Going to find out about Costa Rica and Panama starting tomorrow.
I was born there, awesome place, tropical, Cheap in some things and expensive in others. Basically food and rent is cheap but technology related things are not cheap; cars, phones, etc all the imported things. Does not compare to the cheapness of a country in the east like thailand or Korea but it is a tropical place.
No military there and I do not think they let foreigners stay there unless they have business there or something like that, at least that is what it was like 20 years ago.