Is Costa Rica Safe?

I get this question probably more often than any other question, and I understand why.  Safety is a big concern and it should be. Compared to the USA, Canada and other big countries Costa Rica has very little serious crime.  Like any city or country, there are good parts and not so good parts, so it depends also a lot on where you live.  San Jose is a major city with over 3 Million people.   Anytime you have that many people in one place there will be crime.  But statistically violent crime is very low in Costa Rica; it is usually what they call property crime or crime of opportunity.  I hate when they use the term Petty Theft, because when someone steals your $1,000 laptop that isn’t petty. 

I can always tell where my clients come from by their “sticker shock”.

A client from Oklahoma once said “$1 Million dollars ???!!!  Do you know what I can buy for $1M dollars???!!! I can buy half of Oklahoma.”  My clients from Malibu California or Hilton Head Island say “$1 Million dollars? What a bargain. I’ll take 3.”  If you are going to judge the value of something you have to compare Apples to Apples.  

In my opinion Costa Rica is still very inexpensive compared to other warm weather resort destinations. Now, it’s not cheap, but you still get a tremendous amount for your money.  If you want cheap, you have to go to third world countries like Nicaragua.  But remember you get what you pay for.  Costa Rica has the charm of a third world Latin country, but we have first world infrastructure, from state of the art hospitals and telecommunications to upgraded roads and electricity.  Our grocery stores are as nice as any in the USA and Canada and the modern conveniences of home, like Cable and Satellite TV and high speed Internet is available everywhere.