Costa Rica is a host to stunning scenery, sunshine and smiles with spring-like weather all year round, no taxes on foreign earned income, no capital gains taxes, excellent world-class medical facilities, affordable medical plans and populated by the 'Ticos' that are an amiable and incredibly attractive people.
Who Is Moving to Costa Rica? There are estimated to be 77 million 'baby boomers' in the USA who began retiring in 2008 and it seems there's several thinking about a Costa Rica retirement. So too are Canadians and numerous Europeans who are looking for that perfect climate and a more affordable spot to live.
Wealthier people from around Central and Latin America may also be visiting Costa Rica because of political and financial instability in their own countries.
When you fear for the lives of your children because they may be kidnapped in Mexico, Guatemala or Honduras or, you have just witnessed the worthiness of your home slashed in two as some of our Venezuelan friends have recently, your future can look downright terrifying.
Politically Stable Country: Unlike most nations in Central and Latin America, Costa Rica has been a stable and democratic country since it's independence in 1948. It does not have any army, and its citizens enjoy one of the highest life expectancy levels in the Western hemisphere and higher living standards than their war-torn neighbors.
Costa Rica's perfect climate, laid back lifestyle, financial and political stability makes this 'rich coast' look like paradise on earth to numerous people.
Business Opportunities: It isn't just people seeking retirement that are visiting Costa Rica. https://french-vance.hubstack.net/why-costa-rica-1710904646 are seeing young entrepreneurs coming to Costa Rica with dreams of establishing their business here.
That is an admirable goal however; we have to remember that having a working knowledge of Spanish will only take you half way. Discover Pura Vida must remember that we have been guests in their country, doing business here could be challenging because inefficient bureaucracies, redundancies and duplications are part of everyday business.
Affordable Costa Rica Real Estate: In comparison with Europe and many urban centers in the USA, real estate in Costa Rica is very affordable. Foreigners can easily buy their own homes and a few people have decided to build their own homes.
In line with the Global Property Guide, the least expensive city in Europe is Bucharest where you'll pay US$3,085 per square meter for a 120M2 apartment (1,291.2 square feet). So most Costa Rica real estate is 40-50% less than the least expensive city in Europe.
It is possible to certainly find luxury condos in Costa Rica for $2,200 per square meter but you can also easily buy a modern, completely new, very comfortable home anywhere near the business, cultural and entertainment centre of San Jose, the administrative centre of Costa Rica for US$1,500 - $1,750 per square meter. I know this because I've bought several homes here.
For example, in 2007 I bought a new, two story 300M2 (3,228 square feet) luxury home (350M lot - 3,766 square feet) in a secure gated condo community in an excellent location in Santa Ana, built by the most effective builders we have come across priced at US$1,033 per square meter.
Property Taxes: When investing in a home in Costa Rica, property taxes must be considered but thankfully there's little to be worried about because basic property taxes are just 0.25% and even if your home is ultra-luxurious and the blissful luxury property tax also applies, it all results in very little..
Based on the Miami Dade County website, on a US$275K property in Miami, you would pay about US$6,875 per year in property taxes. With an extravagance apartment in , the property taxes for a house of exactly the same value would be less than $1,000 per year which means you would save about US $490 per month just in property taxes.
And for my 3,228 square feet luxury home in Costa Rica? I paid about $230 per month for both monthly maintenance (swimming pool, landscaping, security etc) as well as property taxes.
Building YOUR HOUSE:
In late July 2009 we finished building our 1,797 square feet retirement home (plus 462.68 square feet for the garage area, pila and bodega) on 5,000M2 of land and fully furnished it for less than US$140,000
Building your house is not for the faint of heart anywhere in the world but if you are comfortable with the idea then you will be delighted to know that your labor costs in are low.
Affordable Cost of Living: Only 1% folks households headed by folks aged 62-72 have $1 million or even more in assets apart from their home. Given that might sound like a lot of money but $1M today lasts significantly less than 20 years assuming an interest rate of return of 7%, inflation of 3% and inflation-adjusted annual withdrawals of $75K. People understand that their money will last a lot longer with a Costa Rica retirement.
With that said, demographically speaking, forty-six percent of the infant boomers are still within their 40s so there are plenty of baby-boomers that haven't really started to think about their retirement. The more negative the political and economic environment becomes in the USA, the more receptive they'll be to the idea of living and retiring abroad.
How Much MAY BE THE Food? To provide you with a real idea about food costs, in one of Jo Stuart's recent newspaper columns, she compared the exact cost of a basket of fruits and vegetables purchased here in to the precise items purchased in a California farmer's market. She spent US$8.75 here and the same items in California cost US$29.47
The bottom line is if you eat a healthy diet full of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, a little fish, chicken or beef, your household will be healthier and you will enjoy significant savings on food living in Costa Rica.
But, if you prefer to eat highly-processed, imported food, you will definitely pay through the nose for it and you are not going to be healthy.
Heating Costs: Who needs heating? Unless you are living at fairly high altitudes, you would not even think about heating... In over seven years of living here, I have only ever experienced one home that had an in-floor heating system installed.
Water: Thankfully Costa Rica gets a lot of water. In a few of the Northern Guanacaste areas there is certainly a water management problem primarily because of over development and a lack of infrastructure but we do have plenty of water.
Electricity: A significant quantity of Costa Rica's electrical energy needs are renewable, met by geothermal (volcanic) and hydro-electric power. Thus, it really is fairly well insulated against oil price fluctuations and can maintain relatively cheap electricity price levels that are almost the lowest in the Americas. Telephone costs may also be very low.
Obviously if you live at the beach where it is much hotter then air conditioning is essential for many individuals. This would increase your basic costs however, around the Central Valley area, you do not need heating and hardly anybody ever uses air-con.
Cars in Costa Rica ARE COSTLY: If you don't buy a house (at least immediately), buying a vehicle will be your biggest outlay - new cars could be over a third more in price compared to prices in the U.S.
Life Enriching Experience: Learning a fresh language is a rewarding and enriching experience and helps keep you and your brain alive. Becoming acquainted with the culture and customs of a new people could be exhilarating and we've come across dozens of people who came here single and are now very happily married.
Personally, i believe Costa Rica gets the most perfect climate for the body and I love individuals - the 'Ticos.' They are still people with exactly the same hopes and fears as you and I and there are good ones and bad ones....
For me to take pleasure from the same sort of extremely comfortable lifestyle that I love in Costa Rica in any major US or European city, I would (and I am NOT exaggerating) have to earn at least five times more than I'm earning today...
Living in Costa Rica is not for everyone, the people might be a little too 'laid back' for you but after surviving in ten countries and planing a trip to numerous others, I honestly believe they're amongst the nicest people I've run into and certainly amongst the most physically attractive people on the globe...