I have done some extensive travelling through Central America and I am going back to Belize later this year.
San Jose is Hell, but the further away you go from that city the nicer it gets. I still remember being in downtown San Jose and having a bunch of hookers trying to steal my wallet. I had one pulling on my… unit… and the others were reaching all over. Quite the experience. Don’t let San Jose influence your opinion of the country in general. That city is hell but the rest is paradise.
Same thing with Belize. Belize City is a dump, but the rest of the country is beautiful.
I think that it’s a trend that reflects many poor countries, the large cities struggle to balance poverty with development. Meanwhile in the country people are used to living off of their land, and poverty does not equate hunger or unhappiness.