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Old 08-04-2012, 11:40 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robyn55 View Post
Very true. I haven't traveled extensively in second world countries (Costa Rica - Mexico - Egypt - that's all I can think of) - or ever lived in one. But my lasting impression is the same as yours. Either very rich or very poor. No (or almost no) middle class. The rich people living behind barbed wire. The poor people living in slums (favelas) that make our "slums" look like Palm Beach. Seeing places like this - and the people who lived there - always made me feel very uncomfortable. Which is why I don't go to places like that anymore.

FWIW - in Miami - when rich people from central/south American countries like this bought condos as second or third homes - they often had their "help" sleep in the A/C closets on tiny cots. Used to make me cringe. Robyn
A friend who went to Ecuador to visit the parents of his girlfriend told me some of the same story you have, He stayed in a nice home that had a wall around it to keep out the thieves from the slum houses which were directly outside of his wall. Once while my friend was there the home owner had to go outside and fire off several gunshots to help keep the thieves on notice NOT to bother him.In the little town near by he said he saw packs of dogs roaming the streets (rabies is a problem) and young dirty children persistently begging from anyone who looked like a tourist or american.The place is a good example of a third world country where 99% of all wealth is owned or controlled by less than 1% of the population.I would feel less than safe in a place where there were so many desperate people.
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Old 08-10-2012, 11:47 PM
 
16,488 posts, read 24,437,936 times
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My father retired to Costa Rica and was able to live well at a fraction of the cost. Two years after moving there he was diagnosed with cancer. He tried to get his medical treatment there, but he simply could not get the same quality of care, so he moved back to the US. I think the biggest thing I think of with Ecuador is the drug problems and crime increasing there and the political unrest at times. While it sounds nice to be able to live on just a little of your money, I would not leave the US.
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Old 10-13-2012, 02:07 PM
 
Location: Paradise CA, that place on fire
2,012 posts, read 1,714,177 times
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So they can't live in the US on $ 60 thousand a year. Good grief. We live quite comfortably on less than 50 K gross income a year in Orange County, one of the most expensive areas in the country. The trick is that our home and cars are paid for, our gardener comes once a year to trim the trees, and our idea of dining out is a 2 item combo or going to the Hungry Bear a few times per year. We have Internet, Hi Def TVs with satellite, and buy clothes at Target or Ross. At work I meet hundreds of our customers who make much less than us and they have cars and food on the table.
Truth to be told, we haven't adopted any children from 3rd world countries, and shame on us for failing in this respect, but we take care of ourselves and live a simple but comfortable live in the country we love.
By the way, the wife and I, we were not born in the USA, but I wouldn't want to move anywhere else.
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