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Published: October 27th 2006
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I’ve been having a hard time blogging lately. The thought of not blogging anymore has been prominent. I’ve had something to say but am having trouble conveying it in a nice way. To heck with that, this is my blog and I can write whatever I want. This is a blog about our experiences in Costa Rica, the good, the bad and the ugly. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. My frustration of late is due to the people selling real estate in our area.
Many are lured to Costa Rica for the cost of living, the ability to buy property at a reasonable price and live a peaceful life at a fraction of the cost of life in the states. That’s great, it’s why we moved. Part of my frustration is that I’m going thru the “I’m here so close the doors and don’t let anyone else in” syndrome. I can get over that as I’m sure some of the people moving may eventually become friends of ours, who knows, after this blog, maybe not. That’s the easy part to get over.
Tougher to stomach is the shear number and type of people moving to the
area. We found our paradise in San Ramon, the quiet, simple country town suits us well. We’ve made friends and are happy here. There is nothing we want to change about San Ramon. We’ve adapted to the Tico lifestyle. We don’t long for the way of life we left behind. We are happy to be living in a culture that is driven by relationships and not the almighty dollar. We live on a small pension that allows us not to have to earn a living here. That isn’t true for many who have or will move here.
Many who move here need to make money. The easiest way is to sell real estate. Next comes operating a B&B or running relocation, adventure and retirement tours. If you doubt me, just look thru the other travelblogs on this free site used to advertise their businesses. Everyone needs money to live, I get that. Making an honest living is one thing, boasting about making money off of other people makes me sick. I hated it in the states and even more here because in many cases it is the Tico who gets the short end of the stick and the foreigner
Pamepering does wonders for the soul
Callista and I did manicures, pedicures and Reiki recently to help get rid of negative energy. who makes out like a bandit. An example of this occurred the other day when we happened to be in the presence of several real estate people. I listened to a discussion about purchasing a piece of property for $5,000 and the possibility of selling it to future visitors for up to $60,000. For most newcomers it may not seem like a bad deal unless you know how much the realtor paid a Tico for it.
Another reason for my frustration of late, at our local market the other day I heard more English than Spanish. I didn’t move here to live in an American community. I moved here to get away from them and their money hungry ideals and live amongst the Tico’s and their culture. If I wanted to live near Americans in Costa Rica I would’ve chosen to live in Escazu or another Americanized community. We were told by a new realtor in the area he’s hoping to initiate the ‘pub crawl’ in San Ramon, one bar, one drink until you crawl home. WHY? In my opinion, San Ramon is just fine the way it is. If you want to instigate something why not something that
helps the culture instead of promoting the negative? The bars here are not close together so that means “WE” will have to add drunken Americans to our list of things to watch out for on the roads when driving.
To sum things up and hopefully put this issue to rest in my head I’d like to say I, we do not and will not endorse any tours, hotels, B&B’s or real estate people. After a great deal of consideration I’ve decided to continue telling our story including our experiences with tours or hotels but they are our experiences not endorsements. While we’re still happy to meet any blog readers who’d like to get to know us while in the area we will not accept invitations to meet at your hotels. Please respect our lives here and understand that we are working to develop our lives in a foreign country according to our values and do not wish invite the negative energy I associate with people selling Costa Rica.
Please remember these are my feelings, one persons opinion. It is not my intent to offend anyone. If someone is offended perhaps they need to do a little soul searching
One of Bill's girlfriends
Who knew he had such a way with cows? themselves. As for me, I'll do my part to steer clear of money hungry people so blog readers won't have to read my rants about them anymore.
Hasta Luego,
Jen
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Saratica
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Hear, hear. Although we are moving to Escazu to be nearer the theatre, I hear exactly what you are saying. As a former real estate broker, what those people are talking about is speculation: buying property solely to make money on the appreciation. Sickening that they would take advantage of the locals this way and so blatantly. Couldn't they at least have the decency to be slightly ashamed of their behavior? Unfortunately for them, luckily for you, they are on the wrong side of the curve on this idea... Anyone who jumps into the speculation game at this period in history is going to be burned unless they are very, VERY lucky. Just my dos colones. Which I earned thru hard hard experience. BIG HUG. Come visit me in Escazu when you need a gringo fix... or anytime! xoxos.