The U.S.A. is a big country, covering a lot of extremely diverse territory from the shores of the East, the plains of the Midwest, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific coast.
One of the greatest freedoms enjoyed by citizens, or visitors, of the States is the freedom to jump in a car, or jet airplane, and go anywhere you want within this vast expanse of land. And you can do so without threat of harm.
In some ways Costa Rica is like a microcosm of the U.S. It’s as if the entire U.S.A. were squeezed together into a tight (albeit much more tropical) package.
After all, like the U.S., Costa Rica has two coasts, but only a day’s drive separates them.
Costa Rica has rugged mountains and flat-lands.
Costa Rica is divided into seven provinces, much like the individual States, with freedom of mobility between them.
What’s really cool is that Costa Rica is accessible.
Here, like in the States, one has that great freedom of mobility. You can jump in the car and take off to wherever you choose, granted that the ride might be a tad bumpier.
That’s not true in many other places in this region of the world. For instance, I love Colombia. Colombia is an incredible place with mountains, jungles, amazing biodiversity, the Amazon, etc., etc.
But in Colombia you cannot just go where you want to go. It can be dangerous, although less so these days. There’s still a civil war going on, there are guerrillas, criminal drug traffickers, etc., etc. You can get yourself in a world of hurt if you wind up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
This is also true in many other countries in Latin America, like Mexico, Honduras, or El Salvador.
I really love that aspect of living here, because there’s so much to see and do. I’ve been here for going on 16 years and there are still many things I’ve yet to see and do.
I love that on any given weekend I can throw a dart at a Costa Rica map and take off to parts unknown. It’s a refreshing aspect that’s a gift of the country’s democratic freedom and peace…not to mention the really nice people everywhere!
Costa Rica is accessible and that level of freedom of mobility has been a great boon to the country economically.
It indeed feels remarkably “free” to be able to just get up and go whenever you feel the itch!
The adventures never cease in Costa Rica.
Come and check it out for yourself…
on The Costa Rica Expat Tour, of course!
correct, that’s what we thought, democracy and some sort of luky location, our country has something special, you breath freedom…!!!
some habits are pretty bad, tico life style ( specially when drives) and yes there’s delinquents, but 99 % country is safe, to travel and living.
enjoy good companies, good friends, good life and good casados !!!!
good day everyone !!!
Thanks for the comment Jose. Yes, great casados and gallo pinto! By the way, I checked out your site, great stuff…
Although I do understand why you would have compared Costa Rica to the US, I really wish you hadn’t done that. It kinda spoils the whole thing for me. I believe CR is nothing like the US. Being from Canada and visiting bot the US and CR, I honestly actually feel more freedom and much safer than the US. I know Americans will find this hard to believe, but its absolutely true!
During my last two visits to CR we traveled extensively through out the Central and Northern areas of CR. Traveled many back roads, stopping in many small town and larger centers. Not once in any place did I feel unsafe. CR is true freedom and full of adventure!
Thanks for the comment Nick. The post was strictly speaking in terms of geography (Costa Rica is geographically similar if you squeezed the U.S. down to 200 miles, from 3,000) and in terms of safety of mobility, i.e, getting from point A to point B. Apart from that, I agree with you!