I guess because I had my fill of tourist traps having grown up in one - Myrtle Beach, S. C. - I've always lived in Costa Rica locations where local culture predominates.
My first decade was spent in the Central Valley area, where the capitol city of San Jose is located. I ran a tourism company for many years, offering packages that included diverse locations. I thought I should live close to the place my customers would be first arriving to. And back then that was the San Jose international airport.
But after ten years enduring the hustle and bustle of the big city, I decided to move to Perez Zeledon.
Perez has mountains (highest in the country), a relatively large city (San Isidro de El General) and it is close to the beach (less than an hour from Dominical).
Like San Jose, Perez for the most part is largely local. Yes there are lots of expats scattered around one of the largest counties (or cantons) of the country. But we are fairly well immersed amongst the locals.
In fact, there really are no locations where expats seem to outnumber locals in Perez. Perhaps with the exception of Los Angeles de Rivas, a section of the district of Rivas that lies along the scenic Chirripo River.
For some reason, expats have flocked to that place. As a result, locals have been complaining about increasing gentrification.
There are many expats who claim that gentrification is a non-issue. That rampant expat migration to and development in a particular area actually is a benefit to the locals.
I might agree with that view to a point. But in many cases, we are way past that point.
However, the purpose of this post is not to argue the issue of gentrification, whether it's good or bad, or if it even exists at all.
The purpose is to point out to you, my beloved reader, that there are two really drastically different options for living in Costa Rica. And those are to live in a place that is predominantly local, or one that is predominantly influenced by foreigners.
Now it's a common misconception by people interested in the expat life that it's generally safer to live in a place that is more inhabited by folks like them.
But that's not really the case.
Certainly there are some rotten locals in Costa Rica. But those guys generally don't like to, pardon the expression, shit where they eat.
That is, they are attracted to areas where the pickings are a plenty, meaning plenty of tourists, with fat-wallets and wide-eyes, ripe for the picking.
Same thing occurs in Medellin, Colombia. That's where my wife is from and we spend a lot of time there. Foreigners are largely attracted to the area of Poblado. There are good reasons for that, but safety isn't necessarily one of them. You'll read more about crime victimhood in Poblado than almost any other area of Medellin.
The same thing occurs in Costa Rica.
Of course, in the big cities and ports of Costa Rica, there are problems of organized drug-related crime that are largely unique to those particular areas.
But crime against expats? You're more likely to hear about that in foreign dominated areas.
Crime is not the only consideration. What are you looking for in terms of your overall expat experience.
I hear so many people say they want to "immerse" and "live like the locals" only to opt for a location that is almost entirely non-local.
Do you want to pay the highest possible prices in Costa Rica?
Most would probably say no to that, right?
Well, you need to understand that to live like a local, amongst locals, and at a local cost of living, you have to actually live where they live.
And those places generally aren't the ones dominated by tourism and foreign invasion! Locals just can’t afford those.
If living by the beach in a tourist area, amongst foreigners, and paying prices that are ridiculously expensive for just about everything suits you, then by all means live in a place that is predominantly non-local.
It's really that simple.
You need to ask yourself what are your true priorities for living in Costa Rica?
Are you bringing an American-style look at how wealthy I am kind of attitude? Trust me locals won’t appreciate (nor be impressed by) that attitude. In fact, it's likely to make you a target.
But if that's your cup of tea, a touristic, foreign dominated part of Costa Rica might be the perfect place for you.
Costa Rica really has become a tale of two countries...
Which one is right for you?
