While he rest of the world is going through a major economic downturn, things are looking good here.

With all of the doom and gloom saturating the media I am so happy to be living in Costa Rica.

While he rest of the world  is going through a major economic downturn, things are looking good here. The IMF recently gave Costa Rica’s financial institutions and fiscal policies a passing grade. Fortunately, the government has reserves, they did not make any investments on Wall Street and sub-prime mortgages do not exist here. We also don’t have the huge commerce and manufacturing sector like the auto industry which is be devastated in larger countries. Once again, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Small self sufficient countries like Costa Rica are just aren’t hit as hard as the big boys.

During the recent Christmas shopping season the store were packed with people out spending their money. So retail sales were good. On the other hand, the U.S. experienced the opposite.

Costa Rica is still affordable for your retirement dreams. People tend to compare the cost of living with depressed states like Florida to make it same expensive here. Property taxes, hired help, dining out, fruits and vegetables and above all high quality medical are still much cheaper than in the United States.

If you really want to see how affordable Costa Rica is then compare the prices here to Europe. A dinner for four in a good restaurant can cost $500 in Paris. Here the same number of people can eat for one-fifth of the that.

We will feel the trickle down effect from what’s happening in the U.S. but we will fare well. For example, our tourism doesn’t depend exclusively on the U.S. Market. A large number of European visitors com here very year.  Chinese tourists are now interested in in Costa Rica.