Beware of the So-called Experts
and Overnight Gurus

Costa Rica's popularity and good business climate has brought with it a whole slew of enterprising foreigners. Unfortunately, some of these people lack qualifications in their fields of endeavor.

In Costa Rica, the word expert is sometimes used very loosely in the expatriate community, on numerous websites, English publications and on business cards.

Do not get me wrong; there are some highly qualified English speakers here. Nevertheless, one should be extremely cautious when dealing with foreigners who consider themselves experts in Costa Rica. Just because a person was a professional in his home country or has gone through the process of moving here does NOT qualify him to be an expert here. Some foreigners consider themselves experts just because they have lived here for a short time. Remember, anyone can build a website and say anything about themselves.

We know people who move here, and go into business and miraculously become experts overnight. Costa Rica is indeed a magical country!

Many naive newcomers have been taken advantage of by other foreigners who call themselves experts, but are really incompetent imposters. So, be careful!

We suggest that if you happen to come into contact with any foreigner who calls himself an expert, no matter how convincing he may be, do all of the following:

1. Ask for references from other foreign residents who have used the expert's services. Don't rely on the testimonials that appear on a person's website. They may be slanted. If your expert will not give you any references, you will know immediately you are being duped or sold shoddy second-rate services. Also, try to contact the person's last employer before they moved to Costa Rica. Again, if they will not give you the contact information, you can bet the person is hiding something. If a person who is not of retirement age claims to have been highly successful in his or her former country, they may be trying to cover up something about their background.
2. Check with the Association of Residents of Costa Rica to see if they are familiar with the person's services.
3. Enter the person's name in a search engine such as Google to see what comes up. There are even companies you can pay to do a background check if you suspect something.
4. Ask how long the person has lived in Costa Rica. If they have been here for less than 10 years, be careful. It takes years to understand this country. It takes more than a year or two to know the ropes. Many of these neophyte relocation gurus and entrepreneurs mean well but just don't have enough experience under their belt.
5. Find out what the person's educational background was when they lived in their home country and if they have any formal training in the Latin American culture, studies or foreign investments. If someone was a plumber, janitor, welder or doctor, for example, prior to moving here, this does not qualify them to give professional advice in Costa Rica.
6. Beware of colorful, well-designed web sites built by the so-called experts to express their admiration for the country to attract naive foreigners.
7. Be cautious of publications that appear to be helpful on the surface but incessantly hype the services of the person(s) or organization behind them.
8. Over the years we have run into so-called foreign experts who live comfortably in upscale in Ivory Towers and gated communities in gringo enclaves such as Escazú. The majority of their friends are other English speakers, so they have never have really immersed themselves in the local culture. They are virtually still foreigners living among other foreigners. These people live in virtual isolation from the real Costa Rica. Few of them have any contact with Costa Ricans except for their maids and servants and rich Costa Rican friends from the country-club set. They rarely venture out of their safe environment to gather the necessary experience to confront real life situations here. Most live as if they were still in their home country, and give advice about a country and culture they really don't know.
9. Most important find out if the person is truly fluent in Spanish. There is no way a person can have expertise unless he or she can communicate with the locals and understand the nuances of the local humor, culture and language. Beware: there are many foreigners who say they speak fluent Spanish with a vocabulary of only a couple of hundred words. I have run into many of them in my 25 years here.