St. Croix was Costa Rica in microcosm: All of the common complaints heard here—government corruption and indifference, crime, poor policing, high cost of living, locals trashing the beaches and ...

“Your most expensive household bill in Costa Rica will be electricity, and if you are used to AC, this will cause it to be anywhere from $300-$500 a month if you use it all the time,” Bexon said.

Tourism has spiked in Costa Rica, with visitors trying to get a taste of the Blue Zone lifestyle. But as tourists flood the area, locals say key elements of the Blue Zone life are fading away.

Monteverde cheese, produced and packaged in that same cloud forest area of Costa Rica, is cheaper across the board in Panama than here. As all who have lived here for any period of time are aware, ...