I just finished a private two-day relocation/retirement tour with a couple from the U.S. The husband has virtually worked all over the world in the military and in the private sector. Presently he is working in the mid-east but plans to retire in a couple of years, so he is scouting possible retirement places overseas. Actually he is only interested in one — Costa Rica.

When he was in the military he was worked in Panama, Nicaragua and Colombia. He fell in love with the region, the people and the culture. He says without a doubt that Costa Rica is the best country in Latin America and where he definitely wants to retire.

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On my monthly relocation and retirement tours I’m always asked about activities in which Costa Ricans engage. I always make it a point to talk about the lottery or lotería nacional. Don’t get me wrong! I don’t advocate going to a casino and gambling away your hard earned money, because I never do. However, I always explain how the lottery works here, especially after many of my clients notice the vendors selling the tickets on the streets and ask, “What are they selling there?”

The lottery is a part of most Costa Rican’s lives for a long time. Almost every tico I know dreams of striking it rich by winning the big Christmas lottery called EL Gordo Navideño or Premio Mayor (grand prize). There are also weekly lotteries which offer a smaller payoff. The results can be found in the newspapers.

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As a travel planner, I often times hear clients with similar concerns, “how much rain falls in the rainy season” or “I was thinking to come in July but then heard it’s the rainy season so I think I may postpone”. The first thing that always comes to my mind is “not rainy season, Green Season”.

The Green Season in Costa Rica is my favorite time of year and really has a bad reputation that is undeserved. People, who avoid traveling to Costa Rica because of the fear of rain ruining the trip, are missing some of the best times to come and enjoy this magical place.

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By Matt Levin

That’s the signal Costa Rica has been sending over the past several months. The government will ramp up that message this weekend in honor of International Say “No” To Smoking Day on Monday, May 31.

The Costa Rican Social Security System (Caja) released a study Tuesday highlighting the effects of tobacco on Costa Ricans, which showed that the tobacco habit hurt Costa Rica both health-wise and financially. As a result, more public places are being encouraged to provide smoke-free environments.

In addition, thousands of school children in Cartago gathered Wednesday at “Fello” Meza Stadium – one of the stadiums to ban smoking recently – to unite against smoking.

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The Chinchilla administration has outlined its security priorities for its first 100 days, choosing to focus its efforts on 10 communities and 20 educational centers.

Officials of the Public security ministry will develop intervention protocols for the communities chosen and initiate the first steps of their determined agenda.

The areas – which were identified because they require “special attention” – include Guararí de Heredia, the eastern San José suburbs of San Pedro and San Juan de Dios de Desamparados, and the central San José districts of León XIII, La Uruca, El Carmen, Hospital, Merced y Catedral. Outside of the Central Valley, the Cieneguita neighborhood of the Atlantic port city of Limón and the central Pacific cantón of Aguirre (Quepos) were targeted for special attention.

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By Sophia Klempner

Almost 10,000 Costa Ricans are over 90 years old, according to recent demographic data from the Central American Population Center at the University of Costa Rica. Luis Rosero Bixby, a researcher at the center, has followed ageing trends in the country since the 1970s, and has concluded that, for its income level, Costa Rica has one of the most long-lived populations in the world, reported the daily El País.

Rosero’s research sparked interest by Dan Buettner, author of the best-selling book “Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest,” published by National Geographic. Buettner traveled to Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula in 2007 with team of scientists and demographers to confirm Rosero’s data. Buettner’s Blue Zone Project now lists the Nicoya Peninsula along with Sardinia, Italy ; Ikaria, Greece ; and Loma Linda, California as one of the special places on the planet where conditions are allowing people to live beyond 90 and enjoy a higher quality of life.

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By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Hmmm. You think it’s a coincidence? Costa Rica is one of the very few countries to have abolished its army, and it’s also arguably the happiest nation on earth.

There are several ways of measuring happiness in countries, all inexact, but this pearl of Central America does stunningly well by whatever system is used.

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“Imagine a bunch of HBS students who are used to the Hilton roughing it in mildew-smelling bunk beds with cockroaches and waking up to the soothing sounds of Howler Monkeys.”

The spring 2010 Costa Rica IXP embarked on a journey to understand Pura Vida and how this concept impacts Costa Rica, the government and the future of the country while looking at eco-tourism and other industries.

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Did you know that if you are middle aged and live in the beautiful country of Costa Rica that you have a greater chance of living to a healthy age of 90+ years than those your age worldwide?  And, people who call their home in an area in northwestern Costa Rica live even longer than people in the rest of the country.  Why is this possible? 

This area is known as a blue zone, places in the world where people live longer and healthier lives than anywhere on earth.  Blue zones are also areas where the greatest number of centenarians, those who live 100+ years, can be found.  It all comes down to lifestyle.  Scientists generally agree that a certain percentage of how long we live is influenced by genetics-how long our grandparents lived.  However, the most determining factors in living longer are based on our lifestyle habits day in and day out.   Simply stated, these people live lifestyles that include healthy diets, daily exercise, and low stress.  They also incorporate family, purpose, meaning, and religion into their daily life.

Photo: iStock, used with permission.

La Joya Perfecta, a new wellness resort community that is currently being developed in the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, will offer everything needed to enhance and improve healthier lifestyles for its residents and visitors.  This state of the art wellness community will provide facilities for improving fitness, wellness, nutrition, and lifestyle management.  By offering the same type of lifestyle practices that have proven to make Costa Ricans a country with long living residents, La Joya Perfecta is set to capture a little slice of blue zone living!

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By Adam Williams

You are only given one life and, though efforts might be made to prolong it, life ends in death. In the annals of history, there is one thing no man or woman has ever done, and that is to live forever.

The good news is that life is lasting longer in almost every country in the world.

In Costa Rica, for example, according to a recently released study by the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), the average life span in 2009 was 79.3 years, the highest level of life expectancy ever recorded in Costa Rica. And this increase in life expectancy was accompanied by the country’s lowest-ever infant mortality rate.

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