Costa Rica has excellent specialists who have many years treating people with allergies

Anyone thinking of Costa Rica as a place to retire should be aware that some people suffer  from seasonal allergies here. Because  we have about seven months of rain (the rainy season is longer than the summer here) and three months of very windy weather allergens flourish in tropical country like Costa Rica. There are many types of molds, pollens and weeds which may affect people.

Some of the people I interviewed for this article said they had allergies when they lived in the States and they went away when they moved to Costa Rica. While other people said they never had allergies until they moved here. If you have had allergies in the past you should come here on a trial visit of a few months to see how the climate affects you.

The good news is that Costa Rica has excellent specialists who have many years treating people with allergies. They will be able to tell you what course of treatment you need to follow to keep your allergies at bay or under control. Periodically I am bothered by Rhinitis and other allergies and have to visit my specialist. His name is Mauricio Buitrago and he works at the Clínca Bíblica in San José. I am extremely please with his services.

Here are what some expats say about their bouts with allergies in Costa Rica.

(1) “I have lived in Ballena de Osa for just over 2 years now. I never had any allergies in the States other than to a couple of foods. Now I have asthma in the dry season and it seems to be at the same time that many trees in our area are turning yellow. It is very mild, bearable  and definately worth any inconvenience.“

(2) “I have had just the opposite happen to me in Costa Rica.  I use to have a few allergies before I came to Costa Rica.  They were mainly nasal problems.  Dust and some types pollen used to cause real problems for me in California.   I moved to Costa Rica and haven’t experienced any allergies.” – Henry

(3) “Funny you should mention allergies. The rainy season has been hard on us… this is our third; the first two were bearable and, while we all sneezed more and suffered prolonged post nasal drip, I chalked up the extra stuffiness to the cold. But this year, it’s a little over the top because of the large amount of rain we have had.” – Sara

I have found Costa Rica’s health care to be excellent.

As I have mentioned in previous columns October is the month when it rains most in Costa Rica. Unfortunately during this time of year a lot of people contact colds, the flu and other respiratory ailments due to the damp weather.

No matter how good I take care of myself I seem to get  some type of cold or flu this time of year. Recently, I experienced cold like symptoms that lasted about three days. I started to feel a lot better after the fourth day but I still had a persistent cough and congestion. A week went by and I still didn’t feel one hundred percent. So, I went to the branch of the Clínca Bíblica in Heredia near where I live.

The Clínica Bíblica is one of the country’s two best private hospitals. Their main hospital is located in San José but fortunately they have a small clinic in Downtown Heredia. They have a doctor on staff, offer laboratory services and  have a small pharmacy with home delivery.

I dropped in without an appointment and saw the doctor almost immediately. She took her time examining me and determined I had a bronchial infection. She gave me a couple of injections to get rid of the immediate symptoms. Dr. Pamela also prescribed several medicines which I had to take for about a week.

That was a few days ago and I am finally starting to feel better. Today I took my usual morning walk and had a lot more energy.

In the 27 years I have lived here, I have found Costa Rica’s health care to be excellent. I have had two operations with excellent results as well as numerous bouts with colds and the flu like the one I describe above and am extremely pleased with the care I have received.

So as you can see good quality medical care should not be an issue if you choose to retire here.

The U.S. Embassy offers special services for disabled vets who need help in Costa Rica.

Over the years I have scores of Americans with various degrees of disabilities who moved to Costa Rica to retire. Most have adjusted to life here and are happy.

People with slight to moderate disabilities usually are more successful. Because Costa Rica has excellent medical care and highly trained specialists disabled people can get the care they need. Those with severe disabilities can find full-time help at a bargain price to take care of their basic needs. However, in some cases specialized nursing may be hard to find. The good news is as Costa Rica becomes more popular with Baby Boomers new retirement communities will be built with programs for independent and less independent retirees.

The U.S. Embassy offers special services for disabled vets who need help in Costa Rica. I know many veterans  who get medications shipped to them through the embassy.

J.T. (not real name) is a friend of mine and disabled Vietnam vet who has lived in Costa Rica for over over 25 years. He gets all of his medications, visits to the doctor and hospitalization paid for by the VA through the U.S. Embassy. He just turns in the paperwork and everything gets taken care of.

Bill Rolland is another disabled friend. He is a former policeman from California and had lived here for six years. He suffers from Diabetes  and a few other debilitating illnesses. He loves his life here and says if  he had remained in the States he would probably be dead by now.

I know one woman with Lupus who has all of her medical needs taken care of here. She swares by her Costa Rican rheumatologist.

Another couple I know both have disabilities and moved here to cut down on their medical expenses and take advantage of the country’s excellent health care. They seem to be so happy here and enjoying a better quality of life than they did in the States.

On the negative side,  Medicare won’t cover your medical expenses if you disabled  and living outside of the U.S.. Also there are many older buildings that don’t have wheel chair ramps nor are they handicap friendly. The good news is that in general people with physical limitations can enjoy retirement here.

Yes, singles can find happiness here. Why? Because there is so much to do. As one long-time single resident once told me, “In Costa Rica there is something for everyone and everything for someone.”

You can see that singles can find almost anything they want in Cost Rica to stay happy during their retirement years.

There is a wealth of both indoor and outdoor activities to stay busy and happy. Just pick up a copy of the Tico Times and check out their weekend calendar  section and you’ll find hundreds activities, movies and clubs from which to choose.

You won’t be lonely here unless you choose to be. You can meet people easily through any of the activities I just described. On top of that, foreigners tend to gravita.te  towards each other when they live abroad. Believe me you’ll have no trouble meeting people with common interests here. I have more friends and acquaintances in Costa Rica than I ever had in the U.S. Everywhere I go I seem to run into someone I know.

If you are looking for someone for romance, Costa Rica might just be the right place for you.  Ladies will find gentleman admirers if they so desire.  Due to machismo, Costa Rican men are more flirtatious and aggressive than North American men.  Most Costa Rican men think foreign women have looser morals and are easier conquests than ticas (Costa Rican women).  Be careful to take time to develop a long-term, meaningful relationship and do not rush things. Many single middle-aged women have a tough time finding a mate because they cannot compete with the young curvaceous ticas. As one expat woman put it,  ”We just happen to live in a country of traffic-stopping gorgeous women.” However, I do know numerous American women who have formed successful relationships with other Americans or Costa Rican partners.

Men of any age will have no problem meeting Costa Rican women.  The women in Costa Rica seem to like older, more experienced men. It is not unusual to see a wife who is 10 to 20 years younger than her spouse.  This practice may be frowned on in some countries but is accepted in Costa Rica.  Many retirees we know claim to feel rejuvenated and to have a new lease on life after becoming involved with younger women.  Costa Rican women have an unparalleled reputation as being the most beautiful and accessible women in Latin America, including Brazil. The ladies of Costa Rica are more warm-hearted and devoted than their North American counterparts.  They consider you a joy.  One retiree we know boasts,  “The women here really know how to treat you like a king!” A man doesn’t even have to be rich to meet women; a $1,500 to $2,000 Social Security check translates to a millionaire’s pay in Costa Rica.

Here is what one expatriate’s Costa Rican wife said about her relationship with an older American man.  “Most of the time when a young woman marries an older man, people think she’s doing it for the money. I like older men. They are experienced; they’ve had a lot of fun in the past, so they start to think, ‘I want to stay now with someone for the rest of my life.’ Plus they have their life set up, so they have time to spend with their woman. With Costa Rican men close to her age, she says, their behavior changes after marriage. With Costa Rican men, you are a princess, but when you get married the whole thing changes: “You are going to have my children. I’m working, so you should make my dinner, wash my clothes.” The women get submissive and the Costa Rican men get possessive.

So, you can see that singles can find almost anything they want in Cost Rica to stay happy during their retirement years. In fact, they can have a new exciting lifestyle here that they could never find in the States or Canada.

For the past few days it has rained incessantly. If you didn’t know where you were, you’d think you were in Seattle, Washington. Cold, rainy, wet and gray skies is the kind of weather we’ve had. You would never think that you were in the  tropical country. By the way, in Costa Rica they call this type of incessant rain a temporal.

Unfortunately, October is the worst month for weather in Costa Rica. It coincides with the peak of the hurricane season in the Caribbean and we get all of the rain but not the dreaded hurricanes. Thank god! Nevertheless the last three or four Octobers have really been wet  I guess weather patterns all over the world have changed because man has destroyed and polluted the environment. These extreme changes in the weather are probably Mother Nature’s way of warning us that we are destroying the planet.

There are malls, where you can have lunch, see a movie or window shop if you get too bored at home.

By the end of the October nobody wants to see any more water. All the rain puts a damper on the outdoor activities here. I like to visit friends or go out to eat but when it is pouring I find it hard to get motivated to leave the house. Fortunately, I work at home and always have something to catch up on. There is a mall about ten minutes away where I can have lunch, see a movie or window shop if I get too bored at home.

The rainy season usually lasts about six months. If it rained like it is doing now throughout the whole rainy season, all of the retired people living here would probably leave and come back in November much like the snowbirds do in the States because of the snow.  One can easily put up with one wet month and enjoy  the  spring-like weather of the Central Valley most of the year. I don’t know of one person who has cancelled their retirement plans or moved back  to the U.S. because of Costa Rica’s weather. Usually the places where most people come from have scorching summers and freezing winters, so it wouldn’t make sense to move back to even worse weather.

Footnote: I wrote this article and the following day was beautiful and sunny. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?