If the expats come and take over
I have a three times in my life. There were the few months that I lived in Amsterdam, the few months spent in Taiwan living, and little more than a year in Thailand. I love expat culture, especially in Asia. There are events every night, to be people from around the world meet, and each is to make open to new people. Finally, we are all strangers in a strange land, and that creates an unspoken bond between people. I've done nothing but good times in my experience as an expat living.
But I realized recently that sometimes run amok expats and easily ruin a place.
After the last two months spent in Costa Rica and Panama, are my thoughts on Expat life now forever changed. With a low cost of living, cheap land, loose tax laws and the proximity to the United States, these two countries a haven for retired Americans have become. Everywhere I went, there were always old Americans walking around in socks and sandals. In many of the best locations, Americans seem to emigrate municipalities to exceed locals and, in my opinion, ruin the paradise they came to.
This became particularly clear to me in Panama. One of my favorite places was a small town called Boquete. Located in the western part of the country, this small village surrounded by beautiful jungle, coffee plantations, a volcano, and hiking. It is a pleasant place to visit. There is not much to do, and the great combination makes it the perfect place to retire. Americans have flocked here land and open restaurants buying. There are McMansions everywhere, chic restaurants and tons of spas. A few locals complained softly to me about how things have become much more expensive for them in recent years.
I noticed the same thing while I was in Pedasi, another city in Panama. This was once a small, quiet, middle of nowhere town beach. Now there are many boutique hotels, many Western owned restaurants, and the cost of a hotel room is twice as high as before. I met a number of people who thought I was there to buy the property. When I told them I was not, she asked if I would consider it. "It is here cheap." They would tell me during me to hand over their business card. I even heard one guy complain that the new runway would be the final blow for this place.
Tamarindo, Costa Rica, the worst offender of them all was how the once beautiful Manuel Antonio. This was once a peaceful surf spot, but now it's overrun with hotels, large stores, western restaurants, overpriced local food and overpriced shops along the beach. A few years ago the pollution was so bad that the city lost its eco-labeling for clean water. Now the water is better, but they have no idea that eco-labeling back.
One could argue that expats bring in much needed development in the region, but to justify the places I had to show nothing to do. The cities in Panama and Costa Rica were still bad, there was trash everywhere, and the streets were full of potholes and lined with broken sidewalks. The flood of money Expat seemed create only one expat community who lived largely divorced from the local life. When I went to the tiny restaurant or stopped to watch some local event, there has never been to any expats, no one but travelers. The local expats just hung out with themselves, in their own community, mainly to do what she was back home, but cheaper.
When I was to be an expat, I lived in the big cities. With the big cities of the expat lifestyle is not as pronounced as it is in small towns in Central America. Yes, expats in Bangkok, prices have driven in some places, but the whole city of 12 million people has not fundamentally changed. In Taipei, life went on as if the expatriates did not exist. A few thousand people can not change cities of millions. I can not say the same for these small towns. They are definitely different. You are changed forever.
and this change has changed me to see. I never thought, really have the impact that large groups of expats on developing countries. I do not think it's for the better. I think that large amounts of money in a country actually comes a negative effect on people and space can have. It may not always be the case. There is a way to create an expat community, not not ruin on the local environment. But to Phuket in Thailand to see Seminyak in Bali, and now Central America, it seems that more often than not come expats and displace their own way of life. They create a bubble of its own.
I can not change behavior abroad the way governments. I can not control, such as places with expats deal, but I can control how I spend my dollars. It would be naive of me to say that I never visit a touristy non-local place again. Popular locations are popular for a reason, and just because a place has in the West does not mean it is bad. Additionally, you can not always know who has a place. Maybe the pizza from a local catering for tourists is heard. But wherever I go, I can make the effort to support businesses locally owned. I can give my money to the people who were there before the expats came in. I eat at the local grocery stores and stay in small inns. I can contribute to the locals and not the expat bubble. I can make an effort. And from now on, that's exactly what I intend to do.
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