After helping thousands of Americans and Canadians relocate to Latin America over the last 35 years through my guidebooks and relocation tours, I have observed those who are the best candidates for living successfully abroad. Don’t move to Costa Rica if… you expect everything to be like the U.S. you […]
I am often asked by those who want to relocate to Costa Rica if there is a death penalty (La pena capital or La pena de muerte). Costa Rica abolished its death penalty in 1877 and was one of the countries that banned capital punishment in 1882 by Article 45 […]
Airing from 1978 to 1984, Fantasy Island was a television starring Ricardo Montalbán as Mr. Roarke, the enigmatic overseer of a mysterious island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, where people from all walks of life could come and live out their fantasies, for a hefty price. His assistant was a dwarf by the name of Tattoo, played […]
Retired expats should know its importance On September 15th Costa Rica will be holding a special bicentennial celebration. Costa Rica gained independence on September 15, 1821, as a result of the Mexican War of Independence that lasted from 1810 until 1821. The country never had to fight for its independence, […]
In the United States and elsewhere, public health and medical care are largely separate enterprises. Costa Rica shows the benefits of integrating the two—it spends less than we do on health care and gets better results. The cemetery in Atenas, Costa Rica, a small town in the mountains that line […]
With housing prices rising in Costa Rica more and more expats are seeking inexpensive options. In my last article I wrote about small portable homes like those for sale in the United States. I mentioned that there is now a company in the city of Alajuela that will manufacture these […]
Costa Rica has so many nice places from which to choose that it is often difficult to make a decision as to where one wants to reside. Once you find your piece of paradise then you have a choice of renting or buying. The former gives you more flexibility if […]
In March 1992, a change in the pensionado law eliminated many tax privileges retirees had enjoyed since the program started in 1964. Under the old system, foreigners with official pensionado or rentista (permanent retiree) status were required to live in the country four months a year. They were entitled to […]
“The Costa Rica Chronicles from 1980 on:the good, bad and ugly people and place” Learn about the gringo pioneers, the scoundrels and characters and events that led up to present day Costa Rica. Starting in 1980 this guide chronicles what really went on when San José was the epicenter of […]
I never get tired about writing about the accolades that Costa Rica continually receives. One of my last blogs was about Costa Rica having the lowest Covid mortality rates in the whole world based on this information: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality Below you will see that the country continues to be by far the […]