Retire to Costa Rica?

[Twende]

Has anyone done this or is any one thinking about doing this in their future?

It seems to be a very intriguing idea. I understand the roads can be poor compared to US standards and the life style is very slow and laid back but everything else seems to very good.

We are in the early stages of looking into moving from the US to Costa Rica in order to have a better standard of living when we retire. We are tired of cold weather and snow and we are finding the cost of living in many places in the US to just be too much to bear comfortably.

We would love some input from anyone who has done this or even anyone who seriously looked into it and then changed their minds.

 

[S. C.]

bumping

 

[a1tinkfans]

we have not looked into it.
My dh has actually talked about it, tho not to CR.

I am too concerned about basics like medical care, food standards and other things I feel are necessities.
Having needed specific Urgent Medical care changes ones perspective I suppose.
So for us, we'd not consider a perm. move outside the US.

 

[JessicaR]

My husband and I watched a recent episode of House Hunters on HGTV. See if you can locate the past episode it was on Costa Rica. We decided that would be a GREAT place to retire or at least get a second home eventually.

http://www.hgtv.com/video/escape-to-costa-rica-video/index.html

Found the link!

Take a few vacations to explore the many areas.

A few sites I bookmarked. Would love to hear what you find out and where you may look.
http://propertiesincostarica.com/
http://www.welovecostarica.com/public/department51.cfm
http://www.govisitcostarica.com/real-estate/property-realtors.asp

 

[Helene]

My uncle retired and is living there now. In his case he didn't plan very well and pays cash for all health care expenses. He has burned through alot of his savings paying for health care.

I think he told me he could buy into their government plan for @ $500/month, but it limits the hospitals and physicians he can get care through. So, for now, he continues to pay cash for the facilities he trusts.

Other than the self-funding aspect of his health care, he loves living there.

 

[low-key]

Im in

 

[sunnyday123]

I have a friend who while on vacation died there because it took too long for an ambulance to get to their accident site. Like over an hour. Had it happened here, she would've been fine. I'd never move somewhere in retirement age where the health care isn't well above standard.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I have a friend who while on vacation died there because it took too long for an ambulance to get to their accident site. Like over an hour. Had it happened here, she would've been fine. I'd never move somewhere in retirement age where the health care isn't well above standard.

You said it! Me either.

 

[bellebud]

we won't vacation, let alone think of living somewhere that's not similar to the US in all standards. Just too risky for our comfort.

 

[JessicaR]

Costa Rica has a good health care system and some excellent hospitals. That was something I looked into also.

http://www.strayreality.com/crhealthcare.


Statistics from the World Health Organization's "The World Health
Report 1995" place Costa Rica third, in life expectancy in the world, sandwiched neatly behind Japan and France and ahead of Great Britain
and the United States.


But if one looks simply at the life issues, so are many other places on the
globe. Costa Rica is a healthy place to live, because its government
continues a long-time commitment to affordable access to one
of the finest health care systems in the world, for each and every citizen.

• Prescriptions are not needed on most products in
Costa Rica.

• You can take a 90-day supply back to the USA.

• You'll save up to 80%, compared to U.S. drugstores.

In a United Nations study conducted in the 1980s, Costa Rica's medical
system, was first in Latin America and ranked near the United States and
Canada, among the 20 best in the world. Things are pretty much the same
today.

Costa Rica's lack of a standing army and its historical commitment to the
social and educational welfare of its citizens, have provided the foundation,
for a "highly developed medical system, internationally speaking" confirmed
by plastic surgeon, Dr. Arnoldo Fournier.



Costa Rica is also a popular destination for medical tourism. It has three internationally-accredited private hospitals.

The World Health Organization rates Costa Rica very high and even surpassed the United States ranking in 2000.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2010...-Costa-Rica-if-Obama-s-healthcare-plan-passes

How is the health care system in Costa Rica?

Costa Rica has a public health care system that offers first rate, affordable care. There are also five excellent private hospitals in Costa Rica. A new "state of the art" public hospital has just been completed in the Southern Pacific region in the city of Cortes. Very affordable insurance coverage is offered through the government run insurance company (INS) or there are also numerous international providers than offer better coverage at a slightly increased cost.

 

[Colleen27]

My uncle retired there and is loving it. We don't hear from him often so I don't know a lot of specifics but when we do talk he raves about how much he's enjoying life down there. He's only in his late 50s and very healthy, though, so medical care likely hasn't been much of a factor yet.

 

[Twende]

Thanks for all the input, everyone.

We found that the research was showing the medical care was as good if not better than the US and the cost of this care was defiantly lower.

Earthquakes would be something new for us but I think we would be okay with it. Bad roads would be a pain at times but we have lived in Ohio for a while now and the although roads there are full of huge pot holes but I suspect they still are much better than many roads in Costa Rica.

Housing prices and cost to live seem to be much lower with the standard of living higher.

It looks like we may head there for a quick scouting trip. If we like what we see we can our home here in the US on the market and then take an extended visit to find out where in the country we want to live.

It would be a huge step for us but I really think we would like the life style and we would only be a plane ride away from Disney!

 

[bellebud]

I have a friend who while on vacation died there because it took too long for an ambulance to get to their accident site. Like over an hour. Had it happened here, she would've been fine. I'd never move somewhere in retirement age where the health care isn't well above standard.

so sorry to hear that.

Thanks for all the input, everyone.

We found that the research was showing the medical care was as good if not better than the US and the cost of this care was defiantly lower.

Earthquakes would be something new for us but I think we would be okay with it. Bad roads would be a pain at times but we have lived in Ohio for a while now and the although roads there are full of huge pot holes but I suspect they still are much better than many roads in Costa Rica.

Housing prices and cost to live seem to be much lower with the standard of living higher.

It looks like we may head there for a quick scouting trip. If we like what we see we can our home here in the US on the market and then take an extended visit to find out where in the country we want to live.

It would be a huge step for us but I really think we would like the life style and we would only be a plane ride away from Disney!

It might just depend on where you end up... you don't want to be in a remote location where an ambulance can't get to you or you can't get yourself to a hospital (like pp's friend who died there). From your research, it does sound like it's a good choice (I'm just a nervous nellie and don't think I could do it), and you're thinking it over carefully, so I'm sure you'll make a good decision. Good luck!!

 

[marcemc]

I was born & raised in CR and lived there up until 9 years ago when I married DH (he is American). I go back with our boys once a year for at least a month

My first recommendation will be for you to travel there & get an overall feeling of the place. Do you want to live in the city? Mountains? Coast?

Costa Rica is a gorgeous country for vacationing, but once you live there it's the little things that might annoy you. Roads are not like American Standard ones, traffic is really heavy just like in any city, and real estate could be more expensive than US depending on where you want to live.
On the other hand, you have great people, tons of fresh fruit & veggies & slower pace of life. Health Care is actually pretty good & not as expensive as it is here, you will need to get an insurance plan through INS & most American prefer Cima Hospital (for your reference).

Security is another issue. It's very different that here. You need locks on your windows & most nice neighborhoods have security guards.

I think it's a great adventure to travel & start a different chapter of your life in a new place, whether it's a city, a state or a country, I'm very free spirited in that way, sounds like you guys are too. Good luck

I hope this helps
Pm if you have further questions.

 

[Aisling]

I read that Costa Rica is high on the list of foreign countries where Americans are retiring to.

 

[Twende]

I was born & raised in CR and lived there up until 9 years ago when I married DH (he is American). I go back with our boys once a year for at least a month

My first recommendation will be for you to travel there & get an overall feeling of the place. Do you want to live in the city? Mountains? Coast?

Costa Rica is a gorgeous country for vacationing, but once you live there it's the little things that might annoy you. Roads are not like American Standard ones, traffic is really heavy just like in any city, and real estate could be more expensive than US depending on where you want to live.
On the other hand, you have great people, tons of fresh fruit & veggies & slower pace of life. Health Care is actually pretty good & not as expensive as it is here, you will need to get an insurance plan through INS & most American prefer Cima Hospital (for your reference).

Security is another issue. It's very different that here. You need locks on your windows & most nice neighborhoods have security guards.

I think it's a great adventure to travel & start a different chapter of your life in a new place, whether it's a city, a state or a country, I'm very free spirited in that way, sounds like you guys are too. Good luck

I hope this helps
Pm if you have further questions.

I may just PM you when DH and I get some more questions!

We think we would like the mountain area as coastal living would be fun but a bit too warm for our liking. We do not want to live in a busy city.

We have a home in the country here in the USA. Medical care is an hour by ambulance so almost anything would be an improvement on that! We have enjoyed raising our own vegetables and fruit so the new varieties in CR would be an adventure for us.

A slower pace of life sounds great and as you say might be really wonderful at the start but I suspect we will get frustrated about how long it takes to get things done and that will take learning a new mindset for us but it would be better for our health if we could learn to chill out and savor the small stuff better!

We have also lived in areas where windows and doors had to locked at all times so we could do that if needed. But I hope living in the countryside would allow a bit more relaxation in that department.

We rather enjoy being isolated and living off the land. A trip to town for a nice dinner or a day away would be nice but not something we need to do every day.

I have grown addicted to the internet so that is a must! Also some kind of phone service so we can call our children who would still be in the states is a necessity!

We are going to try to head to CR sometime in the next 12 months and just look around. In the mean time we are researching and starting to organize our thoughts towards selling our homes and property here.

It is the first place that DH and I seem to agree on. We both get very excited when we talk about living our lives there.

Thanks again to everyone for the responses.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Well--I guess you move there at your own risk.

A change in government could quiclkly result in a "not so friendly" atmosphere--and then what??

 

[Twende]

Well--I guess you move there at your own risk.

A change in government could quiclkly result in a "not so friendly" atmosphere--and then what??

We head to Disney World for a few weeks?

Seriously Costa Rica seems be a very stable country and I have not really heard anyone who has lived there or who is living there now say that they were uncomfortable with the government, the roads? Yep, they must be horrid but the government seems to be okay.

 

[Twende]

We are moving forward with our investigation of retirement to Costa Rica. We head there for a tour and retirement class in just a few weeks.

I hope it is everything we want! If we like it then we will try renting for 6 months and see how much we miss family. If it goes well we are moving!

 

[Fly4free]

That sounds fantastic. Keep us posted.......

My dh worked in CR for a short while a few yrs. back. He loved it there. The people were wonderful to him. I so regret not being able to make it down to stay with him while he was there. I just couldn't get the time off work, plus the kids would have missed too much school.