I just got back from 10 days in Costa Rica. Three of us jammed around looking for real estate to invest in and what a simply lovely country we experienced. In one year, when my youngest son finishes high school I intend to move there. Also, I am attempting to convince my son to attend med school there. What a beautiful country and lovely, warm peoople. I have traveled Mexico and Panama extensively and they do not compare to Costa Rica.
You are right that the people are warm and lovely. But the government is quasi socialist and the infrastructure is dreadful. The cost of living is higher than Panama, the unions are more powerful than in the US and can and do shut the place down to protest, and the petty corruption to get anything done ( like phone lines, cable TV set ups ) is tiresome.
I know plenty of Americans who retired there and have now decided to leave because the crime is getting worse. It is a major land route for drugs coming up from Columbia. Car jackings are commonplace, not for ransom as in Mexico but for your car!
All in all I suggest you rent a place before you buy and actually live there and immerse yourself in the daily life. You will find that below the surface it is a very poor country. The people Americans meet on tourist or investment trips are the well to do professionals that have been selling their poorer countryman's labor and property to stay ahead of the pack.
On the plus side is the climate and the natural beauty. But that wears thin every time the water goes out or the electricity fails. In our case, in Alajuela, that was a monthly occurrence. All that glitters is not gold.
Just a tip to a fellow FReeper to be cautious before you invest your money and relocate your life.