On my monthly retirement and relocation tours, my guests always ask about Costa Rica’s restaurants. I explain that Costa Rica has a full gamut of restaurants from inexpensive sodas where where the locals eat to high-end establishments which offer international and gourmet fare.

The majority of the country’s best restaurants are located in San José, Escazú and other areas of the Central Valley. However, good dinning may be found at many of the beach resorts in Northwest Costa Rica and in the Central and South Pacific. You’d be surprised where some of the country’s best restaurants are located. For example, Exotica is a little establishment in the middle of the jungle in the town of Ojochal in the South Pacific region. The French-Canadian owners prepare some of the best food you have ever tasted. During the beach portion of my monthly retirement and relocation tours I take my clients to dine at Exotica. Needless to say everyone loves the place.

The other night I had dinner with a couple of my closest friends at the Taj Mahal, the country’s outstanding Indian restaurant. The food is absolutely mouth-watering. The Taj is a high-end restaurant but worth every penny of the cost. I only go there a couple time a year on special occasions. I had a couple of friends in town from the U.S. and really wanted them to experience Costa Rica’s dining at its best.

If you are interested in Costa Rica’s restaurants, I suggest you purchase the “Tico Times Restaurant Guide to Costa Rica.” It is an informative guide featuring the restaurant and dining scenes both in San José and throughout Costa Rica. If you decide to move here you can be sure that you won’t miss he restaurants from home.

Every day more and more people chose Costa Rica as a place to live or retire.

The process goes like this. Usually people come here as tourists and then fall in love with the country and its lifestyle. While others read about Costa Rica or see nature programs on TV which extol the country’s beauty and all it has to offer.

After doing their research on line and reading all of the guidebooks people then decide to make the move. They usually contact a relocation expert or take a retirement tour prior to making the definitive move. Smart individuals also attend the monthly seminar given by the Association of Residents of Costa Rica or ARCR. I include this informative seminar on my monthly relocation/retirement tours. With the information and contacts from the seminar and my tours, people now feel comfortable and have the confidence level to make the big move.

After finally moving here and getting settled in their new home or apartment, the question always arises, “What do I do now?” I am in a new country with a lot of free time and have to find out how to use it. This shouldn’t be a problem since there are hundreds of activities here to stay busy and happy. There is usually a period of adjustment where you have to get use to the way things work in your new country. This is usually the point at which the honeymoon starts to end and you begin to confront a variety of daily situations. Having network of friends and getting involved in some hobby or activity can make all the difference in world in adapting to life in a new country. Your friends will be your support and your activities will keep you occupied.

I would be lying through my teeth if I said Costa Rica was for everyone. But if you make an effort to understand the culture, go with the flow, make friends and most of all have a good sense of humor, you should be able to adjust after the initial honeymoon ends and take advantage of Costa Rica’s incredible “ Pura Vida” lifestyle.

Over the years I have read numerous articles in Spanish publications about the so-called cultura de guaro or alcohol-based culture of Costa Rica. Drinking is an integral part of most social life here. The spirits flow freely at almost every fiesta. The beer company sponsors hundreds of events yearly and their logo is everywhere. It seems there is a bar on almost every corner in Costa Rica. Binge drinking is very popular among the youth. Just check out the bars on a Friday night around the University of Costa Rica in San Pedro or the University Nacional in Heredia. They are packed with boisterous young people birriando or drinking beer as they say here. Supposedly the three most important things in a Costa Rican man’s life are soccer, women and beer, although not necessarily in that order.

Unfortunately, Costa Rica is said to have the highest rate of alcoholism in Central America –-?an estimated 20 percent of the population are problem drinkers.

Retirees and other Expatriates can easily fall into the drinking trap, too. Over the years, I have seen many fellow Americans fail to use their time constructively, and destroy their lives by becoming alcoholics while living in Costa Rica— many have died prematurely. Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of being idle. Most of the people I have met here who have had drinking problems here do so out of boredom.

There are hundreds of activities in Costa Rica to stay busy and happy. Also don’t look for companionship in bars. Don (an alias) is an acquaintance of mine who live in a small town between Heredia and Alajuela. Every time I run into him he is complaining and grumbling about something. He spends most of his time at home playing on-line poker and squabbling with his Costa Rican neighbors over trivial matters. When he does go out , he hits the local bars where he has almost been a few fights and met some unsavory women with whom he became involved. Needless to say the relationships went nowhere. Don now tells me he moving to Nicaragua because he is fed up with Costa Rica. He is already bragging about how good the bars are there. Undoubtedly , Don will fall into the same trap there and be miserable. He has also mentioned Colombia and Thailand if things don’t work out in Nicaragua. I guess he preparing for another personal disaster.

The bottom line is that if you move abroad you take your problems with you and they won’t go away by excessive drinking or other destructive behavior. Get involved in constructive activities and you will be more successful when living abroad. This is what I preach on my monthly relocation/retirement tours.

Last Saturday night there was a due-or-die soccer game between Costa Rica and Mexico. Unfortunately the ball didn’t bounce Costa Rica’s way and they got their collective butts kicked. Really win or lose the game wasn’t that significant. What was really important was the coming together of people to watch the game and the whole spirit of the thing. You would have to experience this carnival-like atmosphere to know what I mean.

Anyway I viewed the game at the Fiesta Casino near the airport. My son and his girlfriend went with me and we met a group of friends there. We arrived about an hour early just to make sure we could get a table. When we got there the bar was about half-empty, but as the game approached the place really filled up. As much as I like sporting events, what I really enjoy is my network friends and acquaintances and interacting we them. We really have a great time. There is always someone new who shows up for these events, so it is the perfect situation to make new friends.

Moving or retiring abroad can bring about some huge changes in one’s life. Loneliness can enter into the picture. When you move to Costa Rica you really don’t have any excuse to be lonely unless you choose to be. There are plenty of opportunities like the one I mention above to make new acquaintances. I have more friends than I ever had when I resided in the U.S. Also the type of people who move here tend to be more interesting and adventurous than those who stay in their home countries.

All of this is part of the pura vida (pure life) atmosphere which permeates this fantastic country.

Tonight Costa Rica plays soccer against Mexico in Costa Rica. The game is of vital importance for the World Cup standings and Costa Rica is the underdog. Everyone here is praying for an upset. Next year’s World Cup is like the Super Bowl of soccer and happens only once every four years.

Since early this morning people here have been very excited about tonight’s match. The spirit of the game fills the air and the streets are overflowing with energy. It seems like there is a sea of red Costa Rican soccer shirts everywhere. People are also honking their horns like crazy and some are even draping Costa Rica’s red, white and blue stripped flag from their cars. Everyone is apoyando le sele or supporting the national soccer team in this important game.

The supermarkets are packed with people stocking up on beer or birra as it is affectionately called here and food . In Costa Rica soccer games like this one are an excuse to have a big party or pelón. They say the three most important things in a Costa Rican man’s life are soccer beer and women. But not necessarily in the that order. Soccer is like a religion here and the opiate of the masses in Latin America and in most of the world except for the U.S.

When the game starts tonight everything will virtually come to a standstill. I plan to se the game at the Fiesta Casino with my lovely girlfriend, Alexandra. They have four or five giant screens and the atmosphere will be lively. If you retire in Costa Rica you undoubtedly will be bitten by the soccer bug and get all wound up like the Costa Ricans over important games. Soccer is only one of the hundreds of activities you can become involved with to stay busy and happy and enjoy the excellent quality of life the country offers.

¡Pura Vida! Pure Life!