Blog Posts About Life in Costa Rica Expert time-tested advice on how to live, retire and invest in Costa Rica.
Costa Ricans Live Longer Than Us. What’s the Secret?
In the United States and elsewhere, public health and medical care are largely separate enterprises. Costa Rica shows the benefits of integrating the two—it spends less than we do on health care and gets better results. The cemetery in Atenas, Costa Rica, a small town in the mountains that line […]
More affordable housing options for expat retirees
With housing prices rising in Costa Rica more and more expats are seeking inexpensive options. In my last article I wrote about small portable homes like those for sale in the United States. I mentioned that there is now a company in the city of Alajuela that will manufacture these […]
New Affordable Housing Option for Retired Expats
Costa Rica has so many nice places from which to choose that it is often difficult to make a decision as to where one wants to reside. Once you find your piece of paradise then you have a choice of renting or buying. The former gives you more flexibility if […]
Legislation to attract foreign pensioners and Rentiers is on its way to getting approved
In March 1992, a change in the pensionado law eliminated many tax privileges retirees had enjoyed since the program started in 1964. Under the old system, foreigners with official pensionado or rentista (permanent retiree) status were required to live in the country four months a year. They were entitled to […]
Want a glimpse of Costa Rica in days of old?
“The Costa Rica Chronicles from 1980 on:the good, bad and ugly people and place” Learn about the gringo pioneers, the scoundrels and characters and events that led up to present day Costa Rica. Starting in 1980 this guide chronicles what really went on when San José was the epicenter of […]
Where is the real crime in Costa Rica?
I have lived in Costa Rica for over 40 years, speak Spanish with native fluency and above all want to want to clear up a lot of erroneous and toxic information that is being published on many social media platforms about the crime in Costa Rica. I’d like to point out […]
More good news good news about Costa Rica…it just doesn’t stop
I never get tired about writing about the accolades that Costa Rica continually receives. One of my last blogs was about Costa Rica having the lowest Covid mortality rates in the whole world based on this information: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality Below you will see that the country continues to be by far the […]
Costa Rica is still the leader of the pack
Despite the pandemic Costa Rica is still Latin America’s number one retirement haven. We are slowly catching up on vaccinating the rest of the population. Because of the high education level of the country’s people, in most cases the protocols are being followed. Just look at the mortality statistics below. […]
Once again Costa Rica is selected as one of the best places in the world for expatriates to live in 2021
This comes as no surprise because year after Costa Rica has been at the top or near the top of the list due to its friendly people, its near perfect year-round weather, unequaled lifestyle, lack of a military, good healthcare, proximity to the U.S., an abundance of activities for expats […]
Due Diligence when relocation to Costa Rica
Relocation to a new country can be a daunting task. Not doing the correct research can most often mean the difference between success and failure. According to unofficial statistics, forty percent of the expats who move here return home. Why? There are a variety of scenarios based on what I […]