Lair Davis (Our Man in Costa Rica)

I get a lot of email, particularly since I started writing for HillQuest.com a couple of years ago. Emails from people thinking about retiring to Costa Rica, and also from folks considering a vacation here. Many include very nice compliments about my writing. It is difficult to ignore “fan mail”! I try to respond to every one personally. It isn’t always easy, though.

“What’s the weather like in Costa Rica?”

Say what? Haven’t you heard of www.weather.com? Type “weather costa rica” into Google, for heaven's sake!

An amazing number of people write and ask me this and similar questions, and they honestly believe that by doing so they are “doing research.” What they are really doing is the Internet version of copying someone else's homework.

Do your own homework, please. Then, if you have a question that expands on what you have already learned, then by all means ask it. However, I am not the “answer guy” who has been put on this earth in order to make your life a breeze.

My friend Jo, who writes a regular column for A.M. Costa Rica, an online daily newspaper, advised me how to limit the amount of email I was getting — at least the kind that seeks free and easy advice.

“Add a line at the bottom of your articles that says you are a consultant. Then people will realize that if they want to ask you questions, they will have to pay you. That will slow down the emails from people who are looking for a free ride.”

Good advice, which I took — and it worked! I began to receive much less email. Only the nice fan mail continues, which I can live with just fine!

The surprising part was that some folks did continue to ask questions — legitimate questions — and they are willing to pay me for the privilege of asking them. So many people are considering a move to Costa Rica, either as retirees or just because they want to leave the United States (for a variety of reasons). (More than 60,000 of us now live here!) They really need to have someone “on the ground” here to help them. I am very happy to be that “someone” — particularly when they are willing to pay me!

I am not trying to get rich as a consultant. I am retired, and I do not want to work very hard. I also am only interested in working with nice folks. Clueless people who really shouldn't get out of bed in the morning, much less move to a foreign country, well, I try to discourage them as gently as I can, and I refuse to take them on as clients.

One thing has led to another, and now I've begun to advise folks who want to visit here on holiday. I enjoy helping independent travelers, helping them to decide how and where to find good deals, where to go for their particular interests, how to make their money stretch. I have been visiting this country for many years. I know it quite well. I have stayed in many, many places. I can truly recommend appropriate choices for many visitors. I work very hard at knowing what I am talking about.

To stay on top of my “business,” I now have begun traveling again around the country to check out new hotels and attractions and to see if old favorites are keeping up their standards. I do not accept any commissions from travel service providers and I accept no lodging or other services for free. When I visit, I don't let them know that I am “working.”

I “work” for the people who hire me, not for the Costa Rica tourist industry.

I also do not pull my punches. If your hopes and plans are unrealistic, I say so. Costa Rica is not Florida del Sur. It is not Hawaii South. It is another country entirely. If what you are hoping to enjoy on your holiday cannot be found in Costa Rica, I am not going to take your money and tell you that it can. There are plenty of other folks who will do so, however, and I will suggest that you either adjust your plans or contact one of them.

Now, I am beginning to organize my first tour. Such a deal I have put together! It surprised me! This tour will be specifically for single gay men — a small group of only seven men. I am not interested in “your typical tour” nor in massive tourist-herding events. The tour I have organized has turned out to be fairly
inexpensive. When I started to compare the cost of producing it with the costs that tour companies and travel agencies charge, I realized that some of those folks are getting quite rich indeed!

The next tour I produce will be for gay women. The next one after that, for gay couples, then one for folks considering retirement in Costa Rica. The tours will always be for small groups — the best way to travel, in my opinion — and they will always be as inexpensive yet as classy as I can make them.

Let me know if you might be interested, and I can send you details.