Lloret de Mar beach, Costa Brava, Spain

Until recently, Costa Rica was considered the best option for North Americans considering retirement or a permanent change of scenery. To this effect, regions such as Guanacaste now boast the highest concentration of expats in Costa Rica. Rampant inflation and a relentless increase in the cost of living is making some expats explore their potential options across the pond, and thus leaving observers to wonder if Spain will dethrone Costa Rica as a darling tourism and retirement destination.

Author’s Note: The use of the noun and adjective “American” in this article conforms to the definition in Princeton’s WordNet: (A native or inhabitant of the United States), and the recommendation by the Associated Press Stylebook: (An acceptable description for a citizen of the U.S.). Further information on this linguistic item of contention can be found here.

To many American and Canadian expats living in Costa Rica, the last few years have taken a heavy toll on their wallets and bank accounts. The Costa Rica Star has been closely following this worrisome, inflationary financial trend, which seems to deeply impact expats, frequent visitors, immigrant workers, and perpetual tourists. This situation is even more palpable in Guanacaste, which is home to beach communities known to be among the most expensive in Latin America.

It is no secret that expats have been looking for “the next Costa Rica” for quite some time. The nearest candidate at this point is Panama, a nation with very interesting real estate options, reportedly lower cost of living and numerous advantages specifically geared to benefit expats and foreign retirees.

Ultra-cheap Nicaragua has intrigued quite a few American expats as a sensible escape to inflation in Costa Rica, which seems to defy economic logic by being both cost-pull and demand-pull at once. The problem with Nicaragua, however, comes from a very high level -one that would be difficult for expats to surmount, which brings us to the Kingdom of Spain.

Costa Rica has always been a favorite country for Nicaraguan immigrants, but a recent survey conducted by statistical firm M&R and published by news daily El Nuevo Diario tells a changed story:

Nearly 60 percent of Nicaraguans polled by M&R expressed a desire to emigrate. This is pretty sad in and of itself, but is not the focus of this article. Of this significant group, 40 percent would like to emigrate to the U.S. and 20 percent to Spain. Costa Rica has fallen to a distant third in the minds of Nicaraguan citizens: Only 16 percent would come here. Similar surveys taken in previous years would yield more than 60 percent who wanted to relocate here.

Nicaraguans are not the only ones being lured by Spain more than Costa Rica. American expats have been tacitly exploring the country that some Costa Ricans call “Madre Patria” since 2011, which is the year when teachers of English as a Second Language were told to stay away from Spain due to an over-saturated employment marketplace and a painful financial crisis -at least for Spanish nationals.

Expats Discovering Spain

The quiet exploration of Spain by American expats dates back to 2007, when the New York Times published an article about the efforts of Valencia to lure U.S. retirees or people who wanted to relocate; at that time, Valencia was foreshadowing the coming financial crisis. Then came the bursting of Spain’s housing bubble, which has been thoroughly taken advantage of by expat connoisseurs. With double-digit unemployment and a financial catastrophe to deal with, Spain has been able to stay afloat thanks to a tourism renaissance that has surprised most locals.

A Huffington Post article exalting the “20 Reasons to Drop Everything and Go to Spain” has recently gone viral, and some of those reasons happen to compete directly with Costa Rica; for example: Beaches that rival the beauty of the Gold Coast in Guanacaste, imposing mountains, active volcanoes, eco-friendly communities, and more. Other attractions in Spain simply can’t be found anywhere in Costa Rica; including: Ancient mosques, ruins from the Roman Empire, Egyptian temples (not historical, of course, but donated), deserts, snowy peaks, Ibiza, etc.

What could prompt expats in Guanacaste to pack their bags and bid goodbye to Costa Rica as they head for Spain are the two pillars of expat life: Affordable housing and low cost of living. The former is due to the pesky financial crisis while the latter is gleaned in comparison to certain regions of Costa Rica. Still, the fact that in Spain -despite the crisis- expats (and anyone else) can still get free food when they order drinks (tapas) at a tavern is pretty amazing. Ask any Spanish citizen why their country would be a good option for expats who feel priced out of Costa Rica, and the answer is bound to be: “España es la mejor.”