When is it acceptable to start a sentence with an "-ing" word?

Here's my example. It is a sentence that begins in the middle of a paragraph and I'm using it as a transition.

"Living in Costa Rica also gave me the opportunity to interact with the local population."

Or can I re-write the sentence like this:

"Additionally, living in Costa Rica also gave me the opportunity to interact with the local population."

Solution 1:

Starting a sentence with a word ending in -ing is perfectly ordinary, accepted, unremarkable English. Beginning, middle, or end of a paragraph; gerund, participle, or simply a word with that particular spelling— it does not matter. Living in an English-speaking environment, you would quickly realize that there is no proscription against it, as it is natural in speech as well. Fling this rule away, wherever you heard or misheard it.

Observing of rules though we may praise, identifying what "rules" are true is as worthy an activity.

Writing advice is off-topic, but as commenters have noted, additionally is redundant with also, and one or the other should be removed.

Solution 2:

English has no such rule regarding gerunds. I'd be interested to know what language does.