move still under consideration

Luckylimey wrote:

Wife and I are coming to the end of a 3 month trip. The weather has been perfect and we have met a bunch of nice people, locals and expats alike. Tamarindo is a typical seaside town, good and bad. This is not an inexpensive destination. We feel sorry for the local businesses that have some very nice premises but appear externally like Dumps, due to the very poor infrastructure..I think there are better bangs for your Buck, available elsewhere. If this beautifully diverse country intends being a world class destination, then the tourist industry needs a major overhaul. A poor mans vaction, with a Cadillac price tag. Pura Vida.

Well it's great that you came down for 90 days to find out how you would like it.

Costa Rica is not for everyone! And as in the USA not all areas are the same. One's experience of one beach town may not be the same as another; one's experience of one mountain town will not be the same as another. That's why I recommend that people check out at least 3-4 areas they THINK they might like and then choose one or two of those to spend more time in to see if they'd like living there.

People certainly should know that the infrastructure - especially at some beach towns - is not very good, that many things are different than in the USA. You have to like the good more than the bad or else Costa Rica is simply not going to be a good place for you to live.

I certainly don't like the lack of infrastructure, and some other things about Costa Rica. But I like enough other things to make it worth living there. But everyone has to decide this for themselves. I commend people who do it right by going down for 30-90 days or more, to find out for themselves before they invest in real estate or otherwise make a move that they will regret.

Hi Lucky,

According to all reports more Gringos and Canadians have been murdered in the Tamarindo area than anywhere else, with some people still missing.  I've never been to that town, I stay down here in the Quepos area where things are a little greener and we don't have water shortages.  You are right about the tourist industry going down hill most due to the high prices.  A tourist I spoke to said he rented a four wheeler for eight hours in Jaco and it cost him $160.US
I think many of the tour operators are Gringos, so we can't blame the Tico's for ripping off tourists.

Luckylimey,

I agree with you. The cost of living here is pretty high for the poor infrastructure that you find around. It is sad, but it is what it is. When you move to another country, it is a quid pro quo. Here, you need to get adjusted to the bad roads, poor government services, and short minded mentality of the ticos.