Welcome To Costa Rica Lifestyle

A Truly Unique Lifestyle

Costa Rica was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The northwest of the country, the Nicoya peninsula, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors (conquistadores) came in the 16th century. The central and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences. The Atlantic coast, meanwhile, was populated with African workers during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Costa Rican cuisine is a blend of Native American, Spanish, African and many other cuisine origins. Dishes such as the very traditional tamale and many others made of corn are the most representative of its indigenous inhabitants, and similar to other neighboring Mesoamerican countries. Spaniards brought many new ingredients to the country from other lands, especially spices and domestic animals. And later in the 19th century, the African flavor lent its presence with influence from other Caribbean mixed flavors. This is how Costa Rican cuisine today is very varied, with every new ethnic group who had recently become part of the country's population influencing the country's cuisine.

As a result of the immigration of Spaniards, their 16th-century Spanish culture and its evolution marked everyday life and culture until today, with Spanish language and the Catholic religion as primary influences.

Costa Rica Benefits

• Politically stable.
• Invest most of their money on education and health care.
• Literacy rate equal to U.S.
• National health care system (Ranks higher than the US).
• Highest per capita income in Central America.
• Average temperature 83 degrees on the Pacific coast.
• Protected beaches
• Affordable living.
• Low hurricane risk.
• Far lower violent crime than U.S.
• Cell phone and internet service.
• Contains 5% of the world's biodiversity.
• Environmentally focused.
• Over 25% of Costa Rica is protected forests and reserves.
• Wildlife galore.