Why FOLKS ARE Choosing to call home and Retire in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a place of 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' who are an amiable and incredibly attractive people.
Who Is Moving to Costa Rica? There are estimated to be 77 million 'baby boomers' in america who began retiring in 2008 also it seems there's several considering a Costa Rica retirement. So too are Canadians and numerous Europeans who are searching for that perfect climate and a more affordable spot to live.
Wealthier people from all over Central and Latin America are also visiting Costa Rica because of political and financial instability within their own countries.
Once you fear for the lives of your own children because they may be kidnapped in Mexico, Guatemala or Honduras or, you have just witnessed the worthiness of your home slashed in half as some of our Venezuelan friends have recently, your own 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 own 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' appear to be paradise on earth to numerous people.
Business Opportunities: It isn't just people seeking retirement which are visiting Costa Rica. We have been seeing young entrepreneurs arriving at Costa Rica with dreams of establishing their business here.
This is an admirable goal however; we should remember that having an operating knowledge of Spanish will only take you half way. We must remember that we have been guests within their country, conducting business here can be challenging because inefficient bureaucracies, redundancies and duplications are part of everyday business.
Affordable Costa Rica Real Estate: In comparison to Europe and many urban centers in the USA, property in Costa Rica is quite affordable. Foreigners can easily buy their own homes and some people have made a decision to build their very own homes.
Based on the Global Property Guide, the cheapest city in Europe is Bucharest where you would 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 nevertheless, you can also easily purchase a modern, completely new, very comfortable home anywhere close to the business, cultural and entertainment centre of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica for US$1,500 - $1,750 per square meter. I understand this because I have bought a few homes here.
As an 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 one of the greatest builders we have run into coming in at US$1,033 per square meter.
Property Taxes: When buying a home in Costa Rica, property taxes must be considered but thankfully there is little to worry about because basic property taxes are only 0.25% and even if your home is ultra-luxurious and the blissful luxury property tax also applies, everything adds up to very little..
In line with 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 home of the same value would be significantly less than $1,000 each year so 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 (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 own home isn't for the faint of heart anywhere in the world but if you're comfortable with the theory then you'll be delighted to know your labor costs in are low.
Affordable Cost of Living: Only 1% folks households headed by folks aged 62-72 have $1 million or more in assets other than their home. Now that might sound such as a bundle but $1M today lasts less than 20 years assuming an interest rate of return of 7%, inflation of 3% and inflation-adjusted annual withdrawals of $75K. People recognize that their money will last a lot longer with a Costa Rica retirement.
With article by Don Mango said, demographically speaking, forty-six percent of the infant boomers are still in their 40s so there are several baby-boomers that haven't really started to consider 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 Is The Food? To provide you with a genuine 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 within to the precise items purchased in a California farmer's market. She spent US$8.75 here and exactly the same items in California cost US$29.47
The bottom line is if you eat a healthy diet plan full of fruit, fresh vegetables, just a little fish, chicken or beef, you and your family will be healthier and you will enjoy significant savings on food surviving in Costa Rica.
But, if you prefer to consume highly-processed, imported food, you will definitely pay through the nose for this 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 consider heating... In over seven years of living here, I have only ever been in one home that had an in-floor heat installed.
Water: Thankfully Costa Rica gets a lot of water. In a few of the Northern Guanacaste areas there may be a water management problem primarily because of over development and a lack of infrastructure but we do have a lot of water.
Electricity: A significant amount of Costa Rica's electricity 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 prices that are almost the cheapest in the Americas. Telephone costs are also very low.
Obviously if you live at the beach where it is much hotter then air conditioning is essential for many people. This would increase your basic costs however, in and 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 purchase a house (at the very least immediately), buying a vehicle will undoubtedly be your biggest outlay - new cars can be over a third more in price in comparison to prices in the U.S.
Life Enriching Experience: Learning a new 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 can be exhilarating and we've come across dozens of individuals who came here single and so are now very happily married.
I personally believe Costa Rica has the most perfect climate for the body and I love the people - the 'Ticos.' They are still people with the same hopes and fears as you and I and there are good ones and bad ones....
For me to enjoy the same kind of extremely comfortable lifestyle that I love in Costa Rica in any major US or European city, I'd (and I'm NOT exaggerating) need to earn at least five times a lot more than I'm earning today...
Living in Costa Rica isn't for everyone, the people can be a little too 'laid back' for you personally but after surviving in ten countries and planing a trip to numerous others, I honestly believe they are amongst the nicest people I've come across and certainly amongst the most physically attractive people in the world...
Who Is Moving to Costa Rica? There are estimated to be 77 million 'baby boomers' in america who began retiring in 2008 also it seems there's several considering a Costa Rica retirement. So too are Canadians and numerous Europeans who are searching for that perfect climate and a more affordable spot to live.
Wealthier people from all over Central and Latin America are also visiting Costa Rica because of political and financial instability within their own countries.
Once you fear for the lives of your own children because they may be kidnapped in Mexico, Guatemala or Honduras or, you have just witnessed the worthiness of your home slashed in half as some of our Venezuelan friends have recently, your own 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 own 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' appear to be paradise on earth to numerous people.
Business Opportunities: It isn't just people seeking retirement which are visiting Costa Rica. We have been seeing young entrepreneurs arriving at Costa Rica with dreams of establishing their business here.
This is an admirable goal however; we should remember that having an operating knowledge of Spanish will only take you half way. We must remember that we have been guests within their country, conducting business here can be challenging because inefficient bureaucracies, redundancies and duplications are part of everyday business.
Affordable Costa Rica Real Estate: In comparison to Europe and many urban centers in the USA, property in Costa Rica is quite affordable. Foreigners can easily buy their own homes and some people have made a decision to build their very own homes.
Based on the Global Property Guide, the cheapest city in Europe is Bucharest where you would 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 nevertheless, you can also easily purchase a modern, completely new, very comfortable home anywhere close to the business, cultural and entertainment centre of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica for US$1,500 - $1,750 per square meter. I understand this because I have bought a few homes here.
As an 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 one of the greatest builders we have run into coming in at US$1,033 per square meter.
Property Taxes: When buying a home in Costa Rica, property taxes must be considered but thankfully there is little to worry about because basic property taxes are only 0.25% and even if your home is ultra-luxurious and the blissful luxury property tax also applies, everything adds up to very little..
In line with 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 home of the same value would be significantly less than $1,000 each year so 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 (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 own home isn't for the faint of heart anywhere in the world but if you're comfortable with the theory then you'll be delighted to know your labor costs in are low.
Affordable Cost of Living: Only 1% folks households headed by folks aged 62-72 have $1 million or more in assets other than their home. Now that might sound such as a bundle but $1M today lasts less than 20 years assuming an interest rate of return of 7%, inflation of 3% and inflation-adjusted annual withdrawals of $75K. People recognize that their money will last a lot longer with a Costa Rica retirement.
With article by Don Mango said, demographically speaking, forty-six percent of the infant boomers are still in their 40s so there are several baby-boomers that haven't really started to consider 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 Is The Food? To provide you with a genuine 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 within to the precise items purchased in a California farmer's market. She spent US$8.75 here and exactly the same items in California cost US$29.47
The bottom line is if you eat a healthy diet plan full of fruit, fresh vegetables, just a little fish, chicken or beef, you and your family will be healthier and you will enjoy significant savings on food surviving in Costa Rica.
But, if you prefer to consume highly-processed, imported food, you will definitely pay through the nose for this 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 consider heating... In over seven years of living here, I have only ever been in one home that had an in-floor heat installed.
Water: Thankfully Costa Rica gets a lot of water. In a few of the Northern Guanacaste areas there may be a water management problem primarily because of over development and a lack of infrastructure but we do have a lot of water.
Electricity: A significant amount of Costa Rica's electricity 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 prices that are almost the cheapest in the Americas. Telephone costs are also very low.
Obviously if you live at the beach where it is much hotter then air conditioning is essential for many people. This would increase your basic costs however, in and 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 purchase a house (at the very least immediately), buying a vehicle will undoubtedly be your biggest outlay - new cars can be over a third more in price in comparison to prices in the U.S.
Life Enriching Experience: Learning a new 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 can be exhilarating and we've come across dozens of individuals who came here single and so are now very happily married.
I personally believe Costa Rica has the most perfect climate for the body and I love the people - the 'Ticos.' They are still people with the same hopes and fears as you and I and there are good ones and bad ones....
For me to enjoy the same kind of extremely comfortable lifestyle that I love in Costa Rica in any major US or European city, I'd (and I'm NOT exaggerating) need to earn at least five times a lot more than I'm earning today...
Living in Costa Rica isn't for everyone, the people can be a little too 'laid back' for you personally but after surviving in ten countries and planing a trip to numerous others, I honestly believe they are amongst the nicest people I've come across and certainly amongst the most physically attractive people in the world...
Public Last updated: 2024-03-20 03:17:49 AM