To the ney sayers: Once you spend time out of the US and come back to the US you will realize how horrible the processed food is here. Not only are the animals and plants packed full of chemicals, steroids and hormones, but our lovely government adds to the chemical cocktails with "enriched" and "fortified" supplements in everything to ward off things which have not existed in a hundred years. You feel, and are, so much healthier eating in Costa Rica than here. You can't put a price on quality of life. It's 2 hours from MIA and if you buy your tickets right you can do it at times for $200 round trip. The price goes up and down all the time. Get to MIA a day early and hang on sobe. Although 98% of their population is the same religion (roman catholic) they have no religious laws like we have in the US. If you want to smoke a doobie that's your decision. Want to hire a hooker? If both are willing it's not only lawful but accepted in society. I'm not saying you should do either of these but to know the government stays out of people's personal lives is to be commended. The people down there are very respectful. Everyone down there wants to befriend an American. And every female down there wants to marry one. And every parent wants their kid to marry one. The climate rocks and there's lots to do. If you want to watch the coffee grow you can. If you want to party it up you can. If you want to go gambling you can. If you want to do the best fishing in the world you can. You can go rescue sea turtles, go surfing, all kinds of things. And the scenery is very beautiful. If you ride from San Jose over into Limon Province there are miles and miles of wild flowers on the east side of the mountain range on the way to the Carribbean before you get to the banana and pineapple plantations. Small towns everywhere with the best food on the planet. Best restaurants imaginable. Real, whole, healthy food; imagine that! Learn to speak Spanish though. Walk in speaking English and you may pay extra!
how do you know their beeves are hormone free and they still don't use DDT or the like to dust their vegetables? you don't know. do they have an FDA to protect public health?
Actually DDT is banned everywhere; and the rest of us are generally happy not to live under the FDA or know what a beeve might be. I guess ignorance is bliss.
A very fun flight from Juan SantamarÃa International Airport is the flight to Havana, Cuba No papers, no full body scan. Simply a non-Homeland Security, Non TSA, free-market ride to anywhere in the world. Got love it.
As a follow up, I ended up leasing an office in Playa Hermosa. So far, it is just me but if anyone is ever in Guanacaste for an extended vacation and needs a place to trade, look me up. I like the guy w/ the comments about a Lambo in San Jose. Haha. I feel bad for you brother. I may not have a 7 figure bank account, but I consider myself a very successful and rich trader. I am successful because I no longer have to put on a suit (or pants for that matter) and head into NYC each day. When I want to trade...I do. When I dont...I dont. I am rich because I wake up each day with a smile and I dont own an alarm clock. When I get tired of trading, I go play with my 16 month old daughter. But, this last christmas, I did spend the big bucks and bought a Ferrari. Too bad it is made by BigWheels and has a Barbie decal on the side. Its all about priorities.
Also, regarding currency. Euros, Colones, and Dollars are widely accepted everywhere. All banks, including the state banks, will allow you to denominate your account in Dollars or Colones (or both). I use ScotiaBank and they will allow you a Euro account also. As far as holding gold, Safe Deposit boxes are widely available so you could really store anything you want
US has a longer life expectancy than Costa Rica. Must not be that much of advantage to unprocessed food. Body takes what it needs from wherever it can find it. Diet is overrated. Its the genes.