One of the major concerns of people moving to another country is boredom and what to do to stay busy.

In Costa Rica one of the most enjoyable activities is dancing. Not only is it fun but it is incredible aerobic exercise. Thus, you can have a good time and stay fit all in one.

Costa Ricans love to dance. They can been found heating up the dance floor almost every night of the week. Dancing is a great way to learn about the culture and make Costa Rican friends.

The most popular dances here are merengue, salsa, cumbia (several versions) and bolero.

If you don’t know how to dance, don’t despair! There are several schools that offer classes in Latin dancing for a nominal fee. If you are the self-conscious type they even have private lessons.

A couple of years ago I took private lessons for almost three months  and really progressed . I studied at the Merecumbé Dance School in Heredia. My teacher Flori was very patient with her clumsy  and stiff student. After learning to avoid tripping over my own feet I eventually mastered the basic steps and turns for Salsa and merengue and had a fantastic time in the process. I’ll never by a Latin Fred Astair on the dance floor, now hold my own.

I plan to go back soon for a refresher course so I can hit the local dancehalls once in a while.

In Cerro Punta and Volcán, which are really the breadbasket of Panama, I could not believe the few vegetables and poor quality of them that I found. They don’t have weekly ferias, and most good quality fruits and vegetables are shipped to Panama City. I went to five supermarkets in Volcán, and three vegetable sellers, and only found a small portion of what I have come to expect in vegetables here in Costa Rica. And in such poor condition that I ended up without tomatoes and lettuce. I couldn’t even find cauliflower, broccoli and leeks. Things were much better there 25 years ago!

I would agree that compared to Escazú, prices are lower in most all of Panama except Boquete which has become the playground of a lot of Hollywood stars. But compared to where I live in Paraiso, housing is really on a par with Panama.

There may be less problems with thievery in Panama, though having had my house broken into twice in Panama, I wouldn’t say it was that much better. You simply need to protect yourself as with anywhere in the world these days.

I was amazed to see the changes in Panama City. They have constructed or have in construction over 120 skyscrapers over 40 floors high. 17 are over 50 floors and several will be over 100 stories tall. A large number of these are being constructed on Punta Pacifica which was a landfill when I lived in Panama 25 years ago.

Panama is geologically active, also. I remember living on the top (fifth ) floor of a building in Einstein Circle during a quake that was centered in the Darien, and waking up as I was literally tossed out of my bed, and I’m no light weight. Looking thru my windows I saw buildings swaying in the quake which was much stronger than any I’ve felt here. I can’t imagine living in one of those high risers build on a landfill and I wouldn’t have faith in their having “earthquake resistant” buildings like in California.

I have friends in both countries, but to me, the Ticos win hands down. I have never seen such open friendliness as here. Perhaps it is because I don’t live in the city, but for whatever reason, I am constantly amazed by them. My daughter and granddaughter have come down and are renting here, also. While I was in Panama, her Tico neighbors got together and brought over a Christmas tree and decorations knowing that she didn’t have a car to go find one. They shared the lights and decorations that they had and helped her set up the tree and decorate it,. They have all made them feel welcome and have set up a date to make tamales and gingerbread cookies.

In the 15 years I lived in Panama, I never saw a neighborhood pull together to make virtual strangers feel welcome as I have here.

We love both countries, but we live in Costa Rica.

Now Americans frequent other establishments. The first is La Espiga across  from the southwest corner of the Central Park. The food is good, especially their breakfasts.  The ambience is also very nice and the people watching is good. Surprisingly this quaint cafe is not as popular with Americans as La Casita.

La Casita is a funky establishment located in back of the city’s Central Market. The whole facade is open making La Casita another great place for people watching. It’s slightly seedy ambience is what really makes the place unique. A group of about 7 to 10 Gringos can be found gathered around the front tables everyday as they try and solve the world’s problems with their animated discussions. The single men also love watch the many voluptuous Costa Rican women who pass by.

Another less popular hangout is the Trigo Miel Cafe and Bakery a half block from the National University of Heredia. From time to time on any given Sunday a group of foreigners gets together in the late afternoon to play soft rock.

Unfortunately the coming of age of the Baby Boomers and Costa Rica’s growing popularity as a retirement/relocation have  given birth to similar companies who have tried to jump on the bandwagon. Most of these neophyte ship ping and relocation services are run by foreigners who are not even legal Costa Rica residents. A few of them are still tourists with no legal foothold in the country. They farm out most of their work to other people instead of actually doing it themselves and are really just middle men.  Also many of these people don’t even speak Spanish nor do the have a  real knowledge of how the country works. They are just here to take advantage of naive people who stumble onto their glitzy web sites and fall for the  verbiage. A couple of these organizations are located in the U.S. and consequently are really out of  touch when it comes to Costa Rica. Most of these people have never worked in the relocation business until they moved to Costa Rica and think just because they relocated here they are experts.

Would you trust a doctor straight out of medical school of one that has many years of experience. The same logic should be employed when choosing a person who offers relocation services.

We heard of one instance where one of these companies changed someone five times the normal fee to ship their pets to Costa Rica. Obviously the people didn’t do their research and consult an organization like the Association of Residents of Costa Rica or Ship to Costa Rica.

People should shop around and not be fooled by some websites. They should also ask to talk to people who have used a company’s services and try to do a background check on the owners to see if what they say about their experience is really true.

He told the reporter he would never own property in Costa Rica which is absolutely a ridiculous statement. Almost everyone who has invested in real estate in Costa over last five years has profited. Currently Costa Rica has one of the best real estate markets in the world which has not been affected by events in the U.S,

What the person also did who gave he incorrect information was to discourage people form investing profitably here and possibly spoil their dreams of moving abroad.

The bottom line is to consider the source of the information you gather when researching a move to Costa Rica. By wary of some of the self-serving informational sites that are on the web which on the surface appear to be the real deal. Only trusted time-tested sources with a long track record. Most of the sites providing information are trying to sell something which in some cases you need but most often you don’t.

A lot of the basic information from said sources is very good  but some of it is erroneous, far too subjective and even borders  on science fiction. The problem is to learn how to separate the wheat from the  chaff.

The best thing is to take the information from unbiased organizations like the Association of Residents of Costa Rica  then visit Costa Rica to see what is true.

Sadly people have read so much that they consider themselves experts before they arrive and try to do things on their own, only to fail big time.  It is of paramount important to have the right guidance every step of the way and deal only with reliable source and time-tested services when you arrive here.

Well we have good news for you. If you make an effort you can find the Fountain of youth in Costa Rica. if you include some of the country’s delicious tropical fruits and vegetables in your diet you are bound to be healthier. The country also offers scores of outdoor activities to keep you fit. Costa Ricans have one of the highest longevity rates in the world. There is a town in the Nicoya peninsula is world-famous for its large number of Centenarians.

If all else fails you can resort to one of Costa Rica’s world famous cosmetic surgeons to keep you looking young. Costa Rica is known as “The Beverly Hills of the South” because of the large number of people who travel here to take advantage of the affordable plastic surgery. We have seen the results and they are amazing for only a fraction of the cost you would pay in the U.S.

With such low prices you don’t really need the expenses of owning a an automobile here. There are buses going to almost every city and  town in the country. The government  has to provide this service and keep it affordable for the vast majority of the Costa Rican people who can’t afford cars.

Indeed this is another benefit of living in Costa Rica.

Their plan was to live here and then move back to the states  when their insurance took effect there. They knew that if they remained in the States until that time they could become destitute.

Not everyone’s situation is the same but there a 1000s of people who choose to live in Costa Rica to reduce the cost of health care and take advantage of the high quality low-cost care available in here.