You got me, easycr. I admit not doing my homework here. I do stand by my contention that 'justice' is arbitrary here, a conclusion many of your statements would seem to support. I could have chosen other cases to support my opinion, but you are correct in that I was lazy. Unlike AM Costa Rica and Inside Costa Rica, I don't pretend to be a journalist. I give opinions. Give me an 'F' for my lack of research. It doesn't seem like you disagree with the idea that justice here is arbitrary and not really just. I could definitely have done a better job of supporting my contention.

It's not just you, Michael Allen. The culture here is MUCH too tolerant of incompetence and laziness.

pharg,

I touched on latitude but should have been more explicit. It is Costa Rica's latitude that keeps the amount of incoming sunlight very equable year round, as opposed to higher latitudes, which vary more the farther from the Equator they are.pharg,

Interesting theory, but I wonder why cocaine trafficking would create a demand for Colones. My OWN theory (soon to be available in my OWN blog :)) is a bit different and has it's roots in the Great Depression. Stay tuned kids!

Dear Rain-Child,

If you are implying that I don't do anything to help poor people here, you know nothing about what I am doing. I don't volunteer for feel good projects while I stay in 5 star resorts. I would wager that a much larger percentage of my disposable income goes to directly helping families than any other gringos you care to name. I am not impressed with most gringo do-gooders. They almost always have some agenda or are on some ego trip. They want to impose their beliefs (religious, dietary, whatever) on the locals before they open up their pocketbooks.

And Simon is the only one on American Idol who told the truth and didn't sugar coat it, as far as I am concerned.

Cy... I try my best to avoid BS, at least the usual kind you find on internet. I am working on my own brand.

Easy, I'm glad you had good luck. I can't say whether I am exaggerating or not since I don't have any statistics of how many people are happy with their real estate experiences here versus those who aren't. I do live with a real estate agent and I am close friends with several developers. I have watched some totally insane things here that could just not happen in the USA. True that there are plenty of problems in the USA too. I have bought and sold 4 houses in the USA without any real problems, and I have seen so many hassles here that from my point of view it's not comparable. Still, if you buy the right kind of property, i.e., a going condo, you are probably going to be just fine. If you buy undeveloped land... a very different story. But I'm glad your purchase was trouble free.

Hope is not a plan. I've seen so many similar scenarios played out both here and back in the USA. I even did it myself a few times on a small scale, tried ventures, invested a little cash and fell flat on my face (back when I was young).

A good friend went there to eat their supposedly ace breakfast. His eggs were 1/2 salt, the bacon raw and the 'toast' had been buttered and put on the grill to cook. I don't know anybody who can't cook bacon and eggs, but somehow these guys didn't. And they open a restaurant? oy vay.

I could tell some stories about some other failed businesses here... but I'll save it for a blog entry of my own.

I can't wait to try to take a taxi with 2 or 3 friends and have one of them have to sit in the mandatory child safety seat. Perhaps the taxi drivers will simply carry the seats in their trunks, and refuse to pick up anyone with a child. Laws generally have unintended consequences, and in Costa Rica you can generally count on the fact that those who pass the laws never bothered their well groomed heads about the consequences of any law they pass. If it looks good on paper, pass it!

According to a paper published by the International Monetary Fund, Costa Rica”s “informal” economy comprised around 42% of GDP. Some can see it as a law and order issue, which it is, in part. On the other hand, exactly where are the jobs for these people going to come from in the 'formal' economy? Intel, who account for 20% of Costa Rica's exports, has a workforce of a little over 3000 employees.

The government could crack down hard on these street merchants. But if they do, they shouldn't be surprised by pushback. They shouldn't expect the giant mass of underemployed to go quietly back to their shanties and watch each other starve to death. It might be the law abiding thing to do, but don't count on it happening.
http://www.usexpatcostarica.com/2009/11/informal-...