hehe, I don't know, our experiences are very different. I love my home in Bijagua. My neighbors are fantastic humans, couple gringos, mostly Ticos/Ticas. Our community is strong and takes care of each other. The panaderia in my town has the best breakfast pastries and coffee I can buy anywhere on the planet for less than 2 bucks.

The helping hands from locals that I've been offered when I was brand new in the area to find basics like car mechanics, or various needed supplies or project help on the land have been nothing short of amazing.

The socializing with everyone in a 2000 person town that has exactly one six foot three inch tall slightly sunburned broken Spanish speaking gringo like me in it, have been heartwarming and heartfelt. I can't walk down the street without friendly folks I've met once or twice or more, honking and waving and shouting my name and inviting me to dinner and offering me a shot out of the mobile Cacique bottle in their cup holder. (Nobody said they take drinking and driving too seriously down there,)

Maybe it has to do with blending in, assimilating, living there in just one place on the daily, supporting the small sodas and the bakery and the local shops. Helping back, when needed, like setting up for a big holy season football match (soccer) between our pueblo and one nearby, and preparing the field with the other men from the neighborhood for multiple adult and child soccer matchups that day.

I don't know. I just went and started living. Been driving all over the country to sight see as time permits, and never once felt any risk. Sure, I've been to 17 countries, 10 of them solo and gone to some sketchy areas like slums in Kolkata, or Chinese-local's nontourist backroom casinos in Macau or whatever. The only times I met danger were being followed by chinese mafia (according to my taxi driver) out of the chinese casino with $400 in my pocket alone at night, and the other was being jumped and having to fight five 20-something year old street urchins in Bogota Colombia on Christmas day in broad daylight.

So perhaps for me, plus having been all over the lower 48 and all the worst cities in the US and some of the rest of the world as well, by comparison, Costa Rica is a piece of cake. And I never felt what you are saying was your experience at all.

But there's always another chance to be robbed tomorrow somewhere I guess. I'm back in Nashville right now handling business and seeing my 31 year old daughter, I feel more at risk here than I do in Liberia or home in Bijagua. So there's that.