Where should you be shopping? - Swann Junction

[@MrPabloarce]

Costa Rican here ... I am starting to feel the need for a crusade: "let everyone know that the name of the town is EL COCO, not Coco". Usually youtubers who are in the town for 48 hours call it Coco, but when I see this video I suppose it was posted by a person who is in the town longer than 2 days. Nobody goes to other countries and change the names of their towns. El Coco is part of the history of many of us, especially people from the Central Plateau who used to go there in our childhood. El Coco -and Guancaste in general- is the cradle of Costa Rican Folklore ... there is a monument right on the beach to the author who wrote one of the most Costa Rican songs ever (almost an Hymn) which is a homage to the summer trips that people from Costa Rica make to EL COCO... I wish the locals could see these videos, they would be very sad to hear people calling it Coco and start putting signs all over town reminding foreign visitors of the name of the town (unfortunately they are not consumers of these videos and don't realize that the damage is growing as more and more videos are posted calling it El Coco) ... Please, help me with this crusade. It is a personal tico thing, I get it.

[@SwannJunction]

El Coco is amazing. We love it and call it El Coco. I think this was just abbreviation - no disrespect intended.

[@stevekollen1672]

What about the expats who change Jacó (accent on the o) to Jaco (accent on the a)? I've seen it on KZbin pages and heard it out of the mouths of foreigners on the bus going to Jacó. I tried to correct a youtube page owner and basically it was like I had unleashed WW3.

[@zzchop22]

Locals call it El Coco, but the name of the town is Playas del Coco !

[@ireneomalley9876]

We are moving to Coco soon and it was great to see this comparison. Just subscribed to you channel!

[@SwannJunction]

Awesome! It is always good to hear that the content is enjoyable.

[@ktara1033]

Bring a lot of money with you

[@DanielGarcia-tm6lx]

Thank you very much for such a well-planned and well-produced video. ¡¡¡¡Excellent !!!!

[@SwannJunction]

Glad you liked it!

[@RobertDiMatteo-m3u]

Thanks! VERY informative and helpful.

[@SwannJunction]

Glad it was helpful!

[@OrComposer]

I'd really love to hear about local resources for food outside of NA-style Supermercados. Thanks for the great content!

[@SwannJunction]

Glad you found it enjoyable! We will see what we can do about the other food sources. Good idea.

[@JK-bf1tw]

This is an amazingly helpful video. We are in the planning stages of our move to Costa Rica and COL is obviously something on our mind. I took your list and ran it through my Kroger application and came out with a cost of $81.73 after taxes. This definitely helps with budget planning when deciding if the move is right for you. Great Video and you have a new subscriber.

[@SwannJunction]

Thank you. We are glad that you found value in it and hope you will share your own personal experiences with everyone as well.

[@Kattywagon29]

I am honestly shocked by how close the prices were. However, I live in Santa Ana which is right next to Escazu. Perhaps the prices are just inflated here because there are lots of expats in the area. I primarily shop at Max x Menos. There is a Mega Super that is closer to me, but the variety is not the best and it is always pretty warm and not well lit. Additionally, the stuff I would want is basically the same price as the Mas x Menos, so I might as well go there for a nicer experience - even though the store is smaller. In my experience, it is never worth shopping at Automercado unless you are looking for something specific from the US and you don't mind paying for it. Otherwise, the prices are just too high. My best example of this is butter. The regular butter that they have here in CR doesn't taste like what you get in the states. For me it is fine for cooking, but if I just want butter straight up on a bagel, I don't prefer it. Another thing that we buy at Automercado is certain kinds of sliced cheese that we just can't find anywhere else. Other than that, we don't go to Automercado and really we are only going there if we are passing buy and then we stock up on butter and cheese. 😄

[@SwannJunction]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I agree, Auto Mercado is where you would most likely find a very specific brand of a product that you may have enjoyed in the US and/or Canada as they tend to cater to those markets. That also comes with larger a price tag, though.

[@Kattywagon29]

@@SwannJunction Just for fun, the next time you are in Automercado, check out the price of Crisco shortening. It will blow your mind! I almost bought one, to make some biscuits, but then I saw the price and instead bought a small CR brand of an equivalent product.

[@SwannJunction]

Ah, biscuits made with Crisco. A woman after my own heart. I will check it out and see.

[@zzchop22]

I lived in Santa Ana briefly and Mas x Menos was my favorite.

[@Wyliw77]

We also live in coco and this is the most accurate and well executed comparison video I’ve seen, great work.

[@SwannJunction]

Awesome, thank you!

[@quieromimoto9474]

Excellent and very useful information. You can see the passion and attention to detail.

[@SwannJunction]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Lexipoohoo]

I think we need to compare the cost of breakfast at the local restaurants.

[@SwannJunction]

Good idea, not that I really needed an excuse to eat at more breakfast places.

[@maureenslack900]

Thank you for this video. The best cost comparison video I have seen!!!

[@SwannJunction]

Glad it was helpful! We noticed that a Super New China just opened. Have to check that one out now.

[@jwpickin2052]

Interesting and I agree with pretty much everything. But I also find that some of the things that I buy are only available at certain stores or are cheaper at some. I don't like the feel of SuperCompro (even if they had AC). New China has some odd stuff the others don't. And I frequently get produce at Cartago.

[@SwannJunction]

Yeah, "Super New China" opened up in Coco right after we made this video, so we need to make an update for it and include the regular "New China" as well. And yes, if you are looking for a specific product or particular North American brand, choices can be different between them for sure.

[@judithalisonlee1095]

great video!

[@SwannJunction]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@SarongGoddess]

Great video - very informative - though I wish you would have also put the price of each item also in US$s (I could barely hear you sometimes saying the Colon price). No bread?

[@SwannJunction]

Glad you enjoyed the video. If you look at the shopping list at the end of each section, it has both the colon and dollar price for each item at that location.

[@seanhogan6897]

It is too bad that you don't have the B.M. in northern Costa Rica. It rocks!

[@SwannJunction]

Are the prices different there compared other super markets in the area?

[@seanhogan6897]

​@SwannJunction think of the BM as being close but not quite as nice as the Auto Mercado, with a good selection, but with prices closer to the Maxi Pali.

[@SwannJunction]

Thanks. We are going to have to check that out!

[@vikingkitten]

What was hamburger a lb?

[@SwannJunction]

From what we have seen, I think about $6 per pound would be a good average.

[@kapdolkim1914]

Who eats like that? I would get eggs, lettuce and wine. I think a more mainstream list would be better - some meat, veggies, cheese...,

[@SwannJunction]

Obviously, everyone has different tastes, we were just trying to find a few items that might not have specials or discounts based on the market to make the comparison as baseline as possible. Please let us know if you find different results.

[@whistlemc]

Also...FYI auto mercado is catered to gringo's.....here is my suggestion. Do a bank comparison....that result would be scary!!

[@SwannJunction]

Auto Mercado is definitely geared more towards North Americans and Europeans. It is obvious, based on the brand names available and the pricing. And, yes, we do have a video in the works comparing banks. Thank you.

[@crBudgetWatches]

Automercado is an old franchise it has been in Costa Rica long before we had an influx of gringos . It hasn’t changed much since the 80-90 and it caters to the top 25 % percentile not just gringos , ticos love automercado yes it’s expensive but it has many worthwhile items.

[@Mixednuts2]

Basically US pricing.

[@SwannJunction]

Except for US name brands compared to local brands

[@triplemotor]

Buyinng real food would be better than buying junk food..

[@SwannJunction]

Yes, and real food in Costa Rica is best purchased at fruit stands, flea markets, farmer's markets and locals selling from a folding table or the back of their flat bed trucks near speed bump on every road. We have another video that will be coming out on that topic. Thanks for watching!

[@triplemotor]

@SwannJunction ..I agree

[@patriciacontreras3042]

Luperon

[@SwannJunction]

Yeah, although gone, the plaza kept its name

[@protofran6301]

À part la laitue aucun légume aucun fruit .... triste que des produits transformés à part les œufs ...

[@SwannJunction]

Nous voulions comparer les prix, nous avons donc dû choisir des options identiques dans chaque magasin.

[@whistlemc]

Suggestion from a gringo. WATCH your wallet everywhere. This is not the USA....

[@SwannJunction]

Ah, the universal rule of traveling - watch your wallet! It's like a secret code we all know. Thanks for reminding us that it applies everywhere, even outside the USA.

[@ktara1033]

Stay away from Costa Rica . It’s not worth the money. It’s the Monaco in Central America

[@SwannJunction]

What about Costa Rica do you not like and what country do you prefer instead?

[@Time2Live.online]

After 30 years living in Costa Rica and shopping in Costa Rica, I can easily rate these stores as a top 5 list in the order of worst to first. #5. (worst) Pali, I know they don't have one in Coco but it's the biggest chain of grocery stores in CR. Pali is an oversized pulperia. It doesn't have any more items than a pulperia just more of the same. #4. Maxi Pali, the same as Pali, but a few more items, plus a lot of Chinese-made junk like appliances, kitchen gadgets and really cheap clothing and shoes. #3. Super Compro, a step above Maxi Pali for a variety of items but not by much, and they jack up the prices in their stores where there is a higher population of Gringos, like Playas del Coco. #2. Mega Super, it's better than Super Compro but still nothing to write home about. To me, not worth the walk. #1. Auto Mercado. If you are not living on a budget, and you just want what you want, it's as close to a US grocery store as you will find in CR. The prices are ridiculous, but it's the only place you will find the stuff you really want and miss. I recommend finding someone to carpool with and every 2 weeks take a trip to Liberia and hit the WalMart. Good selection of stuff, at better prices. Bring a cooler with ice in it though, it's a long hot ride. Milk or ice cream will never survive the ride home.

[@SwannJunction]

Thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge about grocery stores in Costa Rica! It's always helpful to have insider information when it comes to shopping options in a new country.

[@DreamTeamSvcs]

the bell sound ruined this video lol

[@SwannJunction]

Thanks