Should I move to Costa Rica? What are the pros & cons?

Question

I'll be an alien, but I studied there & I really like it. I need to give the US a break, & I need to improve my Spanish skills. I went to college & got my degree & got nothing to show for it because all they taught us was Old Spanish from the Middle Ages, which has no benefit to my career of me wanting to translate & interpret.

I know 1 pro is it's beautiful & cheap. 3 cons is that they pickpocket tourists, sneak drugs into their bags, & if the tourist is caught with drugs, even if they didn't know, then they have to go to jail & it's very hard to get out, & a lot of people are poor & it's hard to get a decent job.

Answer 1

It is not cheap, You can easily avoid being pickpocketed, the sneaking drugs thing sounds like an urban legend (at least in Costa Rica, if it happened it would be to get a bribe, not to send a tourist to jail)  there are a lot of poor people and you won't be able to get a decent job unless you have connections AND expreience.  It is not the place to go if you don't have money to support yourself.  People work hard just to get by, much harder than you would have to in a developed country.  I doubt that you were taught "Old Spanish",  you perhaps just didn't pay enough attention.  Spanish in school is not adequate but will work as a good base.

Answer 2

First of all - No country in the World is free from any kind of Crime!

And Costa Rica is absolutely no different!

I have been going there once a year for the last twelve years without any kind of problems whatsoever.

Maybe you are traveling with the wrong crowd of people?

It does not bother me to hear of some of the minor crime they have there. Have you compared the US homicide rate to CR?

I took two years of Spanish in High School in the 40s - and never used it at all!  I first went to Costa Rica in l995 and the majority of my Spanish came back to me in a flash which amazed the h**l out of me.

If you feel that you can't get a decent job there - why not start your own business? - Costa Rica with its booming expanding population from all over the world could provide you with a very exciting avenue to explore along these lines!

And living in Costa Rica is relative inexpensive since a single person can live like a king there for about $600.00 a month USD.  -  It all depends on How High on the Hog you want to go! Imperial Beer costs around $2.60 a six pack and their fantastic coffee cost only around $2.75 a POUND in their grocery stores!

Que Pense?

Buena Suerte y Vaya con Dios!

VIVA LA PURA VIDA!

Answer 3

I just got back, and I must agree that it is not cheap. I traveled all over, not just to tourist trap but even remote locations. I dusted off my high school spanish and took a pocket translator with me. I found that I curiously need almost every langueage avaiable on the translator. I used the german, and french quite abit when I was on the east coast where the language is pantois or something like that. It is a jamaiican sort of  creole blend mixed with spanish. However there are so many dutch, french, german, argentinian, venezuelan, italian, and misc. european visitors  over there who have come by carribean cruise ship, (and who have settled there to make there great fortunes in the costa rica tourism biz. )  

As far as pickpockets, the whole if costa rica is the size of vermont and only 4 million people. I felt safer there than I've ever felt in Phoenix. Just don't wear gold jewelry and diamond and pull out a wallet and ask someone if they have change for a 100.  

The only people with money are the people in tourism; the locals are suffering, and the infrastructure cannot support the massive amount of tourism. We go, but the money goes to tour companies with very little trickling down to the people who really need it. They have no way to get rid of our garbage so they burn it.. not good. They have limited plumbing, so it gets washed into the rivers then into the sea.. also not good. We are going there in droves to buy land to retire on, then clearing property to build big houses on...(right next to little shanties of indigenous peoples) It levels trees and pushes back natural habitats of the animals that we are flocking there to see.  Our tourism is not particularly helping the whole "pura vida" idea.  We're choking them!!

SO.. if I could offer an actual idea it would be this.  The indigenous people of the Talamanca region are tremendously welcoming and resourceful people. They are friendly, not the least bit predjudiced, and are grateful and generous. Their land is lush and unspoiled by tourism, full of waterfalls and brilliant areas. They have a primary need and desire to teach their children (of all ages) english. You may find information from the ATEC office based in Puerto Viejo. The children commute from their small villages to small towns where they have their schools. They all wear uniforms and are the most well mannered kids I've ever seen. They also have an adult need. The cost of living there is not big city either.It definitely falls in the "not expensive" zone! It is a whole different world. These people don't pick your pocket, they bring you food and drink, and come plant a garden for you.  So, it sort of depends on what sort of change you are looking for.  The government is mandated to pay for the kid's education, so you will get paid & $5 is a whole lot of money for them, so getting by is easy for you. actually, there are things that are worth just as much as money... crayons, red fabric, disposable cameras, any art suppies, hard candy like jolly ranchers.

as far as being an alein, it is my understanding that once you are there for 7 months, you become part of the communities health package system (though it's not a great system). Also, the BriBri, Kekolki, cachabri and other Talamanca communities REALLY take care of each other, so if you are there, being an "alein" isn't going to be the issue.

good luck. Just figure out what it is that you are looking for, and stay true to yourself.