This brief chapter doesn’t begin to capture the many facets of life in Costa Rica, nor is it an exhaustive list of everything you should consider before deciding to move here. Each person’s situation is distinct and everyone who lives here has a slightly different take on the country. Your next step is to book

First and foremost, we strongly recommends that you first live in Costa Rica for at least six months before deciding to live here permanently. There is a big difference, after all, between staying somewhere for two weeks as a tourist and actually living there. It’s also important to note that expatriates who simply live in

There are a number of options open to foreigners who want to live in Costa Rica legally. North Americans and Europeans visiting Costa Rica are granted a three-month tourist visa on entering the country. After the three months have lapsed, tourists who want to extend their stay another three months can do so by hopping

Costa Rica is often cited as the safest country in Latin America. Although crime statistics can be notoriously unreliable, it is undoubtedly the case that Costa Rica—whatever its exact ranking—is one of the safest countries in the region. On an empirical level, you will find that Costa Ricans are generally much less physically aggressive than

With a literacy rate of around 96%, Costa Rica boasts one of the best educated workforces in Latin America; the Constitution of Costa Rica requires that the government spend at least 6% of its annual budget on education. As a general rule, public universities tend to outshine private universities, although INCAE, a business school established

The life expectancy of Costa Ricans is the highest in Latin America—and it rivals that of the majority of developed countries. Costa Rica, officials say, is “healthy without being wealthy.” In large part, this is due to a series of government decisions. The authors of The Ticos (Biesanz 1999), a groundbreaking sociological study, attribute the

By more than one measure, Costa Rica is the wealthiest country in Central America. It has the highest Gross National Product per capita, and wealth is probably more equitably distributed here than in any other Central American country. The country has enjoyed steady annual economic growth ever since the government enacted a series of reforms