Why Live in Costa Rica
Since 1948 Costa Rica has been a true democracy. There is no army only a small national police force. One of the reasons Costa Rica is one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America is because all of the money that would have gone to fund an army has been placed into health care and education.
Costa Rica, a country approximately the size of West Virginia, about 19,000 square miles, is bordered by Panama on the South and Nicaragua on the North. The population is slightly over 4 million people with about half of those living in the Central Valley.
The topography of Costa Rica ranges from beautiful beaches on the Pacific Coast to the west or equally beautiful beaches on the Caribbean side to the east, to beautiful lakes and majestic mountains and volcanoes, including Arenal, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. You can drive from one coast to the other in about 6 hours.
Why People Choose Costa Rica
Wonderful Lifestyle – Costa Ricans, commonly referred to as Ticos, live a laid back life. They take advantage of their time, enjoying their family and the pleasures of life. A popular greeting and salutation for Ticos is “pura vida” or pure life, which explains the Costa Rican philosophy on how to live.
Stable Economy – 15 years ago the economy of Costa Rica was primarily agriculture. The economic development since then has been dramatic and diverse. The largest export is computer parts, primarily driven by an Intel plant than manufactures microchips. The plant employs over 5,000 people and is located just outside of San José.
Costa Rica's highly educated and bi-lingual workforce – Many other multinational companies have located their Central American headquarters in Costa Rica. Hewlett Packard has nearly 7,000 white collar workers here. Currently, the second largest industry is tourism followed by agriculture, primarily pineapples, bananas and coffee.
Low Taxes – Real Estate taxes are extremely low, ¼ of one percent (.25%) of the declared value of a property. Individuals and Costa Rican corporations pay taxes for income generated in Costa Rica. There is no capital gains tax. With such low property taxes, residents accept that road repairs are slower than in other countries.
Good Communications – Costa Rica has one of the most advanced communication systems in Central America. In most metropolitan areas you will find modern telephone service, cable TV and high speed internet. Cell phone service has coverage in about 95% of the country.
Moderate Climate and Weather - There are two seasons in Costa Rica; dry and the green (rainy). The dry season extends from mid December to late May. The green season is from late May until late November. During the green season the mornings and early afternoon are generally sunny. The rains that come after that are mild and since it is always warm most people do not mind them.
Temperatures in the Central Valley rarely get above 85 degrees and never below 65 degrees because the Valley is actually 3,500 feet above sea level. The Valley is surrounded by mountains, which causes a unique affect called micro-climates. Temperatures can vary 5 or 10 degrees just driving over a hill.
Temperatures on both coasts are hot much like the weather in Florida in the spring or fall. The weather in Costa Rica does not vary much because the country is located near the Equator, only 9 degrees north.
Natural Beauty – The reason tourism is the largest industry at the moment is because Costa Rica offers its guests a truly beautiful place to visit, enjoy and relax. From beaches, to waterfalls, to rain forests and volcanoes, Costa Rica has a very large array of natural beauty for residents and visitors to fall in love with.
Political Stability – Unlike many other Latin American countries, including Mexico, Venezuela and Nicaragua, Costa Rica has no standing army and a strong tradition of open democratic elections. The well educated public is generally involved in the running of their country from the local to national level.
The CIA World Fact Book has recently listed Costa Rica as "a Central American success story" because the Costa Rican government has successfully established an economically and politically stable country in which more overseas investors are focusing their financial interests. We hope you will choose on of these beautiful Costa Rica luxury homes and come join us here in paradise.
