Costa Rica is a country of soccer fanatics. On Tuesday I watched Costa Rica’s youth team play in the World Junior Cup against a powerful Brazilian team. Both teams had played in an earlier match with Brazil winning 5-0. This time around Brazil had their work cut out for them. Costa Rica put up a valiant fight in this semi-final match. They only lost by a score of 1-0. Next week they will play for third place in the tournament.

Last night everything was at stake for the National team or “Sele” as they call it here. This game was for “all of the marbles.” A do or die game for Costa Rica against the United States. Costa Rica could not tie. They had to emerge victorious. During the first half of the game Costa Rica jumped out to a surprising 2-0 lead. However, things changed in the second half. The U.S. Scored once and then again with only 30 seconds left in the game. The Ticos were heartbroken! The team had the game won only to blow it. The tie virtually eliminated Costa Rica from participating in the 2010 word cup of soccer, soccer’s Super Bowl.

I viewed the game at the Fiesta Casino with some friends including my lovely girlfriend. I wore my Costa Rica soccer jersey like many of the other spectators. Although I am originally from the United States I really wanted Costa Rica to win to assure their participation in the World Cup. Unfortunately it didn’t happen.

I really enjoy getting together with my friends to watch soccer games and other sporting events. If you decide to live or retire in Costa Rica you most certainly will find some interesting activity to get involved with to keep you busy and happy and to make new friends.

Over the last few years, online Costa Rican discussion groups have begun to flourish. Joining one or more of these forums is an excellent way to see what issues residents of Costa Rica face on a daily basis and to keep up with a lot of what is happening in the local expatriate community. Members can express their problems or concerns and receive a lot of constructive feedback. Many residents contribute daily while others add something occasionally or just simply read what their fellow members have to say. Another reason to follow these groups is that many friendships have been made online. Not a week goes by without numerous activities being mentioned for the group’s members.

If you are thinking of moving to Costa Rica a lot of value can be derived from the groups below. What follows is a brief description of each of the major discussion groups. Membership in all of these groups is free.

With a growing number of people relocating to Costa Rica and many waiting to do so, a number of forums have sprouted up on the Internet. A wide range of information is disseminate daily through these groups.

I have lived in Costa Rica for thirty years and occasionally learn something new from the many on-line forums to which I subscribe. Good information about banking, immigration matters, the cost of living, finding good doctors and moving to Costa Rica may be obtained at times from these chat groups. Unfortunately, there are a lot of trivial conversations about meaningless subjects and misinformation discussed.. Consequently, it is imported to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I have witnessed on more than one occasion people talking about such meaningless topics as how to get rid of ants, complaining about the quality of butter in Costa Rica, the fact that there is no good Mexican food in Costa Rica, lack of American products, bashing and praising the Costa Ricans and people wanting Costa Rica to be a clone of the USA etc. What you basically have is people with different opinions on life, many of whom want everything to be perfect here.
More alarming is the fact that you have many amateurs doling out advice about investments, real estate and the economy. Most of these people have only lived in the country for a short time, are still struggling to adjust to the new culture, don’t even speak the language well enough to understand the country in depth and are not economists. I have noticed repeatedly that once these neophytes start to express erroneous information about the local real estate market and the economy they open a whole can of worms. The erroneous information often spreads to other chat groups, websites and the media like wildfire, thus becoming counter productive. Foreigners who live here and chat group members in the States then confuse distorted information with the reality of the situation. This often causes a lot of panic, anxiety, can even effect the stability of the market and above all creates confusion about living and investing here.

The obvious solution is to take a lot of what is written in these forums with a grain of salt and ONLY seek information from time-tested reliable sources and the real experts.

Costa Rica’s natural beauty.

Besides air, water is the resource most critical to sustaining life on Earth. Human beings depend on water not only for drinking, but for generating energy, growing crops, carrying waste, for washing and cleaning, and to run machinery. Clean water is also essential for many species of plants and animals living in streams, rivers, and lakes.

In today’s world there are more than one billion people who suffer from shortages of drinking water. Already, wars are being fought over water. Although this rainy season has been drier than normal, we are lucky to not suffer from a drought like the one that is affecting Texas, California and parts of the southern United States.

Costa Rica doesn’t have a shortage of water. Fortunately we have more rainy months than dry months. October is especially bad since it coincides with the hurricane season in the Caribbean. We don’t get the winds but do get a lot of rain. Last October it seemed to rain for “forty days and forty nights.” By the time the rainy season is over in November we welcome in the dry season or summer which usually lasts until mid-April.

Even though we do have plenty water here the government is educating individuals and businesses about water conservation. Water is just too precious to waste or take for granted. The government has also instituted reforestation projects. This effort has helped local people preserve their remaining forests, protect their water supplies.

On my monthly relocation/retirement tours I am often asked if Costa Rica’s water is potable. Unlike Mexico and many other places in the world, you can drink tap water here.

Today I took my usual daily walk through downtown Heredia to Santa Lucía and then home. While downtown I couldn’t help notice the festive atmosphere which filled the air. The city was buzzing with the high energy of the people. The colors red, white and blue of Costa Rica’s emblazoned houses, stores and parks. Children and adults rushed to get a view of the annual Independence Day parade which works its way through the center of the city. Their smiling faces reflected their pride in one of the country’s most celebrated holidays. Costa Rican’s are very proud of their peaceful history and national holidays.

Today, September 15, celebrates it’s 188th anniversary of Independence. The day is filled with civic activities that include parades of marching student bands in all cantones (districts) and barrios (neighborhoods). For weeks students have been practicing the drum beats that will be part of today’s tradition parades.The day is also a legal holiday, banks and most businesses are closed. Employees who are required to work today will be paid double their normal salary for the day. My son was anxious to get to work so he could make some extra money.

If you decide to live in Costa Rica either full or part-time you will have the chance to view one of the many parades and other events which mark Costa Rica’s numerous national holidays.

Since I now travel extensively in the U.S. promoting my books, tours and other ventures, I had to buy a cell phone and line to use while I am there. I went to an Apple Store in Seattle and purchased a new iphone. In order to purchase the phone I had to sign a contract with AT&T. When the first bill came it was almost $100 dollars. This came as quite a shock to me since I pay less than $10 dollars a month in Costa Rica. In fact, my son’s cell line and mine add up to less than $20 dollars per month. Talk about bargains!

Probably the main reason why people move to Costa Rica is to save money and live better for less. This is especially true now that the U.S. Economy has taken a plunge. The example I gave above is just one of the many ways you can save money by moving here. Domestic help, most foods, housing, property taxes, medical care and so much more are bargains here.