At Christmas time in Costa Rica every salaried worker who has worked a complete year receives an extra months salary. This Christmas bonus is called an aguinaldo in Spanish. The extra money comes in handy to pay debts, purchase Christmas gifts, for entertainment and for almost any other use one can think of. Unfortunately, most Costa Ricans spend all of this money or end up of saving little of it for future needs.

Come January and almost everyone is hurting for money.To make matters worse a lot of bills come due the first of the year. People have to pay their yearly car insurance, their license tags, post office boxes and other annual obligations. It is virtually an uphill financial battle until they get on their feet again. This time of year is referred to as “la cuesta de enero” in Spanish which means “Uphill January” for a good very reason.

During my frequent lectures to aspiring residents and on my monthly retirement and relocation tours I always talk about all aspects of the Costa Rican culture in order to familiarize my guests with how the locals live.

On my monthly retirement and relocation tours people always ask if it necessary to learn Spanish. I tell them it is a must if they want to broaden their circle of friends and really get the most out of the Costa Rican culture.

Unfortunately, most English speakers hang with other English speakers because of the language barrier. They are living a half-ass existence here because part of getting the most out of living in a foreign country is mingling with the locals. My friend Ed lives in the town of Grecia, Costa Rica and speaks very little Spanish. Nevertheless he has made many Costa Rican friends. Not all of them speak English so he has found a way to surmount the language barrier and communicate with them. He really has a gift and a good life life here.

Yesterday I hosted a party in my home for Marielos Alfaro Murillo who is the Libertarian party’s candidate here in Heredia. I can’t begin to tell you what a wonderful day I had because I was able to communicate in Spanish. I made five or six new friends and all of them have invited me to their homes in the not-to-distant future. I am really excited about the prospect of cultivating new friendships with Costa Ricans. It really makes living here rewarding.

If you go to the search engines and insert “Costa Rica,” you will literally see thousands of sites listed. Many of them are for tours, real estate, general information or about anything you can think of that is related to the country.

If you are thinking of living or retiring here then you will make a more specific search and another long list of sites will pop up. I have noticed that over the last eight years hundreds of new sites and blogs have appeared on line. The majority are written by newcomers in the forms of blogs and feature a good deal of information about their lives here. Some clever expats have even made videos about their experiences here.

While a lot of this information is really helpful, potential residents should learn to distinguish between so-called webs that people do for a hobby to keep busy and those sites which contain information written by the the local experts. ALWAYS CONSIDER THE SOURCE!

I am sometimes amazed by the amount of erroneous information that is listed on the hobby sites, news groups and even sites put up by those who consider themselves experts. It takes years and years of living here and mastery of the language and culture to really understand how things work in Costa Rica. Everyone has the right to share their experiences but should be careful about the accuracy of the information they disseminate. Unfortunately, most people considered themselves authorities just because they make the move. I see people who have only lived here a few months giving out information to others who are thinking of making the move and it scares me.

The bottom line is to “consider the source” of any information your read and be sure the person who is writing it has a high level of expertise and lived here for at least ten years. Follow this advice and you are on your way to having a successful life in Costa Rica. I always make make this clear on my monthly relocation/retirement tours.

Today I sit in my home in Heredia Costa Rica bathed in summer sunshine. Meanwhile the northeastern U.S. has been blasted by a historic snowfall. The roads are shut down; almost 1000 flights have been delayed and train travel is virtually paralyzed. According to weather reports almost 20 inches of snow have fallen and there is still more to come.

Fortunately here in Costa Rica we enjoy one of the most best climates i the world , especially in the country’s Central Valley. In fact, Atenas which is a small town in the area, has the best climate in the world according to National Geographic Magazine. Costa Rica’s almost perfect climate has turned the country into one of the world’s prime retirement locations and winter refuge for snowbirds.

I really feel lucky and spoiled to live in such a fantastic country with great year-round weather. I shouldn’t take anything for granted.

The dictionary defines Reality as “the state of things as they actually exist.”

Let’s look what’s real in Costa Rica

1. Fantastic year-round weather
2. Excellent health care
3. A myriad of activities to stay busy and happy
4. Many real estate options and living situations taking all lifestyles into consideration.
5. The country’s stellar international reputation
6. Friendly people
7. Good and bad highway
8. A user-friendly country for Americans, Canadians and Europeans
9. The only country in Latin America with a Resident’s Association to assist foreign residents
10. Some crime but nothing in comparison to neighboring countries like Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Panama and Nicaragua also have crime.
11. Bad traffic in and around San José. The country is working on improving the roads and reducing traffic
12. The most democratic country in Latin America with NO army since the 1940s. No external enemies.
13. One of the BEST lifestyles in the world.
14. Costa Rica is a brand because of its incredible lifestyle.

What things and people are real and unreal in Costa Rica

1. Costa Rica is paradise. The country is one of the best places to live in the world because of its natural beauty, incredible lifestyle and other intangibles. However NO place is perfect. Utopia doesn’t exist.
2. A proliferation of self-serving websites and videos put up by foreigners who pass themselves off as Costa Rica experts after living here for only a few years. A friend who lives here once asked, “Isn’t it strange? Gringos seem they think they know everything about the country despite only having lived here a short time.” Expertise takes time in anything in life.
3. Websites that scare foreigners with alarmist information in order to solicit services of the people who own the sites. These sites make people look like messiahs.
4. Blogs and chat rooms that provide some useful information for foreigners but disseminate more opinions than facts. The Internet is a useful tool in many cases but can give anyone their 15 minutes of fame and an air of expertise.
5. The pontificating foreigners who profess their self righteousness as the only ones who can show you the way to the promise land. These guys are a dime a dozen.