Once again Costa Rica is among the happiest countries in the world
In 2008, 2010 and 2016 the Happy Planet Index ranked Costa Rica as the happiest country in the world.
There is more good news for the country. This year(2019) another organization, the World Happiness Report, named Costa Rica as the happiest country in Latin America, second happiest in the Americas after Canada and the twelfth happiest in the world out of 156 countries. Finland, Denmark, Norway Iceland and Holland were selected as the five happiest places on earth. More than 100 specialist in the fields of psychology, anthropology, and economics worked together to compile information for this report. A Gallup poll was also used to provide data.
To come up with this ranking the following factors were considered: life expectancy, quality of life, the level of democracy, freedom, equality and opportunities.
This distinction shows why Costa Rica is considered to be one of the best countries in the world for expat retirees. I know scores of people who have discovered a wonderful life here and are extremely happy due to the country’s affordable medical care, wonderful people, stunning natural beauty, incomparable lifestyle, peaceful living and so much more.
Of course, happiness depends a lot on one’s outlook on life, attitude and expectations. Most expats end up staying here but some do return home because they discover the country is not for them. The biggest reasons for leaving seem to be the language and culture. It is import to adapt; if you don’t you will never be happy here. Those who leave usually come with unrealistic expectations and get easily frustrated because things are not the way they envisioned them to be.
In many cases people who end up returning to North America never did the correct due diligence and homework. Consequently, they were doomed to failure almost from the onset. The first logical step is to take a relocation tour, get the correct time-tested information from reliable sources and establish a reliable network of good contacts. The Internet is filled with a lot of erroneous information about moving here which can also contribute to some getting off on the wrong foot.
On my monthly relocation tours there is a highly informative seminar given by experts in the fields of: healthcare, real estate, banking, communications, learning Spanish, moving household goods, cultural adaptation, and obtaining legal residency the correct way. The seminar is sponsored by the Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR), an organization whose sole goal is to help potential expats move here as seamlessly as possible. I do not know of any other country in Latin America with a similar organization that lends a helping hand to foreigners wanting to relocate.
