Disabled veteran looking into Costa Rica

I would start by visiting  You can get 90 days on a visit  Travel yhe area and find out what suits you and your wife  Most expats leave because it doesnt really suit them  If you want action and beach you may want Limon, Jaco or Nosara areas  If you want mountain you may want San Jose, La Fortuna, San Ramon and the likes   Each area offers a specific cost and culture 

Then, meet with an attorney/notary because everything you do requires one and youll need one as they can keep you out of a legal mess that takes generations to address  I recommend Forza Legal in nosara and san jose as we made the mistake of chasing a dream and he cleaned up the nightmare we located 

dont build, buy  many come and build elaborate homes and go through the pains of furnishings and decorations then leave and fire sale  youll get more bang for your buck 

The attorney will handle all of the residence, pension etc

best of luck!

We hail from Red Deer, Alberta. Have lived here just shy of ten years. We arrived with the idea of a piece of property about 500 feet above sea level that had a distant view of the ocean. Day three on the west coast, got our 4x4 rental stuck in a landslide and it took 3 of the hottest hours ever spent to get it free. Soon revised our ideal situation to be in a more mountainous climate and ended up just outside of Puriscal at about 2,800 feet. We like where we ended up as we are integrated into our Tico community and have more Tico / Tica friends than expats. What we found that helped was to develop a priority list of your wants and needs, this will allow others to help you out much easier. Our last priority list read an elevation of 2,500 to 3,000 feet, close proximity to daily shopping, close to emergency medical care, within an hour and a half to an international airport, a small acreage, etc. You can vary your priority list on the fly!!!

Rent amigo , dont buy , rent is really cheap in costa rica my friend.  This way if you dont like it you can move on.

Buying a property in costa rica is very expensive for a gringo .  Their are a million scams buddy .

Just sayin

I recommend that you and your wife develop a comprehensive list of the characteristics of where you want to settle and what you specifically wish to avoid. From that list, you can then pose questions on this form as to where to find <whatever>. Be brutally honest and take the time to make your list complete.

Costa Rica has many, many microclimates, excellent health care and shopping in some, but not all, areas, etc. Figure out what's important to you.

@edwardguaschino..........Relax----No need to buy or build in a country you know nothing about (no disclosure laws nor consumer protection)....It is guaranteed you will have a great vacation here but no one is going to roll out a red carpet for your personal'Eden Project' unless you have money to throw.....To begin with you have more obligations to meet than rights.....Costa Rica is backlogged beyond comprehension on residency applications, so,if you don't have deep pockets you are at the bottom of the heap....Actually the U.S. could learn a lot from Costa Rica how they can pick and choose who can stay.........Once Americans get in trouble here,they realize real fast that this is not a bi-lingual country,as it is fraudulently portrayed as,along with affordability and safety.......We are transitioning from a country of thieves to murderers overnight......