Costa Rica: The Destination Americans Are Considering
For multiple reasons, a high percentage of Americans are trying to leave their country in moments of great complexity (health, economy, politics and security), they are evaluating several countries to establish themselves, including Costa Rica.
The prestigious International Living magazine, specialized in offering information and advice on withdrawals or relocations, indicates that since last May it has registered a 504.97% increase in traffic to its website, specifically to the section about “How to get out of the United States”.
Americans seek to escape. First, there is uncertainty surrounding the presidential election, leading people to consider other options, should their preferred candidate lose the election. “We saw this same trend in 2016, albeit to a lesser degree,” said Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of International Living.
This year, in addition, the pandemic has created enormous financial challenges for millions of people, whose jobs have evaporated. Concerned about staying afloat in the United States, Americans are now looking to explore value-for-money places abroad where their dollars will stretch even further.
Furthermore, it is clear that other countries have handled the COVID-19 situation better than the United States. There are many people who wonder: where would they rather be the next time something like this happens? Which places seem to have done it best? Where would I like to be if this ever happens again?
Although the search has been carried out in different countries, there are three countries that seem to have caught the attention of readers: Costa Rica, Spain and Italy. So much so that the traffic in search of information from those countries on the website has grown approximately 800% in the last three months.
Americans are looking for places with a lower cost of living than in their country, but also to improve their quality of life.
The investment that can be obtained in some places abroad is really extraordinary. With a budget that would allow you to live very tight in the United States, you could live extremely well in a place where health insurance can cost less than $ 1,000 a year.
Why move to Costa Rica?
International Living has seen a 152.98% increase in traffic to its “Moving to Costa Rica” page since May 2020. This is what the magazine says about the prosperous Central American country:
“The political stability and discreet profile of the country are becoming increasingly attractive to expatriates. It has vast stretches of coastline, jungles rich in everything from spider monkeys and sloths to scarlet macaws and quetzals, beautiful lakes and volcanic valleys.
Costa Rica has established one of the most stable democracies in the world. The country dissolved its standing army in 1949, and the reallocated funds are spent on education, health care, and pensions instead of the military.
Pandemic in the United States and in Costa Rica
The Donald Trump administration, which is seeking reelection, has been widely criticized for managing the pandemic, which to date has sickened almost 3.9 million people and claimed more than 142,000 lives.
Democrat Joe Biden led the polls ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election, averaging 49.2 compared to 40 for Trump, according to the compilation of RealPolitics polls, but in an election that is decided state-by-state there could be surprises.
Regarding the impact of the pandemic in Costa Rica, it reports just over 17,000 cases, with 140 deaths. COVID-19’s death rate in Costa Rica is 0.82%, while that of the United States is 4.1%.
Tourists are welcome to come to Costa Rica
As of August 1st, the Costa Rica opened up its borders for a few countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom
Daniel Salas, Minister of Health, indicated last week that this list would include nations that have managed to control the growth of the pandemic, so European countries are expected to have the green light.
The opening of land borders, as well as the arrival of commercial flights from Central and South America will be ruled out for now.