On occasion though, I get a comment that really frosts my Twinkie.  This happened last night and I responded… but then I stewed about it all night!  The comment and my reply appear below.  I guess what really bothers me is that I spent a huge amount of time writing The REAL Costa Rica and then more time keeping things current both there and here on this Blog. I then get an email from someone who implies that I whitewash Costa Rica.  I know, of course that there are people who do not agree either with my opinion or my rather blunt style of writing.  Others love it as they really want to KNOW about this country, and they are concerned (rightfully) that they are not getting the facts from other sites that really do nothing but promote Costa Rica. I love living here but as I have written about 20 zillon times, this country is not for everyone. It is right for ME, but only you can decide if it is right for YOU.  Anyway, if you wanna listen to me rant a bit, read on. Her quote is exact.  No corrections or changes.

I have been in Cosata Rica now for almost 4 months..you web page very general and not realistic. I sat in room with 9 other people with similar crime experiences. Yes, CR was a nice place to visit and live once…but not any more. Since you like so much would you like to buy a house…we are selling and looking for a safer place to live.

Dear Person Commenting:

It is pretty clear that you did not spend much time at ALL reading the web site or this associated Blog.

Had you done so, you would have discovered that I cover the crime issue here VERY thoroughly and pull no punches.  I also publish nearly all crime related comments even though I am pretty sure that quite a few of them are fictional as those crimes never seem to be verifiable.

Further, you would also have read that I would NEVER buy property in Costa Rica whether there was crime or NO crime.

In fact, I tell people time and again to live here for at least a YEAR before even considering the purchase of property.

Nobody has ever made a good case to me for buying here at all, especially if you are over age 55 or so.  Younger people, maybe… but older folks?  There is no financial or logical reason to buy here when rents are dirt cheap and your money is safe and available. I can relate at least fifty stories of people saddled with unsellable property because they bought too soon and paid too much.

Had you spent ANY time reading the web site and/or the Blog BEFORE you arrived 4 months ago, you would not have to worry NOW about selling property you should not have bought in the first place!

I am truly sorry you are not happy here, but as I also state CLEARLY; over 50% of those who move here return home within a year and I urge people to do NOTHING here that cannot be “undone” with 6 phone calls or less.  I also can promise you that all the real estate will not be gone in a year, regardless of what some realtors tell you.

While I am sorry you are not happy, I am not at all sympathetic as it is clear you either came here totally unprepared OR you read all my warnings and chose to ignore them..  Either way… good luck.

To those of you thinking about moving here, by all means come and enjoy Costa Rica, but please read more than how wonderful is the weather here or how nice are the Ticos. This is a foreign country with different laws, traditions, cultures etc.

You will have no idea whatsoever if Costa Rica is for you until you have lived here at least 9 to 12 months, and that is regardless if you have lived in another foreign country. If you love it.. great!  Buy something.  Spend that money! Invest! Build a new life. Put down roots. Make Costa Rica your home!

But if after 9 to 12 months you discover Costa Rica is not right for you and you simply cannot live here for any reason, then just board a plane and return home with some great stories to tell, an adventure under your belt, and most important,  and NO financial loss.

I was speaking to the owner of one of the larger moving companies some while back, and he told me that he is now moving back “home” more than 50% of the customers he moved here originally. That is a helluva statistic, and he should know. I tend to believe this as I get more and more email from people who have made the decision to move here after spending little and sometimes no time in this country. Sadly, some have no option as they are just now realizing that they simply cannot afford to retire and live in their home country. This is true especially of many folks from the USA.

So can anything be done so that you do not become one of those statistics returning home tail twixt your legs? I think so! The first thing that you must realize is that every single thing you do every day while living here will be different than it was before. Getting a haircut, stopping at the drug store, going to the cleaners, taking kids to schools, shopping for food or clothes, dealing with the metric system… everything will change.

The key to all this is communication! Supermarkets, drugstores, dry cleaners here look about the same as they do “back home”. The difference is the language. If they all just spoke your native language like English, things would be great, right?

To those who have visited Costa Rica or will do so prior to coming, you must remember that you will be living (or lived) in an bubble. You’re surrounded by English speakers and in some hotels, French and German speakers as well. This is the tourist Costa Rica and not the REAL Costa Rica. In the real Costa Rica, Spanish is the language, and to really get comfy here and enjoy the expat lifestyle, you gotta learn Spanish.

There are numerous language courses, a few of which are advertised on the side of this page. The problem is that the good ones are not cheap. So with that in mind, I thought I’d introduce you to Coffee Break Spanish (CBS). CBS is presented more or less free, and they take you from nothing to survival Spanish pretty quickly and easily. You can listen online, download the lessons to your computer or listen on your iPod or mp3 player. You can even burn them to a CD.

So to all you future expats… start now and pick up the lingo. I cannot promise and 100% easy transition to Costa Rica, but I can promise it will go a whole lot smoother.

Helpful link: Spanish Schools in Costa Rica

I first came to Costa Rica maybe 15 years ago. It has changed significantly. My 15 years pales, however, next to Neal’s long term perspective of 46 years. I hope you enjoy it.  Click continue to read it.

(I) lived in Costa Rica in 1961 & 62, and attended La Universidad de Costa Rica, in San Pedro de Montes de Oca (brand new Ciudad Universitaria at the time). Have decided to return to CR to live (con Visa de Pensionado) and hope to move by September or October. The wife and our youngest daughter will be joining me once I’ve bought or built a home.

For (45) years I put-off the return visit for fear that I’d spoil those memories, but went back last February just to check things out. Alas I was right, CR is not as it was. I could have cried, and I kid you not, when I saw what San Jose and the Central Valley had become. San Jose was the cleanest and friendliest city I had ever seen, back in ‘61, with the prettiest girls. I was 20 then and, after growing up in Montreal and Toronto, had visited Paris, Rome, and Beirut; none could compare to San Jose. (Later I lived in Santiago de Chile, LA, Portland, Vancouver, Stewart in Northern BC, and Whitehorse, none of these could compare either, although Stewart and Whitehorse each reserve a warm spot in my heart.)

Sadly, San Jose now is garbage strewn and dirty, stressed beyond its elastic limit, if you know what I mean, reminiscent in many ways of Santiago, Chile, in the sixties; even the Ciudad Universitaria is unkempt.

Fortunately, unlike the Santiaguinos, the Josefinos are friendly even now. (On day one of my visit they atempted to answer in English when I spoke to them in Spanish; we managed to overcome that hurdle on day two. And to think they used to call me ‘Tico adoptado’ and claim that I had no discernible accent.) At any rate, I plan to look for a home outside the Zona Metropolitana.

One of the most admirable things about Ticos, then and now, is their relative lack of regard for Social Status or Stratification, particularly when compared to Canada or other Latin American countries (Chile was worse than India in that regard). I can’t imagine being invited to any Canadian Prime Minister’s or American President’s home, for dinner, just because I met his son at a party. I was so invited to the home of Pepe Figuerez, a man far more worthy of respect, and far more admired by his people, than any Canadian Prime Minister or US president. (Very ’simpatico’ and informal, we discussed anything and everything except politics.)

Another Tico quality was (is?) ‘helpfulness;’ kindness above and beyond the call of duty, so to speak. Public servants who would type out a letter of application, or correct my efforts (back then, official requests were very formal and flowery), no charge; store owners who would lead one by the hand, across town, to their competition, for a two-dollar item they did not stock.

Way back when, as they say, I traveled through and visited much of CR, but the only area I knew really well was SJ and surroundings; have joined ARCR, but still find it difficult to get information about the towns and areas of interest to me: Zarcero, San Ramon, Palmares, San Ignacio de Acosta, and others on the dry side of the cordillera (just for example), do you have any suggestions on how to get such info? It would be nice to have a general idea re. where to start looking.

Neal… I have sent you my phone number. Call me and we can discuss your interest in those locations. Thanks for your letter!