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Costa Rica, The Land of No MortgageLarry LaBorde  One of my favorite pastimes is traveling with my lovely bride of almost 29 years. A couple of years ago we traveled to Costa Rica for a business conference. Whenever we travel out of the country I always like to get a car and driver to drive us around for a day or so and point out places and items of interest. I find that I enjoy the conversation as well as the local perspective. One of the things that struck me after a while was the number of partially completed cinder block houses. There were not a lot of them but enough to encourage me to ask about what I considered an oddity. I just could not figure out why so many houses were started and then seemed to be abandoned. Our driver/guide explained that mortgage loans were not readily available to most people in Costa Rica. If a young couple married and wanted to build a home they purchased land outright (or it was given to them by family). They then saved their money and built a single room out of cinder blocks and moved in. Every payday they purchased as many cinder blocks as they could afford and started on the next room. The cinder block house would be built over a period of years as fast as their budget would allow. The use of cinder blocks allowed for exposure of the uncompleted room without damage. After many years a very nice home would be completed in a square fashion with an interior courtyard. The home would be completed without a bank mortgage and would be owned free and clear. We both had a hard time trying to imagine "wanting and waiting". Our generation wants it all now, right now! Most of our generation not only mortgage their house but also the drapes and some of the furniture as well so they can move into a "completed" home. They then spend the rest of their lives paying for it. And we are supposed to be the advanced country. Another thing that piqued my interest was all manner of ornamental iron burglar bars on all the houses as well as the elaborate iron gates and fences. In spite of everything I had read about the low crime rate I commented to our driver that the crime rate must be very high indeed in the rural areas. Once again I was proved wrong. Our driver told us that the government controlled the insurance companies and insurance was too expensive to purchase for most people. (Any time the government controls anything it usually results in a shortage.) They simply chose to protect their property themselves. We on the other hand leave much of our property unsecured or only partially secured and insure it against loss. Once again I wondered which country was more advanced. The national vehicle also interested me. It seems the most popular vehicle in the country is the old FJ40 Toyota Land Cruiser. The picture below is the old FJ40 my son and I restored five years ago from 3 different vehicles. It seems they do not need a new vehicle every couple of years but lovingly maintain their old cruisers every bit a nice as our restored one. I guess they do not have a car note either.  In addition to the NW resort coast we also toured the capitol city of San Jose and parts in between. The country is 94% European of Spanish descent and does not seem to have any multi-cultural strife. The government is stable. The life expectancy is about 78 years. The medical facility in San Jose is one of the best in Central America. Costa Rica is also known as the little Switzerland of Central America because of its strong banks. We found the Costa Ricans or Ti'cans to be delightful people. The zip line tour up in the jungle canopy (rain forest for the pc) was also exciting. Eco-tourism is a big part of their economy. They also generate a large percentage of their electricity from wind generators in the mountains as well as geothermal wells. Canadians seemed to account for a large portion of their winter tourists when we were there. The country has many foreign nationals living there during their retirement years. The cost of living is also quite reasonable. For anyone who has not properly saved for their retirement years a move to Costa Rica can allow for a much nicer retirement on a small nest egg or even on social security alone. I encourage everyone to visit. Larry LaBorde 321gold Inc |
