What To Expect When You Are New To Costa Rica
I came to Costa Rica 2 years ago, and having been here, you sometimes forgot how you have felt when you first came. The biggest difference between Costa Rica and America to me is the people and the way of life.
Everything is slower here. People have less of a sense of urgency. It’s good, but it can be frustrating when you’re doing business.
People here are not as pressured by financial obligations, debts or whatever we in America have accepted as normal and will not let anything related to work stress them out. Touristic areas are very defferent from the ones that are rural or just average towns. In the typical Costa Rican towns, everyone is laid back. Most of those places are very safe, but when you flash too much money or belongings of value, you can attract thieves.
Unfortunately high tourism areas like San Jose, Tamarindo, Santa Teresa and Montezuma has a crowd of outlaws who will try to hustle you if you let them.
Although prostitution is not legal, you find this everywhere, and drugs are cheap and if you are a single guy, you will be solicitated. Santa Teresa and Montezuma are not so much about prostitution, but drug usage is high and many of the locals grow up experiencing the sale of drugs as an easier and faster way to make money than working for $1.50 an hour.
This post is not about pointing fingers or putting blame. Many tourists come here for that so the locals often learn to meet their needs.
A friend of mine was a tour guide in Tamarindo, and needless to say he constantly had requests from clients to provide them with whatever they want, so if you don’t want to be bothered with anything, just use your instinct who to avoid and don’t allow people to know your weak spots, because they will spot it.
Costa Rica has great climate. The beach areas are warm, day or night, the inland areas can be a little cold at night and from November to May the sun usually shines non-stop.
The rainy season is something else though. Tiring. You watch the rain pour down and hear the thunder explode. Never in my life have I experienced as much rain as I have here. Sometimes it’s so bad that the roads look like rivers and the town looks like Venice, Italy.
In the picture above you can see sunset in Tamarindo.
by Mike Dammann.
So Mike, after two years down there what do you think? Do you plan to stay forever?
For a while til our business runs autopilot enough for me to leave whereever life takes me next.
Prostitution is NOT legal in Costa Rica. Did you miss the huge banner right after baggage claim saying that prostitution can send you to jail?
Thank you for pointing out. We have made the necessary correction.
Costa Rica, the banner said that having intimate relations with anybody under 18 will get you prison time, but didn´t see anything about prostitution. How can it not be legal with so many establishments legally operating as a John meets Hoe sort of place?