Five Reasons Why Expats Should Retire in Costa Rica

Looking for a second home in Central America? Planning to spend your retirement days in a relaxed environment with loved ones? No matter what your prime reason for leaving your native land is, Costa Rica can be a great option to spend your expatriate life post-retirement. Innumerable people are exploring the idea of migrating to this central american country, which allows for an inexpensive lifestyle with an interesting and inviting culture.

Here are 5 key reasons why you should abandon the fast-paced city life and embrace the pura vida lifestyle of Costa Rica:

#1: Low Cost of Living in Costa Rica for Expats

If you are retiring in Costa Rica with your spouse, you can live a comfortable life by spending just $2,000 to $3,000 per month. Compared to the United States, housing, grocery, and healthcare are much cheaper in Costa Rica. The local farmer’s market offers a wide range of fresh produce including meat, fish, and poultry. Tourist areas around the country can be a little more expensive to settle in. Medical tourism is on the upswing, which means that you should be able to access good medical care in Costa Rica.

#2: Healthy Community of Expats

Costa Rica is home to a strong community of expats because it has been an international retirement destination for decades. Excellent schools are present for expat children to get educated and trained. Food lovers can indulge in fine dining in local cafes and restaurants. Most of the communities are supportive of the people entering the country to start a new life because you will go through the same things that they face on a daily basis.

#3: Welcoming Local Community

Apart from the expat community, the local natives are very supportive, hospitable, and welcoming. The nature-loving local folks believe in maintaining a safe environment wherein everyone gets the opportunity to lead a peaceful and happy life. The ecological environment also offers enormous knowledge on wildlife and medicinal plants, which you can’t expect in most of the modern cities. Most of the residents are educated and the literacy rate of the country is 95%. You will come across many multi-cultural families wherein one parent is Costa Rican and the other is a foreigner.

#4: Beautiful Climate

Summer vacations in the United States are more about swimming, beaches, and boat rides in the coastal areas. At Costa Rica, you can enjoy such vacations all year round. This tropical paradise boasts of a variety of climates to choose from. Because of its proximity to the equator, the weather is usually warm and there is hardly any winter in this region. San Jose and Central Valley undoubtedly have the best weather for expats. The rainy season is long and you can expect heavy rains between May and November.

#5: Natural Beauty

With an abundance of natural lures including hot springs, volcanoes, mountains, and forests, this country can be the best place to spend your retired life. The extensive shoreline offers numerous options to relax and indulge in various activities like rafting, surfing, kayaking, bungee jumping, and much more. Imagine relaxing on a beach with your loved one and watching dolphins and whales moving around. Nature has also blessed Costa Rica with a huge number of animal species and plants. You will be mesmerized by the scenic beauty that is incomparable.

10 interesting facts about Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a country internationally known for being a great vacation destination, with amazing landscapes, beautiful beaches and majestic mountains, incredible rain forests and cloud forests, with a unique climate that always makes it the best time to visit Costa Rica. We share 10 interesting facts about Costa Rica that you probably didn’t know.

1. Costa Rica currency bills are as colorful as its flora and fauna.

Each denomination of Costa Rican cash presents a beautiful landscape and native animals of Costa Rica such as the white-tailed deer, the capuchin monkey, the sloth and the blue morpho butterfly, which can be easily seen throughout the country

2. Nicoya de Guanacaste is one of the five best blue zones in the world.

Nicoya is located on the western coast of Costa Rica and is known worldwide for being a Blue Zone, which means that its inhabitants commonly live active lives after 100 years.

3. Costa Ricans call themselves ticos and ticas.

Is an affectionate nickname for all Costa Ricans and was born of a nationwide mannerism for finishing diminutive with “tico”, for example, by saying “pequeñitico” instead of “pequeñitito” as they do in other Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.

4. Whale Bay is literally shaped like a whale’s tail.

The popular Bahía Ballena beach, is actually shaped like a whale’s tail when viewed from above. This geographical feature adds to the fact that this is a great place for whale watching. Awesome!

5. Costa Rica represents 5% of the world’s biodiversity.

We weren’t kidding when we said that Costa Rica’s biodiversity was huge. You will never run out of wildlife to see here!

6. You can see the sun rise and set on the same day

Costa Rica’s beaches are recognized worldwide for many reasons, including the fact that you can watch the sun rise from the horizon on the Caribbean coast and admire it falling on a beach on the Pacific coast, all in one day!

7. There is no army

Costa Rica is proud of the absence of an army since 1948, after it was abolished following the victory in the civil war that year.

8. Costa Rica generates, on average, more than 99% of its electricity using renewable energy.

One of the most important interesting facts about Costa Rica is that the country generates most of its energy using five renewable sources: hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, biomass and solar energy.

9. It has 5 active volcanoes.

There are 5 volcanoes in Costa Rica that are active: the Poás, Irazú, Arenal Volcano, Rincon de la Vieja and the Turrialba volcano. And they are all amazing!

10. It is on the list of the happiest countries in the world.

This is not a surprise given all that this little Central American jewel has to offer. Can’t you believe it? Come and see for yourself, we promise you will not regret it!

The secret of Nicoya's Blue Zone

What are Blue Zones? It's a question that inhabitants of Guanacaste are happy to be asking themselves,

since it's a true pride for the province's population to be home to one of the five such zones that exist worldwide.

It includes the five cantons of the Nicoya Peninsula: Hojancha, Nandayure, Carrillo, Santa Cruz and Nicoya.

In terms of a definition, these zones are geographical areas with a high concentration of long-lived populations, who frequently reach ninety or one hundred years of age. There are 5 Blue Zones around the world, one of which is located on the Nicoya Peninsula; the others on the list are Sardinia in Italy, Okinawa in Japan, Loma Linda in the United States, and Icaria, in Greece.

There are common factors that exist in these populations, such as good physical and mental health, a healthy traditional diet, respect for the family, deep faith, constant mobility, and a purpose in life.

While a Blue Zone indicates a hotspot of healthy longevity, it also presents a challenge of how to extend these benefits throughout the population outside of these redoubts. Enjoying good health conditions shouldn't depend on economic or technological factors, but rather on protective factors that are evident and proven in the region. They include good physical and mental health, upholding a traditional diet, a deep faith and spirituality, support and respect to family networks that go across generations, where grandchildren spend time with their grandparents and share in their knowledge, physical activity and constant mobility, and a purpose in life associated with spirituality.