Am I marketable in CR?

[Camy]

Hi Russ,

Have been reading some of the forums and you seem to know a bit about everything so I'm hoping you can give me some advice.  I'm currently considering relocating to CR (like most people here it looks like:)) and am wondering if I have any skills that I could use to get a job there and live comfortably for a year or two.  I moved to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico when I was 20 and I'm getting the itch for sand and sun again (I live in Seattle, Washington so I itch for that A LOT), so I have a general understanding that countries are protective of foreigners taking up their jobs.  I was a waitress there and an activities director at a hotel and in both cases was known to the government as doing public relations. 

Anyway, am 30 now and have spent my years in sales mostly.  I also worked for hotels as a front desk/reservations agent and was a great auditor.  Currently, I manage 2 apartment complexes totally 140 units and handle staff, vendors and residents.    So do resorts hire Americans (that speak only english...I know, I know, not so marketable now am I, but I made it work in Mexico so I'm hoping)?  I think I found an ad on Craigslist for someone to manage a 36 room motel, is that at all common?  Or maybe you know of a way to contact people with businesses down there that would want an American to manage? I had an aunt that lived in Flamingo Beach and she will help me all she can, I'm not sure what her connections are down there.  She was going to do real estate, but I wondered if that's a saturated market down there.

Sorry so lengthy!! Any help would be great!!!!

[Russ]

Hi Camy, thanks for stopping by.

This is a tough post, but maybe I can help.  If you are looking for adventure and are willing to vault off into the unknown, you can definitely find that here.  You have a big handicap in not speaking Spanish.  Since it sounds like you want to live on the beach, that limits your choices too.  On the other hand there are probably a few hundred foreigners making a decent living here that were exactly in your position before they came down, so you might like to give it a shot.

A position managing property is probably a pretty good bet. The large resorts and companies require legal residency or work permits.  IMHO you will be more likely to find a position through personal contacts that you make here.   If I were in your position, this is what I would do:
- Save money that you could get by on on for at least 6 months (a year would be better).
- Buy a language course to study in the meantime
- Realize that you will be entering the country as a tourist and whatever work you find will be illegal.  Fortunately undocumented workers from the US, Canada and Europe get treated very well here by police and immigration in general, but you still have a slight risk and have to remember that you leave the country every 3 months for 72 hours.
-  You might take advantage of that fact and plan to check out Panama and Nicaragua for opportunities too.
- Plan on coming down and checking out a few beach towns.  You can narrow your possibilities down by the Internet, but you want to come down a find a place you like after you have spent time there. 

Once you decide on an area you will be spending your time networking and learning Spanish. Of course lots of businesses need people that speak great English and have customer service and management skills, similar to your current position for instance.  But at some point you have to have Spanish.  You could imagine finding a gated community that offers a rental pool for people who buy condos. They would need someone to manage the rentals, which could be you. Most of the owners would be foreigners and most of the renters as well, so English is fine there.  But at some point the day to day operations would require you to communicate with at least basic Spanish to people who would be doing work for you like gardening and repairs.

 The towns that are developing the most are on the Northwest Pacific Coast, so that's where you will find more opportunities.  If you have a possibility of staying with your aunt and using that as a base or starting point, then you have an advantage there.

Good Luck!