Synagogue Shaarei Zion, San Jose, Costa Rica

There are only 14 million Jews in the world; 7 million in the Americas, 5 million in Asia, 2 million in Europe and100,000 in Africa.  It is common knowledge that Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish. Albert Einstein, the most influential scientist of all time and TIME magazine’s ‘Person of the Century’, was a Jew.  Sigmund Freud did ego, and superego — the father of psychoanalysis was a Jew. So were Karl Marx, Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman.

In case you don’t know Costa Rica has a Jewish population. Around the time of World War II many Jews immigrated to Costa Rica. Originally most worked in agriculture but they soon became involved in a variety of business endeavors. Now they own banks, automobile agencies, shoe store chains, department stores and many other successful businesses.  Many Jews are renowned professionals like architects, lawyers, doctors and dentists to name a few. They have also played a prominent role in the country’s political scene. As you can see Jewish people have contributed to making Costa Rica the great country that it is today. Visit http://www.centroisraelita.com/centro_israelita_informacion_visitantes_eng.htm for more information.

If you are Jewish and thinking of retirement in Costa Rica you should have no problem making friends and fitting in here. There is a synagogue  where you can worship and meet people of the same faith. If you have children there is even a Jewish school. Costa Rica has religious freedom and most other religions are represented here as well as having their own houses of worship.

The Avenida Central in San Jose is plenty of places where gringos gather early in the morning over a cup of coffee.

Every weekday morning there is a group of 7 to 10 gringos who gather around a couple of front tables at MacDonald’s on Avenida Central in the heart of downtown San José. This tradition has been going on for over 20 years. I started going there regularly in the late 1980s when I lived in the San José area. Unfortunately there aren’t many of the original group left who used to gather there. Most have passed away or moved on.

I live in Heredia so I don’t get downtown that often. Nevertheless when I am in San José I make it a point to stop buy MacDonald’s and shoot the breeze with the new generation of characters who hang out there. The regulars are:  Steve from Michigan via Florida, Ron from Florida, Mike from Canada, Mo from Florida, Paul from Kansas, Joe from New York and a few more  expats who drop in from time to time.  The group talks about a variety of topics ranging from politics to Costa Rica’s women to solving the world’s problems. I really enjoy the camaraderie and hanging out with this group once in a while. It gives once a sense of belonging and can relieve the feeling of nostalgia for one’s home country.

La Casita in Heredia another place where gringos gather early in the morning over a cup of coffee. It is located on the south side of Heredia’s Central market.

Living a dream

Yesterday I finished one of my monthly relocation/retirement tours. During the tour my clients and I have the chance to really bond. I share my experiences about living here and answer all of their questions. They get a mini seminar from me everyday of the tour.  I also ask them a lot of questions about why they want to move here, their goals and what they expect from the country. That way I can address their specific needs. What really happens is that we become very close during the week we spend together  and end up becoming good friends. I actually feel sad after the tour is over because I miss the interaction.

I had a a particularly interesting group this month. There were Joe and Mary Ann from Ohio with their best friends Kathy and Steve. Richard and María and from Maryland, Audrey and Martin from Florida and Tony and Bev from California who rounded out the couples. The singles were Grafton, Debbie, Asher, Roger and Dana. Everyone really had a good time especially during the many dinners we shared as a group.

During one of our many discussions one of my clients said, “Chris, you are living the life we have dreamed of in Costa Rica.” I came to the realization years ago that I was really lucky to have moved here, but my clients statement really made me feel more blessed than ever to live in such a magical place on earth. I should never take anything for grated since many people would do almost anything to have the chance to move to this wonderful country. When one thinks what is going on in the rest of the world, it is so great to be living here in paradise…very…very uplifting.

¡Pura Vida!

In a couple of previous blogs I wrote about Mexico’s drug war and increasing number of kidnappings and the possible effects on American retirees. Now there is another danger, swine flu.

Apparently Mexico has become the epicenter of this epidemic. The source of the disease was traced to a hog farm in the eastern state of Vera Cruz. At present there are over two thousand people with the disease and almost 200 deaths have been reported. Perhaps the death toll and spread of the disease can be imputed to the the country’s poor sanitary conditions. For example, there is virtually no place in the country you can drink tap water.  This causes many vulnerable tourists to come down with the famous “Montezuma’s Revenge” which is a form of diarrhea. A wife of a friend of mine came down with Shigella which is closely related to Salmonella  while traveling in Mexico. She almost died.

Mexico City is one of the most polluted cities in the world.  Ten thousand (10,000) tons of contaminants fall over the city daily. Tourists have been know to become ill by just breathing the air.

Recommendations to prevent being infected by swine infection by the virus consist of the standard personal precautions against influenza. This includes frequent washing of hands with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizers, especially after being out in public. People should avoid touching their mouth, nose or eyes with their hands unless they’ve washed their hands. If people do cough, they should either cough into a tissue and throw it in the garbage immediately, cough into their elbow, or, if they cough in their hand, they should wash their hands immediately. Vaccines that are effective against the current strain are being developed. Al of this may be hard because of Mexico’s poor sanitary conditions.

Fortunately, no cases of this disease have been reported in Costa Rica. The country is much cleaner than Mexico and its tap water is not contaminated. Cases of food poisoning and dysentery are very rare among retired people and tourists here. This is one more reason to chose Costa Rica over Mexico for retirement.

Every day I read four or five of Costa Rica’s top Spanish newspapers in order to keep abreast with what is going on here. After all it is my job as an expert on the country to be very well informed. I also imperative for me to be able to answer questions from my clients on my monthly Costa Rica relocation/retirement tours.

In the April 30th edition of Costa Rica’s La Nación newspaper there is a good article about the current state of affairs in Panama. For some time many publications, realtors and expatriates have been hyping Panama as “the” place to retire. Some go so far as to say that it is the world’s best retirement haven. Unfortunately nothing could be farther from the truth.

According to the most recent polls forty-seven percent of all Panamanians view crime as the most pressing problem. The number of homicides has increased the last couple of years: 444 in 2007, 593 in 2008 and at the rate things are going this year the latter number will be topped. Forty-two percent of the murders have to do with drugs and fighting among local gangs.

Poverty is another issue in Panama. The country has one of the worst distributions of wealth in Latin American which helps explain why nearly 30 percent of the population is living in poverty.