The Small South American Country That Stands Apart
By Jeff D. Opdyke

I've been trekking to this country two or three times a year, just about every year, since 2011. I've driven from its western border to its eastern border, and through the vast ranchlands and farm country that define its sometimes-hilly, sometimes-flat interior.

I know the backroads in, around, and through the beach communities that dot the coast. I shop at local markets and fill up at local eateries. I may be a tourist, but I don't play like one.

Pretty beach communities dot the country's coastline.

And here's what I can say, unequivocally, about this place: It is not your typical Latin American country.

It's decidedly middle-class and wealthy. It's highly democratic, educated, and free. And it feels far more European than South American, having been populated over the last few centuries by Italians and Spaniards.

It is, in short, a place where one instantly feels comfortable and welcomed, and where one blends into the scenery rather than stands apart as an obvious gringo. Indeed, I'm a fair-complexioned descendant of Scandinavian stock, and I cannot tell you how many times locals approach me, jabbering away in Spanish because they think I'm a homeboy. It's comforting, actually, because you don't feel like you're the "mark" in a forever game of Fleece the Foreigner.

For those reasons, this is a place to know—a place that increasingly serves as home to a growing flock of expats who have traded living in the U.S. for a quiet, easy, safe, and comfortable life in an upper-end, largely overlooked corner of South America.

So, here's a quick rundown of what you need to know…

Cost of Living

Along with not being poor and not being a kleptocracy…this is not a cheap country. At least, not in Latin American terms.

That's not to imply that it is overly expensive. It's just that it's not a place where you go to live like royalty on pocket change.

As a middle-class country, you find middle-class pricing for certain things. Other purchases, like cars, are exorbitant. Some are really cheap. When you average it all out, the overall cost of living works out to about one-third less than that of the U.S.

Efficient infrastructure, general affluence, and fiscal stability do cost a little more. Electricity is expensive here and, as expat Diane Cording points out, "Buildings are not built for heat retention here so in winter you have to turn on the heat." That can push the electric bill into the hundreds.

The flip side is that, outside of winter, the weather is pleasant and mild, and regular ocean breezes mean there's rarely a need for air conditioning along the coast. The interior, however, can be much warmer and will likely require some air conditioning in the hottest stretches of summer.

It's the same with food. Imported packaged food can be pricey, but fruits, vegetables, meat, and the abundance of seafood is relatively cheap at the outdoor markets that are commonplace here.

Real Estate

Real estate is, obviously, the other big cost but you can find pretty much anything you want at affordable prices.

In the country's capital, very nice, new-construction apartments that anyone would be happy to call home sell for under $150,000 in desirable areas. For $100,000, you can buy an apartment in a nice, refurbished older building and remodel it to your style.

You can buy an apartment in the country's capital for $100,000.

In an affluent coastal city I checked out an upscale, 840-square-foot, 1.5-bedroom (one master bedroom, and one small), two-bathroom apartment with water views from a large balcony on the 14th floor of a newly remodeled high-rise in the arts district. It's in a building that honestly looks like a hotel inside—and includes hotel amenities such as spa, masseuse, heated pool, and gym. The list price: $198,000. But you'd probably be able to pick it up for $175,000, maybe less.

Healthcare

Expats here say the healthcare is excellent. But it's First World healthcare at discount prices.

While several private insurance companies offer coverage— including Blue Cross Blue Shield—most expats opt for mutualistas, which you can think of a bit like the old non-profit, cooperative-owned mutual savings banks that existed for the benefit of members rather than a group of shareholders.

This is not an insurance plan, so you're not having to send bills through to be paid by an insurer. You have no deductibles to meet and no lifetime cap on benefits. Rather, you become a member of a hospital (or a group of medical facilities) for almost all of your healthcare needs.

And the price is affordable—typically well under $100 a month for coverage.

I spoke with retirees who pay about $55 a month for coverage. They might have a co-pay at times, but those are small. A non-urgent office visit, for instance, is a bit more than $3. A blood test is $13. An MRI, representing the most expensive co-pay, is $26.