I’ve visited Costa Rica, the iron bars capital of the world (my designation).
Virtually every house in a village or neighborhood is surrounded by cinder block walls topped with broken glass. Inside the walls, every opening in the house is locked behind iron bars. I’ve seen carports inside these walls completely encased in iron bars, plus all the windows & doors. I’ve seen houses that were clearly worth less than the wrought iron & concrete surrounding them.
Obviously, there is a serious property theft problem in CR.
I would imagine that an old, “rich”, non-Spanish speaking foreign couple living in a remote area would be an easy target for thugs & cause some resentment from the dirt poor locals.
I will add that the CR roads are horrible, kidney jarring, wreck producing nightmares. 4WD vehicles are a requirement in the rainy season, nearly so in the dry season. Streets in small towns & villages are giant, continuous potholes interspersed with flat dirt road that turn into streams when it rains. Many bridges outside San Jose are one-way, leaving you to queue up on either side to wait to cross. Forget the brand new Suburban; an old but reliable Range Rover is far less likely to be stolen.
Wherever you decide to go, visit there several times before the move, with an eye on living conditions, not on tourist venues. With so much at stake, renting a home for a while before buying might be smart.
Sounds like Juarez...