Chris Howard have personally introduced young entrepreneurs, middle age people, Baby Boomers and retirees to Costa Rica.

I was having dinner with a close friend last week and during one of our conversations she remarked. “You know you have been a trend setter here in Costa Rica.” I then said, “What do you mean?”

She went on to explain that I had been the first person to promote and write about retirement and living in Costa Rica over twenty years ago. The more I thought about it she was right. When I came here in the early 1980s there were a few brave expatriates who had made the move. Some were retired while others were just  hanging out and enjoying life.

I never thought of myself as a trend setter but I did get bitten by the bug to promote the country for retirees about 25 years ago. The first thing I did was write a 60-page pamphlet which eventually evolved into he current 15th 550-page edition of my best selling guidebook, “The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica.” The book created  an awareness of the country as a retirement haven and has been read by over a quarter of a million people. Thanks to it thousands of people’s lives have been changed by making the move to this beautiful tropical paradise. My book has become so successful that a while slew of people have copied me by writing other books about living here. I really do feel flattered because of this.

About twelve years ago, at the insistence of some of the people who had read my book,  I started to offer relocation/retirement tours to Costa Rica for people of all ages and budgets. Since that time I have personally introduced young entrepreneurs, middle age people, Baby Boomers and retirees to Costa Rica. It is really rewarding to help so many people find what they are looking for in Costa Rica. At present my tour business is flourishing. As with my books others have copied my formula by starting their own version of my retirement/relocation tours. They have experienced some success but not to the extent I have. My tours have been featured on the NBC Today Show, CNBC World News and were mentioned on Good Morning America, in News Week Magazine and other publications like the Wall Street Journal. I expect somebody to copy this idea soon given my book’s success.

Aside from all of my accomplishments above, this article is to make people aware of the popularity of Costa Rica as a place to work, play, live or retire. Given the current financial crisis in the U.S. and other world events, Costa Rica just may be the solution. Hopefully, I can continue to help people change their lives foe the better by moving here.

Over the the last 27 years I have had the opportunity to observe 1000s of foreigners who have moved here. Costa Rica has always been a expatriate haven and has attracted foreigners from all backgrounds.

When I originally came here in the early 1980s the place was like the wild west and only for adventurous souls. There were soldiers of fortune involved in the Contra War in Nicaragua, Gringos on the lam, hippies, some retirees, gold miners in the Osa and a few entrepreneurs. They really were an interesting bunch of characters. Many would gather at a the now defunct bars downtown like Our Club, Porkey’s, Grupo 21, La Fonda, the old New York Bar, the old Piano Blanco Bar, Happy Days, La Fonda, Tiny’s and Tingo’s. During the day most of the expats hung out at the old Soda Palace, Frostie’s or infamous Park Hotel.

The old Key Largo under the late Jimmy Adams was the hot spot at night. It resembled something right out of a 1940s Bogart  movie.

Over the years people came and went. Most of the old time characters died off and were replaced by a whole new breed of expatriates. There are still the retired people but now we have the Baby Boomer crowd and a younger bunch of expat entrepreneurs. The Internet and Costa Rica’s popularity have really changed a lot of things. Now people can come here and start a web based business or put up a website to tell about their lives. A slew of sites with exotic tropical names exist where the nouveau experts on Costa Rica pontificate. A lot of these characters have given themselves names like Tico Bob, Costa Rica Mary, Orosí Ed, San Jose Sally, etc. One of the latest things  is to write blogs about their experiences here.

Another new fad is to write a book about one’s live here in Costa Rica. Since anyone can self publish this is now quite easy. Ninety-percent of these writers and self publishers don’t make any money on their books because they are in too much of a niche market. One group of expats  has discovered that writing blogs and books is a good way to attract customers to their businesses. I wrote the first edition of my bestselling guidebook, “The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica,” twenty years ago as a labor of love for the country. It was something really novel at the time and only one of two guidebooks about the country.  Today we have people hyping real estate and all sorts of products and services through their books.

What happened to the good old days when most people came down here to retire and live? I really miss the old eccentric crowd where money and egos weren’t an issue. Many of the new group are just too self serving.

I still love Costa Rica and will never leave here even when I retire but some things have changed.

That’s what it is all about here... living the good life!

Baby Boomers are now worried about their retirement funds and the consequent hit on their retirement plans and lifestyles. To avoid outliving their assets and having to reduce their standard of living, retirement in Costa Rica may just be the most viable solution.

People who have moved here know that they can actually have a substantially higher quality of life for much less money than if they had stayed in the States. This is especially true with what’s happening now. Retirees who would be living below the poverty line in the U.S. are happy and enjoying a good in Costa Rica.

They have found real value here. For example, since medical care is excellent and affordable they have more money to spend on entertainment, travel and other activities which improve their quality of their life. Cheap utilities and local food products like fruits and vegetables make living here even more attractive. Factor in affordable public transportation and you can find true savings here and thus avoid the financial squeeze up north.

The national motto is “puda vida” which means “pure life or living.” That’s what it is all about here.,,,living the good life.

After years of delays the new Carretera de Sol or costal highway is well under way. It will extend from the south side of the Sabana Park in San José to the Pacific Coast. A few weeks ago I went to the town of Orotina to observe the progress and was very impressed by what I saw.

Towns like Palmares and San Ramón will not benefit from the new highway.

When completed a trip to the Central Valley to the Pacific Coast will take less than an hour. It will be a hop, skip and jump to some of the best beaches in Costa Rica. The construction of this new thoroughfare will bring with it another boom to the towns along the way. Anyone owning property along or near the highway will reap the benefits of this improvement in Costa Rica’s infrastructure. The Orotina and Jaco Beach areas will be most immediately affected since they are directly in the path of progress. Hermosa, Esterillos, Parrita, Palo Seco, Quepos and points south will be the next to benefit.

Unfortunately, towns like Palmares and San Ramón will not benefit from the new highway and ensuing growth it will bring. These areas are out of the mainstream of growth because of their location. People who live in both areas will find still themselves at least an hour and a half or more from the best beaches in the Central Pacific and thus won’t benefit from the resultant growth the new highway will bring with it.

When it comes to retirement property it is best to always choose an area in the path of greatest growth for resale value. Location, location and Location. Actually, I just heard on the CBS Evening News that location, location and location is the most important factor in the survival rate of a major health crisis like a heart attack. According the the statistics, the closer you are to a major medical facility and good health care, the greater your chance of surviving a major health problem. Both San Ramón and Palmares are at least an hour away, provided there is no traffic, from the Costa Rica’s best private medical facilities. During a major medical crisis the first 10 to 20 minutes are crucial.

If you are of retirement age the availability of emergency health care should be a primary factor in determining where you are going to live.

Rebirth of passion and lust for life in Costa Rica

Most people who read the title of the title of this article will ask, How?

Living life and just going through the motions? If so, you may be cutting your life short, as it’s been medically proven that people with passion and dreams actually live longer, healthier lives.

Apoptosis is when your brain believes that you have outgrown your usefulness and sends a message to your body that it is no longer needed. At that point, you begin to mentally or physically self-destruct. Often this occurs when people retire, when they experience an empty nest, or when they stop dreaming. If you believe that you are too old to dream or that you have achieved all you want, you may be causing yourself to age prematurely.

So, what’s the cure, the antidote for this syndrome? Passion and dreams! One way to re-ignite your passion is to create a new dream or move forward on one that is important to you. How about taking a trip to a place where you have often dreamed of visiting, where you can learn how to create new dreams or how to move forward on a dream that you already have?

Moving to Costa Rica can do the same thing. I talk to all of the people on my monthly relocation/retirement tours about why they want to move here. Many are bored, sick of the rat race, want to experience something new and exciting and regain their enthusiasm.

When we are young most of us go to college; choose a career; get married and have a family. When it is time to retire people find themselves with a lot of time and often fall into the trap mentioned above. Costa Rica can cure all of that.

Here you can: begin an exciting new stage of your life, make new friends with a lot in common, experience a new culture, learn a new language, find just about any activity to stay busy and happy and regain your youthful passion. All this will combine to make you feel better and possibly help you to live longer. Recently, I heard some expatriates remark that living in Costa Rica was like discovering the Fountain of Youth.

I have seen this occur in the majority of the people who move here. Indeed Costa Rica can change people’s lives for the better.