Frequently I get asked this question on my relocation retirement tours and consultations. This answer is a no-brainer.  If you look what just transpired in Mexico, the answer should be very obvious.

Here is the text from La Nación, Costa Rica’s Spanish newspaper, published on August 31, 2008. “Thousands march in Mexico against the growing wave of violence.  People took to the streets today across the country demanding an end to the epidemic of killings, abductions and shootouts. “

The number of kidnappings now places Mexico on a level  with Iraq and Colombia. So far more people have been murdered this year than in all of 2007. The recent spiraling level of violence led President Calderón to deploy more than 40,000 soldiers and federal police to combat the country’s powerful drug cartels. However, this strategy has been a complete failure.

To give you an idea of the violent methods used by kidnappers, one 59-year old Mexican citizen said in an interview, ”Kidnappers are more violent now. They cut off the fingers or ears of victims and send them to their relatives to speed up the payment of the ransom.”  The straw that broke the camel’s back and cause the massive protests and outrage was the recent kidnapping of a 14-year-old boy even his wealthy father paid the ransom.

After reading this I don’t see how anyone in their right mind would consider living or retiring in Mexico.

When people hear the term “water world” they think of the science fiction movie with the same name. Costa Rica is not under water as I the movie but the stuff is plentiful here. I recently read an excellent article in an economics magazine which pointed out that water may become a more valuable resource than oil. Yes, you heard right!

There are already areas in the world that are suffering from serious water shortages including some parts of the United States. This is not the case in Costa Rica. Because the country is situated in the tropics we get plenty of rain except for some parts of the north. The wet season lasts about eight months and a copious amount of the stuff saturates the soil and feeds the rivers. Because of this Costa Rica is basically self sufficient because fruits and vegetable can be grown year round. This cornucopia provides the country with more than enough products to preclude any type of food crisis.

Just go to one of the weekend farmers markets. They all jam packed with the locals purchasing large amounts of affordable fruits and vegetables. On my relocation/retirment tours I a make it a point of showing the participants  several of theses outdoor markets. The low prices of the products also make it cheap to eat here for you cost conscious people of retirement age. I repeatedly point this out on my retirement tours. Do like most of the Costa Ricans do — shop intelligently.

Water is the building block of life and we have a lot of it in Costa Rica.