And it’s easy to see why Brits love Costa Rica… Costa Rica is a place of stunning scenery, sunshine and smiles with spring-like weather all year round, no income taxes on foreign earned income, no capital gains taxes, excellent world-class medical facilities, affordable medical plans and populated by the ‘Ticos’ who are an amiable and very attractive people.

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According to the British Embassy in the capital city San Jose, Costa Rica, there are less than 2,000 British citizens registered as living in Costa Rica. But as a British subject myself who has only registered this year, seven years after arriving in Costa Rica, I would suggest that the number is significantly higher than that …

  1. Costa Rica Is A Politically Stable Country: Unlike many countries in Central and Latin America, Costa Rica has been a stable and democratic country since it’s independence in 1948. It has no army, and its citizens enjoy one of the highest life expectancy levels in the Western hemisphere and higher living standards than their war-torn neighbors. Costa Rica’s perfect climate, laid back lifestyle, financial and political stability makes Costa Rica look like paradise on earth to many people.

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  3. Affordable Cost of Living: In a recent AMCostaRica.com (English) newspaper column, they showed a comparison between the prices of fruits and vegetables purchased here in Costa Rica to the same one purchased in a California farmer’s market. The same food that cost US$8.75 in Costa Rica, cost US$29.47 in California, USA. If you eat a healthy diet full of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, a little fish, chicken or beef, you and your family will be healthier and you’ll enjoy significant savings on food living in Costa Rica. But, if you prefer to eat highly-processed, imported food, you are going to pay a high price for that and you are not going to be healthy.
  4. Business Opportunities: It’s not just Brits hoping to retire that are visiting Costa Rica. We are also seeing younger entrepreneurs from the UK coming to Costa Rica with dreams of establishing their business here and raising their children in a more stable and secure environment.
  5. Affordable Healthcare: Patients from all over the world have discovered the excellent quality of the medical services in Costa Rica and they are invariably surprised at the affordability of these world-class professional services. You will find that the costs for qualified, professional medical and dental services are often a fraction of the cost that you would expect in the USA and the local ‘National Health Insurance’ type care costs less than £25 per month for basic coverage.
  6. Low Costa Rica Real Estate Prices: The brand new home that we are just finishing building is in one of ‘the’ gated communities in an area called Santa Ana which is a ten minute drive from the the capital city of San Jose. The home is a two floor 300M2 or 3,228 square feet with three large bedrooms, three bathrooms, dining room, spacious living room that leads out onto a very attractive terrace and the garden, a large kitchen, an office plus laundry room and a maids quarters with he own bathroom. We bought this beautiful, 3,228 square foot luxury home for only £155,512.
  7. Property Taxes: When buying a home in Costa Rica, property taxes must be considered but thankfully property taxes are only 0.25%. This means that on a £250K home you are only paying £625 per year in property taxes.
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  9. Costa Rica Crime: The level of violence in Costa Rica is a fraction of what it is in other Central American countries. Unlike El Salvador that has 47.7 murders per 100,000 people per year, Honduras = 46.2. Colombia = 38. Guatemala = 30. Belize = 15. Nicaragua = 13.5. Panama = 11.6. Costa Rica has a ratio of 7.8
  10. Climate in Costa Rica: At an average temperature of 72 degrees all year round in the Central valley area around San Jose, the climate in Costa Rica is just about perfect.

Living in Costa Rica is not for everyone, but after living in ten countries and traveling to a dozen others, the Brit writing this article honestly believes that the local people are amongst the nicest people I’ve come across and for me living here is a dream come true.

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Written by Scott Oliver who was born in Glasgow, Scotland but went to school in ‘sunny’ Watford in Hertfordshire. Scott is the author of How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa and Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore and the founder of www.WeLoveCostaRica.com

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