I recognize and appreciate that you seemed to have had a different experience than us but then I also am left wondering “is she just deluding herself like the vast majority of expats in Costa Rica?” Certainly there are some locals, albeit few and far (far, far, far) in-between that are polite but generally, in our humble opinion, they are not a polite bunch- at least if you look like my husband and I. In fact, I’d go as far to say locals in Costa Rica are blatantly rude and opportunistic which makes for an unsettling feeling in a place one wants to call home.

Our intentions for why we were there makes no difference. We could have been supplying free education or food and shelter and it wouldn’t matter. You know how I know that, because even walking into a grocery store where nobody knows who I am or what I’m doing there, I’m met with animosity. My polite greetings are met with silence and attitude. Was it something I was wearing? Maybe it’s my hair? Or was it the california Spanish accent that was off putting to the many cashiers that treated me this way?

It’s quite unnerving when you’re sitting in a bus headed for Panama and a local man knocks on your window gesturing for you to buy a water (not the scary part) to which you don’t need so you reject, and he continues to yell at you, pointing to your wedding ring, simultaneously mocking your polite way of saying “no. gracias”. It’s just as alarming knowing that the bus is full of other people who haven’t been targeted and not only that but these other people are also doing nothing to help you, let alone act like they even acknowledge what’s happening. Wait… that guy probably thought I was somebody who “warranted” that behavior, right?

Honestly, I’m quite sick and tired of people playing off the thievery, the rudeness, the bad behavior of the local Costa Rican’s as “it’s to be expected when expats come down here with more money and resources then the locals”. So you mean to tell me that dehumanizing someone simply because you think they have more money, resources and influence (these are the words you used, correct?) than you, is okay or at the very least, to be expected? I find this attitude to be outrageous. I find the expat community that accepts this behavior and goes along ignoring it, to be guilty accomplices of a lawless community. I find it reprehensible to break into someone’s home and steal their belongings, their hard earned money, their safety, and sanctity just as abysmal whether it’s a North American victim or a Central American victim. When did we start to think it’s okay to treat people differently because the color of their skin? The excuse is there’s no excuse and expats who sweep this shit under the rug, or down play it are setting up every person who comes down to Costa Rica with dreams of starting a new life.

You say you are a teacher? That’s great! I am a teacher as well. Ultimately, I didn’t feel safe teaching or otherwise in a country where children are taught to take from me though. Perhaps it would have been better if I looked more like my Cuban expat friend who also stated her experience as being different than ours…

Look, I’m only trying to set the record straight here because so many people already down play this attitude in Costa Rica. Maybe your experience was one of acceptance, one of seamless assimilation, but I find that very hard to believe if you are an Anglo North America like ourselves. Let’s not perpetuate the lie that is feeding this crappy cultural norm. Enough people are doing that already and it’s costing us lots of money. Why not speak the “truth” for what it is without fear of being in the “unpopular position”. I think it’s more important to be “honest” than it is to be “liked”. What is laid out in this article is indeed authentic but it is most assuredly, truthful. Anyone who wants to move down to Costa Rica from North America should be well aware that they will face a ton of backlash, resentment, and obstacle after obstacle in their new home. The “gringo tax” isn’t a phrase I made up 🤷🏼‍♀️. Some expats have accepted their role and the fact that they will pay more for EVERYTHING, every. single. thing, than the locals. They’ve accepted that they will be ripped off for 10 colones (which barely registers in the conversion to USD) at every. single, toll booth. They even accept that if one dares ask for a cashier to repeat the total owed they most assuredly are going to get short changed. Sounds like a lovely place to call home, doesn’t it?

I’d love to focus more on the faces of the locals, that is your suggestion right, but I’m afraid if I do then I won’t know how much money their hands are taking from my pockets. So again, I’m left wondering “does the woman who responded to this article have any clue how much money was stolen from her or did she just lightly veil that fact with pura vida’s and excuses while maintaining eye contact with their faces ignoring their asses”, from where you sit @ripirate?