Costa Rica vs. DR

[Ricardo900]

Since we are on the topic

I listen to daily podcasts from The Wall Street Journal & Business Week, and I recall a podcast detailing the new oportunities emerging in Colombia and its a different place than what it was years ago. I figured that the podcast probably had an article about it, so I think this is the one I listened to.

Extreme Investing: Inside Colombia

 

[xamaicano]

O&C, ignore anything you have read about Colombia.
Listen to those of us that have been their a few times and especially those that have traveled around extensively.

...

I find Colombians in Colombia to be very similar to Dominicans.
Warm, friendly, have an outgoing expressive nature, open minded and curious.
Others may have a different impression, but this is my first hand experience.

Ya know, part of its appeal is that a lot people don't want to go there. It is in the interest of those of us who love Colombia to not sell it to everyone else. So that said, I was shot on arrival in Bogot? and spent my days avoiding being kidnapped in Medellin. As a matter fact, the FARC is knocking on my door right now. ?Viva RD!

 

[Chip]

Ya know, part of its appeal is that a lot people don't want to go there. It is in the interest of those of us who love Colombia to not sell it to everyone else. So that said, I was shot on arrival in Bogot? and spent my days avoiding being kidnapped in Medellin. As a matter fact, the FARC is knocking on my door right now. ?Viva RD!

I don't know if you are kidding or not but the fact that Colombia has basically a fully armed rebel militia and the worlds largest cocaine producing infrastructure, it's no wonder there are problematic areas. Yes, Colombians will tell you that there are really "two" Colombias, but that type of stuff is downright scary.

 

[AZB]

I don't know if you are kidding or not but the fact that Colombia has basically a fully armed rebel militia and the worlds largest cocaine producing infrastructure, it's no wonder there are problematic areas. Yes, Colombians will tell you that there are really "two" Colombias, but that type of stuff is downright scary.

In a way, I think it work's out to our benefit (the people who love colombia) that many foreigners have this perception of colombia as being a dangerous place to live and visit. maybe its a good idea to keep many gringos who visit DR to stay away from colombia.
yeah folks, i also got kidnapped upon arrival at el dorado airport and taken to the mountains to be tortured by cocaine smugglers. Thanks god robert was there to rescue me. Then I spent the rest of my days in cartagena with 4 police bodyguards around me at all times.
AZB

 

[Chip]

In a way, I think it work's out to our benefit (the people who love colombia) that many foreigners have this perception of colombia as being a dangerous place to live and visit. maybe its a good idea to keep many gringos who visit DR to stay away from colombia.
yeah folks, i also got kidnapped upon arrival at el dorado airport and taken to the mountains to be tortured by cocaine smugglers. Thanks god robert was there to rescue me. Then I spent the rest of my days in cartagena with 4 police bodyguards around me at all times.
AZB

I wouldn't want to live there but would go there if a business opprtunity presented itself.

As far as people being kidnapped and such, I know you guys are making light of it but some of the Colombians I met in Florida don't.

 

[Robert]

Chip, it's like talking to Dominicans in New York, the DR many of them talk about is often very different to the reality of actually living here.

Colombia had 249 kidnappings in 2006.
(American Memory from the Library of Congress - Home Page)
I cannot find exact 2007 numbers, but I know they are much lower.

1.5 million tourists visited Colombia in 2007, making it one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world and the best performing in this region.

How many tourists kidnapped in 2006/2007?
I have no idea, but going by the reports and what I can find online, it's maybe 2-3 if that. I'm happy to live with those odds, so are the 1.5 million tourists

The FARC etc these days do not target tourists as they offer very little leverage.
Plus they don't need the massive amount International negative press that comes with those type of kidnappings.

 

[El_Uruguayo]

Those are good numbers - making your chances of becoming a statistic quite low. I wish i could say the same for the DR. With the number of Canadians murdered in the DR within the expat community (all inclusive goers not included), I'm pretty sure there is a higher murder rate than in Canada - which is sad.

 

[GREATZKY]

Costa Ripoff

I would take the D.R. any day. I was in C.R.'s west coast to get some "epic surf" a couple of years ago. We got a call the week before we left from a buddy of mine that we were going to meet up with, tell us that their locked car got robbed two hours after they got in the country, while they were eating. The car was within 20 yards from their table. They lost everything (backpacks, visa's, green cards etc.) the only thing they did not get was their boards strapped to the roof of the car.
One of them an Irish citizen, spent the rest of the trip going back and forth to San Jose for a new passport so he could get back to the states.

We show up a week later, as we pulled up to the first hotel we thought about staying in, a group of guys are standing outside their car scratching their heads...yah, ripped off, they left the car for less then 10 minutes. Needless to say we did not stay there.

Every time I went into an Internet caf? there was someone, guy or girl calling home to cancel their credit cards and trying to get a new passport so they could get the hell out of there, because they got robbed, either on the street or from their hotel room.

A week into my trip our hotel room and six others got robbed at gunpoint. Luckily we were down at the beach watching the sunset, otherwise I mite be dead. They took only electronics and cash, we had our passports in the hotel safe (not alway a safe place).

I lived in the D.R.' N.Coast for 9 months and the worst thing that happened was some A-hole crashed into my rental car, running from OMET, it cost me $300.

By the way, the waves sucked for the 2.5 week we were in Costa Ripoff.

Pura vida is a big fat joke. It makes the D.R. look like Disneyland... OK, a filthy Disneyland.:laugh:

 

[RonS]

Wow! I've visited the capitol, Manuel Antonio, and Corcovado, in Costa Rica many times and have never had a bad experience. In fact, I think the rainforest is spectacular and am planning my next trip for late May before the rainy seasons begins. There is nothing comparable to the national parks in Costa Rica in the Dominican Republic, although, Santo Domingo has more history and the archecture surpasses anything in San Jose, IMO. Tourists of any nationality must be just as careful in Costa Rica as they have to be in the DR.

 

[Onions/Carrots]

Wow! I've visited the capitol, Manuel Antonio, and Corcovado, in Costa Rica many times and have never had a bad experience. In fact, I think the rainforest is spectacular and am planning my next trip for late May before the rainy seasons begins. There is nothing comparable to the national parks in Costa Rica in the Dominican Republic, although, Santo Domingo has more history and the archecture surpasses anything in San Jose, IMO. Tourists of any nationality must be just as careful in Costa Rica as they have to be in the DR.

How about the people?

 

[frank recktenwald]

I've been thinking as of late to relocate permanently to Costa Rica. It seems to be more of what, I believe, the DR used to be. It seems to have a more hospitable climate for investment. The ecological scenery is more impressive than the DR. The women are definitely prettier. Not having an armed forces is quite a quantum leap for a 3rd world Latin American country. The people, themselves are calmer than dominicans in general. I could go on but would like to hear from forum members who have definite experiences with Costa Rica yet have opted out in favor of the DR. Curious to know WHY?

Some might wonder why I didn't opt for Europe or America. Europe is too advanced structurally, stale and haughty and America is as bland as boiled potatoes. It's one gargantuan PUD with no obvious variations. Every state is non-descript and the people generally are automatons greasing the wheels of capitalism. I visit both and enjoy the stay but living there is a whole other set of circumstances. I love the third world setting, its simplicity, rustic charm, and amicability of its native populations.

This is not meant to be an open invitation for THE VILLAGE IDIOTS to queue in their claptrap. You know who you are!

Having lived in CR myself I must agree with you that nature is much better than here in the DR. However the people here in the DR are much nicer, what you see is what you get and me personally I prefer that, I don't like unpleasant surprises.
Maybe you'd want to check out Panama, nature is the same as CR and it's a lot cheaper, I've lived there for many years and I loved it.
By the way beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but in my eyes the Ticas are homely girls and I prefer the chicas here.

 

[Onions/Carrots]

Having lived in CR myself I must agree with you that nature is much better than here in the DR. However the people here in the DR are much nicer, what you see is what you get and me personally I prefer that, I don't like unpleasant surprises.
Maybe you'd want to check out Panama, nature is the same as CR and it's a lot cheaper, I've lived there for many years and I loved it.
By the way beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but in my eyes the Ticas are homely girls and I prefer the chicas here.

What do you mean homely girls? You like the fast and furious women of the DR? Be careful they like to see how they can rip you off. DR women are cunning. They prey on foreigners because they consider foreigners weaklings and saps.

Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a sweeping generalization of all DR women as there are many good women in the DR, my mommy being one of them.

 

[frank recktenwald]

What do you mean homely girls? You like the fast and furious women of the DR? Be careful they like to see how they can rip you off. DR women are cunning. They prey on foreigners because they consider foreigners weaklings and saps.

Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a sweeping generalization of all DR women as there are many good women in the DR, my mommy being one of them.

I like them fast and furious and they don't rip me of because I'm faster and more furious than they are.

 

[49erman]

A difference between DR and CR is that people are literally jumping off this island (both sides) to make it to Puerto Rico. CR doesn't have that problem. I would love to go to Colombia- sounds like Shangri-La as opposed to Santo Domingo.

 

[Chip]

A difference between DR and CR is that people are literally jumping off this island (both sides) to make it to Puerto Rico. CR doesn't have that problem. I would love to go to Colombia- sounds like Shangri-La as opposed to Santo Domingo.

just be careful what beach you go to:

Rebels abduct 6 tourists, Colombia's navy says - CNN.com

Thanks to el payasisimo, they got a six for two deal, oh well. :ermm: