Third world country
Keep in mind Costa Rica is a third world country. When you leave the central valley you are leaving all the modern conveniences behind including healthcare facilities and major banking institutions. Many negative things are printed about facilites or lack there of in outlying areas that don’t offer the same services as the central valley would.
I read just as many bad things happening in the news about the US everyday. Costa Rica is a country of only 4 million, bad things do happen and they make it to national news because it’s news in an otherwise non eventful country.
Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a lot to offer. Yes there will be bad stories and stories of the inconveniences caused by it being behind our culture in so many ways but that is why we like it. You adapt over a period of time to Costa Rican culture and learn to work around the inconveniences.
We have been here 5 years, the first 6 months was a nightmare expecting everything to be as it was in the US and finding it far from that and seeing nothing but negativity. But since then we have adapted to the culture and taken it as our own.
If your up for an adventure and looking at life differently than you always have, Costa Rica is worth a try. If not, you might want to reconsider making Costa Rica your new home.