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 expense of living in the united states, many people are retiring to Costa Rica. Taxes certainly are a fraction of what they're in the US, there is no capital gains taxes in Costa Rica, in fact Costa Rica is called the Switzerland of the Americas. You may get a complete time maid for $200 monthly, there is an abundance of organic fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year due to a temperate climate averaging 74 degrees. I live in San Jose and I have no air-con or heating. I simply have plenty of screened windows and keep them open and get fresh air 24 hours a day. It's much healthier than having an air conditioner running and of course much cheaper since as of today you don't have to pay for the air that you breathe. But I am sure there is some major corporation in the US racking your brains on how they can get yourself a patent on the air and charge a charge for it. In fact there are a variety of Oxygen bars springing up in america where one 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 since you have fresh climate.
Consequently, Costa Rica gets the most Americans living here per capita than somewhere else on earth and the number keeps growing every year. Aside from the fact that the cost of living is low and the country is absolutely beautiful, probably the most valuable asset in Costa Rica is its people. They are lovely those who are gentle, kind and have strong family ties. A common expression is "PURA VIDA', this means the pure life. The Costa Ricans love their family and they also love the Americans (Gringos). They will have established Catholicism as the official language of the Country. Which means you won't have any law suits being brought by the ACLU because there is a nativity scene around some government buildings. However, they are a very tolerant individuals who respect others preferences therefore there are several other religions practiced here aswell and which are welcomed.
Many huge American companies such as for example Intel, Hewlett Packard and large call centers have major operations in Costa Rica. Costa Rica includes a very good education system and an increased literacy rate compared to the US. So that they have a good educated labor pool for the many companies that are relocating here from around the world.
So for all of the aforementioned reasons, Americans feel very comfortable here and today call Costa Rica their home. I am one of them and can let you know that I would never consider living in any country. I was born in america and was raised there, but after surviving in Costa Rica for five years, I would never go back. When I do go back to the US to go to family and friends, I cannot wait to get back again to Costa Rica. There's only a sense of freedom here and joy in coping with simply individuals who love and appreciate simple family values. By 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, however they have everything. When I made that comment to someone, their comeback was, "yes you are right, in the US it's just the reverse, their the people there have everything and yet they have nothing".
It seems each day in america you hear of horrendous acts of violence that's 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, shopping malls and also in Churches. You just don't possess that in Costa Rica, it just doesn't exist. Yes there's crime like everywhere else, but not to the amount that you see happening in the US.
article by Don Mango mentioned above 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 if you ask me when I am in america there is only a large amount 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. If you see anything suspicious report it to the authorities. I go to the bank and have to fill our papers for simple transactions due to Patriot Act and for Homeland Security. I believe to myself what has happened to the land of the free and the house of the brave?
I think back to the late 1960's and ponder just how much things have changed. Let me tell you a little story that will dramatize that time. I was created in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in a large Italian family. I was at the time in my earlier twenties living in Philadelphia, Pa. and I was working with the mayor of Philadelphia Frank Rizzo, who was an Italian American and was the former police commissioner. Philadelphia had plenty of problems with crime and they still do, so Mr. Rizzo insisted that I get a gun and a license to carry it, therefore i did. One weekend I drove with some friends from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to go to my family. I then was to fly back again to Philadelphia since my friends were going to stay longer. Inadvertently, I had left my gun in my own bag. So when I got to the airport I walked to the gate and asked to speak with the Captain. You didn't have to go through all of 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 transport it and showed it to him. He explained no problem, simply take the bullets out. Now think about where we have come from that point to where we have been now. They are 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 in those days and parents didn't need to mortgage their homes to send their kids to college.
Within Costa Rica I've exactly the same feeling of freedom that I had in the late 1960's and I really like that feeling. I also love the fact that beach side property in Costa Rica is selling for 1960 California prices. I love the sense of family the Costa Ricans still have. Personally i think the beauty of individuals and the country throughout me and within me. I can buy fresh organic vegatables and fruits every week that are grown 52 weeks per year in Costa Rica's temperate climate at a fraction of the price you pay in america. Health care and dentistry is a fraction of the 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 monthly. And if some day I want to go into a retirement home, it will be a fourth of the purchase price as in the US 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 home now and it really and why more are arriving at retire hear every week.