Costa Rica is really a small country of 6 million people in Central America located between Nicaragua and Panama. Because Costa Rica's cost of living is about 1/3 the cost of living in the united states, many people are retiring to Costa Rica. Taxes certainly are a fraction of what they are in the US, there is no capital gains taxes in Costa Rica, actually Costa Rica is called the Switzerland of the Americas. You may get a complete time maid for $200 per month, there is a good amount of organic fruits and vegetables throughout the year due to a temperate climate averaging 74 degrees. I reside in San Jose and I have no air-con or heating. https://www.discoverpuravida.com/five-things-to-do-in-dominical-costa-rica/ have plenty of screened windows and keep them open and get fresh air 24 hours a day. It's more healthy than having an air conditioning equipment running not to mention much cheaper since as of today you don't have to purchase the air that you breathe. But I am certain there's some major corporation in america trying to figure out how they can get a patent on the air and then charge a fee for it. In fact there are a variety of Oxygen bars springing up in the US where you can go and breathe oxygen for 20 or half an hour plus they charge $10.00 for that. You have none of this in Costa Rica because you have fresh clean air.
Consequently, Costa Rica has the most Americans living here per capita than anywhere else in the world and the number is growing every year. Apart from the fact that the price of living is low and the united states is absolutely beautiful, probably the most valuable asset in Costa Rica is its people. They're lovely people who find themselves gentle, kind and also have strong family ties. Their favorite expression is "PURA VIDA', which means the pure life. The Costa Ricans love their family and they also love the Americans (Gringos). They have established Catholicism because the official language of the Country. So you won't have any law suits being brought by the ACLU since there is a nativity scene around some government buildings. However, they're a very tolerant individuals who respect others preferences therefore there are many other religions practiced here as well and which are welcomed.
Many huge American companies such as Intel, Hewlett Packard and large call centers have major operations in Costa Rica. Costa Rica includes a very good education system and a higher literacy rate than the US. So they have a good educated labor pool for the many companies which are relocating here from around the globe.
So for all of the aforementioned reasons, Americans feel very comfortable here and today call Costa Rica their house. I am one of these and can let you know that I would never consider surviving in any other country. I was born in america and was raised there, but after living in Costa Rica for five years, I'd never go back. When I do go back to the US to go to family and friends, I can't wait to get back again to Costa Rica. There's just a sense of freedom here and joy in living with simply individuals who love and appreciate simple family values. In comparison to the people in the United States the people in Costa Rica are poor, but they are abundant with spirit. I often say that folks in Costa Rica have nothing, but they have everything. When I made that comment to someone, their comeback was, "yes you are right, in america it's just the reverse, their the people there have everything and yet they have nothing".
It seems every day in the US you hear of horrendous acts of violence that is shocking to the core. Senseless mass killings and all types of unimaginable crimes against innocence children and the American people. Senseless shootings in schools, universities, stores and also in Churches. You merely don't possess that in Costa Rica, it just doesn't exist. Yes there is crime like everywhere else, but not to the amount that you see happening in the US.
I mentioned previously about having a genuine sense of Freedom here and I want to expand on that a little more, since it is a very important factor. When I am in the US I feel like I am living in an Orwellian your government society. This war on terror has people living in fear. It seems to me when I am in the US there is just a lot of paranoia, if fact I find myself getting paranoid. I am at the airport and on the loudspeaker they announce the threat level is orange today and do not leave your bag alone. In the event that you see anything suspicious report it to the authorities. I go to the bank and have to fill our papers for simple transactions as a result of Patriot Act and for Homeland Security. I believe to myself what has happened to the land of the free and the home of the brave?
I think back again to the late 1960's and ponder how much things have changed. Let me tell you a little story that may dramatize that time. I was created in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in a large Italian family. I was at that time in my own earlier twenties living in Philadelphia, Pa. and I was working with the mayor of Philadelphia Frank Rizzo, who was simply an Italian American and was the former police commissioner. Philadelphia had plenty of problems with crime plus they still do, so Mr. Rizzo insisted that I get a gun and a license to transport it, so I did. One weekend I drove with some friends from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to go to my family. Then i was to fly back again to Philadelphia since my friends were going to stay longer. Inadvertently, I had left my gun in my bag. So when I got to the airport I walked to the gate and asked to consult with the Captain. You didn't have to go through all the security that you do today you merely would walk around the gate and board the plane. The Captain arrived and I told him that I had a gun and had a license to carry it and showed it to him. He explained no problem, just take the bullets out. Now consider where we have result from that point to where we are now. They're body searching 90 year old great grandmothers and herding people like cattle through ever tighter security. Oh incidentally, gas was selling for $.29 cents per gallon at that time and parents didn't need to mortgage their homes to send their kids to college.
Here in Costa Rica I have exactly the same feeling of freedom that I had in the late 1960's and I love that feeling. I also love the truth that beach side property in Costa Rica is selling for 1960 California prices. I love the sense of family the Costa Ricans still have. I feel the beauty of individuals and the country throughout me and within me. I can buy fresh organic fruit and veggies every week that are grown 52 weeks per year in Costa Rica's temperate climate at a fraction of the purchase price you pay in america. Health care and dentistry is a fraction of the purchase price aswell. Taxes on my beach home at Las Olas Beach Community in Esterillos Oeste is $200 per year. I have a full time maid that cost me $200 per month. And when some day I wish to go into a retirement home, it will be a fourth of the price as in america and you will be staffed by caring and giving Costa Ricans. So this is why I, alongside 200,000 other Xpate Americans now call Costa Rica their house now also it really and why more are arriving at retire hear weekly.