I was wondering if anyone can provide information on daily life in Costa Rica and I also have a few questions. 1. What is the timezone. 2. What is the economic situation like. 3. Do you like your President. 4. If you had the chance to choose the united states or costa rica, which would you choose. 5. what is the poverty situation like.
dr03 said:
1) right now is mountain, in october it switches to central, this is because CR is so close to the Equator that there are no advantages in having daylight savings
2) I would say its good, it could be much better if the goverment deficit situation wouldnt be so bad
3) NOT! ANY change will be better for CR...........only have to put up with current one until may 8 (Inaguration of Oscar Arias takes place)
4) not having lived in the US I am of course missing many points of comparation, I see huge advantages and disadvantages in both countries, most who complain about anything in particular are usually missing the big picture.........since I am Tico I will have to say I would still chose CR (of course I would like to get rid of about 80% of the population/drivers/taxi drivers/beggers and so on), another point, since I am not a US citizen I am probably not able to carry a weapon in the US
uppy: 5) its under control I would say, any other Latin America country has much bigger issues except perhaps Chile. The problem here is that the ones that have education/access to resources are getting richer and the ones that stick to the old ways and cant adapt are getting poorer (DUH!) , this is a big problem for the rich because then crime increases etc, some people like the Unions need a big reality check and the farmers need a bunch of training so that they can adapt to the current economic situation where they have to compete with the entire world
POPULATION
4.0 million
Density: 78.4 inhabitants per square kilometer (203.5 inhabitants per sq. mile)
Major metropolitan center: San Jose (1 M )
By sex: men: 49,86% women: 50,14%
Total labor force: 1,7 million
Economically active population: 42.3%
Unemployment rate 2002: 6.4%
Underemployment rate 2002: 7.6 %
STANDARD OF LIVING INDICATORS
Life expectancy: 76.1 years
Literacy rate: 95.5%
Educational Institutions: 6147 primary and secondary schools and 50 universities
Education expenditures: 5% of GDP (2002).
Youth literacy: 98.3%
Population served with piped water: 99%
Public health services coverage: 90.4% of population
Health expenditures: 27.8% of government budget
Access to telephone service: 92% of population
POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
Traditional and stable democracy, army abolished in 1949.
Lowest risk rating in Latin America.
Business environment and legal framework open to foreign investment.
No limitation on foreign control of corporations and ownership of property.
The political structure establishes three independent powers:
1. Executive: President and Ministers
2. Legislative: 57 elected Representatives
3. Judiciary
The Presidential term consists of 4-year periods without re-election.
The current President of Costa Rica is Dr. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella (2002-2006).
4.0 million
Density: 78.4 inhabitants per square kilometer (203.5 inhabitants per sq. mile)
Major metropolitan center: San Jose (1 M )
By sex: men: 49,86% women: 50,14%
Total labor force: 1,7 million
Economically active population: 42.3%
Unemployment rate 2002: 6.4%
Underemployment rate 2002: 7.6 %
STANDARD OF LIVING INDICATORS
Life expectancy: 76.1 years
Literacy rate: 95.5%
Educational Institutions: 6147 primary and secondary schools and 50 universities
Education expenditures: 5% of GDP (2002).
Youth literacy: 98.3%
Population served with piped water: 99%
Public health services coverage: 90.4% of population
Health expenditures: 27.8% of government budget
Access to telephone service: 92% of population
POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
Traditional and stable democracy, army abolished in 1949.
Lowest risk rating in Latin America.
Business environment and legal framework open to foreign investment.
No limitation on foreign control of corporations and ownership of property.
The political structure establishes three independent powers:
1. Executive: President and Ministers
2. Legislative: 57 elected Representatives
3. Judiciary
The Presidential term consists of 4-year periods without re-election.
The current President of Costa Rica is Dr. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella (2002-2006).
Carribean side mostly black, this is mainly a consequence that before a certain year (1950s?) they were not allowed into the Central Valley (yes .....there was and there is racism in CR)
rest of the country is a mix of indian/spanish, if you compare CR with the rest of Central America you will see that there is a smaller component of indian blood, this because again of historical/enviromental factors (this is also the myth that we are "white" in CR and indian in the rest of Central America.........which is a myth of course because due to DNA research we have a bit of everything in our blood)
right now Nicaraguan population accounts for about 10% of our population and we also have heavy influx of immigrants from Colombia and in the past (1970s) we also took a bit of immigrants from Chile
rest of the country is a mix of indian/spanish, if you compare CR with the rest of Central America you will see that there is a smaller component of indian blood, this because again of historical/enviromental factors (this is also the myth that we are "white" in CR and indian in the rest of Central America.........which is a myth of course because due to DNA research we have a bit of everything in our blood)
right now Nicaraguan population accounts for about 10% of our population and we also have heavy influx of immigrants from Colombia and in the past (1970s) we also took a bit of immigrants from Chile
and all the ones I know are great people 
bdizzle said:
Not "all" asian ticos but wikipedia says this so I am correct I presume,
"During the 19th century Chinese and Italian immigrants came to the country to work on the construction of the railroad system as well"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Rica
Come to think of it, it might of been wikipedia where I read it a hile back.
BDiz...
couple more questions. how are us americans treated there. i went to cairo and i had people coming up to me asking for money and all the merchants were saying "american come here" and were charging me way more then the normal price. what is san jose like, how big is the fishing industry, what are some historic monuments, and have you guys been to the crater of volcan irazu and the teatro national de costa rica.
dr03 said:
I leave the fishing industry to others, although I know a few places are the centers of it like Quepos. As for the treatment part, oh yeah if you let them they will try to charge you more. Everyone here says to expect it, but still pisses me off. You can even speak credible Spanish and have a decent conversation with the people, but their first instinct is to always try to squeeze a few more colones out of you. Best thing is to refuse to do it as best as you can. It really isn't that much more money, but the principle bugs me. If you are looking for historical monuments be prepared to be seriously disappointed. Teatro Nacional is a nice building, but you can find something like that in dozens of US cities. The monuments to Juan Santamaria had me almost laughing at how underwhelming they are. The country is definitely about natural places, not historical ones.
dr03 said:
Teatro National is alright. I went there with a girlfriend. It isn't really big but very beautiful IMO. When I was in Madrid, Spain in December I noticed much of the architecture from Teatro Nacional is copied from Spain. An example of that is in the room where all the provences (7 of them) are displayed on the ceiling i.e. Puntarenas, San Jose, Limon, etc.
I really liked the Museo de Oro a lot as it has a lot of history on the indigenou peoples of Costa Rica downstairs. The next museum I would like to see is one called the museum of criminology that I read about.
I have never been to Volcan Irazu but I have been to Poas. Poas was very nice and there is another hike you can do that leads to a very pretty lagoon. Perfect setup for a picture with your girlfriend or family.
Every country has beggar and people asking for money. The key is not to get frustrated. Treat them with respect and they will do the same.
There is really "too much" to do in CR. It would take years to see all the historic sites and beautiful scenery IMO.
BDiz...
