Retire in Costa Rica

The economic and political changes of 2008 and early 2009 are affecting the people of many countries and I think especially those from the United States. Between the economy and dwindling savings, many folks are being forced to re-evaluate their retirement plans. Layoffs are common, and for those over age 50, a layoff can be a disaster. Sadly, many people are coming to the same conclusion; "I cannot afford to retire in the USA but I really do not want to keep working". What to do? Well Costa Rica and quite frankly some other Latin American countries may be the solution. I am biased of course. Costa Rica with its reasonable health care costs, decent infrastructure and laid back lifestyle can and should seem like an attractive alternative. I am not going to speak about the cost of living here as that is thoroughly covered in the section on cost of living in Costa Rica.

This web page is really applicable to older persons... those either considering retirement or those older persons forced to consider living here because of job circumstances like layoffs or drastic changes in income.

The second group will need a fairly large amount of money as they can only apply for rentista residency which is not cheap. Those of you with children should be sure to read the information on the education system in Costa Rica. Those of you who will need to work absolutely MUST read about the work rules in Costa Rica.

Important! You cannot just come here and live. Just like your home country, you must apply for and receive legal residency. For those of you on a pension or social security, the current requirement is that you have an income of $600.00 per month that comes from a permanent source. That can be social security, a government pension, military pension, etc.

What I think is best is to try to help my readers to understand some really important things about choosing to live in another country! To do this. I'll ask and answer some questions!

• Is moving to a foreign country even realistic to consider?

Sure! Lots of people do it. I did. It's a great country only about 2.5 hours South of Miami by air.

It takes a bit of effort though as there are documents you will need to collect (birth certificates, marriage certificates, police good conduct reports, etc). None of this is difficult, but can be time consuming. You also need to prepare yourself for what lies ahead! Read on...

• How do we know we will like it?

You don't, and that is very important to remember. Every daily chore you do now like visit the drug store, get your hair cut, shop for groceries, etc. will change. Many people adjust with no problem. Others find it difficult. I would urge you to read about culture shock and realize that nobody is exempt from it.

• What happens if we don't like living in Costa Rica?

You move back "home" and that is why, if you learn nothing else from this page, do not do anything (like buy land or property) that cannot be "un-done" in 5 phone calls or less.

Visit Costa Rica for at least six months; twelve months would be better. Rent. Do not buy. I promise you there will still be plenty of stuff to buy in a year!

Then, if your do choose to return home, you have lost very little and you have gained a perspective you could never have gotten by remaining where you are. You have had a grand adventure, and it will be worth it. People will think you very intelligent for not putting all your eggs in one basket.

• I have heard that over 50% of those who move to Costa Rica return to their "home" within a year. Is this true? Why? How can we avoid this?

Yes, it is 100% true! In fact, one reliable source says it is closer to 60% There is no way to completely avoid it, but I do think you can optimize your chances of success. Why do people go back home? I think there are several reasons:

1. Being totally unprepared to live here. Before you even think about moving, you need to spend some serious time here on this web site and review carefully all the topics under Living in Costa Rica, Residency Law, and Moving to Costa Rica. That alone will give you a good idea if you can handle living the expat life! Hate reading? Some folks prefer to learn this stuff face-to-face or mouth-to-ear. For those who prefer this, consider setting up a custom tour with me as your guide.

I have noticed though, that those who moved here then left seemed to have one thing in common. That is that every time they turned around, something "surprised" them. Often, these were not pleasant surprises.

If you know what is coming, it is no longer a surprise! You still may not like it, but you can deal with it much easier! Long before you arrive in Costa Rica, you have the opportunity to know what are those surprises and deal with them emotionally and mentally and THAT I promise, takes away a ton of fear.

True Example: My neighbor, an attorney from the US is leaving Costa Rica. Now you might think an attorney would be well organized and do his homework (call it due diligence) before he moved here. He did not and with disastrous results. I cannot tell you how many times he sat on our patio relating his "crisis of the day". He spent no time either on this web site nor any other to prepare himself for the move. They just... arrived!

He thought, for instance, that he could obtain health insurance immediately upon arrival. He could not and was very unhappy to find out that the socialized medicine system here is available only after residency is obtained, and that takes a year from date of application.

When his wife got sick, it was all out-of-pocket expense, and that was that. Even though health care costs here are a fraction of those in the USA, extended illness can take a toll and it did. So what made it worse?

He bought a fine home just down the street. He did this upon arrival in Costa Rica, absolutely sure he would stay. Things have changed and now they have to leave. He has to sell out. I told him to expect two years for it to sell. Houses here are VERY easy to buy and often very hard to sell. He did not believe me. It has been 16 months. I hope I am wrong and he sells it next week. That is doubtful, however, and all his money is tied up in that home. Bluntly, he is screwed.

Remember what I said above: "...do not do anything (like buy land or property) that cannot be "un-done" in 5 phone calls or less."

To be successful in a move like this is NOT hard, but I promise it will be very hard if you do not read and understand what it will really be like to live here. Once you do, it will be much smoother sailing. No surprises... nothing you can't handle, and even if there IS, you knew about it before coming.

2. People sometimes underestimate just how much they will miss family and friends. christenings, birthdays, birth of a grandchild, bar mitzvahs, high school graduations... all those family things. You think you will just fly back, but sadly, most do not. You think the family, grand kids etc. will come visit. They will... but not nearly as often as you want because they too have lives, jobs, schools and a zillion responsibilities. Guys seem to handle this better. The women less so.

3. Speaking Spanish. Yeah, you really have to learn. You can survive here with no Spanish, but to really thrive and enjoy yourselves, you really have to learn to speak basic Spanish. You must deal with doctors, pharmacists, beauty parlors, clerks in stores, your housekeeper, gardener... the list goes on, With no Spanish, you feel isolated and tend to hang around others from your own country. Sure... that is OK, but you are missing so much and really, you never get comfortable. Do not buy into that story that everyone here speaks English. They do in the tourist Costa Rica, but not in the REAL Costa Rica.

4. Not spending enough time here before making the final decision to move. I always urge people to come and visit for six months at least (continuous) before deciding to move here. I love Costa Rica. It is perfect for me, but far more important is... will it perfect for YOU. Come stay! Travel extensively. It is a small country. There are 27 weather patterns here. Choose the climate and location and try it out. You can not do this as a tourist staying at hotels and eating in restaurants. Again... the tourist Costa Rica is not the REAL Costa Rica, and that is what you must discover for yourselves. Read the page on where to live in Costa Rica. It might help.

• How can we prepare for such a drastic change in our lives?

Read this web site. Yeah, I know it is self serving, but I truly know of no other web site that tells it like it is... good and bad. Check out the Blog. It contains a ton of information organized by category for easy searching and is updated regularly. Consider taking a tour that will not just try to sell your real estate or tell you how Costa Rica is nirvana.

Visit this page for a list of clubs and online user groups. Get active. Ask questions. Remember one thing though... Just because someone speaks your language does not make them trustworthy. I, of course, am the exception! :)

Your chances of moving and living here happily will increase a lot just by knowing what you will be facing. It should and WILL be exciting and fun if you prepare yourself.

A Case Study -

A few months ago, I met Andy Browne and his wife Fran. I will simply state that Andy and Fran "Got It" meaning that they understood all that I have written above. They chose not to do one of the many "real estate" tours as those simply do not give an accurate picture of Costa Rica. Why? Because it is really hard to say anything negative when someone is trying to sell you something!

They understood that they really had to learn about what exactly it was like to live here day by day, and I gave them a three day tour where I covered everything I could think of... good and bad. They called it doing their"due diligence" and that is as good an expression as any I could come up with. Read more about my tours here. We even had meetings with a residency expert and a local mover.

They hated some locations and loved others. They learned first hand exactly what daily life entails here. It was intense for them, and I fear not always fun as while I validated many of their opinions, I am afraid I sort of shattered some others. :) No matter. They were now prepared to make those life changing decisions! And importantly... they still decided to move here!

After our three days together, they spend another 4-5 days visiting various places in Costa Rica on their own, but with an entirely different perspective as they knew exactly what to look for and what to avoid.

They have since returned and rented a beautiful home near San Ramon. They moved to Costa Rica at the end of March (2009). They know the good and bad, have decided Costa Rica is for them, and I expect that they will not only be one of those couples that stay, I expect they will thrive here. Preparation!

Andy is a video hobbyist geek. He makes movies then processes them and they look pretty first rate. So as one video is worth a thousand words, or if Andy in narrating, maybe several thousand, I decided to share them with my readers.

In this first of two videos, Andy discusses what happened in their lives to make them seriously consider moving to Costa Rica. I suspect what you will see might strike home with many of you.

In this second video, you get to meet Andy and Fran face to face and hear them talking about their "upcoming trip" that was actually last fall (2008). That's where they met me and spent three days learning about Costa Rica as my prisoners! Kidding of course, but the seven to eight hours we spent together each day gave them an unusually accurate perspective as to what they would face should they make the decision to move here. Andy calls it Due Diligence and that is as good a name as I can think of.

Andy and Fran learned an enormous amount of information about what it will be actually like to live here. Will they succeed? Heck, I don't know. What I do know, however, is that they are far better prepared and with preparation comes the higher probability of success. My guess is that they will be happy here and make the adjustments required. There will be few unexpected surprises!

As of today. a year later, they are still here and clearly will NOT be one of the 60% who leave the first year. For that, I will take at least a bit of the credit!

Tim's (TicoGrande) Tours

I really never mentioned these tours in this web site or elsewhere until now, but as these two videos clearly mention me and my tours, it is time to explain what is available.

Some have asked if I will give customized tours and the answer is yes, but with some restrictions. First, I generally will not give a tour on Saturdays or Sundays. As tours are all-day affairs, I must make arrangements well in advance to make sure my other businesses are covered. Further, I often schedule meeting with key players should you decide to move here... like movers, perhaps an attorney, etc.

The tours I give are not at all like the numerous real estate tours or those retirement tours that are really just real estate tours in disguise. I build each tour around your specific needs and we go to places that interest you. While driving around, I cover enormous amounts of REAL information about living here. Just like this web site, I pull no punches. At the end of the tour, you are going to truly know about living/retiring here in my beautiful Costa Rica... warts and all.

If all you want is to see dozens of overpriced homes or spend 2-3 days hearing how perfect is Costa Rica, then you probably will not much enjoy my tours.

Finally, you get 100% of my time during the tour. Only you, your spouse, partner, significant other... are with me. After having given many tours, I have learned that people really appreciate being able to discuss their personal affairs in from of 6-12 other people. Don;t worry... if you want to meet others thinking about making the "big move" that can easily be arranged... just not on the tour.

I deal in facts, and I never try to sell Costa Rica. If you like the tone and content of The Real Costa Rica web site, and, like Andy and Fran and many others, you want to make intelligent decisions on this life changing move, then you may find spending personal time with me to be beneficial.

You may contact me here. ** Please DO NOT use this email address for anything other than inquiries about or for booking, a tour. If you wish to ask a general question on a topic not covered already in this web site or in the Blog, please click here for the contact page. My staff (or I) will respond as soon as possible.

You may also enjoy taking a look at this entry in my Blog.