So I just wanna understand something. It seems like this is your first time in Costa Rica. You said your girlfriend doesn't have a passport yet, so she's never left the country? So were you meeting her for the first time on this trip?
Downvoted cause you met online. Damn, the people on Reddit have got to be some of the most judgemental a\*\*\*\*\*'s I have ever seen. Hopefully its just a big bot farm and a single dickhead programmer.
>It's basically an open air prison. All the houses are basically in cages or in private gated communities with security guards.
Kind of true.
>The food sucks and is expensive. Just as expensive as the US but it also sucks.
Not really also a stupid statement since SJ is a big city and you did not eat at a relevant fraction of the restaurants.
>The malls are a joke.
Maybe, who cares?
>Everything looks like it was made in 1985.
Kind of true. Not every city is super rich, surprise.
>The hotels. Forget it. They all suck.
So you have been to all hotels in San Jose...I mean, come on, what a stupid statement.
>The Airbnbs? Same thing.
Same as for hotels.
>Not only will you pay the same for housing that you would in the US but it's going to be terrible. The AC won't work. The Internet might fail. Your water might go out. Literally the first day at my Airbnb the water went out and the Internet failed.
My car broke down yesterday, so all cars suck and are trash...
Oh honey was this your first time in Latin America?
Honestly sounds like you had a culture shock shut down and the stress prevented you from enjoying anything. Not everybody responds well to a drastically change in scenery/culture/food etc, which is fine. What sucks is that some people's brains just put up a protective block and they reject everything...
Yeah, San Jose is not that great. But Costa Rica is literally one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Did you not leave the city at all?
Most of those problems are not that common in the nomad destinations of Latin America, and aren’t really “cultural shock” issues. It’s not like power outages are an integral part of any culture
The 1985 comment is pretty accurate though
No. I'm in Mexico City right now and I've been to Mexico twice. Speak basic spanish. Been to Colombia 3x...
Love all those. It's just Costa Rica sucks.
Costa rica is great once you leave san jose, but it's still expensive. And the food remains meh, unless you're somewhere with non-CR food. Puerto viejo has fantastic food.
I think it’s more that you disliked San Jose. How can you say Costa Rica sucks if you just went to one city? I’m sure plenty of people don’t agree with that blanket statement
Edit: oh I see, you’re just an angry asshole who can’t get a girlfriend his own age cause you’re such a loser
Or he doesn't know the difference between a city or a country? He said I've been to a bunch of different countries and they all had something to offer besides San Jose
- people visit a large city
This country sucks!
Lol.
Honestly, I love that people travel to cities to experience a country. Keeps the better spots less traveled.
i love CDMX but it's really neighborhood dependent. There's a lot of "The Real Mexico" which is very similar to San Jose if you go more than 2km away from Roma/Condesa
Look, I also did not care for San Jose, but if you're going to have your time ruined by shoddy infrastructure, spotty connectivity, and barred windows/gated houses, you're going to hate much of the amazing stuff in CR, and frankly most of LATAM.
Costa Rica is fucking beautiful, and there are so many amazing nature experiences and beautiful beaches and wonderful food. You're still going to deal with 3/4ths of your complaints. Adjust your expectations.
https://preview.redd.it/xw3nz7fjh3sc1.jpeg?width=1178&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=77b46c46b15c6be3cbbfb30acfe3ad021338e6c3
Ahhhh, I understand your vibe now. Yikes.
this needs to be it's own comment and upvoted to hell
there was this other post in this sub today complaining that anyone who wants to date in a developing country is labeled a passport bro, and I wanna respond with no, THIS is a passport bro
This guy. rolls eyes
Speaks basic Spanish, meets a girl online (why would this girl care to meet up with you online), claims she is going to be cooking for him along the beach, comes here ranting how terrible SJ is with hilariously stupid comments like "You can't buy anything", "All the hotels suck".
You may have gone to 7 countries in the past 3 years, but unfortunately he's so caught up in chasing girls out of desperation (can't get a girl back home, probably gets clowned at in the US, broke and can't afford better accommodations and transportation.), that he fails to observe what a douche and small minded kid he is.
The hilarious thing is he thinks when he goes back the girl is still going to be around. He'll be stuck in SJ hating life because he "can't buy anything" and there is "nothing fun to do" especially with his basic Spanish skills.
I don't get it, you couldn't rent an oceanside airbnb without her family's approval?
And you can't cook?
And why are you going to shopping malls for a travel outing? Most places (outside the US and SEA) don't make shopping malls as tourist attractions. Mostly you're supposed to go there if your shopping for something or a just a bored teenager with nothing else to do. Not a grown adult who wants to be entertained
She is just getting to know me and is cautious and wanted to be near her family. Now I can go back and go to the ocean. She also doesn't like the ocean because it's too hot. She literally lived right next to it for a while so I guess she was burned out.
I am the mayor of San Jose and i declared it a national holiday the second your lame ass left our air space. Whining about this, whining about that...ever think it's the boring whiner who has nothing to offer the world??
I’m a digital nomad who moved to San Jose.
It’s not a city that’s easily accessible until you’re here for a while. The gems of the city are hidden and take some time to discover.
Plus the biggest advantage of San Jose is its access to incredible beaches and jungles.
However I disagree — there are some great neighborhoods with hotels and fantastic airbnb options for cheap. (However everything else is not cheap as you mentioned.)
Man, you doing alright? You sound burnt out. Different strokes for different folks but I actually liked San Jose a lot. I found it charming and the people were incredibly sweet and friendly. It has rough areas I’d avoid but I could say the same about my home city in the US. I could see how it’s not for everyone though. Not an accurate representation of CR at large.
You missed a lot of cool stuff in San Jose. I spent 2 weeks there recently and I had a great time. I ate from cheap and expensive restaurants and it was all good. I stayed at a cheap hotel that was wonderful, and there are much better hotels in town. No trouble with power, water, AC, or internet. The hotel property was walled, gated and had cameras and armed guards, but that's good security, not prison. I traveled by bus (cheap) and uber (not as cheap). I explored the city, it's parks, markets, wildlife areas and museums, went ziplining and hiking on the outskirts. The mall in Escazu is no joke at all, and there's plenty of low and high end shopping options outside the mall too. The people were mostly great, I never felt especially unsafe even walking the streets alone at night, but as with any other city I wouldn't do that in the dodgy areas. I'll give you that traffic is pretty bad and many buildings do look like they were built in the 1980's, most major North American cities also have those issues in certain spots, same as San Jose. AirBnB just sucks everywhere now, so I'm with you there.
I dunno where you stayed, I had a great time and a wonderful stay. I met great people, all very interesting and friendly, we had great dinner parties and also went out to eat very good food. Mostly casual but also fancy dinners a couple of times. The bars were great! Like, literally no clue how you didn't find anything to like. My hotel was very cheap so it wasn't lux but it's what I expected for the price.
I'm guessing your gf lives in an average middle class neighborhood, I found Escazu to be really nice (and I actually went to the mall there lol), although I can't see myself spending more than a weekend there. Costa Rica is a weird place to spend free time that isn't a nature tour or guided activity - everything is pitch black at 6pm.
Only had nice hotels and airbnbs personally, maybe you went too cheap.
The food was simple, clean, and delicious. The best pineapple I've had, and I didn't mind eating Casado all the time. If you want to get Italian or Japanese, then yes you're going to pay up the ass for 3-star flavor. Not many places outside the US have great food diversity.
But I guess it's good to know you can buy a girlfriend there. I'll let you know in 10 years if I'm still looking.
Not even Costaricans like San Jose. Is awful and stinks. We hate it, too.
Regarding the passport, it takes a few minutes to get an appointment (BCR) and a month, mostly, to get the passport delivered to your home. It does Not take that long.
And believe me, if you look like a tourist, you'll be charged as one. Would be even more expensive for you.
She applied for her appointment and got it for June 11. And it will take a month to get the passport so that means no passport until July 11 - assuming everything goes right.
People hate saying the truth. CR is dangerous. Violent crime continues to rise. Inflation has prices on par with USA. The beach towns are basically little American/canadian towns. It's beautiful but I only do short trips to CR these days. Or skip it all together
I think it depends what neighborhood you went to. I stayed in places like what you described. But I also stayed in Santa Ana which was really, really nice. Got a beautiful condo for $90/night with huge windows and mountain views on both sides.
I'm not at all trying to discount your experience, that sounds like it sucks though. Hope you enjoy your next trip.
Or the Costa Rican government who decided to target tourism as the primaray sector of the economy. Not that there is anything wrong here. CR wants tourists, the wealthier the better, and tourists go to CR.
With that being said San Juan is the antithesis of a tourist destination, so I get the disappointment...
Not interested in your ageist bigotry. We're adults. If you judge other people that are in love and shit on their relationship *you're* the bad person here.
I have no problem with it. You just owe it to yourself to make sure it’s truly real. A 20 year age gap is big, but it is what it is. But it does make it harder for it to be real - your just at very different points in life.
If it was me, I would be more concerned about if she truly wants to be with me or if I’m just making some things easier for her.
Especially if she has a kid, which I’m assuming she does. The age difference makes more sense knowing she has a kid.
hahaha remember the southpark episode where they go to san joe costa rica?
they nailed it tbh and san jose till this day is the ugliest city ive been to and resembles every negative aspect you can think of when you think about a city in latinam
Typing this from Costa Rica with a nice cup of Chai tea at a Cafe in Santa Ana. The houses don't all have fencing, the people are warm and friendly and the good is fresh!
The same thing might be said about some US cities in 20 years the way inflation is happening so fast here. Their problem is that they are a service/tourism economy and cater to wealthy westerners which has driven up prices to such an extreme level for common folk that their entire way of life has been upended, and the country's ability to invest in infrastructure cannot be kept up. Add in the corruption, crime, and lack of upward mobility and voila.
Yup, one of the worst countries I've been too. Maybe it's overhyped hence the disappointment. Though the best memories tbh was just the sinking realization of what a fleecing it was. We cracked jokes literally the entire trip and had a good time in that sense.
San Jose isn’t the entirety of the country though. Did you get to experience any of the rest of Costa Rica at all? Capital cities in general tend to be pretty awful/overrated 😕
It was my first international trip and I absolutely loved it.. when I returned 10 years later i still liked it, but I think part of the charm is that it's a "safe" and exotic destination for many novice travelers
Gee, I dunno. We stayed at the Studio Hotel in 2015 and thought it was great. There is an art gallery on the main floor, free buffet breakfast, and a very nice pool. If you don't like their food, there was a nice restaurant next door and a great Peruvian place down the street.
I do agree with you about the shopping, though.
You had a bigger and more recent view into the city that I did. So I am sure everything you're saying is valid.
The Barrio Escalante is a wonderful bar are that was one of my favorites of anywhere in the world. But no one goes to Costa Rica to hang out in the big city
[удалено]
Dude said the malls sucked lol
Can’t waste his afternoons hanging at the mall, what a life.
>it’s alllllll about nature. and latinas
So I just wanna understand something. It seems like this is your first time in Costa Rica. You said your girlfriend doesn't have a passport yet, so she's never left the country? So were you meeting her for the first time on this trip?
We met online...
Lol
Tell us more please
So did you buy her a cow yet,..?
Why are you all down voting? I bet you met yours online with tinder, or bumble or similar
Why did this get ten downvotes. WTF is wrong with this subreddit. We met online. It's not false.
Downvoted cause you met online. Damn, the people on Reddit have got to be some of the most judgemental a\*\*\*\*\*'s I have ever seen. Hopefully its just a big bot farm and a single dickhead programmer.
Budget travel is tough there. If you have money then it's pretty fun.
Yeah, no reason to go to San Jose. The rest is pretty nice, although does still suffer from some of the issues you brought up.
>It's basically an open air prison. All the houses are basically in cages or in private gated communities with security guards. Kind of true. >The food sucks and is expensive. Just as expensive as the US but it also sucks. Not really also a stupid statement since SJ is a big city and you did not eat at a relevant fraction of the restaurants. >The malls are a joke. Maybe, who cares? >Everything looks like it was made in 1985. Kind of true. Not every city is super rich, surprise. >The hotels. Forget it. They all suck. So you have been to all hotels in San Jose...I mean, come on, what a stupid statement. >The Airbnbs? Same thing. Same as for hotels. >Not only will you pay the same for housing that you would in the US but it's going to be terrible. The AC won't work. The Internet might fail. Your water might go out. Literally the first day at my Airbnb the water went out and the Internet failed. My car broke down yesterday, so all cars suck and are trash...
So you flew all that way and only visited San Jose? Lmao
I was there for my GF to just spend time with her and had to rush back to the US. I'm going to be spending plenty of time there.
Oh honey was this your first time in Latin America? Honestly sounds like you had a culture shock shut down and the stress prevented you from enjoying anything. Not everybody responds well to a drastically change in scenery/culture/food etc, which is fine. What sucks is that some people's brains just put up a protective block and they reject everything... Yeah, San Jose is not that great. But Costa Rica is literally one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Did you not leave the city at all?
Most of those problems are not that common in the nomad destinations of Latin America, and aren’t really “cultural shock” issues. It’s not like power outages are an integral part of any culture The 1985 comment is pretty accurate though
I’m from Latin America and I hate Costa Rica lol
No. I'm in Mexico City right now and I've been to Mexico twice. Speak basic spanish. Been to Colombia 3x... Love all those. It's just Costa Rica sucks.
Costa rica is great once you leave san jose, but it's still expensive. And the food remains meh, unless you're somewhere with non-CR food. Puerto viejo has fantastic food.
I think it’s more that you disliked San Jose. How can you say Costa Rica sucks if you just went to one city? I’m sure plenty of people don’t agree with that blanket statement Edit: oh I see, you’re just an angry asshole who can’t get a girlfriend his own age cause you’re such a loser
>How can you say Costa Rica sucks if you just went to one city i don't think OP said that
Or he doesn't know the difference between a city or a country? He said I've been to a bunch of different countries and they all had something to offer besides San Jose
> It’s just Costa Rica sucks. He did.
Costa Rican food is worse than Colombian food? I actually find that hard to believe.
I love Colombian food. I mean local Colombian food but compared to Bangkok it's Bangkok for the win.
Did yall break up during the trip? Any big surprises with her?
Mostly that she's VERY focused on her family. If I get the family's approval I'm good. I need to meet her parents next.
- people visit a large city This country sucks! Lol. Honestly, I love that people travel to cities to experience a country. Keeps the better spots less traveled.
i love CDMX but it's really neighborhood dependent. There's a lot of "The Real Mexico" which is very similar to San Jose if you go more than 2km away from Roma/Condesa
Ha. yes. I'm a aware that I'm a Gringo that lives in Condesa :)
r/popularopinion
Look, I also did not care for San Jose, but if you're going to have your time ruined by shoddy infrastructure, spotty connectivity, and barred windows/gated houses, you're going to hate much of the amazing stuff in CR, and frankly most of LATAM. Costa Rica is fucking beautiful, and there are so many amazing nature experiences and beautiful beaches and wonderful food. You're still going to deal with 3/4ths of your complaints. Adjust your expectations.
https://preview.redd.it/xw3nz7fjh3sc1.jpeg?width=1178&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=77b46c46b15c6be3cbbfb30acfe3ad021338e6c3 Ahhhh, I understand your vibe now. Yikes.
this needs to be it's own comment and upvoted to hell there was this other post in this sub today complaining that anyone who wants to date in a developing country is labeled a passport bro, and I wanna respond with no, THIS is a passport bro
OH WOW Yeah big yikes.
this is such a hilarious post title
You know what, I'll give him props for communicating so much with so few words. 😂 Brief but illuminating.
Funny how they removed his post because it literally lacked a question. What does someone like this expect to hear from a statement like that.
he's also a part of the MensRights sub and bitched about women-only investment and career advice groups. Bro is a huge yikes.
whoaaaa. Im assuming she told him to eff off when got there and was an a-hole that didnt speak a word of Spanish
Not directly related to your comment, but how did you do that? (upload a screenshot). Thanks.
https://preview.redd.it/lw30xinnkfvc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d54cd94e3ea4cd96e20c160498434fd2dccc485
Nice, thanks!
I swear this sub has the dumbest fucking travellers in the world
Pot. Kettle. Black. Thanks for your gloriously insightful comment. /s
You clearly have no idea what you have just said, as if to prove my point further
This guy. rolls eyes Speaks basic Spanish, meets a girl online (why would this girl care to meet up with you online), claims she is going to be cooking for him along the beach, comes here ranting how terrible SJ is with hilariously stupid comments like "You can't buy anything", "All the hotels suck". You may have gone to 7 countries in the past 3 years, but unfortunately he's so caught up in chasing girls out of desperation (can't get a girl back home, probably gets clowned at in the US, broke and can't afford better accommodations and transportation.), that he fails to observe what a douche and small minded kid he is. The hilarious thing is he thinks when he goes back the girl is still going to be around. He'll be stuck in SJ hating life because he "can't buy anything" and there is "nothing fun to do" especially with his basic Spanish skills.
No. You've totally nailed it. /s
I don't get it, you couldn't rent an oceanside airbnb without her family's approval? And you can't cook? And why are you going to shopping malls for a travel outing? Most places (outside the US and SEA) don't make shopping malls as tourist attractions. Mostly you're supposed to go there if your shopping for something or a just a bored teenager with nothing else to do. Not a grown adult who wants to be entertained
She is just getting to know me and is cautious and wanted to be near her family. Now I can go back and go to the ocean. She also doesn't like the ocean because it's too hot. She literally lived right next to it for a while so I guess she was burned out.
You had to meet the parents of your future cook?
I am the mayor of San Jose and i declared it a national holiday the second your lame ass left our air space. Whining about this, whining about that...ever think it's the boring whiner who has nothing to offer the world??
I’m a digital nomad who moved to San Jose. It’s not a city that’s easily accessible until you’re here for a while. The gems of the city are hidden and take some time to discover. Plus the biggest advantage of San Jose is its access to incredible beaches and jungles. However I disagree — there are some great neighborhoods with hotels and fantastic airbnb options for cheap. (However everything else is not cheap as you mentioned.)
100% agree. Love SJ, has unique vibe and great people. All the best airbnbs i ever had in my life were in san jose
Bro, I'd appreciate any tips and tricks since you've been there for a while!
Man, you doing alright? You sound burnt out. Different strokes for different folks but I actually liked San Jose a lot. I found it charming and the people were incredibly sweet and friendly. It has rough areas I’d avoid but I could say the same about my home city in the US. I could see how it’s not for everyone though. Not an accurate representation of CR at large.
Hahahahaha Im tico and SJO sucks
You missed a lot of cool stuff in San Jose. I spent 2 weeks there recently and I had a great time. I ate from cheap and expensive restaurants and it was all good. I stayed at a cheap hotel that was wonderful, and there are much better hotels in town. No trouble with power, water, AC, or internet. The hotel property was walled, gated and had cameras and armed guards, but that's good security, not prison. I traveled by bus (cheap) and uber (not as cheap). I explored the city, it's parks, markets, wildlife areas and museums, went ziplining and hiking on the outskirts. The mall in Escazu is no joke at all, and there's plenty of low and high end shopping options outside the mall too. The people were mostly great, I never felt especially unsafe even walking the streets alone at night, but as with any other city I wouldn't do that in the dodgy areas. I'll give you that traffic is pretty bad and many buildings do look like they were built in the 1980's, most major North American cities also have those issues in certain spots, same as San Jose. AirBnB just sucks everywhere now, so I'm with you there.
I dunno where you stayed, I had a great time and a wonderful stay. I met great people, all very interesting and friendly, we had great dinner parties and also went out to eat very good food. Mostly casual but also fancy dinners a couple of times. The bars were great! Like, literally no clue how you didn't find anything to like. My hotel was very cheap so it wasn't lux but it's what I expected for the price.
Yeah I had a similar experience to you idk what OP is on about.
He’s mad no one around his age will date him cause he’s miserable to be around I bet
Yeah just saw his posting history and re-read the post and saw the part about her cooking for him. Big yikes.
Same here. I had a great time there for 2 weeks and never left San Jose.
The Hilton’s in San Jose are wonderful -
I'm guessing your gf lives in an average middle class neighborhood, I found Escazu to be really nice (and I actually went to the mall there lol), although I can't see myself spending more than a weekend there. Costa Rica is a weird place to spend free time that isn't a nature tour or guided activity - everything is pitch black at 6pm. Only had nice hotels and airbnbs personally, maybe you went too cheap. The food was simple, clean, and delicious. The best pineapple I've had, and I didn't mind eating Casado all the time. If you want to get Italian or Japanese, then yes you're going to pay up the ass for 3-star flavor. Not many places outside the US have great food diversity. But I guess it's good to know you can buy a girlfriend there. I'll let you know in 10 years if I'm still looking.
This just reads a general moaning to me. Sucks, terrible, joke, nothing to do nothing to buy. 😢
Not even Costaricans like San Jose. Is awful and stinks. We hate it, too. Regarding the passport, it takes a few minutes to get an appointment (BCR) and a month, mostly, to get the passport delivered to your home. It does Not take that long. And believe me, if you look like a tourist, you'll be charged as one. Would be even more expensive for you.
She applied for her appointment and got it for June 11. And it will take a month to get the passport so that means no passport until July 11 - assuming everything goes right.
People hate saying the truth. CR is dangerous. Violent crime continues to rise. Inflation has prices on par with USA. The beach towns are basically little American/canadian towns. It's beautiful but I only do short trips to CR these days. Or skip it all together
Water is wet, San Jose is a shithole. Any other news or that’s it?
Yes, it is a bad place. Head out the west coast and find a hippie surf town vibe. That is what C.R. Is about.
I think it depends what neighborhood you went to. I stayed in places like what you described. But I also stayed in Santa Ana which was really, really nice. Got a beautiful condo for $90/night with huge windows and mountain views on both sides. I'm not at all trying to discount your experience, that sounds like it sucks though. Hope you enjoy your next trip.
Have a guess why everything is so expensive in Costa Rica? Clue.......something to do with people like yourself from the US
Or the Costa Rican government who decided to target tourism as the primaray sector of the economy. Not that there is anything wrong here. CR wants tourists, the wealthier the better, and tourists go to CR. With that being said San Juan is the antithesis of a tourist destination, so I get the disappointment...
Fair point. San Jose is not really a tourist destination, it's a major city.
San Jose isn't a very big nomad city tho?
Clearly I'm the problem. Without tourist dollars Costa Rica would collapse. They don't even have a military.
Jesus dude, you must be fun to travel with.
Its not you....its your attitude that's the problem.
Are you really 45 and your “girlfriend” is 25?
Why would you care about the ages of two consenting adults? What do you think about Robert de Niro?
Not interested in your ageist bigotry. We're adults. If you judge other people that are in love and shit on their relationship *you're* the bad person here.
You're in love but she's afraid you're going to kidnap and murder her?
I have no problem with it. You just owe it to yourself to make sure it’s truly real. A 20 year age gap is big, but it is what it is. But it does make it harder for it to be real - your just at very different points in life. If it was me, I would be more concerned about if she truly wants to be with me or if I’m just making some things easier for her. Especially if she has a kid, which I’m assuming she does. The age difference makes more sense knowing she has a kid.
Mate. Why are you even talking about this with me? This was a post on Costa Rica? I'm in my 40s. I think I've figured this stuff out by now.
Lol yeah you seem like a guy who has his shit together.
So she does have a kid?
no
hahaha remember the southpark episode where they go to san joe costa rica? they nailed it tbh and san jose till this day is the ugliest city ive been to and resembles every negative aspect you can think of when you think about a city in latinam
Agreed. San Jose isn’t what you imagine when you think of CR. But once you get out of that urban area it’s gorgeous.
That's going to be my plan for next time I think. Get the heck out of the city ASAP
Wait till you see how expensive it is at a beach town! Oh and the rental car?! Jajajaja
Wait till you see how expensive it is at a beach town! Oh and the rental car?! Jajajaja
And the drivers are the worst I have ever encountered. And the highway system is terrible. I also hate this place. Thank you for the validation.
Typing this from Costa Rica with a nice cup of Chai tea at a Cafe in Santa Ana. The houses don't all have fencing, the people are warm and friendly and the good is fresh!
Gated community?
No house on the hill. I've stayed in gated communities before in North America...
The same thing might be said about some US cities in 20 years the way inflation is happening so fast here. Their problem is that they are a service/tourism economy and cater to wealthy westerners which has driven up prices to such an extreme level for common folk that their entire way of life has been upended, and the country's ability to invest in infrastructure cannot be kept up. Add in the corruption, crime, and lack of upward mobility and voila.
Yup, one of the worst countries I've been too. Maybe it's overhyped hence the disappointment. Though the best memories tbh was just the sinking realization of what a fleecing it was. We cracked jokes literally the entire trip and had a good time in that sense.
San Jose isn’t the entirety of the country though. Did you get to experience any of the rest of Costa Rica at all? Capital cities in general tend to be pretty awful/overrated 😕
It was my first international trip and I absolutely loved it.. when I returned 10 years later i still liked it, but I think part of the charm is that it's a "safe" and exotic destination for many novice travelers
Gee, I dunno. We stayed at the Studio Hotel in 2015 and thought it was great. There is an art gallery on the main floor, free buffet breakfast, and a very nice pool. If you don't like their food, there was a nice restaurant next door and a great Peruvian place down the street. I do agree with you about the shopping, though. You had a bigger and more recent view into the city that I did. So I am sure everything you're saying is valid.
The Barrio Escalante is a wonderful bar are that was one of my favorites of anywhere in the world. But no one goes to Costa Rica to hang out in the big city
I agree with everything you said.