As a writer I am always seeking new experiences and material for my publications. When my girlfriend, who is a lawyer, invited me to visit one of her clients who is imprisoned in Costa Rica’s main prison, la Reforma, I jumped at the chance.

We arrived early in the morning two days before Christmas and had to stand in line for about an hour. At the entrance I had to give them my Costa Rican ID card and go through a body search. Once we got inside we proceeded to a roofed basketball court where all of the prisoners with visitors gathered.

I had to have my hand stamped so I wouldn’t be confused with one of the inmates when leaving.

It was moving to see all of the prisoners in the minimum security area sitting on blankets and picnicking with their family members. Their families brought them gifts and typical Costa Rican food like tamales.

A few prisoners man handicrafts which they were selling in one corner of the facility. I purchased a couple of things to to help the inmates.

After spending an hour there I realized how lucky I was to have my freedom.

A few weeks ago I was talking to a good friend who visits Costa Rica about every three weeks because of the real estate investments he has here. He mentioned that he is currently spending about $80,000 yearly on his two children’s college education. This made me fell so fortunate to live in Costa Rica.

My son was just admitted as a ULACIT University in San José, Costa Rica. ULACIT is a private university with an excellent reputation both here and abroad. My son was selected for a special M.A. program in the field of Bilingual International Commerce. The total cost per year is just under $3,000 dollars. The same education in the U.S. would cost over three times that figure. Lincoln School, my son’s private Costa Rican high school, was even more expensive than his university.

People who move here can be assured there children can receive a first-rate college education for a fraction of the cost of a U.S. university.

Before moving here 27 years ago, I visited every country in Central and South America to see if any of them had more to offer than Costa Rica. The answer was, no. When one take into consideration the weather, the country’s beauty, NO army, the nice people and other amenities, this country just can’t be beat.

Because I have lived here for so many years I sometimes find myself taking things for granted. Despite my love for Costa Rica every now and then I catch myself complaining about the traffic, petty crime, bureaucracy and other maladies.

Last night I ran into an acquaintance who has lived for a good part of twenty years. We talked at length for the first time in a long while over a few glasses of wine. My friend is one of the most successful North American businessmen in Costa Rica. He has a virtual empire which sits in the center of San José. Over the years he has also lived part time in Brazil, Cuba and Columbia. I really respect my friend’s opinion since he is a seasoned traveler and knows a lot about Latin America due to his protracted stays in many countries.

During our conversation he said unequivocally that Costa Rica is the best place he has lived. No matter how much time he spends visiting other countries in the region, he always returns to Costa Rica which he considers to be his home.

His statements made me realize more than ever that I am truly blessed to live in such a wonderful country. I am now more bullish than ever on Costa Rica.

If air quality is an issue for you, you will need to look in the areas surrounding San Jose and not too close to the city. It is common to see buses and cars blowing out black smoke…And since I walk almost everywhere I go, I am aware that air quality is probably pretty bad in the heavily traveled areas of the city.

As far as heath care, I recently had a surgery that cost 3700 dollars which included everything. I was investigating in the internet and the same surgery in the US would likely have been around 16,000 dollars not counting hospital care, etc, the surgery that I had was in CIMA which is considered the best ( and most expensive) hospital in the country.

A few years back I was in a hospital for a couple of days, saw two specialists,was treated in the emergency room, took a myriad of tests and a lot of meds…That cost 428 dollars, all of it, and was in Clinica Catholica, which does NOT specialize in English speaking care as do CIMA and Clinica Biblica.

I could not be insured in the US as I have a condition that can affect any part of my body so nothing would ever be covered. It would all conveniently fall under “pre-existing condition”. And the coverage would be too expensive anyway.

Health Care costs a fraction here of what it costs in the US. Meds cost a fraction here as well. And I believe that as long as there is a public health care system that things will stay that way. I personally don’t even have insurance as there is no reason to. I pay as I go for all health care and thus far , after 8 years here, I would say that all my health care costs have not added up to what my friends pay in the US for their co-pay on their insurance paid costs.

Also very few meds are controlled substances here so if you take a medication regularly you seldom need to pay a doctor visit to get a prescription renewed. I have been taking arthritis meds for about 15 years and just not having to pay a doctor visit everytime I bought the meds has saved me a fortune in health care.

I think that rough estimates suggest that health care costs between 25 and 35 per cent here of what the same would cost in the US.

ALthough I think it is really important to note that moving to a new country and a new culture can be VERY stressful. SO you must add that stress into the equation and see how you come out. People don’t always realize what a challenge it is to live in a country where everything is different than what you have known all your life. It takes most people several years to actually adjust to such a change and the “tropical dream” thing is generally not very realistic. There is no utopia, here or there….

Although for me, I really like Costa Rica and I like living here, but the adjustment was NOT easy at all. It took several years for me to get used to things being so different from everything I knew.

1. The magazine subscriptions come directly from the publisher of whichever magazine you receive a subscription from, e.g. The Atlantic Monthly. The reason I say this is because I received a letter directly from The Atlantic thanking me for my subscription and it has an identical coding as the magazine mailing label.
2. I have been receiving two magazine subscriptions on a monthly basis for a year and have not received any junk mail as a result of these two subscriptions. If I did receive any I would just return it to Aerocasillas for a credit (see below).
3. I do receive some junk mail as a result of other shopping I have done using my Aero mailing address, e.g. Lands End; also from some of the financial institutions I have accounts with in the U.S. However, one of the things that I like about Aerocasillas is that if you do receive any “correo basura (junk mail)” all you have to do is to return it to Aerocasillas and you immediately receive a full credit for the weight/cost of the junk mail in your account.
4. In my case I use the “Dorada” plan which has a minimum charge of $12 per month; so I would be charged this amount even if I did not receive any mail. However, I also sign up for the annual pre-pay of $120 which brings it down to $10 per month. Between my magazines, my Netflix and all of my other mail I receive a fairly significant amount of mail. My monthly bill is usually within $1 – $2 more of the $10 pre-paid minimum. I would estimate that the two magazine subscriptions I receive generally account for about $5 of my monthly bill.
5. For me, my mail is delivered to the development I live in and then a guard brings the mail directly to my door so it could not be more convenient.