Costa Rica is a small country of 6 million people in Central America located between Nicaragua and Panama. Because Costa Rica's cost of living is approximately 1/3 the cost of living in the US, many people are retiring to Costa Rica. Taxes are a fraction of what they are in the US, there is absolutely no capital gains taxes in Costa Rica, in fact Costa Rica is Known as the Switzerland of the Americas. You can get a full time maid for $200 per month, there is an abundance of organic fresh fruits and vegetables all year round due to a temperate climate averaging 74 degrees. I reside in San Jose and I've no air conditioning or heating. I simply have a lot of screened windows and keep them open and get fresh air 24 hours a day. things to do in Dominical 's much healthier than having an air conditioner running not to mention much cheaper since as of today you don't need to pay for the air that you breathe. But I am certain there is some major corporation in the US trying to figure out how they can get yourself a patent on the air and then charge a charge for it. In fact there are a variety of Oxygen bars springing up in the US where one can go and breathe oxygen for 20 or 30 minutes and they charge $10.00 for that. You have none of that in Costa Rica because you have fresh clean air.
Consequently, Costa Rica has the most Americans living here per capita than somewhere else on earth and the number keeps growing every year. Apart from the fact that the expense of living is low and the country is absolutely beautiful, the most valuable asset in Costa Rica is its people. They're lovely those people who are gentle, kind and have strong family ties. Their favorite expression is "PURA VIDA', this means the pure life. The Costa Ricans love their family plus they also love the Americans (Gringos). They will have established Catholicism as the official language of the united states. And that means you won't have any law suits being brought by the ACLU because there is a nativity scene around some government buildings. However, Dominical are a very tolerant individuals who respect others preferences therefore there are lots of other religions practiced here as well and that are welcomed.
Many huge American companies such as Intel, Hewlett Packard and large call centers have major operations in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has a excellent education system and a higher literacy rate compared to the US. So that they have an excellent educated labor pool for the many companies that are relocating here from around the globe.
So for all of the aforementioned reasons, Americans feel very comfortable here and now call Costa Rica their home. I am one of these and can let you know that I would never consider surviving in any country. I was born in america and grew up there, but after living in Costa Rica for five years, I would never return back. When I do get back to the US to go to family and friends, I cannot wait to get back again to Costa Rica. There is 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 america the people in Costa Rica are poor, but they are rich in spirit. I often say that people in Costa Rica have nothing, but they have everything. When I made that comment to someone, their comeback was, "yes you're right, in america it's just the reverse, their the people there have everything 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 sorts 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 have that in Costa Rica, it just doesn't exist. Yes there is crime like everywhere else, but not to the degree that you see happening in america.
I mentioned previously about having a genuine sense of Freedom here and I want to expand on a little more, since it is a very important factor. When I'm in the US I feel like I am surviving 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 the US there is just a large amount of paranoia, if fact I find myself getting paranoid. I'm 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 also 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 how much things have changed. Let me tell you a little story which will 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 a lot of problems with crime plus they still do, so Mr. Rizzo insisted that I get yourself a gun and a license to transport 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 to Philadelphia since my friends were going to stay longer. Inadvertently, I had left my gun in my bag. So when I got eventually 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 up to 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 told me no problem, just take the bullets out. Now think about where we have result from that time 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 in those days and parents didn't have to mortgage their homes to send their kids to college.
Within Costa Rica I've the same feeling of freedom that I had in the late 1960's and I really like that feeling. I also love the truth that beach side property in Costa Rica is selling for 1960 California prices. I really like the sense of family the Costa Ricans still have. Personally i think the beauty of the people and the country all around me and within me. I can buy fresh organic vegatables and fruits every week which are grown 52 weeks a year in Costa Rica's temperate climate at a fraction of the price you pay in the US. 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 complete time maid that cost me $200 monthly. And when some day I want to go into a retirement home, it will be a fourth of the purchase price as in america and will be staffed by caring and giving Costa Ricans. Which means this is why I, along with 200,000 other Xpate Americans now call Costa Rica their house now also it really and just why more are arriving at retire hear every week.