Why do so many people leave Costa Rica after moving there?

This question is often asked because while there are no absolute numbers it seems to be generally agreed that 30-60% of people move back to their home country within the first 5 years or so.

I hope the moderators will allow this discussion because some people jump into moving to Costa Rica based on forums that do not allow the downside to be discussed, thus many get a skewed idea that Costa Rica is great for everyone - they get only a view through rose-colored glasses.

So let me start out by saying that while Costa Rica was not for me, I did enjoy a lot of my experiences there, and that many people do adjust to the challenges of living in Costa Rica and stay for the rest of their lives. I know at least 4 people who moved there well before I did and still love it and do not plan to move back "home". In fact they see Costa Rica as their home even after living there many years.

But there are those of us who move back within 5 years. So:
WHY DO PEOPLE MOVE BACK to their home country after some few years?

I will basically tell you MY reasons but I have noted over my 30 years of visiting Costa Rica that there are basic reasons that most who leave cite as the reasons for leaving Costa Rica.

First let me tell you my reasons for moving back to the USA even at a time when the USA is going through a dark period in its history what with Covid and the politics that have led the USA to be a very divided and divisive country.

Basically I will cite you the major reasons in order:
1)WEATHER
Being from California which has great weather, moving to Costa Rica was a real step down in terms of weather. If you love rain and fog then you will see it differently. But for me the rain, fog and constant humidity was something I really never liked. Add in 2-3 months of pretty severe wind in many areas, and you begin to realize Costa Rica's weather is not a big plus for many of us.
I think if you live in a snowy state then you may welcome the rain and fog and wind more than those of us who lived in a very comfortable region like southern California.

Not only is the weather an issue of comfort/discomfort; it is also an issue of the ability to safely drive.

For me the worst part about the rain and fog was that for 8 months of the year it was super dangerous to drive. I know many people who do not find it that dangerous but also many - even some who decide to live there permanently - do.

During the 5 years I lived in Costa Rica I was almost in a life threatening car accident at least 6 times. I have a great driving record and am a safe, defensive, rule following driver.
Bottom line: Ticos are not great, safe, defensive drivers, and the fog and rain make visibility at zero or near zero at times so driving IS at times very dangerous.

Many people I know there who have lived there for 10-20 years make it a point to try to be home by noon during the rainy season due to rain and/or fog. Because if you're driving along - even on a good road (which are not all that common in Costa Rica) - and you are hit with a hard rain storm or thick fog you cannot see where you are going. Period.

Okay so you pull over, right? No. Often no place to pull over. Or you cannot even see if there is or not.
So WEATHER - both as a negative for Driving and for Comfort - is one reason many return to their home country. It was one of the Top 3 reasons for me.

2. DRIVING
This issue has to be mentioned in its own category because it isn't just the weather that makes driving dangerous.
It is also an issue due to:
     A. Bad Drivers
     B. Bad Roads
     C. Bad Weather
     
So Bad Drivers: Many drivers in Costa Rica have only begun to drive in the past few years because in the past it was hard to get a car loan. Once cars became more common it amounted to a whole lot of people on the road who really do not know or pay much attention to basic driving rules like using turn signals, not double parking, not passing on hills or curves where double yellow lines are painted, and so on.

Ticos generally are not known for Law Enforcement and policing drivers for reckless driving is not something they put much money or attention towards.
On a regular basis I saw people passing against double yellow lines where when I was behind them I could clearly see that they could not possible know it was safe to pass; where clearly someone could be coming the other way and hit them, causing near certain death. Seeing this dozens of times made me realize just how dangerous driving in Costa Rica was. On any curve you could have someone come into your lane as they passed against a double yellow line coming towards you.

I'm not sure why they are so reckless in their decisions to risk their lives this way but the fact is, it is very very common. So common it scared me away from driving any more than was necessary.
Let me state here however: not everyone I know felt it was that dangerous to drive there. But many do, and just adjust to that.

That covers the bad drivers. Bad weather is covered above so that leaves Bad Roads:
     A. Roads are often not maintained well. There can be a pot hole wide and deep even on highways that may not get fixed for some time.
     B. Roads may not have center lines painted on them, especially not ones you can see after dark.
     C. Roads may not have guard rails even with cliffs on one or both sides.
     D. Roads are often too narrow so a truck has to pass into your lane on a curve in order to make the sharp turn (Read that again. True! Dangerous!) Many country roads barely have room for 2 people to pass in opposite directions so you have to drive slower and be aware that if a big truck comes towards you, you'd better get out of the way because sometimes they won't or can't pull over. Bridges are often narrow so don't miss the sign warning you of it. Usually each side of the bridge posts a warning about this.
     E. The highway dept are apparently not trained in how to keep the safety. My friend told me he was driving past construction workers and they gave him the signal to go after he stopped. He went, and a semi truck was heading towards him. Both directions had given permission to go.

I was driving - twice in different areas - where cones were set up so you had to pass into the other lane on a 2 lane highway in the mountains, to go around where they had done some work. Okay... BUT no: the cones required you to pass into the other lane on a blind curve. The 1st time it happened I didn't have time to think or didn't take time, I just naturally went around the cones not realizing until it was too late what a stupid decision it was to risk my wife's and I's lives by passing on a blind curve just because the highway workers forced us into it.

The 2nd time I saw this in another area, I just slowed down and mowed down the cones - pushed them out of my way as I could see there was no danger in doing so. If they have to paint the lines or whatever again, too bad! I refused to risk my life for paint - or anything - by passing on a blind curve!

Let me mention here as well that not only are Ticos not generally good drivers, they are drivers who don't care about rules and do not fear being ticketed because there is a lack of enforcement.

Also Ticos are often very aggressive drivers. They will more likely cut you off instead of slowing down and letting you merge onto a freeway. They have the attitude of wanting to "win" instead of letting you in.

3.SHOPPING
Shopping sucks in Costa Rica. I'm not a shopper, really, but there are things I want to buy from time to time.
High Cost of Purchases of Many Types of Things
Let me say I am not rich and so while the rich can pay 50-100% more for stuff, this was something I did not want to do, or was not easy for me to do.

In Costa Rica things you may need: pots and pans, a new phone, a new tv, a new juicer, a new car, tools, etc etc are often 50% more than you can buy them for in the states.

Amazon? No. Doesn't save you any money at all. You must pay import taxes and expensive shipping driving up the price you see on Amazon to about 3 times that cost.
Example: A hammock with netting over it , which I needed but never ever saw one in Costa Rica.
Amazon had one on sale for $30. But by the time I paid the shipping and import tax it was over $100. I checked out prices at services like Aero Post or Liberty who provide Amazon service. Same thing: 2-3 times the cost due to shipping and fees.

4.VARIETY
You will have much less variety of items to choose from for most things, such as tv's, stereos, phones, kitchen items, and food. Many things just are not available in Costa Rica, especially things that gringos may want that Ticos don't generally buy.
You may have a food item you love but cannot find anywhere in Costa Rica. One of mine was hummus. The last year or 2 I began to see it at Mas X Menos but the first years I was in CR I could not find it anywhere, and when I finally did find it, it was nearly double the price. I made my own when I finally found tahini to make it with, but that was a pain and still expensive.

Another example would be organic stuff such as flax oil. Flax oil is known to be high in chemicals unless it is organic so I'd always buy organic flax oil to put on vegetables, popcorn etc. (instead of butter). Never ever saw it anywhere in Costa Rica. I had to live without this healthy oil. There will be many food items you will not be able to buy in Costa Rica.

The Supply Chain is also an issue. You may find a really good deal on walnuts at the Walmart in December but then never ever see them again. You may find a great Mexican salsa and buy it regularly for 3 months, then not see it again for a  year. Or never.

Another Variety issue is Restaurants. While you may find many places making pizza or Italian or Mexican food, you will not have much variety to choose from of GOOD restaurants. I was recently in Jaco which surely has more restaurants than even San Jose'. Yet out of the 8 restaurants I ate in that week, none were very good. Looking for great food? Costa Rica is not for you!

Having a variety of electronics, food, and many other things to purchase is simply not good in Costa Rica.

5.Noise
Noise is an issue I am particularly sensitive to. So I admit this is not a major issue for many but I know some people besides me for whom it was, so I will list it.
The #1 noise is dog noise. Ticos (and many gringos as well, I've realized) are not bothered by dog noise. They have dogs, and they let the dogs bark as much as they want, and it doesn't bother them nor their neighbors.
Except it does bother some neighbors.

But good luck trying to do anything about it! There are no laws or rules regarding dog noise - nor other noise such as loud music or partying, which I'll discuss below.
My friend Roger had a condo near San Jose. He was on the 8th floor or something. But below him was a house and the dog there barked every morning when the owner left for work, around 5:30am. Roger asked the owner to do something about it. Like Ticos tend to do, he said "okay, I'll try to do something about it", to be "polite" while truly having no plan to do anything about it.
My friend had to move because he really did not want to have to get up at that hour nor did his wife who didn't have to be at work until 9am, so wanted those extra hours of sleep.

My neighbor put his German Shephard in the shed across from me when it was in heat, and left it there. No windows, nothing. Just a dog who likes to be with his owner, locked in a shed.
It barked non-stop for hours. I asked him nicely to not leave it there to bark but he refused to do anything about it and told me to move if I didn't like it. This was a gringo in all fairness. But it's so "Tico" that I have to mention it. Ticos think dogs are supposed to bark and would never think to train them not to.

Barking dogs is a major problem in Costa Rica who hate barking dog noise. You've been warned!
Other noises you may be bothered by are motorcycles without mufflers, trucks without mufflers, music pushed up to the point of distortion and construction and farm equipment.

Noise that contributed to my leaving Costa Rica was barking dogs, loud music and construction noise and farm equipment noise. I had all of the above.

The same A**hole neighbor who said if I didn't like his incessantly barking dog locked in a shed, then I should move, also loved to do constant construction. He would spend weeks with a backhoe making a new driveway near me. Then he built a cabin that might take a normal person a month to construct but it took him 5 months. Then he moved in a shipping container to use as a new shed and put a power saw (table saw) in it to cut thousands of pieces of wood in for a new floor. Weeks of power saw nose 150 feet from me. Then he built a small house 75 yards from me that would normally take 2 months to construct but he had one guy constructing it for nearly a year, day in and day out of hammering and sawing etc ... cheaper for him, costly for my peace and quiet.

Farm noise: My other neighbors were a coffee farm. No one lived there. But that didn't stop them from being very noisy neighbors. They had a huge machine that sprayed out anti-fungus chemicals on the coffee plants. It sounded like a train passing by and it would get used several days at a time, all day long. Also the Nicaraguan farm workers would come in, bring ghetto blasters, sing and yell all day while picking coffee or cutting limbs to get rid of shade once a year.

Party noise: I did not have this issue much but my Tico friend has had it for about a year now. A house down the street installed a bar/party place. They seem to be selling home made guaro but also inviting people there to party who do a lot of cocaine and love to play the stereo to the max, to distortion, from around 10pm to 2am. My friend called the police numerous times. The police come and quiet them down. Then the police leave and they start right back up again. This has gone on for months and the bottom line is my Tico friend says the police "can't do anything about it" because the law regarding noise is not really a law it's just a rule or "suggestion". So good luck if you have neighbors that love to party til 2am!

6.Bugs and Animals
This is one that wasn't a major problem for me but I've heard it being a problem for others so I'll include it.
One American couple I know returned to the USA because the wife couldn't handle all the bugs. Where I lived bugs were not a big problem but I did get tired of finding scorpions in the shower or bedroom on occasion and a plague of huge ugly grasshoppers one year for over a month.

I did hate the birds which would whistle all night from 7pm to 5am non-stop right outside my bathroom window. This was seasonal and I finally was able to control them by hanging mobiles made with old cd's outside at night which when they turn in the wind would create a type of light reflection the birds didn't like.

I've heard of people having bats and coons up under their roofs, and when I rented a cabin before I moved to Costa Rica one time, I had a major ant problem. If you dropped ONE CRUMB of bread or anything a swarm of tiny ants would move in on it immediately. Poison did not seem to deter them and they would get on the cabinets as well as the floor. At that place I also had tiny flying bugs that would swarm inside around any light I had on which made it annoying to read or watch tv after dark.

So I had many good experiences living in Costa Rica but in the end the negatives for me, outweighed the positives, so I sold out and moved back to the USA. Your mileage may vary. But hopefully the above will give you food for thought. No matter what you do, RENT BEFORE BUYING A HOME IN COSTA RICA!

So there you go. Hopefully I have answered the question I often hear asked, "Why do so many people leave Costa Rica after moving there?"

p.s. Some other reasons I won't go into here because this is already too long are :
-Missing one's family
-Missing one's "own people" or country
-Wanting to be able to work and make extra money
-Government bureaucracy and fees
-The CAJA health care system kinda sucks
-Lousy medical care unless you live near San Jose or are just lucky
-Waiting in long lines for services (especially CAJA health care)
-Very expensive gasoline and cars