An increasing crime rate is the feature of any urbanizing country. Costa Rica is no exception. In a previous post about relocating to Costa Rica, our visitors have mentioned some of the areas they think you have to stay away from in order to make your stay safer. They further said that there is more dark elements in Costa Rica than what you usually see in vacation.
In truth, there is only little difference, and that may be the fact that when you are a visitor, you stay in a secured hotel, while by being a retiree, you are assumed to stay somewhere else. That's only it. Outside of your room, you are just like any other foreigner in the country, vulnerable to the forces that "lurk in the shadows."
It is a fact that high crime rates especially among tourists is pretty common in the major tourist areas, especially San Jose. Living standards below that of the West pushed certain forces to commit petty crimes. Reporting these crimes to the authorities will only be futile, so unless you lost your passport, there's no use wasting your time over it. As an added precaution, you could just leave your passport in a safety deposit box at home and bring a certified photocopy with you. It is also suggested that you do not bring much money and jewelries with you. Just to be safe.
It also pays to be vigilant when you're out in the streets. Never engage in street money exchange. These money changers only typically give you fake currency. It is more advisable to go directly to banks to have your money changed.
One thing to be also worried about are those taxi drivers, who have been occasionally involved in some assault cases. Always make sure that you only ride licensed taxis and that they comply with the normal requirements set by the law.
We can go on and on with the typical tactics used by the dark forces on foreigners, but this will be useless if you are not conscious about your surroundings. I'm not saying that you should be paranoid, but always make it a point to be skeptical about everything. In case of emergencies, there's the 911 for you to call.
