"my advice to all of you is to get the hell out of the usa and move to costa rica like i am planning to do"

That's interesting, I've been encountering a lot of Americans these days who are emigrating from the USA. A couple going to Latin America like yourself-- one to Argentina, one to Chile-- though most it seems like, are going to EU countries especially Germany but occasionally Italy, France or Belgium. Technical, professional, highly skilled types often go to Germany, I guess German is useful to know anyway for someone in the sciences or engineering and it's a big language almost anywhere in Europe-- but I run into people brushing up on their French, Italian, even Dutch or Danish.

The combination of the free-falling dollar compared to the Euro, both political parties bought by moneyed interests, spiraling national debt and so forth, is pushing people out.

I also run into a lot of Australians and Britons who are also learning these languages, emigrating-- possibly b/c Australia and the UK are in a similar boat as the USA. Mired in debt, stuck in war, with crumbling economies depending on military Keynesianism.