Costa Rica. There are very few countries that Wikipedia seems to have as much of a crush on. To sum up Costa Rica, Wiki talks about Costa Rica’s abolished army, that she’s on the list of 22 older world democracies, has a high human development rate and is ranked five in the world (first of all Americas) in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.

Wiki is head-over-heels, it seems.

Through all that flattery, there’re facts. Statistics. Awards. Let’s analyze the truth of what the search engine’s saying by looking to the latter of Costa Rica’s attributes today: to their environmental sustainability.

What Costa Rica Was Then (pre-2008)

Before the economic crisis in 2008, coastal urban development was booming. Urban property was valuable and life was good.

Then the crisis.

Property dropped up to 40% overnight.

What Costa Rica Is Now

Now, it isn’t the urban property that’s valuable as much as the rural. And no, I don’t mean for you to dust off your dungarees and become a coffee farmer (because this market also got hit by the recession; I hate to tell you, put those denims back in the attic!) but to notice the ecological value that has gone up instead.

Costa Ricans have been interacting with the land, and by doing so have increased its ecological value. Be it through reforestation, where value is given by the oxygen production and purification of carbon dioxide emissions, or the potential of wind farms in Guanacaste, these attitudes have changed the face of Costa Rica.

Photo: MD Verde

It is now the place where farmers voluntarily subject to environmental restrictions. It’s the place where the natural wealth in the ground is valuable, not just what you can build on it.

Having lived in places where by the end of the day you can see a cloud of smog looming over the city, this attitude is a literal breath of fresh air.

The best part about this all, of course, is that property prices are rock bottom for top notch locations. According to InternationalLiving.com’s Global Real Estate Index 2012 – which highlights the world’s 27 most attractive, and possibly lucrative, real estate hotspots outside the U.S. – Ecuador’s Pacific Coast came out tops. And that was just for its extremely low property costs and good quality housing stock.

Natural beauty, natural sustainability, at a great cost.

What’s stopping you?