In the fourth century, the Egyptian saint Pachomius observed that; “The place in the monastery which is closest to God is not the church, but the garden. There the monks are at their happiest.”

I suspect those same monks would have been even happier in a sun drenched Costa Rican garden watching their fruits, vegetable, flowers, grapes and hops grow bigger, juicier and faster than they ever thought possible…

You can find out much about Costa Rica on the internet. You can even see photographs of many of the stunning sights that you can look forward to seeing when you visit ‘one day’ but there’s one beautiful thing you will never be able to see or appreciate on the internet…

I’m talking about what makes this little country called Costa Rica so very special and unique…. It’s people, the ‘Ticos’…

In the supermarket, I was speaking with an old Argentinian gentleman and his rather gorgeous 40 ‘something’ daughter and he was telling me how real estate prices in some areas of Costa Rica are high compared to some parts of Argentina… That he would live there if he could but his whole family preferred to live in Costa Rica…

We know why?

You may have seen some of those newsletters that claim to ‘help you’ make huge profits by buying properties in poor, developing countries and if you can just hold onto them while watching people starving to death around you for twenty years you could make a fortune.

Well you can call me strange but I would prefer not to live in that kind of ‘investment’ because in choosing where I live, the people are more important to me than making money and I’ve never met a people like the Ticos.

If making a buck on real estate is important to you then you may find good properties available in more ‘developing’ countries like Nicaragua, you may find bargains in Ecuador, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, you’ll find comparable prices in Panama and Belize but you won’t find the Ticos in any of them…

A lady from Scotland who spent Christmas & New Year in Costa Rica wrote to me saying that; “It was the people in Costa Rica who impressed me most, we were never hassled or harassed and people were exceptionally kind and helpful.”

If choosing the right place to live and enjoying a perfect climate surrounded by wonderful, kind-hearted, genuine, good looking, ‘willing to please’ local people is important to you then you should book your flight to Costa Rica ..

My friend Ken Beedle sums it up in the most beautifully elegant terms when he said that: “When the conquistadors left Costa Rica, the gold he did not find was locked in the heart of the people.”

Written by Scott Oliver, author of How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa and Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.