[johnw28]

Background: I have spent atleast 3 months a year in costa rica since 2006. Following is general info on the city.

Girls: Latina chicks with a large portion that speaks english. As CR has one of the better education systems in latin america. Ticas are very approachable yet flaky. A large number of Colombians, Nicas and Panamian chicks are in San Jose.

Nightlife: There are several options to party in San Jose with 2 of the better areas being El Pueblo and La Calle Amargura. Both allow you to change venues quickly. La Calle Amagura is at the entrance to the University of Costa Rica in San Pedro. Many of the bars open early giving you oportunity for day game. Also this gives you access to the campus grounds where you can pretend to be a foreign student studying spanish. El Pueblo is a large group of bars and Discoteques located inside a gated area. Men will be pated down upon entry. Plaza america in Hatillo 3 has a few bars as well. But in this area it is good to speak spanish.

Logistics/Lodging. Hotels abound in San Jose. Apartments are about 150 a week or 450 a month. I like being in either San Pedro or Calle Blancos. It shows that you live there and are acustomed to their lifestlye. Taxis are getting more expensive all the time but still cheap in comparison to the US.

Eating: Typical dish is called a casado. It is rice and beans and comes with either chicken, beef or fish. American style food can also be found. Ceviche is also good at many resturants like chelles on avenida central. Chubbs is an american owned bar at Parque Morazon and has great food and good beer prices. Mostly locals hang out there now, can be a good meeting place.

[Merenguero]

Hotels:

I stayed at the Hotel Europa near downtown San Jose. Although this hotel is not a dump, it is very inexpensive and well past its prime. You may even cost yourself a notch by staying hear as women from upscale areas such as Escazu and Santa Ana may be turned off by it. Luckily, I never had that problem. There is a major advantage to staying there that I did not find in other hotels in that there is a hotel bar on the first floor which draws a local clientel. If you are staying in that hotel and stop by the bar about fifteen minutes before closing, you can buy a bottle of liquor at the bar and invite a girl up to your room. It works like a charm. The girls want to keep drinking and when that bar closes, all other bars in the city are generally closed or are about to close. There were two blond haired white female Tica bartenders who caught on to what I was doing and starting to seem unwilling to sell me bottles. Despite their unwillingness, I was always able to pull it off. The bartenders actually looked better than the girls I was buying the bottles for. I do not recommend spending your entire night in the hotel bar. It is merely a place of last resort to go toward the end of the night. Hotel Presidente is another hotel in the downtown area. This hotel has also seen better days, but is somewhat nicer than the Hotel Europa. The place is full of sex tourists and the hotel bar, while it serves decent food, is full of sex tourists and some prostitutes. I don't recommend staying there.

Cell phones:

The first thing I do when I arrive in a new country is purchase a local cell phone. Unless things have recently changed, unlike many other countries, you must be a citizen or resident of Costa Rica to purchase a cell phone there. The solution is to search online for cell phone rentals prior to arriving. If you make a payment over the phone, you will have a person waiting for you at the airport with a cell phone. A person will also be at the airport to pick up the phone before you board your departing flight. Other than for the pick up and drop off of the phone, having any other contact or communication with the people from the cell phone rental company would be DLV.

Taxis:

Be careful. In some cities, you negotiate the price before getting in the taxi. On other cities, the taxis have a meter. In La Ceiba, Honduras, you simply pay a dollar and the taxi driver may or may not pick up other passengers on the way to your destination. In San Jose, the taxis have meters, but some of the taxi drivers are able to alter the meters to make them run at an extremely fast rate. Before you know it, you will be owing the driver $5,$10, or $30 dollars for a very short taxi ride. Find one who is honest and call or text him when you need to go somewhere.

People:

I find the people of Costa Rica to be much less friendly than in other Latin American countries. I also find an extreme jealosy when they see a foreigner with local women who are not prostitutes. This is in contrast to my experience in countries like Colombia and the Dominican Republic where locals are almost impressed a foreign is able to pull regular women. This jealosy can be found in the form of taxi drivers refusing to pick me up when they have seen me with a local a day or two earlier. The female bartenders at the hotel bar were obviously jealous. Pretty every male staff member at the hotel was visibly angry with me after repeatedly bringing regular women back to the hotel. This is in direct contrast with my experience in other countries. Usually I get along with everybody.

Nightlife:

Escazu and Santa Ana (pronounced Santana) are two upscale communites in the San Jose area. Escazu is about twenty minutes by taxi from downtown San Jose, while Santa Ana is about thirty minutes away from downtown San Jose. Logistics are bad in these places if you are staying in downtown San Jose, but I personally never had a problem with it. Escazu has a series of bars and restuarants which are all attached to each other. The only one of these places I have been to is called Orale. It is a Mexican themed restaurant and bar. I went there on a Saturday and pulled. I went back there on a weeknight and the only single girl in there was an offbrand-looking girl from Medellin. I haven't been there since. Santa Ana has a couple of pretty good clubs. Because that area is even farther from downtown than Escazu, I did not spend a great deal of time there. Castro's near downtown San Jose is a decent latin club that has a pretty large dancefloor. I never had any luck in that place. There is a mall in the area known as San Pedro which has a huge nightclub attached to it. It claims to be the largest nightclub in Central America. I spent a few hours there once and it was pretty good. There is also a complex which has countless bars, restaurants, and nightclubs in it. My experience there has been that the place spreads itself too thin in that instead of having one or two great venues, there are about twenty-plus venues which are mediocre at best.

Women:

The women in San Jose look better than in many other Latin American countries and cities. If you think that women in Medellin are much more attractive than Josefinas, you definately have not spent a substantial amount of time in those two cities. Medellin has more attractive women, but the gap between the two is not as wide as many people believe or would expect. Sex tourism is huge in both of those cities. In my opinion, Medellin is much more affected by the sex tourist stigma. The mentality with regard to foreigners is entirely different in San Jose than it is in Medellin in my experience. In Medellin in 2012, there is a rebuttable presumption that a foreigner is a sex tourist. This can often only be overcome by showing that you are fluent in Spanish, have family and/or friends in the city, and own or rent property in the city. In San Jose, although the women known that the city is full of sex tourists, they realize that a guy who is fluent in Spanish, dresses well, and is in shape is most likely not a sex tourist. I give the overall edge to San Jose.

[Aliblahba]

I always heard CR was gringoed out. I like to cheat with a good exotic factor.

[Merenguero]

(08-04-2012 04:22 PM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

I always heard CR was gringoed out. I like to cheat with a good exotic factor.

The "exotic factor" in and of itself goes a lot farther in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, and Ecuador. In Costa Rica, you need Spanish skills, among other things.

[Aliblahba]

Thanks, and good data sheet.

[johnw28]

You can now get a cell phone in costa rica either at the airport or one of the several shops downtown. There are four providers I believe.

[Merenguero]

(08-04-2012 06:27 PM)johnw28 Wrote:  

You can now get a cell phone in costa rica either at the airport or one of the several shops downtown. There are four providers I believe.

Can you get one without any type of Costa Rican citizenship or residency status? If so, things have drastically changed.

[johnw28]

Yes this has been in the last year that this has happened. It is great. I was able to get rid of my old phone that I got from a friend of mine and get a new one. You can get the SIM card right at the airport. The vender is at Gate 4 Just before you walk down the hall to clear customs and immigration.

[Merenguero]

(08-04-2012 06:36 PM)johnw28 Wrote:  

Yes this has been in the last year that this has happened. It is great. I was able to get rid of my old phone that I got from a friend of mine and get a new one. You can get the SIM card right at the airport. The vender is at Gate 4 Just before you walk down the hall to clear customs and immigration.

That's good to hear. Thank you. I found it strange that a country which draws so many foreign visitors had such a ridiculous law. It was actually a DHV to have a local cell phone before because it showed at least a little more connection to the country than being threre for a weekend or a long weekend.

[chochemonger1]

(08-04-2012 04:00 PM)Merenguero Wrote:  

Hotels:

I stayed at the Hotel Europa near downtown San Jose. Although this hotel is not a dump, it is very inexpensive and well past its prime. You may even cost yourself a notch by staying hear as women from upscale areas such as Escazu and Santa Ana may be turned off by it. Luckily, I never had that problem. There is a major advantage to staying there that I did not find in other hotels in that there is a hotel bar on the first floor which draws a local clientel. If you are staying in that hotel and stop by the bar about fifteen minutes before closing, you can buy a bottle of liquor at the bar and invite a girl up to your room. It works like a charm. The girls want to keep drinking and when that bar closes, all other bars in the city are generally closed or are about to close. There were two blond haired white female Tica bartenders who caught on to what I was doing and starting to seem unwilling to sell me bottles. Despite their unwillingness, I was always able to pull it off. The bartenders actually looked better than the girls I was buying the bottles for. I do not recommend spending your entire night in the hotel bar. It is merely a place of last resort to go toward the end of the night. Hotel Presidente is another hotel in the downtown area. This hotel has also seen better days, but is somewhat nicer than the Hotel Europa. The place is full of sex tourists and the hotel bar, while it serves decent food, is full of sex tourists and some prostitutes. I don't recommend staying there.

Cell phones:

The first thing I do when I arrive in a new country is purchase a local cell phone. Unless things have recently changed, unlike many other countries, you must be a citizen or resident of Costa Rica to purchase a cell phone there. The solution is to search online for cell phone rentals prior to arriving. If you make a payment over the phone, you will have a person waiting for you at the airport with a cell phone. A person will also be at the airport to pick up the phone before you board your departing flight. Other than for the pick up and drop off of the phone, having any other contact or communication with the people from the cell phone rental company would be DLV.

Taxis:

Be careful. In some cities, you negotiate the price before getting in the taxi. On other cities, the taxis have a meter. In La Ceiba, Honduras, you simply pay a dollar and the taxi driver may or may not pick up other passengers on the way to your destination. In San Jose, the taxis have meters, but some of the taxi drivers are able to alter the meters to make them run at an extremely fast rate. Before you know it, you will be owing the driver $5,$10, or $30 dollars for a very short taxi ride. Find one who is honest and call or text him when you need to go somewhere.

People:

I find the people of Costa Rica to be much less friendly than in other Latin American countries. I also find an extreme jealosy when they see a foreigner with local women who are not prostitutes. This is in contrast to my experience in countries like Colombia and the Dominican Republic where locals are almost impressed a foreign is able to pull regular women. This jealosy can be found in the form of taxi drivers refusing to pick me up when they have seen me with a local a day or two earlier. The female bartenders at the hotel bar were obviously jealous. Pretty every male staff member at the hotel was visibly angry with me after repeatedly bringing regular women back to the hotel. This is in direct contrast with my experience in other countries. Usually I get along with everybody.

Nightlife:

Escazu and Santa Ana (pronounced Santana) are two upscale communites in the San Jose area. Escazu is about twenty minutes by taxi from downtown San Jose, while Santa Ana is about thirty minutes away from downtown San Jose. Logistics are bad in these places if you are staying in downtown San Jose, but I personally never had a problem with it. Escazu has a series of bars and restuarants which are all attached to each other. The only one of these places I have been to is called Orale. It is a Mexican themed restaurant and bar. I went there on a Saturday and pulled. I went back there on a weeknight and the only single girl in there was an offbrand-looking girl from Medellin. I haven't been there since. Santa Ana has a couple of pretty good clubs. Because that area is even farther from downtown than Escazu, I did not spend a great deal of time there. Castro's near downtown San Jose is a decent latin club that has a pretty large dancefloor. I never had any luck in that place. There is a mall in the area known as San Pedro which has a huge nightclub attached to it. It claims to be the largest nightclub in Central America. I spent a few hours there once and it was pretty good. There is also a complex which has countless bars, restaurants, and nightclubs in it. My experience there has been that the place spreads itself too thin in that instead of having one or two great venues, there are about twenty-plus venues which are mediocre at best.

Women:

The women in San Jose look better than in many other Latin American countries and cities. If you think that women in Medellin are much more attractive than Josefinas, you definately have not spent a substantial amount of time in those two cities. Medellin has more attractive women, but the gap between the two is not as wide as many people believe or would expect. Sex tourism is huge in both of those cities. In my opinion, Medellin is much more affected by the sex tourist stigma. The mentality with regard to foreigners is entirely different in San Jose than it is in Medellin in my experience. In Medellin in 2012, there is a rebuttable presumption that a foreigner is a sex tourist. This can often only be overcome by showing that you are fluent in Spanish, have family and/or friends in the city, and own or rent property in the city. In San Jose, although the women known that the city is full of sex tourists, they realize that a guy who is fluent in Spanish, dresses well, and is in shape is most likely not a sex tourist. I give the overall edge to San Jose.

It is close. The only question is who puts out faster paisas or ticas. I get the feeling that if your spanish, looks, financial situation are solid you will pull more in Medellin. But from what I have seen in Colombian or Latin American cupid, nothing beats the love you will receive from Dominican girls.

[Merenguero]

[/quote]

It is close. The only question is who puts out faster paisas or ticas. I get the feeling that if your spanish, looks, financial situation are solid you will pull more in Medellin. But from what I have seen in Colombian or Latin American cupid, nothing beats the love you will receive from Dominican girls.
[/quote]

I agree that the choice between San Jose and Medellin is close. Twenty or even ten years ago, I believe Medellin would have been the clear winner between the two. Medellin has better looking women, more volume, and in those years women who were extremely eager to meet foreigners. Unfortunately, sex tourists made things worse for us in both San Jose and Medellin. They hurt us, but they did not ruin those cities for the right type of guys. As far as going to a city completely cold and not having a social circle, I have had a slightly better experience in San Jose. Everyone's experience may vary and I do not doubt that there are guys who have visited both cities and have done better in Medellin. I would bet that many, if not most, of those guys are guys who did better in Medellin than in San Jose had a strong social circle in Medellin and did not approach many women in San Jose.

[JayMillz]

(07-23-2012 08:17 PM)johnw28 Wrote:  

Eating: Typical dish is called a casado. It is rice and beans and comes with either chicken, beef or fish. American style food can also be found. Ceviche is also good at many resturants like chelles on avenida central. Chubbs is an american owned bar at Parque Morazon and has great food and good beer prices. Mostly locals hang out there now, can be a good meeting place.

A place that has pretty good casados is La Casa Josefina, which is not far from Hotel Presidente.

In general, you can go to many nice restaurants and ask for the menu ejecutivo at lunch time if you want a nice complete lunch of general variety. This is what many locals with decent jobs do and you get a nice lunch at a decent price.

A seafood restaurant that I recommend is called La Princesa Marina. They have several around town. The food is pretty good and the prices are not touristy.

[JayMillz]

(08-04-2012 04:00 PM)Merenguero Wrote:  

Cell phones:

The first thing I do when I arrive in a new country is purchase a local cell phone. Unless things have recently changed, unlike many other countries, you must be a citizen or resident of Costa Rica to purchase a cell phone there.

My friends usually get a sim card at the airport, put it into their phone, and just pay for minutes.

[JayMillz]

(07-23-2012 08:17 PM)johnw28 Wrote:  

Nightlife: There are several options to party in San Jose with 2 of the better areas being El Pueblo and La Calle Amargura. Both allow you to change venues quickly. La Calle Amagura is at the entrance to the University of Costa Rica in San Pedro. Many of the bars open early giving you oportunity for day game. Also this gives you access to the campus grounds where you can pretend to be a foreign student studying spanish. El Pueblo is a large group of bars and Discoteques located inside a gated area. Men will be pated down upon entry. Plaza america in Hatillo 3 has a few bars as well. But in this area it is good to speak spanish.

Good reports. I've hung out at Pueblo and some clubs outside of Pueblo, but in the same vicinity. I've always had a good time. Costarricenses love to party.

[chochemonger1]

It is close. The only question is who puts out faster paisas or ticas. I get the feeling that if your spanish, looks, financial situation are solid you will pull more in Medellin. But from what I have seen in Colombian or Latin American cupid, nothing beats the love you will receive from Dominican girls.
[/quote]

I agree that the choice between San Jose and Medellin is close. Twenty or even ten years ago, I believe Medellin would have been the clear winner between the two. Medellin has better looking women, more volume, and in those years women who were extremely eager to meet foreigners. Unfortunately, sex tourists made things worse for us in both San Jose and Medellin. They hurt us, but they did not ruin those cities for the right type of guys. As far as going to a city completely cold and not having a social circle, I have had a slightly better experience in San Jose. Everyone's experience may vary and I do not doubt that there are guys who have visited both cities and have done better in Medellin. I would bet that many, if not most, of those guys are guys who did better in Medellin than in San Jose had a strong social circle in Medellin and did not approach many women in San Jose.
[/quote]

I base it more on a semi scientific kind of test. In Latin american cupid, I get alot of unsolicited emails from girls in Medellin and Santiago, DR who are interested in me, though I am in Bucaramanga, Colombia, right now ,and explicitly state that I want to only meet a local girl. Never gotten an email from a Costa Rican girl. It could be that a latino guy, with game, would find it easier in Medelllin and his white counterpart would do better in San Jose. These type of things you have to prove by going to both places and comparing.

[Merenguero]

(08-04-2012 08:41 PM)JayMillz Wrote:  

(08-04-2012 04:00 PM)Merenguero Wrote:  

Cell phones:

The first thing I do when I arrive in a new country is purchase a local cell phone. Unless things have recently changed, unlike many other countries, you must be a citizen or resident of Costa Rica to purchase a cell phone there.

My friends usually get a sim card at the airport, put it into their phone, and just pay for minutes.

That's a good idea. Unfortunately, I have a business cell phone in the United States and need to have my United States cell phone on roaming and receive all of my calls when I am out of the country. If I either don't answer the phone when a client calls or promptly return a client's call, someone can file a complaint. I think I just gave away what my profession is. That's why I need to carry both a United States phone and a phone of the country I am visiting. I have had experiences where I have lost my United States phone in other countries and my family has had to pick up a new one for me and ship it to me in the country I was visiting. It wasn't fun.

[Merenguero]

Eating: Typical dish is called a casado. It is rice and beans and comes with either chicken, beef or fish. American style food can also be found. Ceviche is also good at many resturants like chelles on avenida central. Chubbs is an american owned bar at Parque Morazon and has great food and good beer prices. Mostly locals hang out there now, can be a good meeting place.
[/quote]

A place that has pretty good casados is La Casa Josefina, which is not far from Hotel Presidente.

In general, you can go to many nice restaurants and ask for the menu ejecutivo at lunch time if you want a nice complete lunch of general variety. This is what many locals with decent jobs do and you get a nice lunch at a decent price.

A seafood restaurant that I recommend is called La Princesa Marina. They have several around town. The food is pretty good and the prices are not touristy.
[/quote]

I think I have been to both La Casa Josefina and La Princesa Marina. There is also a pizza place close to Hotel Presidente which is almost as good as the best pizza places in New Jersey. In general, I was very impressed with the food in San Jose.

[Merenguero]

(08-04-2012 10:32 PM)chochemonger1 Wrote:  

(08-04-2012 08:11 PM)Merenguero Wrote:  

It is close. The only question is who puts out faster paisas or ticas. I get the feeling that if your spanish, looks, financial situation are solid you will pull more in Medellin. But from what I have seen in Colombian or Latin American cupid, nothing beats the love you will receive from Dominican girls.

I agree that the choice between San Jose and Medellin is close. Twenty or even ten years ago, I believe Medellin would have been the clear winner between the two. Medellin has better looking women, more volume, and in those years women who were extremely eager to meet foreigners. Unfortunately, sex tourists made things worse for us in both San Jose and Medellin. They hurt us, but they did not ruin those cities for the right type of guys. As far as going to a city completely cold and not having a social circle, I have had a slightly better experience in San Jose. Everyone's experience may vary and I do not doubt that there are guys who have visited both cities and have done better in Medellin. I would bet that many, if not most, of those guys are guys who did better in Medellin than in San Jose had a strong social circle in Medellin and did not approach many women in San Jose.
[/quote]

I base it more on a semi scientific kind of test. In Latin american cupid, I get alot of unsolicited emails from girls in Medellin and Santiago, DR who are interested in me, though I am in Bucaramanga, Colombia, right now ,and explicitly state that I want to only meet a local girl. Never gotten an email from a Costa Rican girl. It could be that a latino guy, with game, would find it easier in Medelllin and his white counterpart would do better in San Jose. These type of things you have to prove by going to both places and comparing.
[/quote]

I strongly recommend that you visit San Jose for at least a week or so. If you come up completely empty, which has happened to me in more cities and countries than I can count, at least you will have some stories and memories and will know to avoid San Jose in the future. I am extremely anglo-looking, but am fully fluent in the Spanish language and Hispanic culture. I realize that race discussions are not extremely popular on this forum, but you raised an interesting issue. White guys who are not fluent in Spanish are not women's first priority in either Medellin or San Jose. I believe a Hispanic guy from the United States has an advantage over a white guy from the United States who is not fluent in Spanish in both San Jose and Medellin. In San Jose, the Hispanic guy can pass the sex-tourist shit test easier than a white guy who is not fluent in Spanish. In Medellin, the Hispanic guy may very well need some additional validation, but I believe he would have an edge over a white guy who is not fluent in Spanish. That being said, I have seen non-Colombian Hispanic guys get played like a Drake song in Medellin or outright fail completely. This was probably due to not having the other factors covered. I may have at least a slight edge over some non-Colombian Hispanic guys and non-Costa Rican hispanic guys in that I speak the language, yet there is an additional "exotic factor." This "exotic factor" was briefly discussed in response to another poster's comment. The "exotic factor" in and of itself does not go very far in San Jose or Medellin in 2012. It may very well have some leverage in those other countries mentioned earlier. It is interesting too because many women in Costa Rica speak English. Not so many do in Medellin. The problem in Costa Rica which white guys who are not fluent in Spanish may experience is probably not due to the language barrier. It is probably due more to the stigma which the lovely sex tourists have created. Your results from those internet dating sites are an indicator, but are not the only indicator. We all know that many women use those sites for validation and other ridiculous purposes and we should often take them with a grain of salt. I know that many, many guys have had positive results from using such dating sites. I never had one remotely positive result and stopped using them entirely. I do not let people take pictures of me and the only picture I have of myself is a promotional photo which was taken in a studio. Women in internet dating sites falsely believe that that photo is some fake modeling photo and therefore do not believe I am for real. If I ever meet any of you in person, I will show you the photo so you can laugh about it.

[chochemonger1]

(08-05-2012 12:17 AM)Merenguero Wrote:  

(08-04-2012 10:32 PM)chochemonger1 Wrote:  

(08-04-2012 08:11 PM)Merenguero Wrote:  

It is close. The only question is who puts out faster paisas or ticas. I get the feeling that if your spanish, looks, financial situation are solid you will pull more in Medellin. But from what I have seen in Colombian or Latin American cupid, nothing beats the love you will receive from Dominican girls.

I agree that the choice between San Jose and Medellin is close. Twenty or even ten years ago, I believe Medellin would have been the clear winner between the two. Medellin has better looking women, more volume, and in those years women who were extremely eager to meet foreigners. Unfortunately, sex tourists made things worse for us in both San Jose and Medellin. They hurt us, but they did not ruin those cities for the right type of guys. As far as going to a city completely cold and not having a social circle, I have had a slightly better experience in San Jose. Everyone's experience may vary and I do not doubt that there are guys who have visited both cities and have done better in Medellin. I would bet that many, if not most, of those guys are guys who did better in Medellin than in San Jose had a strong social circle in Medellin and did not approach many women in San Jose.

I base it more on a semi scientific kind of test. In Latin american cupid, I get alot of unsolicited emails from girls in Medellin and Santiago, DR who are interested in me, though I am in Bucaramanga, Colombia, right now ,and explicitly state that I want to only meet a local girl. Never gotten an email from a Costa Rican girl. It could be that a latino guy, with game, would find it easier in Medelllin and his white counterpart would do better in San Jose. These type of things you have to prove by going to both places and comparing.
[/quote]

I strongly recommend that you visit San Jose for at least a week or so. If you come up completely empty, which has happened to me in more cities and countries than I can count, at least you will have some stories and memories and will know to avoid San Jose in the future. I am extremely anglo-looking, but am fully fluent in the Spanish language and Hispanic culture. I realize that race discussions are not extremely popular on this forum, but you raised an interesting issue. White guys who are not fluent in Spanish are not women's first priority in either Medellin or San Jose. I believe a Hispanic guy from the United States has an advantage over a white guy from the United States who is not fluent in Spanish in both San Jose and Medellin. In San Jose, the Hispanic guy can pass the sex-tourist shit test easier than a white guy who is not fluent in Spanish. In Medellin, the Hispanic guy may very well need some additional validation, but I believe he would have an edge over a white guy who is not fluent in Spanish. That being said, I have seen non-Colombian Hispanic guys get played like a Drake song in Medellin or outright fail completely. This was probably due to not having the other factors covered. I may have at least a slight edge over some non-Colombian Hispanic guys and non-Costa Rican hispanic guys in that I speak the language, yet there is an additional "exotic factor." This "exotic factor" was briefly discussed in response to another poster's comment. The "exotic factor" in and of itself does not go very far in San Jose or Medellin in 2012. It may very well have some leverage in those other countries mentioned earlier. It is interesting too because many women in Costa Rica speak English. Not so many do in Medellin. The problem in Costa Rica which white guys who are not fluent in Spanish may experience is probably not due to the language barrier. It is probably due more to the stigma which the lovely sex tourists have created. Your results from those internet dating sites are an indicator, but are not the only indicator. We all know that many women use those sites for validation and other ridiculous purposes and we should often take them with a grain of salt. I know that many, many guys have had positive results from using such dating sites. I never had one remotely positive result and stopped using them entirely. I do not let people take pictures of me and the only picture I have of myself is a promotional photo which was taken in a studio. Women in internet dating sites falsely believe that that photo is some fake modeling photo and therefore do not believe I am for real. If I ever meet any of you in person, I will show you the photo so you can laugh about it.
[/quote]

Good points merenguero. In the end you have to do the research before you pick the right country or city, and even then, that is not enough sometimes. All I know, is that I have never gotten one email or unsolicited sign of interest from a Costa rican or Argentinian girl online, while from DR, Colombia and Brazil I have gotten plenty. Since time is limited, you know where I will be headed next. Same applies to Vietnam and Filipino Cupid. Havent been on those sites in months, but i still get emails telling me that girls are sending me messages, all the time. On the ground things could be different, but for me that is enough evidence that Costa Rica is not a candidate for the future. But of course, others might have had different experiences or signs of interests from there, so it could be a country worth living in for some.

[JayMillz]

(08-04-2012 11:52 PM)Merenguero Wrote:  

(08-04-2012 08:41 PM)JayMillz Wrote:  

(08-04-2012 04:00 PM)Merenguero Wrote:  

Cell phones:

The first thing I do when I arrive in a new country is purchase a local cell phone. Unless things have recently changed, unlike many other countries, you must be a citizen or resident of Costa Rica to purchase a cell phone there.

My friends usually get a sim card at the airport, put it into their phone, and just pay for minutes.

That's a good idea. Unfortunately, I have a business cell phone in the United States and need to have my United States cell phone on roaming and receive all of my calls when I am out of the country. If I either don't answer the phone when a client calls or promptly return a client's call, someone can file a complaint. I think I just gave away what my profession is. That's why I need to carry both a United States phone and a phone of the country I am visiting. I have had experiences where I have lost my United States phone in other countries and my family has had to pick up a new one for me and ship it to me in the country I was visiting. It wasn't fun.

You can always purchase a cheap phone in the USA that you will use for travel. That way you can purchase sim cards for various countries when you travel. You would just pop the sim card into your phone, pay for minutes, and you're good to go.

[JayMillz]

One thing I do like about Costa Rica is the diversity of women, since you can meet women from several different countries there. In addition, CR is close to several other countries if you want to travel around.

I've met some pretty well-educated women in CR. I never got the vibe like women are desperate to find a gringo to get out of their country or looking for a Western Union novio like you have in some other countries. Every chica you meet in CR also doesn't have kids, like some other countries. They may not be super easy like in some other countries, if you are looking for easy.

[Merenguero]

(08-05-2012 07:04 AM)JayMillz Wrote:  

One thing I do like about Costa Rica is the diversity of women, since you can meet women from several different countries there. In addition, CR is close to several other countries if you want to travel around.

I've met some pretty well-educated women in CR. I never got the vibe like women are desperate to find a gringo to get out of their country or looking for a Western Union novio like you have in some other countries. Every chica you meet in CR also doesn't have kids, like some other countries. They may not be super easy like in some other countries, if you are looking for easy.

Good points. I never thought about the fact that every girl in Costa Rica does not have kids, but it appears to be the case. This is in direct contrast to countries like the Dominican Republic, where outside of the elite classes, it is at least somewhat rare to find a girl over twenty who does not have kids. The women in Costa Rica also have better education than the women of many other Latin American countries. Many people state that the reason for this is that Costa Rica does not have an army and the government therefore has more money to invest in education.

[FretDancer]

One thing I noticed from Costa Rica is the amount of hot MILFs on public comercial places like Malls and Supermarkets. Its just not that way around here.

[Merenguero]

(08-05-2012 02:32 PM)FretDancer Wrote:  

One thing I noticed from Costa Rica is the amount of hot MILFs on public comercial places like Malls and Supermarkets. Its just not that way around here.

Yes. Tegucigalpa is definately not MILF territory. I actually prefer Honduras to Costa Rica as a whole and will go into more detail about Honduras and in particular La Ceiba, Honduras in some later posts on other threads.

[johnw28]

As far as sex tourist making it harder for travel to costa rica to pick up regular girls I would have to disagree. There are two circles those who work the trade and those who don't. There are areas of San Jose where a regular girl might not want to be seen with a foreign man. Like Barrio Amon where the whore houses are and the Del Rey. In fact regular girls will CROSS the street in front of the Del Rey just so, people won't confuse them with the hookers. If a Guy decides to stay at theses hotels: Presidente, Balmoral, Morazon, Europa, Del Rey, Sportsmans Lodge or Hotel Little Havana his chances are nil of getting a regular girl back with him. Stay at the Marriot, Trype Corobici or an apartment if you want to bring back normal girls. Most girls aren't looking to leave CR to live they have a good life there. But, they are looking for an easier life if that is possible. Money talks in CR. The reality is treat her as bitch like Luigi in Roosh's current 5 part story.