(07-16-2014 12:50 PM)Xm24 Wrote: OP-
Questions-
How much does it cost/month to have a reasonable quality of life (health care, meat every meal, clean and safe accommodations, Internet, money for some drinking and dates, etc.) in Costa Rica?
Is it true most of the fine girls in Costa Rica are visiting Colombians?
Are the local girls out in the Country and San Jose really fly or mainly rough looking?
Are neighboring countries like Panama worth checking out?
Is the local food good or shitty?
How much better is the surfing in Costa Rica than SoCal?
Is it a bunch of massive waves and not too rocky of surface when you wipe out?
For college game-
By girl type
Bad ass blondes- Arizona State, University of Georgia Athens
Hot Brunettes with Latinas- Florida State (tons of Miami hotties go there)
Mixed Bag of talent- Chico State, University of Texas Austin, University of Florida
McQueen reccomended Bloomington, Indiana (whatever the big campus there is called- plenty if very attractive blonde Midwestern chicks there). Heard the University of Cincinatti is cheap to live in and lots of hotties. UTK in Knoxville is good but kind of country like University of Alabama or Auburn (tons of big titty Southern chicks there).
I'd say go Arizona State out of all of them but be warned the local vibe is like UFC gym rats meets a desert Jersey Shore in Ed Hardy gear (at least that was my impression when Inwas in Phoenix).
Florida State would be hard to beat though and they have anything academically anyone could get want.
I think University of California @ Santa Barbara (onl campus in America with its own private beaches- drunk colle girls in bikinis on the beaches after class and a big ass Halloween party every October in Isla Vista) would be incredible (they have mountains beaches trails surfing mixed variety of women when Invisited the area- State St. is where all the action is on the weekend) but you better have a stack of paper, find a good grant, or be ready to pay back a lot of money after graduation. Waiters and bar tenders make great money in SB as its a high roller coty. A chick who was a waitress at an upscalemseafood restaurant on Stearns Wharf (its a city pier you can drive cars onto with tons of shops bars restaurants people watching in SB) told me she was goin to school at UcSB and theplace required patrons to tip basically tip 10% or $20/table and $30 would not be uncommon as you cant get out of there with steak fish lobster booze for 2 for less than $200)
Another is University of San Diego- great location but $$$ That's why I'd say Florida State (cheap, in state tuition, lots of talent).
Or do 1 year like a baller at UCSB (waiters at the nice places on Sterns Wharf make $$$) and finish up at FSU.
Hard to say on the living costs as my situation was one where we owned land outright. I'd say for a single person you could get by on $1,000 a month if you want some extra money to throw around. Food is decently priced, not too expensive unless your going for imported foods. It was aboput $150-200 every 2 weeks for a my family of four. If you live by the sea you can get sea food cheap. Meat is priced okay, just make sure you have refrigeration or it will spoil fast.
Health Care is socialized so costs are cheep, but I believe you wouldn't qualify for government insurance if your not a citizen or have a visa. So you'd be paying out of pocket unless you have some sort of international policy.
The kicker is rent, are you staying in the city or in the country? I know people who go down with nothing on their back and simply walk up to lodge owners and ask for jobs and get them and a place to stay. A lot of places will let you work for room and board and some money. The problem is officially you shouldn't be hired as employer's are only supposed to hire locals. I also see a lot of people who go down trying to make a life off the grid and end up losing everything. It would be best to have some sort of job that can be done online like financing or coding.
Also transportation. You can get by on walking and buses/taxis in the cities, but you'd be better off picking up a 250cc motorbike and using that to get around, enough room for you and a girl, a lot more economical than a truck.
An average night out on the town for me would cost $100-$150, and I was being generous. I'd pay for a room in town, invite some friends to stay for free, grab a bottle of Jim Beam, ice, cups, a few bottles of coke, $16 for the JB at the liquor store, and then hit the bars after we ate. Rum is cheap, whiskey expensive.
As for the girls, it really depends on the amount of Indian blood they have in them. In the really rural areas the girls aren't as much to my liking because they have that sort of look, wide noses, round faces, etc.. But then you'd get these real stunners every once in awhile, or girls who had natural blonde hair and really European facial features.
San Jose and the central valley have better looking girls in my opinion, more Spanish proper blood, and higher numbers. Never heard the Colombian part, but if I had to guess the answer would be no.
I'd say that 30% of the girls I see are lookers, the rest not so much, that increases some when you get into San Jose. I keep going back to the blood part but it does make a difference, thinking back the ones from the country usually didn't age well, were shorter and rounder, those with more Spanish blood tend to stay thinner and better looking.
Local food is actually pretty decent for the most part. San Jose is heavily Americanized in its newer areas so it has a good range to offer. The country parts are decent, lots of rice and beans and beef. I'd really look into places along the coast as the availability of sea food can make a big difference.
Panama is dirt cheap. They use the dollar but there is less money in circulation so inflation is way down. Were talking about dinners for $5 at good restaurants. I haven't spent much time in Panama but from what I hear it can be worth it, it is far more modernized and tourist friendly.
Surf is excellent! I have never surfed SoCal but from what I have heard it is better. Where I was at there were three great right hand point breaks, swell right before I left was double overhead. It is considered crowded when there we 15 people out. Much less fighting for the peak than in the States, though you still have to do that with some with the locals.
There are beach breaks where there are no rocks. The three breaks I would surf had some rocks, but you just had to know where they were and not run over them, if the swell is big enough you don't even have to worry about that. The bottom of one is rocky, but since it it a high tide break you should never hit the bottom even in a wipe out. Another break has rocks at either end of the beach, but the break is in a cove that is about 200 yards of sand. The worry isn't really in wiping out, it is being caught in a clean up set and getting pushed into rock formations. IT doesn't happen often though.
Pavones is a break across the gulf from us, has a famous left hand break that you can ride for over a mile, you can surf it for as long as your legs hold out.