For a long time I have been plagued by minor knee problems. When I was younger I participate in long-distance cycling, martial arts, running and tennis among other sports. About 15 years ago I started to suffer from knee pain so I reduced my physical activity and my condition became manageable.

Recently, one of my knees started to bother me again so I went to see  Doctor Oscar Oeding Bermúdez at  the Clínica Bíblica in San José. He suggested I have a new innovative procedure called InnerVue. It consists of the insertion of probe about the size of a wire in the knee. At the end of the instrument is a camera and a light. This enables the doctor to view the interior of the knee and thus avoids having to do a major medical surgical procedure.

First, the doctor injected me with a local anesthetic called lidocaine to numb my knee. Next, he inserted the probe. I watched the whole procedure on a screen as he explained what was going on. It turned out that I have a torn meniscus which will have to be repaired at a later date by arthroscopic surgery. The later is a minimally invasive outpatient surgical procedure. I have scheduled the operation for next month.

The whole InnerVue procedure only cost $300. The arthroscopic operation will cost about $2000. A similar operation would cost a lot more in the U.S.

Here an interesting anecdote that Dr. Oeding shared with me. When he first started to use InnerVue in Costa Rica he had done about 50 procedures when he went to the states for additional training by a so-called expert in the field. It turned out that Dr. Oeding had more experience with this  procedure than the expert with whom he went to train. This doesn’t surprise me at all. Costa Rica’s specialists are highly skilled and consummate professionals.  My urologist, Dr. Grunhouse, is better than any one of his counterparts I have had experience with in the U.S.

As you can see by my experiences with Costa Rica’s private health care system, your health care concerns should not be a deterrent for moving here. You couldn’t be in better hands! Not only are the costs substantially lower but the doctors are excellent.

This is a question that crosses many Americans minds who are planning to move here because they are constantly made aware of the threat by the media, the U.S. government and when the traveling through airports.

The first thing you need to know is that Costa Rica abolished its army over 50 years ago. What an amazing feat! Too bad the rest of the countries in the world don’t follow suite. Because of this amazing accomplishment Cost Rica has more teachers than soldiers and spends the money it would have had to spend on an army on education and health care. There is a small national police force, but in no way resembles a standing army.

Furthermore, the country has no external enemies nor does it meddle in the affairs of other nations. Because Costa Rica is a peaceful country  it is not wracked by violent elements that devastate other Latin America countries like Mexico and Colombia. The latter is plagued by car bombings and a strong insurgency. Mexico, on the other hand, suffering from kidnappings and an epidemic of drug related violence.

I have also heard that Costa Rica will not issue visas to people from certain countries in the middle east. I don’t know the reason for this measure but can only assume it is a safeguard.

Our old Italian standby, Pane e Vino, 2 – 3 blocks west of the south side of parque central, has almost been forgotten as we’ve discovered these new places. They’ve always had very good food, excellent service, and enjoying dinner on the porch of the beautiful old home is a nice relaxing experience. I had lunch this week at Cafe Flores 3 blocks west of UNA, on the northwest corner across from ICE. It’s a very pleasant little cafe. For 2,000 total, I had a very tasty crepe with a nice small salad, a refresco and a mini-pastry for dessert. My friends had the casado with chicken for the same price I believe. They said it was excellent.

I can also recommend the newly renovated Petit Paris, although it is more expensive. There’s a lovely new dining room or you can sit outside in the relaxing covered courtyard. Last time I looked, they still had a fabulous sopa de pescados for 1,800 and quiche or crepes for 2,500 in addition to their more expensive offerings of pescados or carnes (3,000 – 5,000). They also offer beer and wines. Closed on Mondays. 300 meters east of the SE corner of parque central and 50 meters north.

For Italian we also like L’Antica Roma a lot, although it is busy and noisy, a different environment from the quiet Don Carlo. 200 meters north and 100 meters west of Copia Mundo at UNA, across from Hotel Valladolid. This is actually my favorite pizza and pasta in town, but it is very popular and you have to be prepared for the noise of the televisions and the talkative diners. Service is good. Food is great. Also offer beer and wine.

Another one that we’ve been enjoying lately is Pane e Pizza Don Carlo. Small, quiet, cozy place with great service and food. Pizza, pastas, foccacia and more. Very pleasant place. They also do a big take-out business and offer home delivery. North on Calle 9 past UNA. Left at Copia Mundo (Ave 3); go West 200mt. to Calle 5, turn right on Calle 5, go 100 mt. North, Pane y Pizza Don Carlos will be on your right, at the corner of Calle 5 and Ave 5.

If it sounds like we’re stuck on Italian, that is not really true, but it seems like that’s what most of the good ones in Heredia are.

We’re always looking for new places to try. Tonight I think we will go out of town a bit to La Lluna de Valencia in San Pedro de Barva de Heredia for some fabulous tapas and paella and flamenco music.

People often wonder what are foods they will miss if decide to move here. When I came to Costa Rica almost 30 years ago there were very few U.S. food products in the supermarkets. I remember making frequent trips to the States and stuffing my suitcase with food from there. Now everything has changed and you can purchase almost anything from the U.S. in Costa Rican markets.

Local super market chains realized that they needed to stock a large amount of products form the United States and Canada because of a growing  expatriate community. Between Price Smart (Costco), Hipermás (Wal-Mart) and the Auto Mercado chains you can virtually find anything you want in Costa Rica. For Example,  at Thanksgiving time you may purchase a whole turkey, Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce and Stove Top stuffing at any branch of the Auto Mercado.

On a recent trip to the supermarket I was able to buy the following items: Philadelphia Low Fat Cream Cheese, Crest Toothpaste, Lindsay’s canned olives from California, cottage cheese from the U.S., Yoplait Yogurt, Lays Potato Chips, a Sara Lee cheese cake, Arizona Ice Tea, Triscuit Crakers, Snyders Pretzels, French’s Mustard, Pert Plus shampoo, Wrigley’s chewing gum, Purina Dog Chow, Entennman’s pastries, Welch’s Grape Juice and Nabisco Chocolate Chip Cookies. Most of these products cost the same or a little more than they do in the U.S.

The above is a small sample of what is available here. I would be lying if I told you every single U.S. food product may be found in Costa Rica. However,  there are local versions of most packaged foods from the U.S. For example, Costa Rican companies make potato chips, tomato sauce, yogurt, cooking oils, Ice Cream, hot dogs, soy food and non-meat products, cookies and pastries,  dog and cat food, spaghetti and so much more.

An added bonus are the country’s fruits and vegetables which are grown year round. Most are  dirt cheap and plentiful.

What most people do who move here is buy the American products the absolutely can’t live without, purchase the local versions of the foods back home and take advantage of the inexpensive vegetables and fruits the country offers.

Let’s look at how you can reduce your expenses by moving to Costa Rica.

I live in 2000 square foot home in Heredia. On the average I pay about $12 dollars per month for water and about $35 dollars for electricity. I was spending less but recently there was a 20 percent hike in the rates.  I don’t need air conditioning or heat where I live which is a real savings. I do have ceiling fans but rarely use them.

Gasoline is expensive here, but you don’t really need a car because Costa Rica’s public transportation is dirt cheap. Buses go virtually everywhere in the country.  In fact,  it costs less than $10 dollars to travel any place in Costa Rica. The rates are controlled so that everyone can afford this popular form of transportation. In San Jose there is a commuter train with more routes in the works as this form of transportation becomes more popular. Taxis are also affordable and easy to find.

I leave my cars in the garage during the week  and travel mostly by bus. I purposely get off the bus far away from my destination to walk more. This way I stay fit. Some of my friends think I don’t own a car because they always see me on foot. One of my wife’s friends thought I was poor and couldn’t afford a car because she always used to see me walking.