Hmm, pretty useful thread. Thanks guys!

I think this thread is appropriate to let you know the Costa Rica Bash registration page is open now! Come and register, it's free right now!

If you are trying to register from Costa Rica you won't be able to. Use a proxy or hit me up.

Oh and Kristian, my pleasure on the info and thanks for those who added more detail. I seem to have lost this thread but saw it again today :)

Interesting information. I have been going through the same process of trying to decide on a place to live.

To the OP, since you have an EU passport, have you considered Cyprus at all?

Right now, I am looking at some of the Caribbean Islands like St Martin or even the Mexican Riviera around Playa Del Carmen.

healthcare here is awesome. especially at CIMA hospital ... part of the Baylor hospital in the states. very high standards, and it's all pretty cheap. last time i was in there was for a mountain bike accident - torn abdominal wall, nothing huge. there was no wait time for me, i got in and out in about 30 minutes total. so, emergency room visit, bloodwork, xray, and all medicine, totalled out at 50,000 colones, which is bout 96-97 bucks

No - by far not as bad - though of course not as clean as most of Europe...

Two things which annoy me about Costa Rica:

1. the terrible roads, particularly the constant change between smooth (almost new) surface and deep pothole craters...
Joke:
In Europe or the US you get pulled over for zig-zagging along the road, because most likely you're a drunk driver. In Costa Rica only the drunks drive in straight lines. (All others zig-zag to avoid the worst potholes.)

2. the very long rain season, which can last up to 7-8 months per year, so you'll get only 4-5 months worth of any unspoilt outdoor-activities...

I'm currently in CR, love the people in general, despite their lazyness (compared with lets-say Mexico), but to move here permanently: NO!

To me the prices are too high, and I'm not only talking real estate, also daily shopping at a supermarket, vehicles, utilities like power & water, etc.
O.k. - prices are not high compared with the US or Europe (other than $s for cars), but if you look at the infrastructure (or lack of it) and what you have to pay for a decent plot of land. And I'm not talking about the inflated prices some expat-owned developers or agencies are asking, I'm talking about the "local" market... [expats often ask around $40-100 p.squaremeter of land, the local rate might be $3-15/sqm]
Then you buy in some out-of-the-way tranquil setting and ruin on those terrible roads your expensive car every 2 years just to reach the next decently stocked supermarket - and 5 years down the track (or only 3 yrs) a big corporation moves in and develops the block next to you. O.k. - you can then sell with a good profit, but you'll have to move again...

:banana Pura Vida! :banana