80% of Americans Leave Costa Rica in Two Years 🇨🇷
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- čas přidán 10. 07. 2024
- American Expats moving to Costa Rica have an exceptionally high failure rate with nearly all deciding to give up on Costa Rica, if not being an expat entirely, within the first two years! Eight percent leave the country before even fully settling in. Is the same thing happening to expats who move to Nicaragua? If not, why is it different?
#costarica #expat #nicaragua
This is a reaction video and response to Grace Covington's recent video: • Why Americans are leav...
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26 June 2024
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Chapters
0:00 Responding to Grace
4:16 Lack of Research
8:15 The Default Country
9:17 Other Countries Have Research
11:50 Expatting in Your Holiday Spot
15:30 Discovering Other Countries
18:55 San Juan del Sur Copying CR Problems
20:40 Nicaragua
Hola Scott. I’m planning to live in Nicaragua. I was born there but came to the US in 74’. I have been back a few times and can’t stop visualizing my retirement there. Thank you for your insight.
23:50ish reason number one I selected Nicaragua, and the volcanoes and coffee hills!
Costa rica is way too expensive and overrated
It feels like Costa Rica to Americans(+Canadians) is similar to what Hawaii is to Japanese. Something to yearn.
🤫😉
I live in CR and it can be expensive, but it really depends on where you are. That is not to say that you have to live in a shack and only eat rice and beans to survive, but rather, you just need to not be in the touristy areas and not live where all the expats congregate because that drives up the prices.
I do live in a pricey area (in terms of rent) compared to other parts of CR, however, it is still cheaper than where I came from in the US. I could not afford this home in the US. Also, my monthly expenses are low in general. Electricity, for instance, is only $45 and I live in a 3000sf house.
Last month I went to a Burger King in Costa Rica, we bought 3 whopper meals and one chicken fries and cost was $52.22 for our Burger King meal.
I think that would be about $28 in Nicaragua. BK is never cheap. But it's definitely not like that in Nicaragua. And the BK Nicaragua has a better menu that CR lost!
I FEEL as though the veggie whopper combo is $7 in Nica and the regular whopper combo is $6. But I'm not completely sure. I need to grab the prices when I'm there.
I was surprised at the high price. The BK was near Garabito a Pacific Coast beach a couple hours drive from San Jose. After I paid the bill and did the Colon to USD conversion and I was shocked and thought this was more expensive than U.S. Burger Kings.
You paid the Five Guys price for Burger King. I still think it's Burger King's fault because we have what's called Bicmac index to figure out the cost relevance around the world.
Went to Walmart in San Jose too and prices seemed equivalent to U.S. prices, maybe even more for clothing items. Bought jackets for the Tica bus ride back to Nicaragua because the Tica bus AC was freezing on the trip to Costa Rica.
14:30ish…😂😂😂
Why go somewhere to make it just like the mess you left behind??? Why go to Costa Rica, Nicaragua or anywhere else and try to make it in the image of Palm Beach?? That is always my question. Stay there, please, just stay there.
A large number of expats look to go to a 'cheaper' location and try to live like relative kings. Then they realize they need to re-construct their new destination in order for it to afford them all the luxuries and conveniences to offer they voluntarily they left behind. When the provision of of those luxuries, services and conveniences suddenly means prices go up (SURPRISE!!!), they leave... leaving behind a dumpster fire expat-centric economy that was predicated on their spending as well as an economy no local can now reasonably afford. I make no excuses for despising the ultra-rich and the arrogant for going places and ruining them... and then leaving!. Costa Rica is a prime example of that paradigm. My fear is that the expat-cancer known as San Juan del Sur with its gated luxury homes, its private clinics and salons, clubs that do not allow Nicaraguans entry, its elite Rancho Santanas, questionable seasonal visitors, drugs, private security, private expat , etc. will not infect the rest of Nicaragua. Cancer is the only word for it. There, got that off my chest.
My hope is that Nicaragua keeps a tight lid on incoming expats. Open enough to let those in that care, tight enough to be a filter.
My daughter and I currently live in Costa Rica (with my mom soon to join in a few months when she retires) and we have been here for almost a year. I still love it. I started doing research in the beginning of 2022 - part of which was a 12-week relocation class about moving abroad. This class was not Costa Rica specific. We also took a 2-month scouting trip in the fall of that year.
The scouting trip went well and gave me enough info to feel confident in the move. I spent the next year planning and moved late summer of 2023. Research is key and you gotta stay in Airbnbs in regular neighborhoods, not touristy towns, to get a real feel for things like how the grocery stores are...etc.. Moving to CR is the easy part. Living here is harder because it really is just so different than the US, but if you come with the right mind set, you should be ok.
Last month (remember we already live here - bought a car and everything) we also went to a relocation retreat hosted by some CR CZcamsrs Michael Alan and Sarah Elena and their whole thing is inviting speakers that talk about living in CR and how to do things. So you got residency lawyers, car brokers, healthcare experts, insurance people, construction people to explain how things work here...etc. It really makes such a difference when you have professionals to explain things as Facebook can only get you so far. LOL You also have people there to explain the culture and give you the good and the bad about CR.
We got to meet people there from different countries and at different points in their decision process to move to CR. I remember meeting a woman that realized that CR was not for her after that retreat. Another couple realized that they had a lot more planning to do. For me, I got confirmation that I was on the right track and connection with some people that could help me in the future. I would recommend that anyone do something like this retreat in the country they are considering, but most importantly do a real scouting trip for at least a month.
there are so many resources for that down there. relocation is big business in CR. that's great that there is an opportunity for that kind of planning.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog This retreat was especially good because they were not trying to sell timeshares or developments projects or anything like that. They don't actually care if you move there or not. They make money on the retreat itself and then the different professionals have the opportunity to make money in the future if you decide to move and you want to use their services.
It was a very stress-free environment and we learned a lot. it was a 6-day event that had classes every day for a few hours interspersed with vacation activities like ATV, hikes, hot springs and other stuff. Plus, all the meals were included - and it was good food. Worst case scenario, you come and have a nice vacation at the resort and decide CR is not for you. Best case it helps you make up your mind and now you have some new friends and some professional connections. Win win.
I am not that huge fan of ocean view, so I never see a reason for me to move to Tamarindo, Jaco, Uvita, etc... I have an aunt that live in Jeju island, amazing ocean view but I am like meh... I am just looking for a place that has, low tax(close to 0 more or less) on foreign source income, good health care because any Canadian can agree we have quality and efficiency problem here with healthcare.
Nicaragua has great healthcare, and zero taxes. Completely zero. So it's a pretty big win in those categories.
I guess I’m right on schedule. Been here 1.5 years and ready to head back. I tried several areas. Puerto Viejo, Escazu, Nosara and Santa Teresa. My reasons are:
1. Price. I don’t want to hear, “ it can be cheap if you live in a hut in some remote area, eat at local sodas, and take buses ect.” Every place is cheap if you choose to limit your entire lifestyle.
2. Zero culture. No music, boring generic architecture, no true community, everyone just sticks to themselves
3. Rainy season is brutal and lonely and last almost half the year
4. Trying to have a small business here is really difficult. There’s just not enough humans around year round to make it profitable enough to pay this cost of living
5. Nothing works. Electricity, internet, forget having anything shipped, mechanics, construction, ect.
6. Roads are unbelievably horrible and dangerous. Your car will get destroyed
7. There’s a feeling of apartheid here where Tico’s and gringos live completely separate from each other
8. It’s honestly just kind of flavorless. I guess they’ve just become a place to zip line, surf mediocre waves, ride ATV’s and walk around the jungle. There’s really not much outside of that. You can find a fun rodeo or cultural event once or twice a year, out in places like Nicoya or Santa Cruz but all and all there’s no Latin American flavor like you see in Mexico Colombia Peru etc. I guess they lost most of it when they decided to go all in on being a eco tourism country catering to gringos.
Good feedback for sure. Before you head back to Canada, have you visited Nicaragua? Literally every item on that list is completely different. It's actually cheap, it's loaded with culture, small business is IMPOSSIBLE (not really, but insanely hard, but life is so cheap the need for it is totally different), our infrastructure is great (including power, Internet and roads), apartheid is less but not zero, and boring, heck no!
Now I hope people don't get offended when I say this but anybody moving to someplace without investigating first is just plain stupid
"Just plain stupid" is definitely a good description of the majority of people doing just about anything, but moving to a new country is included :)
Costa Rica is too damn expensive. Not the paradise people expect.
they must expect the high prices right? that's SO what they are known for and that's SO easy to check from abroad.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog good point. I was coming from Nicaragua by invitation from a friend. I guess staying in Nicaragua ruined me with the good food, fresh produce and reasonable transport.
It is expensive relative to other ex-pat options. It is a geographical paradise based on it's saturated flora and fauna and two coasts. Paradise is relative, and I've seen the best representations in Fiji, Brazil. all d SE Asia, and Costa Rica is up there. I don't live there, but got ten days in Puerto Viejo beach house this Oct in Punta Uva. I prefer it more than the Andaman. I comfortably live in the U.S. and not going the ex-pat route.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Exactly! That's why research is important. People are reading International Living articles and watching videos on CZcams talking about some random person's cheap rent and they expect to find the same thing. Cheap places do exist, but people often come here thinking that they are going to duplicate their lives from the US, but just expect that it will be cheaper, and they get mad that it's not.
You gotta find these cheaper places. You gotta know people. You gotta recognize that it might not be in the area that you want or close to the amenities that you think you need. You have to be willing to sacrifice in some cases. People need to know that goods are more expensive here because CR doesn't really manufacture much, so everything is imported.
You will save money on food if you eat local. My electric bill is super low because I don't need central air. There are ways to live a full life here and not break the bank, but you have to have a plan or you will be shocked, disappointed and end up going back home or somewhere else with your tail between your legs.
Actually, I have some pretty conclusive evidence that I CAN spend my life in a state of decision paralysis 😂😂.
Im from Panama, and Costa Rica is way more expensive than my country. Beautiful landscapes and people, but way overpriced.
I lived in Panama almost ten years ago and even then we thought of Panama as not "rock bottom", but very affordable and Costa Rica as a hefty cost premium.
Costa Rica has hidroelectric, geothermal, solar, wind. And right now is investing in increasing solar, wind, geothermal and wind. Actually, Costa Rica has always sold electricity to Nicaragua.
Everyone sells to everyone for redundancy. Nicaragua sells to everyone all the way up to Mexico.
I found that Costa Rica was too “Americanized” for my liking.
This is what gets me. This is why it was never on my radar. However, I'd say that the nature of Costa Rica, and how insanely well known it is as THE go to American travel destination, that this keeps people like you and me from considering it, but actually makes it more attractive to the people who actually go there. People who end up in Costa Rica do so either because they specifically desire that aspect of it, or they know nothing about the world and just want to not be in the US and that also makes being Americanized desireable to them. So while this keeps people like us from going there, I doubt that it negatively impacts people who move there as it's hard to imagine what profile would choose Costa Rica AND then be unhappy about it being so Americanized.
Costa Rica has rural tourism. For example, Cartago that has places like Turrialba, Orosi, Ujarràs. Or places like San Gerardo de Dota, Santa Maria de Dota, Chirripó. Or the indigenous people in Buenos Aires de Puntarenas. Also, the little islands like isla Venado, isla Chira, isla chiquita. Among many other places.
I think that CR is a good transitional country for people who have never lived outside of the US. It's a good place to up your Spanish proficiency and get your feet wet in a Latin American country. Things are just familiar enough to not be too scary, but foreign enough that you know you are somewhere else. The further away you move from the capital or the touristy areas, the better opportunity that you have to integrate into society. I have more Tico friends than expat friends and that is by choice.
Eighty percent of the people who leave Costa Rica within two years do so becaude they didn't research the place before htey moved there. It took you a half hour to say that.
It took everyone else forever to never say it, hence the video. :)
Someone at 6:50 might need their glands expressed. I use Pure Pumpkin from the can by E.D. Smith. Has helped considerably.
My glands aren't THAT noticeable!
I wish I could explain to my family how non-violent Nicaragua is, but they just don't want to listen. Thank you very much, Scott.
I think it's generally that they know the truth, they just don't like what it means :(
Too many people's world views depend on places like Nicaragua being failures, dangerous, etc.
The manufactured 'negative' image may, in fact, be Nicaragua's saving grace in the long run...
@@kevinadams9468 it’s all good. Let’s keep it a secret!
Yes Scott, hundreds of Nortamericans (Us and Canadians) leave Costa Rica because MOST come blinded that Costa Rica is CHEAPER, life is easier, etc. then they don´t know Spanish and can´t cope with the Latin lifestyle because they yearn the US lifestyle, that´s the way it turns out for many. However many others who learn to adjust STAY and enjoy life here. It is OK if they go to Nicaragua it is fine and excellent. nicaragua is nice, has it´s own lifestyle, but I prefer the healthier and cleaner lifestyle here. I hope you enjoy your life in that brotherly country. I can´t support the strict despotic government laws there
what strict laws? what would you want to do that you can't?
Crickets…
Ecotourism and Agritourism have driven the Eco-expats and Agri-expats movement in Costa Rica. Most find that being away from their support systems and away from city infrastructure is very difficult. Also, farming isn't as easy, especially in an unfamiliar environment. I know several people who did a Costa Rica expat roundtrip. Most lasted only a few years. A few lasted only months.
Yeah, farming where you are used to things is hard. Farming elsewhere is REALLY hard.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog The craziest is people who move to Costa Rica to work on someone else's farm. I know several younger people who thought that was going to be a successful path.
@@dontimoteo2416 lol, omg.
Read in media that due yo waterlevels in reservoir are low and electrical is intermittent. Green energy is ideology driven seems that base load is being ignored. Nica uses (ive read) is close to 50% oil for its base electrical load.
Figures are all over. But it looks to be a fraction of that. there's green power everywhere and constant growth.
Thats why i am so interested in grocery stores. Jamaica gocery was horrible . Stay month and mainly live on patties and jerk pits. Fresh produce almost non existent
Nicaragua is a massive food production country. We're good sovereign and a food exporter.
One thing Costa Rica excels at is having good quality fresh produce. Since living here, I've lost over 20lbs with no effort. Just eating healthy and having fresh food available at reasonable prices makes all the difference. Like we don't eat any canned vegetable anymore since being here. It's incredible!
My choice now would be Pereira Colombia.....
You must be watching GenERIC Expats, he's been living there for many months.
80% of the people that view Scott's videos leave in two minutes of him talking non-stop!
It's true! THe stats support it.
Hi Scott , I always enjoy your Vlog. I haven't been able to find an international bank in Nicaragua. Can you tell me how foreigners bank.
Most of the banks in Nicaragua are international. BAC for example. But very few foreigners do any banking in Nicaragua. As a foreigner, it's uncommon to want to do Nicaraguan banking. When you do it, you rarely do anything international. No need for an international bank.
I should of been more specific. If I move to Nicaragua permanently . As a foreigner my SS and retirement would be deposited there.
Happy 4th.
I don't know maybe I'm a little too thick but I would never move to a place without living there for a while to just test out the waters. That's just me I don't understand this whole conversation I think it's ridiculous
This is the BULK of how Americans (and most people) move to popular locations. In Nicaragua we see very little of this. but Costa Rica, Mexico, Philippines are LOADED with people who heard "from a friend" that it was the thing to do and they didn't look into it at all.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog i see so people tjat have no clue of what they arr doing. This is travel relocation 101. Maybe i need a more advanced option. Thank you
@faustinodibauda251 Costa Rica can be quite frustrating for people doing more research because you have SO many people there that are lost. When i am down there and talk to expats about why they chose Costa Rica, it seems quite often that the people choosing it often aren't even aware that other countries exist! they think costa rica borders the US or something. telling them about nicaragua is wild as they almost universally are totally unaware of it.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog crazy. Thanks
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog wow. Did they have High school education and know how to read a map or at least looked at an atlas?
I would say 80% of people leave central america/carribbean because you just cant get thing done and its even more difficult if you want it done properly. Just basic organization, puctuality etc. It picks away at you. People say "well thats just tge culture" but i call bs on that its just a lack of competition because theres no market for it. If youre a self sufficient person, a trade person or industrious person you will sustain and thrive from the lack of regulation, if you re used to relying on people you ll leave evetually.
Maybe that's a problem in Costa Rica. Living in Nicaragua a major benefit here is that the majority (not absolutely all) workers do things "immediately" rather than "someday when we can schedule it" like they do in North America. Living in Central America, it's so frustrating going back to the US and having to wait weeks or months for plumbers or healthcare. Why would people choose Costa Rica if that's a problem you have there, sounds like they didn't do their research (which was my point. ) I don't know that CR has that problem, but I can tell you Nicaragua is quite the opposite. It's not a universal regional problem.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog si claro! ya te creemos!
Good to know. Thanks
Oil doesn’t come from fossils. Look into it.
Hard to find that interesting enough to look into.
The only thing that Nicaragua offers more than CR is the price, and that can be mitigated by being an educated consumer in CR.
People seem to forget that Nicaragua and half of central america is under dictatorships, you are not even allowed to fly a drone, the government can disappear you at any moment if they so desire it, the only ones that are stable in this regard are Panama and CR when it comes to freedom, so that comes with a price.
"Not even allowed to fly a drone." jaja. We have SO much more freedom and safety than CR. CR has 300% more violent crime, and way more when targeting tourists. Your government has equally ability to do anything it wants, Panama just let in US military this week, and you live in a country that has no military to protect itself and relies on a foreign power to tell it what it can and can't do. Freedom does come with a price, we dont get drones. CR is a fine place, but when it comes to safety, stability, freedom... sorry, you aren't in the game. And an 'educated consumer' can mitigate your high prices, but not your violent crime, but you can't fix the high prices, just lessen it. Nicaragua gives us dramatically better safety, more freedoms (except that one ridiculous drone thing, is that REALLY all CR has to complain about, jajaja) and way lower cost of living. Sorry, but the desperation to justify living in an enclave comes through. Does CR ACTUALLY have something going for it that you are aware of (it does, but you seem to not know what it is) or just "it isn't THAT bad?" LOL
Central America has a total of one country that jokes about being under a dictatorship (El Salvador) and the rest are free. Is CR not have free media? I know that you live under constant fear that the US will punish you so you can't actually say anything. CR won't do anything to do, but CR itself isn't truly self governing, they always live under fear of US reprisal and have to placate them as the US dictates CR's military protection and foreign interactions. Technically, because of the lack of democracy in the US, and the US essentially controlling CR, it's technically kind of a dictatorship there. Where else do you perceive one? You sound like an American where they use the term "dictator" as a reference to anyone who speaks Spanish having free elections.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Lol, you cannot trust data from a dictatorship, one thing is having high crime and another is reporting it, just like countries with high suicide rate, the difference comes from the reporting of them, half of africa and asia don't consider suicides so they seem "happier", while countries that have all the good indicators, have paperwork and investigations to count a suicide.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Nicaragua tiene menos violencia ahora, porque los delincuentes los "migraron" a Costa Rica😅, es solo cosa de ver los crímenes violentos en CR y quienes los perpetran.
What do you mean "Americans"? America is a continent
Seriously? Not this again, this is crazy illiterate. Stop with the racist "Americans don't exist." I get that you want us to not be a people, but we are. It's crazy racist to say that Americans can't exist because their name is the same name as a European named continental region. Calling everyone on the continent "Americans" is a super colonial thing to 1) lump everyone in the region together as if they are one people and 2) eliminate their identities and see them purely as a distant people to be colonized by Europeans.
The official, and ONLY, name in English for people from the United States of America is "Americans." That's it. If you EVER make a statement like you did, it's horribly racist and it will not be tolerated. You can dislike America all you want, but to simply "wish" 350 million people to not exist because your a racist isn't okay. The United States of "Mexico", "Colombia", etc. all get called Mexicans, Colombians, etc. You don't complain about those even though Mexico covered all of North America or Colombia equally is used for the entire continental area. Why aren't you complaining that those countries are doing the exact same kind of thing? Oh yeah, because it's not an honest complaint, it's straight up anti-anglofilia
Also, in English, America is NOT the continent, that's what it is in Spanish and Americans have a different name in Spanish.
czcams.com/video/ZfjSYrLSeio/video.html
Or did you forget, even though you live in Mexico, that Costa Ricans are equally Colombians, Mexicans and Americans. You don't get to be Mexican then. Doesn't insane, doesn't it?
What a stupid comment, question. What are you 7?
Been going to CR for ages. The mentality from tourist operators was Gringos have money and overcharged for years. Going forward, it's can be not expensive with due diligence. It's not as cheap as Thailand with less hassles. I doubt this dude will be missed if he opts out.
"This dude" being Grace who lives there for years and is pointing out the problems? LOL
You'll notice that the cost wasn't the factor. I feel like you didn't understand 1) the concept of the video and 2) that it was a response to a video from a permanent Costa Rican resident. LOL
You kind of exemplified the example case.
You also didn't move there, so you are the same... not missed.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog I lived there for work only 9 months and I only presented a singular issue. I live in Miami Beach., which also has a two yr rule. Visited CR 50 x since I was 5 and count experience and relationships of a large family which includes magistrates and a former president. This goes way back before Nicas came in huge numbers and F'd it up. . .. Seems "this dude" got it figured out under Ortega.
I so wish you would travel to Venezuela. Things are turning in the country and it would be very interesting to hear your opinion and your experience in that country. I keep hoping😊
Thank you Scott for the wealth of information in each video 👌
It's on my list, I really want to go soon. One of my best friends is Venezuelan and when things were bad she wouldn't let me go. But now she says it's fine. Maybe I'll make it yet this year once my residencia is finalized up here. It's so close and we have Conviasa here now, but they don't do direct flights to Caracas :(
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog GREAT!!!!!! I'm so glad to hear!!!👏👏👏
Can't wait!
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog can't believe Conviasa doesn't fly direct to Caracas!!😳
@@marilucorracini550 Right? Maybe someday. For now, just Havana.
I was in Bolivia last year. So much fun.