Looking into to retire is CR

@oshudofsky ......Congratulations on your up coming retirement.Great planning on your part to plan a trip here first, before moving .Make no mistake, this is a complicated country and get beyond the HYPE ! Come in at peak raining season(sept-oct) to see beyond the perpetual spring propaganda and really witness rains that we haven't seen in years.Research : Perez Zeledon/San Isidro del General.The global capital that has changed the landscape at our beaches is starting to makie it inland, to the the foothills of this blessed zone.Make multiple trips to Costa Rica before making life altering risky decisions to get very familiar how this society/culture functions.

i came to costa rica in 1994 and found life to be wonderful compared to nyc

i married a tica angela jimnenez rocha who has been an appraiser of real estate for the last 33 years for the banks and the court system

the most interesting fact last year she was asked by a well to do swiss couple to build a house for them as PLAN B since they have no intention of moving here at this time

So i asked why they would invest serious amount of money for this to keep a house empty and the answer was many people in switzerland fear they will no longer be able to escape the risk of war like in world war 2

this past week i met a young family from hamburg germany in EPA hardware store and asked why there were here and the answer was this country was at peace and all europe expects war

last night i was informed by a friend from nyc that his daughter was going to buy a $600k condo in guanacaste as a vacation home and rent it out while not there since she was concerned atlanta was not great place to invest in real estate

it appears to me that given the risks to north america and europe that maybe costa rica will be receiving a greater influx of people with investment funds

i still believe that the 2 bedroom 2 bath condos in concasa complex in alajuela is a bargain since the asking price is still below 100k and some at only 80k in resale

the world is not longer normal and i think costa rica has an attraction for expats today for reasons not the same as when i came in 1994 when the cost of living was so low

now it seems that it is expensive to us who live here but not to those in europe and north america who value the safety of the fact this country is not part of the possible wars

@mail66 as you say that it is still a relatively cheap country also for Western Europeans like me (I am from the Netherlands). Do you think I would be able to live rather comfortably on a pension of about

$ 1700,-  Or is that impossible? I don't need a lot and a little nice simple house in the country would be enough for me. One positive fact about Costa Rica is that applying for a retirement visa is still rather straight forward with no need of lump sums of money. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Hello everyone,

Please note that that I have created a new thread on the Costa Rica forum from your posts since the New Members thread is dedicated to the introduction of members.

You will be more at ease to discuss on this present thread.

All the best

Bhavna

@oshudofsky

Hi My name is Johan .

Im in Costa Rica  i was born in Belgium .

Im right now in Costa Rica to look what it will take to get a pensionnada visa . I bin in Costa Rica many times and bin in other  countries to .

Costa Rica is on off the countries i like it is not perfect  .but living on a small  pension is very hard in Belgium .i did  optain a Canadian Citizenship .but living on a small budget is not possible there either .so i going to try Costa Rica .

The weather is great and everyday fresh fruit .

So a healthy life .

@johan spapen hallo Johan, thank you for your clear message. Yes indeed I will obtain a very small pension. CR is one of the countries but I am also looking into possiblilities of Cambodja (which is rather cheap too with nice and hot weather and possibly Mauritius, which might be too expensive in the long run. I will go and visit that island in May.) I have not yet been to CR, so that is also a country on the list to visit before I will be a pensionada at the end of 2024

@edwinemora thank you very much for your message. Yes indeed a good plan to not visit in the touristy high season. You are talking about multiple visits first. I think now that I rather live in a bit rural area then the capital or big cities, also because I assume that life there will be easier going and cheaper . Is that correct? I will have just a small pension (about $ 1800,-). Can I live on that amount of money overthere?

Why are you saying that CR is a complicated country? You can also PM me, if it is not relevant for the retirement thread.

@oshudofsky ......Remove from your psyche that it is going to be cheaper and easier in Costa Rica.Take in consideration the legal residency process and the corporation structure that you'll need to set yourself up in,(this in itself can be costly to maintain and then to dissolve later) just for the purpose to be able to do banking. $1800 a month is actually enough for 1 person. I am not going to go into the minutia how affordable public transportation is or rice and beans are.The other option is to be a perpetual tourist here or running for the border every 3 months but there is no guarantees that you will be stamped in for another 3months.Those days are counted.....There are affordable barrios to live in but you have to ask yourself 'how much of your safety are you willing to risk ?'............In general there is no security,no matter where you live in Costa Rica.

@edwinemora thank you for your advice. Only I do not exactly understand what you mean bij the sentence "Take in consideration the legal residency process and the corporation structure that you'll need to set yourself up in,(this in itself can be costly to maintain and then to dissolve later) just for the purpose to be able to do banking"?

Are you also telling me that CR is not a safe place to live (maybe besides the capital and other big cities)?

Do you say that I should consider other countries instead?

Thanks again for the advice.

@oshudofsky First you need to define the "safe" term. I've been living here for almost 2 year and haven't been robbed, raped, or abused in any way. It doesn't mean it is safe though, as other people had different experience. Nothing is safe in this world.

@edwinemora I believe the cost of living depends on the location and if you have a vehicle. I have a 2008 Fortuner and $1000 average seems to be enough for one person assuming you don't drive much. Well, now I have a girlfriend with good silent and non-demanding nature (for now), so my expenses are a little higher. Anyway, in the country, where you can buy fish, milk, cheese and fruits locally life is more affordable.

we have several 2 bed 2 bath condos in alajuela with pool, tennis, lake with supermarket inside the 2000 unit complex which we rent for $600 month which includes serious gated armed security

you can see the info on this site orbitcostarica

as to the amount needed for a single person to survive $1500 to $2000 will be enough

@mail66 Tell me more. I am interested.

Thanks

It depends how you want to live. $1700 wouldn't support myself. It can be done but I doubt you can afford to own a car on that amount or save any money for return trips home or unforeseen things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kMFSdgvjww

This is a great video. He has a lot of good and honest content on living the dream in Costa Rica, He lives on $1300/month in La Fortuna. I couldn't live like that there but I don't think there are any great places to live on $1700/month unless you move to the Philippines. 

@Blackwatch depends on a part of CR you live. The countryside, far from the gringo overpopulated areas the life is much cheaper and food healthier. A car, yes, it is very expensive to use here. New CAJA rates? I've decided to ignore them and don't pay. They are ridiculous, just like other taxes in this pura vida paradiso. Rent is much cheaper in the country as well. A full house for $300 a month is a real thing. If you own a house, like I do, the property tax is much lower than in the US and Canada. So, the location makes a huge difference. I like it here and, honestly, detest traveling to Jaco, SJ, Uvita, etc., it is suffocating there. Pura Vida!

@oshudofsky - I know a very large Dutch expat community in Atenas and my business partner (who is also an incredible realtor) is Dutch!  I'd love to introduce you!  reach out.

@Blackwatch depends on a part of CR you live. The countryside, far from the gringo overpopulated areas the life is much cheaper and food healthier. A car, yes, it is very expensive to use here. New CAJA rates? I've decided to ignore them and don't pay. They are ridiculous, just like other taxes in this pura vida paradiso. Rent is much cheaper in the country as well. A full house for $300 a month is a real thing. If you own a house, like I do, the property tax is much lower than in the US and Canada. So, the location makes a huge difference. I like it here and, honestly, detest traveling to Jaco, SJ, Uvita, etc., it is suffocating there. Pura Vida!
-@Henrych

What beach areas would you recommend. I love Santa Teresa but the prices are crazy and I would prefer to have a little distance from the busyness of the centre of town. I am thinking about the edges like Manzanillo as I love Playa Hermosa or MalPais up in the hills. I have also considered Cabuya even though it is a bit of a drive to ST.

This year we made it as far south as Uvita, I would like to look a little further south from Uvita as there is a nice 9 hole golf course down that way. I love the great restaurants in Santa Teresa and the amazing beaches. The mountain roads between ST and Cabuya-Montezuma are fun to drive and explore. I haven't found anything north of ST that I like.