Top 5 Pet Peeves

Living in Costa Rica for 8 years has given me a pretty good overview of how things are done and I have adjusted to most of them, however there are still a few things that could be significantly improved and make my top 5 pet peeves list. This article is not meant in anyway to deter you from moving to Costa Rica rather prepare you. To put them in perspective these issues are very small compared to those of other Central / South American countries.

Government Service Offices

Line ups are popular at all these places. With so few offices for specific services you get long line-ups resulting in wasted time. This goes for Driver Services, Public Registry, National Banks and other required service offices. For example you'll be standing in line at immigration for a good 4-5 hours, just prey you don't forget anything.

Owning a Vehicle

Vehicles in Costa Rica are very expensive to drive, maintain and buy, not to mention driving in Costa Rica is dangerous. Gas prices are higher than most latin american places but that is relative to rising gas prices, maintenance on the other hand is an interesting topic, labour is cheap but the replacement parts are not and if you don't find the right place to work on your vehicle you'll end up with more problems then you went in with.

This happens because smaller independent repair shops will take any job they can get to make money, half the time they have never done the job your requesting, this also makes it much harder for them to acurately diagnose the problem. I've spent tons of un-necessary money on repairs due to an incorrect diagnostic. I however found that going to bigger shops will provide good results and a higher price but in the long term I guarantee that you'll end up saving money. Now a days I go to the Bosch dealership and they have been great.

Buying a vehicle here is expensive, you can expect prices to be about 30% higher then in North America. This is mainly due to the high tax prices.

The combination of narrow roads, poor road conditions (ruts & pot holes) and inexperienced drivers is a formula for disaster. The poor road conditions really put additional stress on your vehicle resulting in the need for regular repairs, additionally avoiding pot holes can be very difficult and results in accidents. Most people in Costa Rica are only second generation drivers and because of that they don't have much experience with cars, not to mention the past ability to easily obtain your license by a simple payoff has resulted in many un-tested drivers that probably shouldn't be on the road in the first place.

Good Professionals are Hard to Find

Need to find a professional such as a lawyer or accountant? Finding them is very easy since they are all over however the problem is finding someone that is reliable. Someone that says they will take care of what you need and actually take care of it. There are very few people that will live up to their word for a reasonable price, when you find them hold on to them because they are like gold.

Finding What You Need

Service levels are improving here however you can expect service to be below what you would be used to in North America.

Specialty Products

Limited selection/options is a common problem. If you are looking for something specific or special chances are you won't have much luck locating it here.