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INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
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COSTA RICA NEWS
BRIEFS
| Thursday
13 January 2011 |
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Gringos
Gone
Wild In
Costa
Rica
By
Christopher
Howard*
When you
read
this
title
the
first
thing
that
probably
comes to
mind are
young
girls
engaging
in
nudity,
indecent
exposure
and
other
sexual
acts on
camera
like the
film
“Girls
Gone
Wild.”
The kind
of
misconduct
that
that
some
Americans
engage
in here
is quite
different.
Because
law
enforcement
can be
lax in
Costa
Rica and
there is
much
more
personal
freedom
than in
the
U.S.,
some
foreigners
take
advantage
of the
situation
and
thumb
their
noses at
the law.
For
example,
during
the real
estate
boom of
a couple
years
ago
there
were
many
gringo
tourists
working
as real
estate
brokers
who sold
property
without
permission
to work.
In order
to be
employed
here you
have to
be a
citizen,
have
residence
with
permission
to work
(libre
de
condiciones)
or have
a work
permit.
Not only
did
these
people
not have
permission
to work,
they
didn’t
pay
their
local
taxes on
earned
income
to the
Tributación
Directa,
which is
the
local
version
of the
IRS.
Fortunately,
the
recent
world
real
estate
crisis
weeded
out most
of these
illegal
workers.
Then
there
are
those
who have
legal
residency
without
permission
to work
but
choose
to work
anyway.
For
example,
a
pensionado
or
retired
person
cannot
work
here.
Notice
number
four on
the list
of
pensionado
requirements:
(1)
Requires
proof of
US$1.000
per
month
income
from
permanent
pension
source
or
retirement
fund.
(2) Must
remain
in
country
at least
4 months
per
year.
(3) Can
claim
spouse
and
dependants
under 18
years of
age.
(4)
Cannot
work as
an
employee.
(5) Can
own a
company
and
receive
dividends.
It
states
clearly
that a
person
cannot
work as
an
employee.
Personally,
I know
of a
number
of
pensionados
who are
violating
the law
by
working
here.
Because
the
Immigration
Department
doesn’t
have the
manpower
and has
its
hands
full
with a
lot of
hard-core
illegal
immigrants,
a large
number
of the
pensionados
and
other
foreigners
who work
do so
without
permission
because
they can
get away
with it.
However,
under
the new
immigration
law the
number
of
immigration
police
will be
increased
and in
some
cases
they
will
deport
anyone
who is
caught
working
without
the
proper
documentation.
This is
not a
major
issue
but what
it boils
down to
is that
you have
people
who are
guests
in a
country
and who
are
breaking
the law.
Recently
I read
an
article
about
expats
“Going
Wild” in
Mexico.
The
article
talks
about
Americans
fleeing
“Obamanomics”
and the
beginning
of
“doomsday”
expats
who
believe
that the
world
will end
in 2012
or that
there’s
money to
be made
from
those
who
believe
the
world
will end
then.
A
growing
number
of
Americans
in
Mexico
are
disaffected
with the
U.S. and
life
under
Barack
Obama.
Some,
now
labeled
“Refugiados
de
Obamanomics
(Refugees
from
Obama
Economics)”
are
intent
on
escaping
to a
country
where
there is
the
sense of
greater
personal
freedoms.
Here is
the
attitude
of one
of these
crackpots.
“I can
smoke in
restaurants
and no
femi-Nazi
take
umbrage
if I
call
someone
a babe,”
an Old
Gringo,
said.
I admit
that
over the
years we
have had
our
share of
gringo
misfits,
drunks,
doomsdayers,
scam
artists,
overnight
fame
seekers
and
dysfunctional
people,
but
fortunately
these
characters
make up
only a
small
portion
of
retirees
who live
here.
Most
retirees
who move
to Costa
Rica are
law
biding
citizens.
Since
Costa
Rica is
much
farther
south
than
Mexico
and has
four
other
Central
American
countries
as a
buffer
zone a
lot of
the hard
core
“fringe
elements”
don’t
make it
here.
Also,
Mexico
has over
one
million
Americans
residents
so there
is a
greater
chance
of
attracting
more
undesirable
gringos.
*Christopher
Howard
is a
Costa
Rican
citizen
with
graduate
degrees
in
Spanish
and
Latin
American
studies.
He has
written
14 books
on Latin
America
including
16
editions
of the
680-page
bestseller
“The New
Golden
Door to
Retirement
and
Living
in Costa
Rica,”
the
one-of-a-kind
“Official
Guide to
Costa
Rican
Spanish,”
and the
useful
544-page
“Guide
to Real
Estate
in Costa
Rica.”
For the
last 15
years
Mr.
Howard
has also
conducted
AWARD-WINNING
relocation/retirement
tours to
Costa
Rica (
Please
see
www.liveincostarica.com).
He has
been
featured
in the
media
including
the NBC
Today
show,
CNBC
World
News and
News
Week
Magazine.
Christopher
has
personally
helped
over
10,000
people
relocate
here
successfully
through
his
books,
lectures
and
tours
and
offers
FREE
information
about
Costa
Rica on
his
blogs at
www.liveincostarica.com
and
www.costaricaspanish.net.
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Source
Apdo. 2133-1000, San José, Costa
Rica
Tel: (506) 2231 3205 / (506) 8399
9642
Fax: (506) 2232 6337
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