Fronteras: A group of powerful investors is trying to build the medical tourism industry in Nicaragua. We also stop in Costa Rica to check out what it takes to retire in the tropics. One community in Hidalgo, Mexico is combating the migration of its residents to the U.S. by offering tours of what it's like to cross the border illegally. The tour guides have made the real trek, and offer up a close simulation on a fake border.
How Facelifts Could Fuel Nicaragua’s Economy
Power brokers in Nicaragua want a foothold in the lucrative medical tourism industry. In the 1980s, civil war destroyed the country’s economy, but now hospital administrators and influential businessmen think the country is stable enough to lure foreign visitors looking for cheap surgeries. From the Fronteras Desk, Peter O’Dowd reports.
Fake Border Crossing Is Amusement Park Attraction
An unusual amusement park attraction in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo offers visitors the thrills and chills of an illegal border crossing. The attraction takes visitors through a fake U.S. Mexico border, complete with smugglers and threatening border patrol agents. The aim is to dissuade would-be migrants from making the trip. Irina Zhorov has this story.
Phoenix Man Faces Challenge Of Retiring Abroad
The U.S. government says up to 50,000 Americans live in Costa Rica. Many of them are Baby Boomers flocking to tropical beaches to retire. They’re drawn to Costa Rica's biodiversity, the political stability and its cheap healthcare.
From the Fronteras Desk, Peter O'Dowd reports on one Phoenix man who is making the move, and what he's giving up to get there. In the second part of this series, Jim Paluzzi reports without careful research, your golden years can turn into a disaster.
