Why choose Costa Rica in which to live?

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Ironically, my love for my homeland, Costa Rica, deepened during my years in Canada, thanks to a famous Canadian, John Kenneth Galbraith. He was born and raised on a farm just twenty minutes from my Canadian hometown of London, Ontario.

He rose to fame in the United States as an economist and highly influential advisor to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. While I strongly disagree with his highly flawed Keynesian economics, one thing he said in an interview late in his life really caught my ear.

It bolstered my appreciation for Costa Rica and set in motion my decision to one day return to my home country.

What Galbraith said in this particular interview was that the quality of life and opportunity for a democracy to evolve in any given country was directly tied to several factors:

Weather patterns.
Topography.
The soil and its ability to produce food.
Geopolitical location.

Bingo. Costa Rica.

Brief Costa Rica History in Point Form:

- Spain’s Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand sent Columbus out for more gold.
- Columbus discovered Central and South America.
- No gold in Costa Rica caused it to be the most neglected and impoverished area of Central America. (The center of the colonial universe became Guatemala.)
- Geo-political cell splitting sequence:
  - Napoleon conquers Spain.
  - Central American colonies took advantage of Spain’s weakened state and rebelled.
  - Split from Spain into a mostly separate Central American alliance.
- Banana corporations (later named Chiquita & Dole) abuse causes more rebellion.
- Greed and economic turf wars lead to more geographical splitting into new countries south of Mexico.
- Costa Rica emerged as one of those separate countries but was still controlled in large part by Spanish and controlling Costa Rican families beholden to Spain.
- Coffee wealth hits big time, weakening Spain’s hold on the controlling families. (Let’s keep all the money, they said.)
- Internal war: Liberal vs Conservatives (Dependent vs Independent).
- Total succession from Spain and abandoning the army to direct more funds to medicine and education. (Sort of. The army remained in the form of the U.S.A. big stick embassy.)
- From being ignored during the time of Columbus to today, fierce independence has evolved unique to all other Central and South American countries.
- Uninterrupted by violent storms or droughts common to many other countries, the Costa Rican agrarian economy grew steadily decade after decade. In particular, wealth derived from coffee and bananas (the world’s most popular fruit). Its wealth is derived literally from its rich soil.
- Despite control by a few (to this day), that wealth eventually got distributed much more widely than other surrounding countries to a comparatively wide middle class. Once people taste freedom, it is very hard to take it back. Which is why Ticos are the most fiercely independent Latinos in all the Americas.

Back to the esteemed Mr. Galbraith:

Weather patterns.
Topography.
The soil and its ability to produce food.
Geopolitical location.

In my seventeen years in this business, I have had countless clients finally pursue legal residency here after “trying out” other countries recommended by certain unnamed publications—primarily Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico. Somehow, they all ended up choosing Costa Rica.

Yes, it is more expensive, but also more stable, safer, with better weather, and a much more hospitable culture.

Over the years, many clients have reported near-miraculous improvements to their physical health and well-being. No diets, specific exercise routines, or special medications. They are just living the Pura Vida life and eating locally grown, fully ripened produce.

For far more detail on that aspect, please read my comprehensive article here: https://costaricaresidencycard.com/2024/03/01/greatest-thing-about-costa-rica/

There are justified critiques of Costa Rica.

Some old arrogant residues remain in the form of an old boys’ club that seems to plague all countries. But the situation is in a state of flux, and the internet promises a freer flow of accurate information. Armed with that increasingly powerful information, Ticos are re-igniting their traditional, fierce independence after having it wane in recent years.

Many U.S., Canadian, and E.U. migrants are contributing to that reboot of independence and demand for freedoms. Those migrant clients of mine don’t hold back when it comes to expressing their grave concerns for the rapid erosion of democracy in their home countries. They come to Costa Rica for the weather, peace, and distance from the political cacophony up north,

… and the snow

Costa Rica Residency Card

Why choose Costa Rica in which to live?

Brief Costa Rica History in Point Form: