Costa Rica For Expats: A Guide For Expats To Live The Pura Vida Lifestyle.

By Manjel Sterling

Costa Rica For Expats is the most comprehensive guide in the market that explains with as much detail as possible to the reader what to expect in Costa Rica as they embark a new chapter of their lives living in this amazing country as either expats or digital nomads.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Manjel Sterling
• Release date: Jan 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781839784132

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Costa Rica is a hospitable country and a fantastic tropical pearl in the heart of Central America, but quite possibly the best country for expats in this part of the world meaning Central America and why not the Caribbean. This beautiful country offers with fun activities such as surfing, diving, and snorkeling. There are a lot of rental properties standing as beachfront houses that have a lot of potential to become great real estate investments. Additionally, Costa Rica’s government created excellent conditions for work and business people to find a second home in any activity that may be their field of expertise. Digital nomads moving to Costa Rica are gaining popularity because there aren’t any complicated bureaucratic obstacles for foreigners, and the collection of documents is quite transparent and understandable.

When thinking about changing your place of residency when choosing a country where you can immigrate as an expat, Costa Rica indeed is one of the best countries you can ever hope to live in! A huge plus is that there are individual programs for each visitor and those looking for permanent residence.

Despite the fact that views about Costa Rica may have changed, it is still considered to be one of the most attractive countries for Americans and Europeans, which is still the right place for expats, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs from all over the globe.

Costa Rica is a small country located in Central America with an area of 51,100 km2, just larger than El Salvador and Belize, where it borders Panama in the south and Nicaragua in the north. It is a country of great tourism potential which is listed as one of the most visited international destinations. The current population of Costa Rica is 5,137,710 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2021 population at 5,139,052. Costa Rica is named after one coast. but of course, this beautiful country actually has two of them, the Pacific and the Caribbean. These two coasts are as different from each other as are the East and West coasts of North America.

The country’s former Pensionado Law was recently modified to attract more expat retirees. The government realizes that currently, retirees contribute around 500 million dollars annually to Costa Rica’s economy.

Foreigners from all over the world who seek to establish their own companies or engage in investment tend to choose Costa Rica due to its low production costs and low taxation. Buying real estate in Costa Rica will further reduce living costs if you decide to do business. The price of real estate in Costa Rica is several times cheaper than in many countries, especially since the tax rate on a property is only 0.25% per year of the registered value. Luxury properties that are worth more than US$1,000,000 are taxed at 0.55% per annum. Many migrants investing in real estate in Costa Rica receive rental income throughout the year since they are very attractive for tourists and business people. Every year, Costa Rica’s population is growing because more and more foreigners move to the country for permanent residence. Thus, your business can be built on the service sector to serve the population. Business opportunities in Costa Rica can be exciting and promising, both domestically and offshore, due to the ability for any business person to operate in the external market. Many multinational companies open their branches in the country’s free economic zones where they’re allowed to import goods without taxation. Five regions within the country belong to the free economic zones or also known as Costa Rica’s Free Trade Zones where many foreign companies are engaged in developing investment projects to produce clean energy and biotechnology projects.

A recent survey has shown Costa Rica as one of the top 5 dream destinations in the entire world! At the same time business owners, which are about 19 percent of them, include entrepreneurs, part-time workers, and retirees who feel happy living in Costa Rica.

From all the counties in Central America, Costa Rica is generally regarded as having the most stable and most democratic government according to Wikipedia. Its constitution of 1949 provides for a unicameral legislature, a fair judicial system, and an independent electoral body. Moreover, the constitution abolished the country’s army, gave women the right to vote, and provided other social, economic and educational guarantees for all of its citizens. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, Costa Rica managed to stay relatively peaceful compared with its war-torn neighbors.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF COSTA RICA

Costa Rica was initially a small indigenous colony. It became a Spanish colony in 1564. It declared independence on September 15, 1821, joined the Central American Federation in 1823, withdrew from the Central American Federation in 1838, and established the Republic on August 30, 1848. After experiencing regional turmoil in the first half of the 20th century in 1948, José Figueres Ferrer, the President by then abolished the armed forces following the end of the civil war that brought him to power. He established a national police force, becoming a country without an army. Since then, Costa Rica political situation is stable, and environmental protection and education are emphasized. It is now the country with the highest overall development level in Central America.

Costa Rica, located between North and South America, has always been a cultural exchange region, with predominantly Mayan and Aztec influences. The trade relations between Mexico and Ecuador at that time took place over land or shipping products near the shores of Costa Rica. The polytheistic natives practiced agriculture and grew beans, corn, and tomatoes in Central America.

The small tribes regularly waged merciless wars. They lived in a feudal social structure where the masters owned slaves who were often prisoners of war. Human sacrifices were very common and they targeted mostly women, virgins, and young people. The ritual consumption of drugs such as tobacco, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and corn alcohol was also a common practice in the ancient cultures that lived in Costa Rica.

SOME HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT COSTA RICA

The Republic of Costa Rica is located in the southern part of Central America The area is 51,100 square kilometers. The population is 2.46 million (1984), 77% of whites, 20% of Indo-European mixed races, and the rest are blacks and Indians. The predominant religion in Costa Rica is Catholicism, the official language is Spanish, and the capital city is San Jose.

In 1502, Christopher Columbus discovered the coast of Costa Rica during his fourth voyage. Columbus called Costa Rica, the Costa Rica region, which means rich coast because he and other explorers hope to find gold and silver in the region. Since then, Spanish colonists have invaded many times. In 1563, the city of Cartago was established. Costa Rica was reduced to a Spanish colony and was placed under the Guatemala Metropolitan Government’s jurisdiction. During the colonial period, under the cruel enslavement and squeeze of Spanish colonists, the indigenous natives were almost wiped out. There was very little labor available as a result of enslavement. The Spaniards had to cultivate small plots of land and produce the agricultural products they needed. Costa Rica has long been in poverty, ignorance, and isolation from the outside world.

In the 1820s, the Latin American independence movement surged, and Costa Rica declared its independence in 1821. In 1822 it was incorporated into the Iturvid Empire of Mexico. They joined the Central American Federation in 1823. The Republic of Costa Rica was established in 1848. From 1821 to 1870, the Costa Rican regime was mainly controlled by JR Mora Polas and JM Montealegre’s two families. The economy developed significantly, and coffee grew incredibly rapidly and became the main export product. From 1855 to 1857, President Mora Bolas commanded the Costa Rican army and other Central American countries to crush American Adventurer W. Volcker’s invasion and defend Central America’s independence. From 1870 to 1882, T. Guardia Gutierrez implemented a dictatorship and weakened the two prominent families’ power. Beginning in the 1970s, British and American capital infiltrated. American entrepreneur MC Keith signed a contract with the Costa Rican government to build a railway from Port Limon on the east coast to San Jose and obtained a 99-year concession to occupy a large land area to develop banana plantations. In 1899, the United Fruit Company of the United States took over Keith Industries and controlled the railway and banana production and exports. In 1913, banana exports ranked first in the world.

In 1917, F. Tinoco Granados launched a coup and established a military dictatorship. After Tinoco Granados stepped down, all successive rulings were controlled by the American monopoly capital. The labor movement emerged in the 1930s. The Communist Party of Costa Rica was established in 1931 which was renamed the People’s Vanguard Party in 1943. The party led a strike of banana plantation workers in 1934. From 1940 to 1948, the two RA Calderon Guardia governments and T. Picardo were frightened by the People’s Democratic Movement. Under the promotion of the People’s Vanguard Party, they adopted some democratic reform measures. In the 1948 general election, the Social Democratic Party leader, JMH Figueres Ferrer, launched a civil war where he seized power and established a governing committee, which then declared Popular Vanguard Party illegal. In 1949, Figueres Ferrer handed over power to the National League Party’s elected leader, O. Urat Blanco. In October 1951, the National Liberation Party was established under the leadership of Figueres Ferrer. In the six general elections from 1953 to 1978, the National Liberation Party won four times. During the party’s administration, it emphasized state intervention in the economy, nationalized some industries, increased import taxes to protect national industries. He forced United Fruits to increase income tax, strengthened relations with other Latin American countries and Western Europe, and changed the situation of relying solely on the United States. Joined the Central American Common Market in 1963 and established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and some countries in Eastern Europe in the 1970s. In 1978, the leader of the Solidarity Party, R. Carasso Odio, was elected president. To alleviate domestic conflicts, he adopted measures such as austerity expenditure and increased social welfare. At the same time, he proposed to restrict national capital and encourage foreign and private investment. In February 1982, the National Liberation Party leader, LA Monge Alvarez, was elected president.

TRADITIONS OF COSTA RICA

Costa Ricans are also colloquially called Ticos and they have a rich culture full of traditions, both from indigenous and colonial times. We will discuss some of their most exciting customs here.

When the Spanish conquered the Americas in the 16th century, the northern part of Costa Rica was the Mayan civilization’s southernmost territory. The central and southern parts were the territory of the Chibcha tribe. The west coast was inhabited by black slaves sold from Africa from the 17th to the 18th century. At this time, many Chinese farmers came here to build railways.

Costa Rican music has tambito and punto, which are unique. For example, punto guanacasteco comes from Guanacaste, and punto sancarleno comes from San Carlos, Alajuela. Many music and legends spread from northern Costa Rica, which it was once the Mayans’ sphere of influence, and the Atlantic coast.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

Eight indigenous ethnic groups continue to survive in Costa Rica, where Aboriginal tradition has been preserved for many years. The following are the names of these indigenous ethnic groups: Borucas, Bribri, Cabécares, Chorotegas, Huetares, Malekus, Ngobes, and Teribes.

The Chorotegas live in northern Costa Rica, especially in Matambú, Guanacaste, and have Mayan and Aztec influences. One of the activities that stand out from its culture is the use of clay pottery to create vessels and figurines to modeled after their deities since they are polytheists and believe in different gods such as Tipotani and Nenguitamali. They also consider the crocodile to be a sacred animal.

As for the Bribri, their population is still around 10,000 of their people being alive today. It is noticeable that they build their houses several kilometers apart because they enjoy some independence.

Likewise, the ngöbe, also known as guaymies, make clothes with natural fibers and vegetable dyes. The result is a colorful textile that’s only found in their culture.

MASQUERADES

Masquerades are groups of people dressed in handcrafted masks who go on vacation, chase people, and dance through the streets. Their importance is so great that they even have their special day which is October 31 as the Costa Rican masquerade’s national holiday.

This custom’s history is as diverse as it mixes some indigenous traditions with the festival of giants and great minds celebrated in some parts of Spain.

The characters represented with the masks are called mantudos or clowns. To make them, they are first molded with mud, then they put on enough layers of paper, remove the clay base, and an iron structure is added. The Mantudos are made up of small bands called Maroons.

RELIGIOUS CELEBRATIONS

Costa Rican society has a strong connection with religion, especially Catholics, which is why some of the country’s main festivals are religious.

One of them is the Romería, which is a pilgrimage that officially takes place on August 2nd every year. Although some people choose to complete it a day or two before or after the official date due to work and other conflicts or to just simply beat the crowds.

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR

Christmas stands out among the most popular religious festivals. The decorative elements that constitute the