Put on your dream caps... Costa Rrrrica living

Even before I saw what you wrote, I thinght "bike tours."

Surfing is huge there, so that's proabbly been as exploited as it can get. But if you had any skills, you could teach. Do you need to own your own, or is working for the man an option? If so, I'd life guard all day...

Gotcha.

Start up costs for an LBS would be pretty high, and you'd have to deal with  employees. With bike tours, you could a stable of get relatively inexpensive bikes and, as long as you had modest wrenching skills, you could do it yourself (at least starting out).

That's a possibility!

I have lots of skills. I could do my own marketing materials/collateral, website, target executives. I'm a great cook, very tidy and organized, fast paced, administrative skills, whiz with QuickBooks, settling financial statements. I could do it all! If there were 3 of me... Ok, so I would hire a couple of folks.

Hook yourself up with cruise lines (offer a shore excursion of some sort).

Quite a few of the On-line gambling sites use Costa Rica,  as well as many top poker players that live there at least part-time.. So there is quite a bit of gambling going on. While an actual Casino might be a big venture, if your thinking B&B maybe one with a little poker room??

Or really any Internet Commerce that you could do in the states you could be doing there also.  If you get in with one of the many resorts just a simple shipping service that would allow tourist to send things back so they don't have to deal with all the airline restrictions or possible breakage

You lucky dog!!!

Massage is on my list of possibilities.

What about some sort of franchised operation? Have you considered that?

Just tell me where to send my application

Ooooh, Jealous!

I'm surprised to hear there's lots of bike tours there, the roads are narrow, windy, there's very little flat to be found, and traffic laws, like pirate rules, appear to be more along the lines of suggestions rather than rules.   Saw maybe 2 or 3 cyclists in San Jose, none elsewhere.  Saw lots of really dirty mountain bikes in trucks there.

I'd love to go back, and possibly live there

 I was there in Nov. and I have to agree with the cruise industry angle. Anything in the tourism field would probably work out. Be ready to deal with a corrupt infrastructure and prepare yourself to be extremely patient. Our " I want it done now" way of doing things is a foreign concept in Central and South America.

 Another avenue to explore is technology. Going through town we saw miles of run down shacks. On top of every shack was a satellite dish. Must be a fortune to be had selling and servicing all things related to tv's. One of the guys I chatted with while down there told me they have tremendous issues getting car parts. Setting up a stateside supplier and a means to get parts into the country might pay the rent pretty well. Down side is getting goods into the country and dealing with corrupt officials.

Real state!!

I'm thinking a Buddhist retreat or B&B with hiking excursions...

Thanks for all the cool ideas!