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8 Reasons Why Americans Are LEAVING Costa Rica
8 Reasons Why Americans Are LEAVING Costa Rica
#costarica #costaricatravel #travel
00:00 Intro
00:48 First Reason
01:53 Second Reason
03:09 Third Reason
03:47 Fourth Reason
04:14 Fifth Reason
04:33 Sixth Reason
05:16 Seven Reason
05:47 Eight Reason
Many people who move to Costa Rica, plan to stay for only a few years before packing up and heading back home. People often spend more time thinking about moving to Costa Rica, than they do actually relocating there. In this video, We will discuss some of the most common triggers for expatriation from Costa Rica. How many foreigners call Costa Rica home exactly? The U.S. Department of State estimates that, over 120,000 Americans call Costa Rica home; we’d say that this is by far the country’s largest expat population. and Europeans may come in second and third, respectively. The reasons people retire or move to Costa Rica, are as varied as the reasons they decide to leave.
First reason. People quickly pointed out that, living expenses aren’t actually that low. They claimed that they came to Costa Rica, because they thought it would be cheaper there. However, the truth was that they spent exactly the same there as in the USA. It didn’t come as a huge shock to us, because there has been a lot of talk about how low the cost of living, is on the internet ever since its infancy. The problem is that much of this information was published at least a decade ago. Also, the story that Costa Rica is a cheap place to live has persisted. Contrary to popular belief, Costa Rica is not a cheap place to call home. In fact, it ranks as Latin America’s second most expensive country to call home. The reason for this is that import taxes in Costa Rica, are extremely high. Hence, specialized foods and vehicles, are among the priciest things to buy. When these factors are added up, the cost of living is higher than most people realize.
Second reason. An inability to adapt to local culture, as well as unrealistic, misaligned expectations, is likely the most significant. Moving from a developed country like the United States, where you’re likely living the “rat race,” to a more relaxed country like Costa Rica, would be like night and day. Because of the slower pace of life, the culture shock will be more severe, than if one were to move from a similar but neighboring country, such as Panama, to Costa Rica. The most common oversight in this regard is a lack of commitment, to the country over a sustained period of time, which is necessary for successful cultural integration. Consider that you have recently relocated to Costa Rica, and that the first few months have been enjoyable. You’ve officially entered the “honeymoon” phase of your move.
Third reason. The 3rd major issue is connected to the first, in that it involves people’s unrealistic expectations of the cost of living. It’s possible that they’ve made Costa Rica out to be the promised land, a place where all your problems will be solved, and you’ll live a better, more affordable, more beautiful, and more exciting life.
Fourth reason. Concerns about health care were the fourth most common complaint, which we found surprising given, Costa Rica’s stellar international reputation in this area. The country’s reputation as a top destination for medical tourists, is an integral part of its marketing strategy. Thus, it came as a surprise to us when people said, they were leaving Costa Rica due to health concerns.
Fifth reason. The fifth most common reason was the importance of family, which made us pretty down. To us, this suggests that people waited until a certain point in their lives, such as retirement in Costa Rica, before deciding they wanted to prioritize, spending time with their loved ones.
Sixth reason. Crime rates. When compared to other developed nations, such as the United States, Costa Rica ranks 32nd on the Global Peace Index. Therefore, Costa Rica is quite a peaceful and secure country. It’s important to note that this in no way discounts, the existence of crime or other issues. We have also learned that not all criminal activity is reported. It is unclear whether the teco times, an English-language newspaper or la nacion, the largest Spanish-language newspaper, purposefully omits coverage of events in the expat community. Crime against expatriates is likely more common than is commonly believed.
Seventh reason. The next topic brought up was how everyone was complaining, about the same problems they were having with other expats, and online communities. Thus, it saddened us to consider that, some expats who had enthusiastically anticipated their move to Costa Rica, now find themselves dissatisfied with their new home. However, when talking to other expats, who are considering or have recently moved to Costa Rica, they tend to have a negative outlook on life there.
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It’s better here than living in communist Canada.
Move to another country, you have to commitment, is bad with people have high expectations and they dont see nothing good at all. Costa Rica is experience, yes. But they never think there’s actually People live in a place they use for vacacion.
To the narrator… you are pronouncing Costa Rica incorrectly. The "Cost" in "Costa" Rica is pronounced more like the English version of the same word "Coast" and not the English word "Cost". Say it like "coast-uh ree-kuh".
The problem is the idealization of the places as a customized consumption object. There’s an specific context everywhere
Racism.. the fact that they want to charge people from.the United States more for activities here but they don’t do that in the United States to us. Expensive food and not as good quality. Traffic and uncourteous people. Driving is unbearable and the conditions of the roads are no match for the United States. Everything in Costa Rica is expensive and it’s a knockoff
I’m a local Costa Rican, I’ve seen a lot of American immigrants come and go, and the story goes like this: they move in with high expectations, they don’t really mix in with their neighbors, don’t mix in with the culture, don’t speak the language, love the nature, but as soon as a grasshopper shows in their porche, they star panicking and running in circles like the apocalypses, they expect everything to be cheap, and Costa Rica can be cheap, but it is not cheap if you try to replicate your city-conveniences life style in a rural country side and because they are in a rural zone, they feel like they can do anything like drugs or go above the speed limit, the police stop them, they bribe them, and then complain about rampant bribery.
My advice would be to learn basic stuff first, language and how locals live, and if you still interested, try to do like us the locals do: Live near a city, so you don’t lose you conveniences, at this point most immigrants would say "why would i move from my city to another city, nothing would change" but that’s were the difference lies, Costa Rica is a small country, even if you live right in downtown, you still 50 minutes away from mountains, rivers and even beaches, we locals can take a bus directly to the beach if we want to, so a round trip to the beach can cost as low as 20 dollars because you don’t even need to pay for a hotel when your house is 30 miles away (and yes, i live in downtown Alajuela, and it is 30 miles from the beach), learn to cook gallopinto which is notoriously easy to make, and casado, you’ll have your breakfast and dinner right there for 1,5 dollars a plate.
At the end of the day, we locals can live a very comfortable and happy life with less than 1500 dollars a month, but the moment you eat steak and wine daily at restaurants, rent a car and an appartment right next to the beach, and buy nutella, peanut butter and cheerios (imported items), then you’ll start the expensive route of disapproving your staying here.
You are so right.
It is right, but when you move or retire any place, people need a time of adjustment: Culture, way of life, family, friends and as it says when Honey moon is over reality hit. So may sure, anywhere you go what is what you want ., a peaceful , friendly place, and nature around you or a comfortable , luxury way of life….you are the boss to decide. Crime increase when foreigners brought drugs and crime from other countries and alter the way of life there.. Friends or family are strong support to adjustment in a place. Nothing remain the same for long. Understanding, globalization hit anywhere you go. Life as we use to know had change everywhere. Also the place you choose to live, Is it good or bad, that is going to be the people around you, The question is what is what people wants? there is your answer . This video is good for the Con not the Pro
I enjoy living here and as a Black Man I feel safe. I live in different states in the US I was not safe. Life can teach you about other culture and you learn how to live different . Puerta Vida
Most people come here and try to replicate the lives they had back home, huge homes for example. It is vitally important to choose the altitude and climate that suits you. No hurricanes here that I know of. Isolating yourself in a Gringo compound can drive you insane as the homes inside those gated communities are empty more than half of a year, nobody to communicate with. Moaning about not seeing the grandchildren ??? don’t come here if thats an issue for you. I work on our property here daily, while most gringos sit around drinking all day.
very true, great info
I have a lot to say about why people leave Costa Rica. Without getting into it all right now, I will point out this much:
The Costa Rican government does a great job of marketing Costa Rica. Their marketing is mostly full of puffery.
1. Costa Rica is not a very ecological country at all that is a bald-faced lie. All you have to do is go near some of the rivers in the San José area and you can smell the stench from the river. You will also see loads of trash in the river.
If you go to one of the rivers where they offer white water rafting, you will note a lot of shacks along the river. If you ever wondered why many people go back home with parasites, and skin infections, it is because most of the homes along the rivers do not have septic tanks, so look for the 4" white PVC pipe coming from these shacks to the river’s edge. This is the black water from the toilets you are floating in.
In all of the Costa Rican towns and cities, you should notice a white PVC coming out of the curb. This is water coming from the sinks, bathtubs, and washing machines in these homes. This water also finds its way to the rivers. Plus this puddles up and this is where mosquitoes hang out. In case you wondered why there are so many cases of mosquito-borne diseases such as Malaria, dengue, and Zika, now you know.
One year I took a ferry from Puntarenas to Tortuga Island. Once we got out to the open sea, there was a floating trash dump as far as the eye could see.
Some tourists and locals who go to the beaches which have tributaries dumping into the ocean near the beach areas also can and do end up with skin and eye infections.
2. There is good reason to be concerned about the third-world healthcare system in Costa Rica. God forbid you to have to go to CAJA (the socialized medical care in Costa Rica), for medical care. First of all, most businesses as well as the government do not try to hire the best and the brightest. This also means they do not place any value on hiring bilingual speakers. So, this is going to be your first hurdle; communication. Most are too lazy to even try to use Google Translate to communicate with you, because they have poor writing skills, so whatever they want to say will get lost in translation because of spelling errors.
If you come into the emergency room with multiple issues, they will only treat the most serious of the issues. Because medical care is based on minimalism. This also means you will not receive all of the lab work or tests you would ordinarily receive from your home country. They will not have on hand the latest drugs either. This is a minimum healthcare system at best.
Another major issue is poor hygiene among the medical staff. They rarely wash their hands between patients before putting on their gloves, if they put on gloves at all. Then if they do put their gloves on, they will use their cell phone, or touch the door knobs and other dirty surfaces and proceed to examine you. This list of infractions goes on and on.
There are some good private hospitals, but these are for those with a lot of money.
3. You are right about the possibility that the local media may not be reporting on crime and providing the correct statistics because Costa Rica does not have true freedom of the press. In fact, most news outlets do not want to hear anything negative about the country and will get indignant.
4. There is a lot of systemic government corruption within the police, the courts, the government insurance company, customs and so much more. The banks are another area. UBER is another corrupt hotbed in all of Latin America. None of the governments are prepared to deal with the price gouging from UBER. UBER uses AI to rip customers off. One example is when you see a quoted price, and you order the service, but you end up being charged more. It use to be you only paid the stated price. If UBER feels they are not making enough on your trip, their system may just cancel it and if you request the ride again you will be quoted a higher price. If you happen to be like me and you take screenshots and dispute the charges. Then UBER will block all of your payment methods, stating you violated their terms and conditions.
5. Many of the people and businesses who move to Costa Rica and invest in Costa Rica do not do their due diligence. These people with more money than brains are surprised when they end up losing money in Costa Rica when they try to liquidate to move back home. You will rarely get back the price of what you purchased here because more often than not, you will have overpaid by trying to compare values here in Costa Rica to the values of where you came from. Plus there is no Multiple Listing here so you can compare prices locally. When it comes to real estate, Costa Rica is the wild wild west.
When I first moved to Costa Rica in 2006, I noticed a lot of ex-pat homeowners were trying to sell. Finally, I started asking why they were selling. Most cited that Costa Rica was too expensive. So they were selling to move to other Latin American countries like Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Most were taking a loss to sell.
To learn more or if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.