Costa Rica doesn’t have the near the number of retirees that Mexico has, but it is 1000 times safer

Mexico currently has around 1,000,000 retirees because of its proximity to the U.S. The Mexican government says that it wants to lure 5,000,000 retirees form the U.S.and Canada in coming years. This is really a “pipe dream” since an epidemic of violence is extending its evil tentacles throughout the country. A battle for control of the profitable drug trade by the cartels has brought the drug war closer to the heart of Mexico, terrifying the city of Cuenravaca. Known for its charming Spanish-colonial downtown and for posh homes with lush gardens and swimming pools, Cuernavaca, “The City of Eternal Spring,” has always been has been a favorite retreat for Mexico’s rich and powerful and U.S. retirees.

Unfortunately drug-gang violence has soared claiming nearly 23,000 lives throughout Mexico, with Cuernavaca becoming the latest front. “We hadn’t seen this violence before,” said Dawn Housand, a 60-year-old Boston native who moved to Cuernavaca to retire more than 10 years ago looking for a quiet place to live. “I don’t have the money to move. If I did, I would leave.”

This is a city that depends on tourism and what violence has done is collapse our economy,” said club owner Andres Remis, president of the Cuernavacan Nightclubs and Bars Association. “The only thing that we can do is to wait for one of the groups to win or for the army to win.”

More than 50 people have been killed this year in Cuernavaca’s gang battles.

As I have mentioned before at the rate things are going in Mexico, the country will be hard press to attract many retirees. On the other, Costa Rica is fast becoming the number one retirement haven in Latin America. When you listen to the news or television and Costa Rica is mentioned, all that you really hear about is the country’s natural wonders and other positive information. The country is not crime free but fortunately doesn’t suffer from the endemic violence that plagues Mexico and some of the other countries in the region.

When retirees and especially tourists come to Costa Rica, it usually takes them some time to used to dealing with the local currency called the, colón. Just when newcomers are getting used to making purchase with Costa Rican coins and bills a big change was announced.

Today all of Costa Rica’s major newspapers featured pictures of six new bills that will come out this year. The bills have been totally redesigned for the following denominations: 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 colones. In addition, to a completely new design on the front and the back, each bill will be a different size and color.

The new bills are made of a cotton fiber-based paper and sensitive to the touch. If you turn the bill the map of Costa Rica on the front changes color.

Bills that have nicknames like “un rojo” for 1000 colones because of its red color and “Un Tucán” for 5000 colones because of the bird on it, will now look totally different. For example, The 5,000 bill have a picture of ex-president Alfredo Gonzáles Flores on one side and a tropical motif on the back.

The 20,000 colon bill will be the first one released around in August. The 2,000 colón bill will be the second one to come out in September or October. The rest will start to circulate after that. The Central Bank will wait to see how the 20,000 colón bill is accepted by the public before they release the 50,000 colón bill.

Retirees and others who are planning to move to Costa Rica always ask me about natural disasters like hurricanes I have included this article. Fortunately we only get the rain form the hurricanes and the mountains keep the strong winds out of the Central Valley. They are a natural barrier.

Hurricanes rarely hit Costa Rica, the last one was Hurricane Cesár which came ashore on July 27, 1996 and killed 41 people and trashed the Pacific southwest in Costa Rica’s worst national disaster in a decades. Even though Costa Rica is in the Caribbean, because Costa Rica is so far south it is very rare that a hurricane strikes land over Costa Rica.

In May 2008, there was Tropical Storm Alma. Alma was the first tropical storm on record to strike the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. In Costa Rica, heavy rainfall caused flooding and landslides, killing two and causing $35 million (USD) in damage.

For 2010, U.S. meteorologists say they expect an above-average number of Atlantic basin hurricanes to develop during this year’s hurricane season. The Colorado State University hurricane forecasting team predicts the season to be a “harsh” one.

The 2010 Hurricane Season in the Atlantic Ocean will begin on June 1, 2010, and end on November 30, 2010.

Atlantic hurricanes affect the eastern and Gulf coasts of the U.S. and the Caribbean nations. Those with interests in hurricane-prone areas must heed federal and state advice on preparedness, the season in general, and each specific storm in the season.

Colorado State University’s forecasters report that eight hurricanes are expected for the 2010 season. Four of the season’s hurricanes are expected to strengthen and become major hurricanes. This means that these four, if they do in fact become major hurricanes, would ultimately receive a rating of at least a category 3 storm.

Category 3 storms are defined by the Saffir-Simpson scale. The Saffir-Simpson scale indicates that such a storm must have winds of at least 111mph; and that these winds be sustained for a period of time.

University forecasters William Gray and Phil Klotzbach each stated that El Niño conditions will likely dissipate by summer. In addition they believe that the warm tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures will not drop and will remain at the current temperatures. These temperatures have reportedly been much warmer than usual.

Because of this phenomenon, Gray and Klotzbach indicate that the 2010 hurricane season will be above-average. Specifically, they said that the warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures will “[lead] to favorable conditions for hurricanes to develop and intensify.

In part Courtesy of Inside Costa Rica

On my monthly relocation and retirement tours I am often asked about which foreigners find success here and those who don’t. To address this concern I give examples of those who make it here and those who do not.

Probably the most important factor in determining your success in Costa Rica is one’s attitude. If you come here and expect everything to be like States or Canada then you are deceiving yourself. The country is the way it is and it will not change despite your complaints. I don’t know how many times I have heard, “In the U.S. we do it this way.” Well I have news for you, things are not going to be the way you want them to be, so don’t have any false expectations. You have to adapt and go with the flow or you will be miserable. You have to understand that this is a different culture.

I have lost count of the number of times that I have heard Americans putting down the local culture without really understanding it. Learning Spanish and mixing with the Costa Ricans is the best way to learn about the country and its people. If you don’t follow this advice, then you will always be a foreigner or “stranger in a strange land.”

I know a few unfortunate souls who like to get on their soapbox and pontificate about what’s wrong with Costa Rica Rica and what needs to be changed. Some of them even do this on their web sites. We’ll I have news for them. It’s either the “Costa Rican way or the highway.” If you are not going adapt, then it is best to buy a ticket and move back to your home country or you will be an “unhappy camper.”

I am always asked about crime in Costa Rica by people on my retirement tours and at the many lectures I give. Recently, I obtained some figures that should dispel any fears you may have about crime in Costa Rica. These numbers mostly reflect crimes against citizens the of countries below and not against foreigners.

Homicide rates per 100,000 inhabitants

Honduras = 66.9
El Salvador = 65
Guatemala = 47
Nicaragua = 13
Costa Rica = 11

With the exception of Nicaragua and Panama, who does not make these figures available for obvious reasons, Costa Rica is by far a safer place to live than its neighbors. In Honduras between 2005 and 2009 there were almost 19,000 murders.

Mexico says it wants to lure 5 million retirees in coming years. The country is downright unsafe and is quickly becoming the murder capital of the New World as drug cartels fight for their slice of the market. Violence is rampant in Michoacán, in the Juarez and Tijuana areas. Kidnappings are also on the rise. It is only a matter of time before the drug cartels target the lucrative retiree market.