Americans in Costa Rica

{{Short description|Costa Ricans of American birth or descent}}

{{infobox ethnic group|

|group=Americans in Costa Rica
"Estadounidenses en Costa Rica"

|image=

|caption =

|population=70,000

|popplace=San José, Guanacaste, Puntarenas

|rels=

|langs=American English{{·}}Costa Rican Spanish

|related=American diaspora

}}

Americans in Costa Rica consists of immigrants and expatriates from the United States to Costa Rica, mostly retirees. According to the U.S. State Department, about 70,000 Americans live in the country."[http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/costa-rica-retirement-not-always-tropical-paradise Costa Rica retirement not always tropical paradise] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120172259/http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/costa-rica-retirement-not-always-tropical-paradise |date=2016-01-20 }}", Marketplace Watch, 31 May 2013

The buildup for World War II led to a significant migration of Americans to Costa Rica. During this period, Elizabeth Robinson Oreamuno established the USA Woman's Club of Costa Rica which still exists today, albeit with a broader membership.{{cite journal |last=Shragai |first=Atalia |date=Winter 2024 |title=In the Service of their Homeland and Themselves: The U.S. Women's Club in Costa Rica 1945–1980 |url=https://academic.oup.com/jsh/article-abstract/52/2/412/4243550 |url-access=subscription |format= |journal=Journal of Social History |volume=52 |issue=2 |publication-place=Fairfax County, Virginia |publisher=George Mason University Press |pages=412-438 |eissn=1527-1897 |access-date=4 February 2025 |via=Oxford Academic }}

Later, American retirees, many of whom are baby boomers, flocked to Costa Rica’s tropical beaches to retire as they’re drawn to its biodiversity, the political stability, and its relative low cost health care. The number of Americans who collect their Social Security checks in Costa Rica has jumped 67% since 2002.

Many Americans also purchase vacation homes and, rather than leave the U.S. entirely behind, use the rental income to pay off the property in the interim and then retire to Costa Rica at a later date."[http://www.ideal-living.com/?p=12 Living in Costa Rica]", ideal-LIVING, 22 December 2007