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Do you know what a MacGyver in Costa Rica means? When moving to Costa Rica, keep in mind that you should embrace an iterative, action-oriented mindset where “done is better than perfect.” Substitute ideal solutions by prioritizing speed, implementing “good enough” plans immediately, and iterating based on feedback. Maintain momentum by making the best decision possible with available information, failing forward, and embracing adaptability.
In short, this is all about finding a solution to a problem. And that problem can be anything, even if it’s necessary to break any law. That’s what we call a MacGyver.
If you live in a third-world country, you don’t have access to a lot of things that are readily available in the first world. If you can’t buy it ready-made, you create a MacGyver. When I moved to Costa Rica over 30 years ago, there was only one hardware store in Santa Ana. It wasn’t even a real hardware store. It was a 15-by-15-foot corner in the back of the only supermarket in town. Anything you had a quick fix at home, you had to do with all you could find in those 15 X 15 feet. Things have changed a lot, but you’d be surprised how often you’ll be in need of a MacGyver.
When and where is a MacGyver relevant
Costa Rica is generally stable and modern, but it has a few characteristics that make “MacGyver-style” improvisation feel relevant:
- Remote areas & nature: If you’re in jungles, mountains, or on beaches far from cities, things can break (cars, gear, plumbing), and help isn’t always close by.
- Tropical climate: Heavy rain, humidity, and salt air wear things down quickly—repairs are common.
- DIY culture: In some places, especially outside urban centers, people fix things themselves rather than replace them immediately.
- Utilities hiccups: Occasional power outages or water interruptions can happen, especially during the rainy season.
So, invoking “MacGyver” is more of a joke or mindset: be resourceful, adaptable, and ready to solve problems creatively with what’s on hand.
In everyday life in places like San José or Escazú, you’ll almost never need that level of improvisation—but head off the beaten path, and it can come in handy.
The history
From 1985 to 1992, there was a TV series called MacGyver. That’s how the Ticos learned how to quick-fix anything with anything at hand. The way of quick fixing was called a MacGyver. MacGyvering is quite normal in Costa Rica.
I’ve used photos from “Solo in Costa Rica” before because they show MacGyver moments so well. You will never find the kind of MacGyver solutions where you come from, as you’ll find below.
Traffic MacGyver’s
Often, the authorities don’t maintain the road system and infrastructure because they can’t get the responsible institution in charge to respond. So the people in the neighborhood do a quick-fix MacGyver, and below is the solution
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Transport MacGyver’s
In Costa Rica, we don’t have these “U-Haul rentals,” so you can move your household more cheaply if you do it yourself. So here, you need to find a truck for hire, which is generally available at hardware stores. But many cannot afford a truck for hire, and they have their own “cheap solution”, a MacGyver solution.
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Other Smart MacGyvers
“Any” fix might work; Ticos are very cooperative people. Like I said before, it’s all about solutions, and the ones below are imaginative ones. When you buy a house in Costa Rica, you might need a MacGyver fix sooner than you might think. Here are a few ideas.
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If you have lived in Costa Rica for a while, you will understand that most of the solutions shown in the photos have nothing to do with the availability of materials. Some of these quick-fix solutions take an amazing amount of imagination. The imagination of a MacGyver. Most of these quick fixes arise from a lack of financial resources, rather than a lack of material availability. Many locals just cannot afford a better solution, and the system allows them to be inventive and save money, or what we call “Hacer un MacGyver”.
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