The interview was done in the garden of the Torremolinos Hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica. Mark Mullen from NBC asked me a series of questions about and living and investing here. He stopped me about every three minutes to make sure the cameraman and sound people recorded what I said. We also stopped when I touched on something that he wanted me to expand on. For example, I was talking about people leaving their brains on the plane and not using common sense when investing here. When I said that Mark had me stop and go into greater detail.

I was asked many questions about why people choose to move to Costa Rica. I mentioned the great weather, affordable medical care, the lower cost of living, the nice people and all of the intangibles.

Finally, they interviewed three of the people who were on my relocation/retirement tour to see what brought them here. Everyone had different reasons for wanting to relocate here.

On Saturday we had the NBC crew aboard our tour bus as we traveled around the San Jose, Escazu, Rohrmoser, Santa Ana and Heredia.

After working with the crew for three days I really learned to appreciate all the work that goes into filming and producing a television show.

The show will be aired on March 15th.

Again and again I hear stories about people making mistakes when purchasing property in Costa Rica. I really feel it is my responsibility to share the following with my readers.

As you probably know by now Costa Rica has become very popular over the last last couple of years. From all indications interest in the country is not going to wane for some time to come. Recently one economist told me the local boom could last for up to ten years more.

Therefore, it is not surprising that investors are pouring into the country to purchase all kinds of homes and land. Unfortunately, in many cases they are not using their common sense.

Scores of would-be entrepreneurs have set up shop here. Most have eye-catching web sites proclaiming their expertise and real estate offices. The problem is that some of these people are little more that modern day “carpetbaggers” with no credibility trying to cash in on the real estate gold rush. They are here to get what they can take and ride happily off into the sunset.

A large number of these JCL’s or Johnny Come Latelies are not even legal Costa Rica residents but tourists. Would you buy real estate in your home town from a tourist? Of course not! Only a fool would do it. A realtor friend of ours had the immigration department run a check to see what the status was of foreigners selling real estate in a certain beach area of Costa Rica. The results were frightening. Many of the realtors in the area turned out to be tourists living here illegally. Furthermore, the Costa Rican government prohibits anyone from working here who is not a resident.

So when looking for real estate in Costa Rica you should only deal with time-tested real estate agencies and people who are legal residents of the country. Do your homework, ask a lot of questions and don’t leave your “brain on the plane.”

For get the Super Bowl! Today’s election is the main event in Costa Rica.

Since Costa Rica is such a small country, voters participate more directly in the democratic process. Each vote carries a lot of weight so politicians are more accessible and have more contact with the people. For the 2002 presidential election the turnout was around 90 percent— numbers which dwarf the U.S.’ meager 50-percent turnout.

Six years ago I became a Costa Rican citizen after having lived here for 19 years. One of the privileges of becoming a naturalized citizen is the right to vote. I voted for the first time in the last election in 2002. Today I went to the polls or urnas and voted again. My polling place was a local elementary school in Lagunilla de Heredia.

The polls open at 6am. About that time you can here horns blaring and see hundreds of cars adorned with the flags of their respective political parties. Costa Ricans approach the presidential elections with such enthusiasm that they celebrate Election Day as if it were a big party or national holiday. People wearing party colors, dancing and bands playing Latin music all contribute to the festive atmosphere.

When I arrived at my polling place I noticed all of the major parties had set up canopies decorated with their party colors in front of the school where people vote. Under each canopy there are several tables where a score of volunteers will tell you which room in the schoolhouse you will have to go to cast your vote. They have a list where your name and cédula (national identification card for citizens and residents) appear. There are children who will lead you to the room where you are to vote This is determined by the first letter of your last name or father’s last name in Costa Rica.

Once you arrive at the room where you vote you have to hand the workers you cédula. They look for you name and a photo copy of your cédula in a thick book. When they find the information you have to sign the page in the book where your cédula and photo appear. Next you are given the ballots and go to a waist-high table with a partition on three sides of it. You unfold the ballot put an ‘X” below your choice and fold it back the way it was. Then you stick your ballot in a big cardboard box with a slot in the top and the volunteers return your cédula to you. That’s it!

During the last year I have personally seen a huge leap in the interest in Costa Rica. I have personally been interviewed by reports for Newsweek, Ophra’s magazine and Fortune.

I suspect this spike in interest in Costa Rica has to do with the Baby Boomers coming of age. The year 2006 is when the first group of Baby Boomers turns 60 and draws closer to retirement age. Many of them find themselves in a position where they just can’t afford to spend their golden years in the U.S. and maintain a decent lifestyle. Consequently, many are forced to look abroad for a more affordable lifestyle. Costa Rica may just be the place they are seeking. I spoke with an economist from the U.S. the other day and he says we are seeing the beginning of this tendency of Boomers moving abroad.

The other day I was contacted by a producer of the NBC’s Today Show. She want to bring a camera crew here to do a report on retirement. They will film parts of the seminar, my inland and beach tours plus profile a few expats and what they do here.

Please stay tuned my friends to find out when the show will be aired. I plan to post this information on my site and in the newsletter.