My Tico friend Tomas has decided that Costa Rica has enough residents. Tomas lived and worked under the table in New Jersey for over a decade and made enough money to return to his homeland and considerably upgrade his lifestyle. He never intended to make the US his permanent home. His heart is here in Ticolandia.
He welcomes tourism as long as the tourists, in his words, “Enjoy Costa Rica, then go back to where they came from.” In Tomas’ eyes, expats who come here to be permanent residents have driven up the cost of everything, and the only way to stop and possibly reverse the process is by capping the number of new arrivals who want to relocate here forever.
So, he is embarking on a project to discourage more people from coming here permanently. He says what he is doing is simply showing the truth–both sides of the story. He is setting up pages on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and some other online sites I have never heard of. He has made a series of short videos that publicize all of the negatives about life here.
On Tomas’ videos, you will see no stunning sunsets, beautiful beaches, or spectacular volcanoes. No rainforests, cloud forests, or shots of smiling, friendly locals. Tomas’ videos hit you over the head with all that is bad about Costa Rica. In a world of wannabes calling themselves influencers, Tomas is an outlier–a dis-influencer.
He recently showed me some early video clips of what he will be doing. I will describe them here:
Clip 1–High cost of living
Tomas is in a supermarket. “Just look at these prices,” he says, holding up a 4700 colón jar of Peter Pan peanut butter. “Nine dollars for peanut butter.” He jumps around—$7 for a box of cereal, $30 for a big jar of cashews. Outside, he stands by an aging Ford Explorer. “Up north, this would cost maybe fifteen hundred dollars,” he intones. “Down here, it’s for sale for 3 million colones, almost 6 grand. And the gasoline to fill the tank is the most expensive in Central America.”
Clip 2–Bad roads
Tomas is behind the wheel, dashcam rolling. He jump cuts over a series of potholed streets, sometimes intentionally banging through a crater for additional effect. “This is what it’s like to drive here,” he shouts. The streets and highways have improved tremendously in my years here, and I congratulate Tomas on his ability to find only the most battered roads for his disinfluencing video.
Clip 3–Government corruption
Tomas holds up various newspaper headlines from La Nación, La República, and Diario Extra. He translates each headline, all related to high-ranking government officials engaging in one type of brazen ripoff or another from public funds. Then, he cuts to a film of a man getting into a sleek sports car. “This man is a city mayor who makes 3 million colones a month, getting into his new 2024 Corvette Z06, valued at 220 thousand dollars or about 115 million colones. Do the math. The only way he could afford this car is through puro chorizo. If you think your country is corrupt, wait until you live here!”
Clip 4–Traffic jams
A montage of Tomas sitting in the most snarled San José rush hour traffic he could find. Horns blaring, cars moving in fits and starts, buses and tractor trailers muscling their way, merging into a logjam of traffic. Tomas shouts over the din of vehicles and horns: “Every bit as bad as New York or L.A.,” he exaggerates. “And it’s only going to get worse. More vehicles, and no room to expand the highways. This is what you have to look forward to.”
Clip 5–Lack of security
Shots of private houses with barred windows, fronted by fences topped with cyclone wire. Tomas’ voiceover: “We are prisoners in our own homes. Trapped. We have no military—great. But we barely have police. Not so great.” Various rural guard buildings are shown closed up during daylight hours. “Supposed to be police here,” he says, “so where are they?” Then a shot taken in a dangerous barrio of San José shows people in the street approaching his car before he quickly pulls away. “It’s like the Wild West here,” he concludes. “Be ready to defend yourself and your home at all costs!”
I had seen enough of his videos. I told him I have lived here over 30 years, love it here, and while there was a kernel of truth in some of what he showed, Costa Rica was still a safe enough destination if you took a few precautions and used a little common sense, just like anywhere in the world.
“I know that,” he said. “But those people thinking about moving here don’t.” He put his finger to his lips in a shushing motion. “Be sure to not make any comments when my videos hit online,” he said. “Keep your thoughts to yourself. Time to make Costa Rica a good place for Ticos to live again.”
