Where to Live?

dwmte7 says on Jun 17, 2008, 13:26:

duh...if you know them both, HOW COULD THERE POSSIBLY BE A PROBLEM IN CHOICE? for every aspect of living it's colombia. financially, it's half price unless you want to live like a capo in a highrise condo. for food, culture, ladies, music, family, finca, everything...colombia generally and antioquia specifically.

come on down.....................

dwmte

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Gator says on Jun 17, 2008, 14:39:

Both Mrs. Gator and I thought CR sucked. Too damn small-Bogotá has about 4.000.000 more people than CR. Friends tell us it is expensive and there is a big unreported crime problem.

Colombia with out a doubt.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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jonny305 says on Jun 17, 2008, 14:42:

wait i enjoed Costa rica San jose
iguazu nice area
great weather
pura vida!!

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Gator says on Jun 17, 2008, 14:45:

O.K. But would you want to LIVE in San José?

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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badboy says on Jun 17, 2008, 15:05:

Dollars go further in Costa Rica. San Jose suburbs can be very nice.

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wendell13 says on Jun 17, 2008, 15:09:

Colombia is getting to be pricey unless you want to live like the natives.

To each his own but the weather in Bogota is terrible

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billyb says on Jun 17, 2008, 15:15:

"Unless you want to live like the natives"? isn't that the purpose of moving elsewhere? If not, why just not stay home?

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sloopskipper says on Jun 17, 2008, 16:06:

I see a lot of stories about increasing crime in Costa Rica, from here in Panamá. True?

We probably have more visibility than most other places.

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george jung says on Jun 17, 2008, 16:56:

From here in Colombia, if you are gringo, please move to El Salvador,Costa Rico or Panama, where all the old folks are moving, better for your pension and retirement future.

"Men and fish are alot alike, when they open their mouths, they both get in trouble"

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Sam Salmon says on Jun 17, 2008, 16:59:

Spent enough time in CR to know that Colombia offers a lot more variety and it's variety that's the spice of life.

' a la orden!'

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badboy says on Jun 17, 2008, 17:10:

hiker: have you considered mexico? I generally spend 3-4 months a year in mazatlan. very nice beaches and very reasonable cost of living. it's easy to avoid the touristy area if you don't like that. people there are very friendly and the women very pretty. they like gringos but you need to develop a good social circle to get to know them. limited spanish is ok. a very safe place compared to other areas of mexico. you can relax there and not worry about major security threats.

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Sam Salmon says on Jun 17, 2008, 17:13:

Mexico is a wonderful place spent much more time there than CR or Colombia combined.

Crime is arcing out of control now and not just the drug wars kidnapping is becoming huge.

Better food than either place though hands down.

' a la orden!'

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quantum says on Jun 17, 2008, 18:25:

Alright let me get my pesos worth in there. I lived in Costa Rica for 11 yrs and it is undeniably a beautiful little country. But I had to eventually move on down south of the border to Panama where things generally work a whole lot better at about half the cost and a fraction of the grief. Costa Rica has prettier girls as does Colombia but at the end of the day even thats not enuff to swing it. I just got back from 2 weeks in Colombia and once again had a great time and met some great people, Colombians and travelers but was shocked at price levels. Between inflation in Col and devalued $ u just dont get bang for the buck anymore. And besides theres just too many people in Colombia. I felt overwhelmed by the masses and the traffic and the garbage on the coast are worse than Panama or Costa Rica. Small is beautiful. Panama has its problems, current govt. certainly being one of them, but at 3 million pop and half the cost or less (usually) than either Colombia or C.R. it still ranks as one of the principal retirement destinations in the world, which with Colombias current situation, certainly cant lay claim to, and Costa R. is fighting to rejoin the ranks, but the buracracia is a monster, taxes are high, land prices have skyrocketed and they still dont fix the roads to any acceptab le level . Panama, outside of overrated Panama City is an eazy deal, people tranquila, beaches, surf, fishing, diving, mountains, hotsprings, crystal clear rivers and waterfalls and maybe even a few slim pretty muchachas. Jamaica on the caribbean or more spanish flavor on the pacific and gorgeous fantasy islands off shore on both sides. All things considered and weighed, Panama still takes it. You can still buy fertile black gold tierra for $6,000 to $12,000 a hect, with rivers and trees and titles and views. Come on down.......Im glad to be home, although there are definately some aspects of Colombia that I would like to bring with me......hope this helps!

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Gator says on Jun 17, 2008, 18:44:

Rubito-they have night life now? Wow!!!!!!!!!!!

The food is very ordinary, unless of course you like gallo pinto three times a day. BUT, I will say the chicken roasted over coffee wood is the best I have ever had.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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Cerealkiller says on Jun 18, 2008, 01:12:

If I was to retire Id probably go for CR. Little nice house in Escazu, awesome retaurants, not only gallo pinto, unless you can't afford to eat out, lots of green activities, beaches very close, great hotels, CR is not as expensive as it used to be...that is a myth. CR was more expensive back in 2000, they have become more restrictive on who leaves and who stays and unless you have a million dollars to invest chances are you will have a hard time getting papers to relocate. CR has great schools for people who want to raise their children closer to the American Style...and yes there is a crime problem but I am afraid to say most killings are amongst colombians and most domestic violence happens amongst Nicaraguans. Ticos are okay, but there is a very high incidence of alcoholism...i always found that to be very strange.

If I was to get a job as a young adult I'd choose Bogota, over any city in Colombia and CR. But I understand retirees are a completely different target group when compared to regular transplants.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

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Leeroy says on Jun 18, 2008, 02:43:

Cost of living can be deceptive in Colombia. Local things can be very cheap (local beer, food, whatever) - but imported luxuries (TVs, cars) can be prohibitively expensive.

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webmanco says on Jun 18, 2008, 04:33:

CK
more restrictive on who leaves

...A yo, déjenme queto y no me jodan má! ...

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Cerealkiller says on Jun 18, 2008, 06:01:

wow, what was I thinking? I meant more restrictive on who enters the country. Thanks web.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

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billyb says on Jun 18, 2008, 06:15:

jeje, CK momentarily got CR confused with Cuba ;)

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dwmte7 says on Jun 18, 2008, 06:18:

if one can give up the fast paced, fast lane living akin to poblado in medellin and live up country, out of the craziness and boredom, life is very cheap in colombia.

dwmte

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billyb says on Jun 18, 2008, 06:24:

"life is very cheap in colombia"

In more ways than one.

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Cerealkiller says on Jun 18, 2008, 07:17:

it was a freudian slip Billyb hahaha I enjoyed my years in CR, really. But I after leaving, I haven't looked back , or wished I could turn back time... I am planning holidays there soon, but I dont think I could live there unless I suddenly find myself tired and over the age of 55.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

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billyb says on Jun 18, 2008, 07:38:

CK, how long ago did you live in CR and was it for school? Or just play?

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Cerealkiller says on Jun 18, 2008, 08:38:

I lived in CR until January 2003, I spent a good 8 or so years there, although Id spend 4 months of the year in Colombia. I have been back a couple of times since then. My parents used to live there, now they pull a half and half...

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

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billyb says on Jun 18, 2008, 08:42:

Has CR changed much since you lived there regularly?

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Cerealkiller says on Jun 18, 2008, 08:52:

Oh yes, waaaay too much. See when i first moved to CR there was only one mall in San Jose, and it was quite shitty. Finding decent houses or flats was an ordeal, and finding decent hotels was close to impossible... There were some nice ones in areas where the locals used to visit (Ticos are for the most part very parochial, they don't travel, don't know where anything is, have never head of beaches 100 kms from where they live, its a bit odd), but to be honest the nicest places are a bit further along the coast and contrary to Colombia, the most popular beaches are on the pacific not the Atlantic...The development Costa Rica has undergone in the past 10 -12 years is something unprecedented in Latin America. Seriously, every time I go there is something new, a huge ass mall, a new huge eco park, just when you thought they had ran out of places...its ridiculous, for a country that small there is plenty of stuff to explore and do if you're that kind of person. Otherwise, you will end up doing the same thing over and over, and CR is a small country its easy to get bored if you are not on top of all things new... Sadly, it is a country that caters for foreigners or rich ticos, regular tico folk have no clue about anything.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

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billyb says on Jun 18, 2008, 09:02:

Cool, thanks.

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sanandressi says on Jun 19, 2008, 11:54:

Antigua, Guatemala and David, Panama if not Panama City. San Andres Island. Valle de Los Angeles on the outskirts of Tegucugalpa in Honduras. Quito, Ecuador if you need a big city. Costa Rica? Turrialba.

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dwmte7 says on Jun 19, 2008, 12:45:

sanasdressi...i agree about guatemala and the places you mentioned. unfortunately, when GOD made and passed out women--pretty ones--somehow he overlooked guatemala. i did textile research there many years ago.

dwmte

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dwmte7 says on Jun 19, 2008, 14:06:

heh, rubi....is it just old age, status quo, or????, but i love all that unnecessary crap. i sit out in the cow pasture with my lap top and pass my day away. no bad karma there.

e.e. cummings pretty much summed up my ageing posture in his line, "...i'm an old man in a dry month, being read to by a boy, waiting for rain....". thus, he.

FYI... maybe you already know this, but when and where i grew up, years ago, we had these funky carnivals which roamed from hick town to hick town and from no were to agricultural backwaters, plying their oft times miserable lives. when ever anyone f****d with the carnies, they would cry out, "hey rube" and that was the 'call to arms' for other carnies to come to their assistance/rescue.

dwmte

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jmbone says on Jun 22, 2008, 07:35:

Regarding real estate asking prices in Cartagena, Paul Juan, Broker, recently completed a study based on price per sq. ft. at: http://www.cartagenarealty.com/analisisdeprecios.html

Understand that Paul specializes in Strata 4,5,6 and waterfront properties, AND that these are asking prices.

An interesting report that may give you some ideas.

Enjoy Cartagena

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webmanco says on Jun 22, 2008, 16:58:

Today I got into a bus, in Bogotá, since I was with a dog I the bus driver oppened the backdoor of the bus, I got in went with the dog to the front and pay the fare, went back to the back side and sat quietly with dog on the floor.

Then a guy who looked like a hippy got in the bus and since he looked weird for some bus passenger he muttered it looks like you had seen a ghost, then went and sat near me and the dog. We chat a little. The guy lives in Costa Rica, it has been 9 years since he left and is visiting his family, mom and dad, but is going back to CR where he lives and is married to a Tica.

Talking about colombians commiting crime there, he said that maybe a few do, but what happes is that CR criminals learn to talk "colombian" and when they commit thier crimes they go like, "deme todo su dinero parcerito" and so on.

What he did pointed out is that a few Nicaraguans do commit the most horrendous crimes, violations and else. The guy also said if it where not for Panama being taken from Colombia we would be neighbors with Costa Rica, and that San Andres Islas is closer to Nicaragua than Colombia. The guy does tatooes and will be visiting UK soon.

He had seen graffitys in CR saing USA usa Ticos.

...A yo, déjenme queto y no me jodan má! ...

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