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I think a lot of us are aware of how this kind of thing works. Costa Rica had better be prepared to lay some ground rules before any operation is approved.
It doesn’t take long to destroy the entire environment downstream from an operation like that.
There is an open pit molybdenum mine at the top of Fremont pass near Leadville in Colorado and the stream runs as green as oxidized copper. You can even see the green waste pond on Google Earth.
Having reade the article [b]Costa Rica Gold Mine Controversy – An exercise in democracy[/b]despite his opinions regarding this open pit mining issue it is also [b]An Exercise in Environmental Disaster[/b].
The amount of precious metal recovered from this operation will not be worth the devastation to the environment and the citizens of Costa Rica should be up in arms, literally, to drive such operations out of the counttry.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]But crime [i]is not only[/i] in areas where [i]”…living in an exclusively expat area draws the professional criminals”[/i]
It are everywhere…so one must take precautions and not be ‘lax’ in your home security, and do not presume that your family will be ‘secure’ if you live in a large city, mixed neighborhood or in the countryside.
Both amateur and professional thieves can both cause trauma.
Be aware that now only a ‘Permanent resident’ of Costa Rica may purchase arms to protect their home and family.[/quote]Well put, Finca.
My reference was to the fact that there is more “stuff” to draw the professionals in an expat area but the upper income Ticos face the same issues.
No matter where you live common sense is a must.
[quote=”tomstew1″][quote=”kevin.smith”]….and yet the entire country is still safer than Houston TX. Nowhere is perfect.[/quote]
I live in Houston and have a house in Palo Seco…I don’t have to pay someone to guard my house 24hrs a day in Houston. I do in Palo Seco….Theft is like a national sport in CR.
Sorry, couldn’t resist 🙂
Scott: You always seem to find a way to try and bash the USA…Why is that?[/quote]
@tomstew1
I don’t think Scott is bashing the US as much as facing the truth. Afghanistan was right but Iraq was wrong, insane tax cuts and a lack of oversight led to a deep recession workdwide, fumbling around with Katrina, bedding down with big oil.
@kevin.smith
As far as the national sport is concerned, if you don’t know how to play the game don’t flaunt your “stuff”.Many Americans come down to a country that hasn’t got diddly with their (relatively) big bucks, nice cars, fine household goods then buy or build big houses and then try to lord it over the locals.
I’ve [b]seen[/b] the same thing happen in the States with the same results. If a guy making $150,000 a year can move into the Watts area of LA buy a cheap house and tear it down to build a nice big home and is too good to make friends in the neighborhood the result will be the same. It amounts to a slap in the face and he’s going to get burned.
I am not pointing fingers. Each of us has a unique situation. Those who have been here for a time and actually mix with the Ticos will probably tell you somewhat the same thing. They are helpful and friendly even if they don’t know you. It’s more a perception of arrogance that causes you problems.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]soflodoug is welcome to question the validity of the CIA data, the OIJ data, or any other data he wishes. In doing so, he may be doing us all a favor. What he should refrain from, however, is substituting his own limited perceptions and interpretations in their place.[/quote]
When you live in a world of fantasy all is safe and secure. Maybe we should at least leave him his fantasies.
[quote=”Scott”]But you are not providing us with facts soflodoug, you are giving us your opinions which are simply WRONG!
In the future please feel free to give us your opinions soflodoug but please also feel free to provide FACTS otherwise some people might prove you wrong with a few, quick Google searches.[/quote]
Sorry Scott, I just had a change of attitude reading soflodoug.:oops:
[quote=”soflodoug”]Lets just show the facts. just my piece of mind.[/quote]
IMHO your “facts” asre totally screwed up.
We live without gates, fences or bars and have no need of a security guard whether Tico or Nica. That kind of trash talk has a ring of prejudice.
If your so enamoured with “cosas Americano”, Panama is the place for you. Sounds to me like you would rather move NYC down to Panama.
You are selling fear of Costa Rica like a 3rd world Rush Limbaugh and the way you’re trying to sell Panama makes me think your selling Panamanian real estate.
We are rather attached to our “village” life and when I said I never considered Panama it’s because in “my piece of mind” Panama sucks.
[quote=”mahalko”]I’m one year removed from earning a military 20 year retirement which will translate to approximately $3,000/month. I’m exploring a retirement to Costa Rica. I do speak Spanish fairly fluently. I have three main concerns with a move to Costa Rica: securing an excellent education for my 7 year-old son; feeling secure; and the ability and opportunity to do some part-time work if needed. I would appreciate an honest assessment by anybody that can address one or all of my three issues. Thank you in advance, John.[/quote]
You can find good educational facilities in Costa Rica but the same caveats apply as they do in the States. The schools will provide the knowledge but it is a parental responsibility to teach kids how to think.
Security is mostly a matter of common sense. These are my opinions stated many times on the forum: Don’t make a display of your possessions, fit in wherever you live, and live in a mixed or Tico neighborhood and make friends (living in an exclusively expat area draws the professional criminals). The amateur thieves are a problem in all areas, get a dog (the bigger the better) who will know the limits of your property. We have four salvaged from the streets.
Without permanent residency getting employment of any kind is illegal unless it is non-labor management or the position cannot be filled by a Tico.
Others will weigh in on this subject. We all have different experiences.
[quote=”Scott”]Had you searched the forum for “hybrid” you would have found the following post on June 25th 2010:
I have NOT read that anywhere, what I do know is that hybrid cars and other electric type vehicles (including Segways) will be imported with no import taxes but I do not recall the date when that is to be applied.
You can see the article at: [ http://www.nacion.com/2010-04-19/ElPais/NotaPrincipal/ElPais2317485.aspx ]
The key section is:
El artículo 97 del plan de ley indica que estará libre de tributos “todo vehículo de transporte de tecnología de combustible limpia como vehículos híbridos, vehículos eléctricos, así como baterías u otro compone asociados al uso de este tipo de vehículos”.
A rough translation would be: “The 97th article of the plan indicates that: “all clean energy transportation vehicles like hybrids, electric vehicles, like batteries and other components associated with the use of this type of vehicle will be free of taxes.”
Does this help?
Scott[/quote]
It looks like it might include solar installations for homes. We will have to see how far they will take this legislation.[quote]At present the initiative, the Executive argued that it should promote energy production by private enterprise to meet the demand of the country, which in 2016 will be of 4018 MW Background. Since the 7200 law, enacted in 1990, had advanced the way in the field of tax exemption for electric power producers.[/quote]
[quote=”2BNCR”]I have recently read that the “Pura Vida” was used much differently than it is now.
Anybody know how and where it originated?[/quote]
2BNCR, try this link: [url=http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2007/diciembre/04/opinion1339074.html]Pura Vida[/url]
[quote=”2BNCR”]Who will grow the food?
When I pod and pads, internet biz and tech industry rules every part of our lives, not just most of it, who will grow the food? [/quote]
Some of us will refuse to let the electronics rule our lives. I grew up on a 2 ½ acre “farm” where we learned to repair what was broken. It wasn’t convenient to go to town for everything you need. The family raised a couple of hogs, 200 chickens and grew a garden every year during those years (1950-1962). Since the 1950’s I have been accustomed to the T.V. and the music and appreciate the advances in playback devices. I swore I would never own a cell phone in my previous life but now carry one. I have a computer (desktop) but have no other network devices nor the need to be connected 24/7 and I have no idea how these things work.
[quote=”2BNCR”]We live in a tiny nation. It has a new thread running through it stitching together North, Central, and South Americans, Chinese, and Costa Ricans. The thread is change. Wow, the changes are happening so fast. This country was slow to change; resisting change like a child resisting the dentist. New world-class stadium, new progressive values challenging traditional values, teens wanting office jobs, and less wanting an agricultural lifestyle. Cars and more cars, crime and more crime; physical labor is out. Sitting and poking the pad on your phone our keyboard is in. More return for less physical exertion. Doesn’t sound any different then perhaps where you live right? [/quote]
Where have you been all your life? Have you not seen the changes coming? Globalization is a fact with people becoming more mobile with the passage of time. It was inevitable that Costa Rica would want to modernize and I see no problem with a new stadium with the national enthusiasm for futbol. I do have a problem with the inferior Chinese imports which is making it harder to find quality tools and other items. Although there has been an increase in automobile traffic I believe that the phrase should be “motos and more motos” with the idiots who do not know the rules of the road and insist on passing a line of cars on a blind curve. We have a little over an acre of land and have begun planting fruit trees of all varieties that will grow here for our own consumption. We have a garden and raise chickens for eggs and meat.
Of crime we see very little. That is a product of the cities where people do not know each other and care little for the problems of their fellow man. Here where the population is more sparse we depend on each other and we watch out for each other.
[quote=”2BNCR”]Eventually there will be less and less of us who want to grow the food. Could we be happy spending time growing our own food? Sure we could grow food almost anywhere in Costa Rica, but would we? Would you spend time growing a garden? [/quote]
A family of nine Ticos lives with us and luckily one of the boys (age 12) is very interested in the agricultural life. He is hard working and I depend on him for help with maintaining the property and animals. With the other boys I do see a “how little can I do and how much can I get” attitude but I saw that with my own children until they reached an age when they realized that it was necessary to work for a living. Read up on the history of agriculture in the U.S. where barely 3% live the agricultural life as did 100 years ago.
As an adult I worked within the confines of cities and yearned for a return to the country life. Now that I am retired I have what I have wanted, I love it and I am doing it. I also know that when I am gone there will be a young man who appreciates the life and will have learned what I have to teach.
[quote=”2BNCR”]Why would anybody want to live an agricultural lifestyle? Tying oneself to the land has been a world tradition since day one. Growing food, farming, acting to the rhythms of nature to produce crops is primal. [/quote]
It is for the satisfaction of seeing things grow and for the satisfaction of growing the vegetables that we had available in the U.S. that are normally not available here.
[quote=”2BNCR”]As I witness and reflect upon the countryside, I so cherish in this volcanic wonderland, I see happy faces running alongside winding roads and green hills that wonder of into the sun seem endless. Then I drive into the concrete caverns of the capital and the difference is well apparent: no more smiles. A lot more stuff with a lot less smiles makes you wonder why so many of us think evolving into technical wizardry is advancement of the human being. [/quote]
Your association with the city is with the downtown area. Move into the neighborhoods and see the smiles and the neighborliness. Do you not remember the differences in the U.S. or is it possible that you did not associate with the suburban or rural life there. The problem isn’t with the advances in technology, it is the nature of the commercial life in the cities. When I visit the local ferreteria I am welcomed there with smiles and called by name, not so in the city.
[quote=”2BNCR”]Was Timothy Leary really right when he said “tune in, turn on and drop out?” Did the LSD society give his profound message a bad taste without anyone really going deeper than the wrapper? [/quote]
Leary was right but it did not require chemicals to be aware. You have to experience the rural life to be tuned into it and you may or may not be turned on to it. The dropping out part of his advocacy is to turn your back on the structured life of the work-a-day and staying up with the Jones’s.
[quote=”2BNCR”]The social contrast of Costa Rica country living compared to city life is obvious. The country folk are genuine and unhurried. So is less really more, or is more really less? [/quote]
It is not the social contrast that is the difference, it is the business contrast that is the difference. The farmers life is lived at the pace of the plants growing while the retailers life is lived at the pace of the number of sales. So for the farmer the pace is slower while the work is more physically taxing, for the retailer the pace is faster and the work less physically taxing.
[quote=”2BNCR”]It’s hard for me to say as I come from consumerism. Although it is too late for me to convert to country living tied to the land in a way that comes as second nature, my children live with those attached to the land. The consistent and predictable changes bring a sense of adventure and sanity, predictability that things change, and a confidence that those changes are within reasons. Here in the country it is not change for the sake of change but following a logical natural progression of differences that repeat themselves known as nature. How much of the natural world do you find in a city? Change is abundant in the city, but how much of it is natural? [/quote]
I dare say you will not find an expat in Costa Rica who was a farmer in the U.S. It is not in the nature of the farmer to uproot. As to the rest of us, we are all consumers. Very few will turn to “doing it yourself” but there are a few who will. Plant a tomato and watch it grow, plant a tree and watch it grow. It is not being tied to the land, it is embracing it. By planting the tomato you may find that you don’t have to “convert” you might find yourself slipping into something that is satisfying. Encourage your children to find out what farm life is like.
[quote=”2BNCR”]A recovering consumer choosing to raise my child here in the countryside so she may at least have a chance and a choice as to who will grow the food and to appreciate those who farm for more than their produce, but for who they are and their cultural values. Simpletons you may think. Maybe. But simple does not mean easy, just as those who have mastered simple living are incomprehensible to those of us who find living in country to be boring and predictable; hard to do. We can figure out a complicated computer software program but a natural program that rewards us with strong bodies and healthy minds seems out of reach. Not so here in the countryside, where smiles abound and ox carts are in no particular hurry. [/quote]
No one is a recovering consumer, it is in the nature of man to consume. If it were not so the earth would not be in the sad shape that it is in.:shock:
[quote=”ronny”]Number 1 for me would be crime. I like this initiative
http://caponcrime.info/%5B/quote%5DWhere the wealthy gather there must be protection. Making yourselves obvious targets requires additional protection at additional expense.
We live in a “middle income” Tico neighborhood that does not attrract the professionals from the city and the local ladrones are known.
Additionally four salvaged street dogs averaging 25 – 30 kilos and a great deterrent.
We live without gates or bars which will be added but it will not be for any reason other than to fit in.[quote=”chuck1″]I can’t think of five concerns about living in Costa Rica. But I do have three.
I spend 9 months a year here and my No. 1 complaint is the high cost of living, at least in the urban area of Heredia where we live. Wages are low and prices are high. Just the opposite of what it should be, and certainly of what it is in the USA. On every return trip to Costa Rica, I bring a large suitcase filled with Wal-Mart items — from shampoo, toothpaste and sun screen to home electronics. You name it, whatever it is, unless it’s locally grown or made in Costa Rica, costs twice as much here than in Charlotte, NC, where I also maintain a home. Even at the Wal-Mart-owned stores, like Hipermas and Pali, the prices are much more than in US Wal-Marts. [/quote]
I must be in communication with some of the 25,000,000 jobless in the US. We live in Costa Rica full time on Social Security and are in better shape than many families in the US.
The Walton’s are # 12, 15, 16 and 18 on the list of the worlds richest people with a total net worth of over $80 billion as a result of the inferior Chinese products they import into both the US and Costa Rica.[quote=”chuck1″]Cell phones are another good example, my wife and step-daughter both needed upgraded phones this year. I bought new Nokia and Sony Ericson models off ebay and had them shipped to my house in the states, saving hundreds of dollars over what they would have cost here, even at Hipermas. (Just make sure you buy the “unlocked” versions that have the band used in Costa Rica. Easy to find.) [/quote]
Being addicted to “cosas Americana” and gadgets that do everything has its down side. When I want to make a call or send a text message I use a phone. When I want a photo I have a camera, when I want music I have a Walkman, when I want internet access I have a computer. When you want “stuff” from the US you pay the shipping or take a trip back. I find most products manufactured in Central America to be very serviceable and fairly priced. What I need from the US comes by mail.
[quote=”chuck1″]Second, the infrastructure is severely lacking. Suffice it to say there are no rocket scientists in Costa Rica. Even a good engineer is hard to find. Example, the Autopista del Sol, the so-called Caldera Highway that runs from San Jose to the Pacific Coast. All of 77 kilometers long, this road was 30 years in the making, just opened a few months ago, and is now closed in part due to rock and mudslides, which any Tico could have told you would happen during the rainy season, which lasts a long time. OK, a Spanish company built it, but you have the blame the Tico politicos for hiring them and not overseeing the engineering. Of course, not that Costa Rica has the engineering competency, talent pool or equipment to build or oversee something as simple as road construction. [/quote]
Now isn’t that unique. Where have I heard before about politicos being in the pockets of lobbyists, who had no idea what they were doing and allowing contracting companies to take advantage of the taxpayer?
[quote=”chuck1″]Telecommunications is another example. The only reason it’s as far along as it is now is because the government finally caved in a year or two ago and agreed to allow competition, which, actually, has yet to happen. The internet: Yes, you can get high speed internet in your home (gracias a Dios), but try keeping it on during a rain storm, which happens frequently. The internet service is our neighborhood, at least via the cable TV company, is totally unreliable in rainy weather, and all electric power goes out frequently. [/quote]
ICE is obviously a problem but what government bureaucracy isn’t.
AmNet installed new cable into our area last October and I have not suffered down time due to AmNet problems after the first week.[quote=”chuck1″]If the idea of having to put your used toilet paper in a waste basket instead of flushing it down the toilet turns your stomach, you won’t be very comfortable in Costa Rica. Since the country has no modern sewage treatment plants, you have to live with rinky dink septic systems, often installed by complete incompetents, that would clog even faster if you were to put toilet paper in them. And get used to the idea of seeing the streets in your neighborhood flowing with soapy bath and washing machine water. That’s because, from most houses, non-toilet water drains directly into the streets, down a storm drain and into the nearest river or stream. Oh yes, and the manhole covers on these drains are often missing, leaving huge open caverns that will swallow your car. [/quote]
We are required to have septic systems and grey water systems that actually function and they need to be cleaned out on a regular basis or they back up and overflow into our own yards.
[quote=”chuck1″]Which brings me to my third complaint. Despite the country’s eco image, Costa Rica is one of the most littered places you’ll ever live or visit. Drive down any main thoroughfare through San Jose to the Pacific beaches and you’ll be horrified by the amount of trash on the roadsides. Even in Tico neighborhoods of $100,000+ homes, you’ll find trash in front of houses, along the curbs and in the streets. It’s really unbelievable. And where does all this trash end up, in the rivers and streams and along the shorelines, some of which are the most polluted in the world. It must be a cultural thing where people think nothing of littering and where anti-littering laws are either non-existent or never enforced and dogs run free.[/quote]
I would challenge you to find any Costa Rican beach on a list of the 100 worst polluted in the world. As far as rivers go, see: [url=http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070422192119AAgNFgx]Polluted rivers[/url] eight of the ten rivers on THIS list are in Louisiana. However, [url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-460077/Is-worlds-polluted-river.html]this one[/url] takes the cake.
You are obviously living in a different world than I am. I live full time in a semi rural area near Ciudad Colon. There is no trash in the town or on the highway through. No matter where you live there are people who feel under no obligation to care for the environment. There are street cleaning crews working every day to keep the town clean. Dogs, cats and any other animal owned by many Ticos are looked at as possessions not companions. Different culture, different point of view. We’ve gained six great companions off of the streets as well as protection for our property.
When you move into a different culture you either fit in or you try to change it. Those who try to change it don’t usually last very long…unless they like beating their heads against rocks.
[quote=”gzeniou”] 1-Crime (by far)[/quote]
Against expats petty crime possibly, thieves primarily. The Americans here tend to blow this out of all proportion to reality. Expecting the idyllic life blinds many to the reality. Maravilla and David have been here longer and I think will confirm what I think.
Assault on expats carelessly where they shouldn’t be. Aggrvated felonious crimes are usually Tico against Tico. Again I say, if you live within a community of expats you are more likely to suffer from professional thieves. Murder is most common within family units.[quote=”gzeniou”]2-Mail system[/quote] Slooowly iiitt wiillll arrriiivve aaatt iittss ddeeessttinattiioonn.
[quote=”gzeniou”]3-Americanization (I guess Chinese can fit here too)[/quote]
The invasion of Americans has been a great issue since the early 1900’s. Now that the trade agreement with China is done it has been harder to find quality products.
[quote=”gzeniou”]4-Bugs (this one is from my wife)[/quote]
and more bugs but I kinda balance that with butterflies, preying mantids and such. I saw my first glass wing butterfly yesterday.
[quote=”gzeniou”]5-Earthquakes[/quote]
After 19 years in the LA area we just note that there has been a shaker and let it go at that. The house is built of concrete and an earthquake stronger than 6.5 is a rarity.
We are half time residents, which started in March of 2010.[/quote]
More experience here will tell you more about whether this is the place for you.
