Lifestyle

Gay and lesbian

Costa Rica is widely known as the most tolerant of Latin American countries for gay and lesbian travelers but caution should still be exercised. More and more Costa Ricans are getting out of the closet. There is a thriving gay scene in San Jose with many gay and lesbian options for nightlife (La Avispa, Club Oh!, Bochinche among others). The Manuel Antonio, Jaco, and Quepos area is also a favorite spot with several gay hotels and a gay bar.

There are a good number of Gay/lesbian or Gay-Friendly accommodations in Costa Rica. Accommodations seem to be of the higher quality offering a variety of services and of course, discretion. Many hotels, travel agencies, and resorts are run by gays and/or are gay-friendly.

Work

The local newspaper, La Nación, has an extensive jobs listing every Sunday and Monday. You must be a resident or be sponsored by a company to work legally in Costa Rica. The print and online versions of the Tico Times, the Yahoo! group “Costa Rica Living” and the online newspaper AM Costa Rica are other great resources for people considering long term stays in Costa Rica. There’s also a book called Living Abroad in Costa Rica by Erin Van Rheenan that would be very helpful.

Costa Rica is an open business country and investors are always welcome, so if you or your company is interested in founding a new or buying a business in Costa Rica, it is best to contact a Costa Rican lawyer about your interest in investing.

Volunteering

There are several opportunities to engage in volunteer work in Costa Rica. Volunteer projects range from turtle conservation, building houses, teaching English and community development work.

Affordable organizations such as ISV Costa Rica, Travel to Teach, International Cultural Youth Exchange and Volunteer Visions are able to arrange work for international volunteers in Costa Rica and other countries in the region. Other volunteer programs can be found at Tico Times Science and Environment.

Learn

You can learn Spanish in Costa Rica. Reflecting the higher living standard, it’s a little more expensive than other countries such as Guatemala, but then again, the education level of your teachers will be much higher.

Costa Rica is a great place to learn Spanish as the "ticos" have a dialect that is easy to understand and digest for someone just starting to learn the language. There are many language schools that provide intensive instruction with group classes lasting 4 hours per day, Monday to Friday. Almost all Spanish schools will also offer host family accommodations and possibly some alternative such as a student residence or discounted hotel rates.

The key factor when going to study Spanish in Costa Rica is to decide what is the right location for you. The beach locations tend to be on the touristy side so they do not necessarily give the greatest immersion experience, however there are many Spanish schools near the beach as students like to split their time between studying Spanish in the classroom combined with activities on the beach or just relaxing on their time away from work. There is a growing trend of these Spanish schools at the beach also offering Surfing or Photography classes due to the environment around the school and the proximity to good surf.

Studying in the San Jose area has many benefits. There is the luxury aspect of city life since it tends to be much more modern than the rustic beach locations. Host families and Spanish schools tend to have nicer facilities. San Jose also has fewer tourists so it is great from an immersion point of view as you can practice your Spanish in a setting where people are not automatically switching to English to accommodate your native language. It is much better that you struggle with your Spanish and force your brain to think in a different language so your communication becomes much smoother.

Some hostels offer packages that include Spanish lessons and daily home-stays with the locals (in addition to your room and board).

Costa Rica is also a good place to become proficient in ocean sports like surfing and scuba diving. There are numerous surf shops, that provide surfing lessons and surf camps throughout the coastal areas.

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