture.
I have nothing against my Mexican neighbors. They work hard and are honest business people. I understand their moving here and wanting something better. But like all countries the U.S. has the right to control immigration and when the Federal government has not done their part the States have the right to step in do it themselves.
Many things I see going on today including taxes, economic snooping AND immigration control are all part of the “mean economy”. The tighter things get the meaner the system becomes EVERYWHERE. The outlook is not good and the worse it gets, the meaner it will get.
While this video is parody these things WERE going on as late as the Reagan years with the “guns for drugs” IRAN/CONTRA scandal that Ollie North took the hit for. Otherwise it would have been Reagan being overthrown. The situation is such in Nicaragua that in much of the country it is still not safe to be a “gringo”. You may also remember the news from just a few years ago where the Northern border of Costa Rica along the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua was declared one of the first “mine free” zones in the world as a part of an International clean up program. Due to distrust by the government the same cannot be said of the Nicaragua side of the border.
The U.S. did its best to try to drag Costa Rica into that quagmire. There are numerous military steel bridges in the North of Costa Rica that were put in by U.S. “engineers” working for the CIA. These were part of the supply line from the Juan Santamaría International Airport. The people of Nicaragua remember Costa Rica’s complicity with the CIA in supplying the Contras.
This was just one more place in the world where the U.S. was on the wrong side in the name of “anti-communism” supporting the like of Idi Amin, Noriega, Pol Pot, Ferdinan Marcos and more than a dozen others.
Today we are back to largely Banana Republic politics where big U.S. (now multi-national) Corps (many of the same old fruit companies) can dictate agricultural export prices making or breaking the economies in Central America. . The same forces could easily destabilize a government.
The politics of paradise are very fragile.
Say you DO avoid the last few years of payments. To become a “resident” of Costa Rica you must have:
1) A $1000/month retirement income (that your ex or courts cannot attach). You must prove this to the Costa Rican Government.
2) A clean criminal record.
You cannot just move to CR (or practically any other country) and just take up residence without a lot of paperwork. Costa Rica is fairly easy compared to other countries and there are many (such as Mexico) where it is nearly impossible OR impossible to own property there.
By avoiding your debt in the U.S. you may run afoul of the courts. While we do not have debtors prison in the U.S. failure to pay court ordered payments could end up with you being in contempt of court. These days all kinds of things can end up as a flag on your passport so you cannot leave the country OR are arrested the moment you come back. . .
Avoiding the residency requirements (like avoiding the alimony) can end up making you a criminal in Costa Rica. They may just deport you but they COULD jail you if caught. So then you would be hiding out from authorities from TWO countries. . .
If you are going to disappear (anywhere), you had better be prepared to REALLY disappear, change your name, have phony ID and other credentials, never contact anyone from your past. . .
Back on Topic. . .
I think the original proposition in this discussion has been proved to be unsupported the way it was stated.
But the fact is we ALL “move on”. As a retirement destination the logical progression is retirement, a brief period of enjoying life, typical end of life issues (nursing home, hospitalization. . ) and then death. These are absolute truths. We do all move on.
Those who have moved to Costa Rica ARE movers and probably are more likely to move elsewhere when they get tired of Costa Rica or think they have found somewhere better. Hmmm Greece sounds good this week. . .
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Security:
I wrote in the thread on Stupidity when Traveling Abroad about some places being better than others in every country. I have lived in two places in the US where I had no locks on the doors (no doors on some out buildings) and never felt like I needed them. Both were short distances from crime ridden cities. I am sure there are many more similar places in rural areas of the U.S.
I do not think there are places like this in Costa Rica. Even in the small villages most of the homes have steel bars on the windows and those who can afford it have significant fences. The places that do not have security grates are usually places with full time security OR so poor they have nothing to steal. This is a fact of life in Costa Rica and is the only thing I might miss about moving from the U.S.
Poverty, is the crux of the security issue. In a country where many people have an annual income of less than the cost of a lap top computer and there is high unemployment coupled with underfunded police you are going to have crime. But as noted elsewhere this is often crime against property. Simple theft. And as noted, even things with low value will be stolen.
Theft of even the least attractive items, old tennis shoes, flip-flops, kitchen tools. . . is what is frustrating to many. When your TV or stereo is stolen it is a minor economic set back that does not ruin your life or keep you from getting on with your day. But when your muddy shoes disappear off the porch and you do not have a second pair, or you go to have breakfast and there are no bowls to serve it in. . . THESE are the kind of things that can make people crazy and want to live elsewhere. These things happen only where there is extreme poverty.
But poverty is one of the unspoken things that make Costa Rica attractive to outsiders. You can hire a full time maid or house keeper for the cost difference between your utility bill in the Northern US and that in Costa Rica. If there was no poverty you could not hire people for so little.
Why is food cheaper? The low wages of the farmers and farm workers which are substantially controlled by price fixing by the big U.S. fruit importers. We go without fresh bananas or pineapple for a week in the U.S. and the economy of Costa Rica fails. . .
So if you want the benefits of that lower cost of living you will also need to put up with the conditions that keep those costs down – poverty, the crime that comes with it, and less effective government.
I think my comments about traveling in rural or small town areas applies in many countries. I’ve done business and been a tourist in many large US cities but feel much safer away from them. You, I or a tourist from any country can probably have a very safe holiday doing the winery tours of Napa Valley California just as well as doing the Arenal Volcano region tours in Costa Rica. In Virginia 90% of the state is wonderful and relatively crime free to travelers. That is as long as you stay out of the port towns and capital and away from I95 in the North. Even medium size cities in most of the U.S. are fairly safe. Its the big cities that eat tourists for breakfast.
The comments on rental car scams in CR also apply in the U.S. Remember the German tourist killed in Miami a few years back and THEN hearing about the fact that tourists leaving the airport in rental cars identified by their plates were being targeted by bump and run holdup men?
One morning we awoke in a popular Costa Rica tourist spot and went out to the parking lot which had been empty the day before. . . It looked like the rental companies lot. . every car was a small 4WD 4 seater and all, even though many brands looked exactly alike. A tourist can be identified a mile away driving one of these. While many Ticos drive the same cars I suspect most are ex-rental because they are never so new or clean. That does not mean I would rent something different. But it is something to be aware of.
Study (don’t just read – STUDY) the tourist guides. Most have good information.
I’ve traveled quite a bit in Costa Rica but I hate cities and have stayed out of San Jose except on rare occasion. Twice I had a local guide, the other times it was passing through to get to other side of the country. In the rest of the country I felt fairly safe and have walked through some pretty rough areas. We were stopped by police several times for ID checks but never to be bribed.
I would do the same in almost any major North American city with the exception that if I had business there. I also have the advantage of being fluent in English. . . so I am not at a disadvantage.
The two times I have visited New York City I had local guides that warned me that two blocks THAT direction is a very bad part of town AND “you don’t want to be HERE at night”.
I’ve visited tourist areas in coastal US cities where it was generally safe and worry free. But the nice harbor restaurants on the tourist pier are almost always within site of the docks and low rent neighborhoods only a few minutes walk away. These are places you do not go unless you are a local.
To go to a similar city in another country where you do not know the culture or language is almost suicidal it is so crazy.
Yep, the Forest Gump quote sums it up.
Our family agrees with the cheaper the better. What you have done in life and what you leave behind is your “monument”.
There are several organizations in the U.S. that will pickup your body for medical research and return the “cremains” (ashes) a few weeks later. The one we used is an outfit called ScienceCare. See ScienceCare.com.
They claim the only expense is the UPS shipping of the ashes but neither time that we have used this service has there been any charge whatsoever. All that was required is a phone call, answering a few questions and it was done. They arrange pick up the same day, forward death certificates, the whole works. It almost sounds too good to be true but both my Mother and a good friend have used this service.
We contacted local US hospitals about donation and they wanted paperwork filled out months in advance and made the whole thing a big deal. IF the remains get as far as a funeral home in the US you WILL NOT be given the cheap options. We also contacted a local cremation society and their fees were significant ($1000 if pre paid years ago .. ).
I’m sure Costa Rica has its own quirks. A friend was asked to get involved in manufacturing burial caskets in Costa Rica. At first he thought they were talking about fine wood work using local hardwoods . . . a LONG way from it! The boxes were to be made of the cheapest chip board and retail for about $200 US (with a LOT of markup for the undertaker). A chip board casket in a tropical environment is about like using a cloth sack. Its going to disintegrate rapidly. Which may be the purpose.
For many of us the question is how to avoid having your next of kin in the US (children, grandchildren) being burdened with possible expenses or dealing with the bureaucracy in this matter.
Something that some Ticos MAY remind you, They are “Americans” too. Canadians, U.S. citizens and Mexicans are ALL North Americans. Its a little left of PC but it is true. And something to remember in our economic war with Southeast Asia, China and Japan. We are all in one sinking boat.
Sinko de Mayo(nnaise). . . HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
On the other hand, Salsa is the #1 condiment in all of North America. Got your own recipe? We do. . . and there are thousands of recipes for this favored condiment.
