Don Mateo

Newcomers to Costa Rica have to adjust to certain cultural and lifestyle habits here. A short list might include rice and beans being a breakfast staple, one-lane bridges on busy two-lane roads, milk sold at room temperature, pedestrians walking three abreast with their backs to traffic, and the difference most mentioned by first-time visitors: used toilet paper goes in the waste can and not the toilet bowl.

According to the website Franchisetimes.com, my household income in Costa Rica puts me solidly in the middle class. I live comfortably, if simply. Bills are paid on time, there is food in the fridge and a car in the driveway. In-country trips to the beach or the mountains are within the budget.

A Costa Rica-based fan watches the 2026 World Cup from the U.S., missing La Sele while reflecting on Team USA, 2014 memories and soccer’s oddest rules.

The latest news and information from Costa Rica including breaking news, weather, travel, events, sports and more.

Costa Rica’s new 5,000-inmate maximum security prison is behind schedule, raising questions about whether more cells can curb the country’s crime wave.

With my car doing what it does best– sitting idly in the carport awaiting a part– I walked twenty minutes in the dark down the long incline of the main street of the barrio to line up for the 5 am bus to Quepos. A red taxi pulled up. The driver stepped out and said, “Quepos! Dominical!” The going rate from Perez Zeledon to Quepos is 25 to 30 thousand colones. Not worth it as after 35 years here, I live happily on Tico time. Then he quoted his price. Mil to Dominical, mil quinientos to Quepos. Me and 2 other guys stepped forward. He loaded our gear in the trunk and off we went.

Since moving to Costa Rica in 1990, I have not missed a World Cup final. I’ve watched them from a bar, from a friend’s house, and from the comfort of my own home. For 2026, I planned on something different. I took the trip over the mountain to San José, ready to attend the huge public party at La Sabana Park.

A longtime resident looks back at Costa Rica in the 1990s and reflects on how money, crime, development and everyday life have changed.

Costa Rica remains Central America’s tourism leader, but rising prices and stronger competition from El Salvador, Panama and Guatemala are changing the race.

Could Costa Rica’s approach to marijuana give it an unexpected tourism advantage over its Central American neighbors? One longtime tourism insider thinks so.