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24 | WINTER 2020 Home to Honolulu, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor and several alluring outer beach communities between the island's citified south and its famous wave-battered North Shore, Oahu fits virtually every personality type: beachcombers, surfers, golfers, hikers, koa wood carving shoppers, Asian fusion cuisine connoisseurs and WWII history buffs are all at home here. So are snowbirds, accommodated by the state's widest range of extended-stay choices — from city condos, apartment rentals and resort villas to sleepy beach cottages and furnished seaside homes. For peaceful surroundings within easy striking distance of Honolulu, satellite windward towns like Kailua can provide a perfect midway point between beach and bustle. Farther afield, extended-stay options abound in sleepy, slightly more affordable communities like Makaha, Waianae and Haleiwa along Oahu's ultra-laid back West Coast and surf-mecca North Shore. Carpe diem in Costa Rica Savvy snowbirds have long been homing in on sunny and cost-effective havens throughout Central and South America. The viable options continue to refine and proliferate throughout this vast, inviting canvas. Panama and Colombia are just a few of the latest hotspot finds lauded by sites like Expat Exchange and Snowbird Advisor. Holding its long-running place at the top of many such lists is Costa Rica, renowned for its ease, stability, beauty, broad tourist infra- structure and dramatic "Switzerland of Central America" landscape — with lush rain forests, pristine beaches and perfect December weather thrown in. "With low costs, good-value real estate and a great climate … here you can enjoy pura vida (pure life)," says expat-geared International Living, which recently listed Costa Rica's oceanfront town of Dominical as one of its Five Best Snowbird Escapes, featuring crowd- free beaches, $2 beers and furnished hillside ocean-view villas with private pools for $1,200/ month. According to the Happy Planet Index, which measures national stats like overall well-being (Costa Rica sits 10th out of 140 countries) and life-expectancy (right up there) — happiness clearly abides in this country. Fittingly, Snowbirds now flock virtually everywhere throughout Costa Rica to rent, purchase, even build their dream winter home — from the broad Central Valley ringing the hub and capital San José to the Pacific resort towns and beachfront condo communities lining the Northwest Coast. JORDAN RANE has long dreamed about where he'll split his time after retirement. In the mean time, the award-winning travel writer inspires others to visit worldwide destinations. His work has appeared in Men's Journal, CNN Travel and the Los Angeles Times.