The Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica
By Christopher Howard

INTRODUCTION
WELCOME TO BEAUTIFUL COSTA RICA

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Costa Rica's friendly three million people, or Ticos as they call themselves, invite you to come and experience their tranquil country, with its long and beautiful coastlines, alluring waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific, pristine beaches and some of the most picturesque surrounding you have ever laid your eyes on. Many visitors say Costa Rica is even more beautiful than Hawaii, and best of all is still unspoiled. Costa Rica has Hawaii's weather without the high prices and offers more beauty and adventure per acre than any other place in the world.

In the heart of the Central Valley, surrounded by beautiful rolling mountains and volcanoes, sits San Jose, today's capital and largest city in the country. Viewed from above, this area looks like some parts of Switzerland.

San Jose has a mixture of modern and colonial architecture yet remains charmingly quaint despite being a fairly large city with a slightly cosmopolitan flavor. Even though the San Jose area has a population of over one million people, you always get a small-town feeling, due to the layout of the city.

San Jose or Chepe, as the locals call it, is also the cultural center of the country. It offers good shopping, varied night life, a wide range of hotels, art galleries, theatres, museums, two English newspapers and much more.

Finally, because of San Jose's convenient location any part of the country is accessible in a matter of hours by automobile. We recommend that you use San Jose as a starting point or home base while you explore Costa Rica and look for a permanent place to reside.