International Living - Is Costa Rica Too Good To Be True

- Paula says: "I will be vacationing in Costa Rica next year to check out some of these deals you have sent me. I'm the type of person that has to see it to believe it. We are thinking about retiring their. You have opened up my eyes to some great deals I never thought existed. Thank you very much."

Jim and Jenny ask: "Hi, we would like to know about renting (long term) in Costa Rica's Southern Zone. Just how far away are trout streams?"

This from Terry: "I need to know more retiring to Costa Rica…how tough is it for expats to get on their health care system? Can a couple live on social security of $1,800 a month? Will we be welcomed by the local population?"

I have dozens of e-mails just like these. Reading between the lines, I think what everyone's really asking is:

Is Costa Rica too good to be true?

That's a fair question. The benefits of Costa Rica are well known. North Americans have flocked to the beaches for decades. It's one of the top five medical tourism destinations for Americans. And scientists have declared it to contain one of the world's longest-living zones, where people live well into their 100s.

For the past 20 years, this country has had two black marks against it—bad roads and high prices.

Three months ago the Southern Zone's coastal road finally opened. This is a big beautiful highway that makes a pleasure of a road trip that used to be an ordeal. In fact, our own Suzan Haskins and Dan Prescher are making this road trip as I write…Suzan just sent in some video of the new highway; I'll upload it and send you the link next week.

Costa Rica's prices rose higher and faster than anywhere else in Latin America—20 years ago. Since then, every other country has gradually moved in line. Today Costa Rica is a relative bargain (especially for real estate), although you may not be aware of that reading travel and real estate supplements in the U.S. newspapers.

Back to your question: Is Costa Rica too good to be true?

Absolutely not. In fact, the recent coverage in these Postcards and ILmagazine…and early reports from Dan's and Suzan's road trip…is only the beginning of what you can do in Costa Rica.

That's why the Live and Invest in Costa Rica Seminar in August is more than half sold-out. I've been telling you for the past few weeks that there's no rush…you have plenty of time to sign-up. I'm not so confident now. I've seen IL events this year go from half-sold to sold out in less than a week. If you're interested in Costa Rica, register your interest for this event, while the biggest discounts still apply. 

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International Living - More Dreams Come True In Costa Rica

Andy and Fran Browne were living the American dream.

They had a gorgeous home in the suburbs,

drove nice new cars, owned all the latest toys

and high-tech gadgets, and could afford to travel at whim.

Then in August of 2008, they both lost their jobs.

Too young to collect Social Security or Medicare,
they knew it would be impossible to retire
and maintain the lifestyle they'd worked so hard for Two years later they're still not working.

But they're living better than ever—in Costa Rica.
 
Andy and Fran Browne are the all-American couple—they both grew up in Miami and married in 1973. They raised two sons and have a couple of grandkids.




Andy worked his way up to vice-president of technology for a large North Carolina bank and Fran to marketing manager for a printing company. They were living the good life. They drove new cars, had all the latest high-tech gadgets and a beautiful home full of nice furniture and souvenirs they picked up on their world travels.



In 2008 they were happily riding this wave of prosperity. Until August, when both of them lost their jobs.

Andy and Fran (both age 58) were told by their employers that their "services were no longer needed."
What to do now? "Buy more wine, for one thing," laughs Andy.
And, he says, the more wine they sipped and the more they talked, an idea began to take hold.

"We're too young to collect Social Security and too young for Medicare. The one thing we were certain of was that we were tired of working," Andy says.

As they studied their finances, they realized that it was "impossible to retire now, at our age, in the country of our birth!"

"We needed a strategy that would allow us to stretch our retirement dollar while at the same time not feel that we have to take a vow of poverty in order to live a contented life."

For years, Andy and Fran had fantasized about retiring to Costa Rica. Nearly a decade before, on a winter holiday, they'd fallen in love with the little Central American country.

They made a checklist of everything they were looking for in a retirement destination. And within days of being laid off from their jobs, they were on a plane to Costa Rica to see if retiring there made sense.

Costa Rica, they found, ticks almost all the boxes on any retirement checklist:

• Conveniently close to home—With many direct flights to two international airports (with a third soon to open), it's conveniently close to the U.S. and Canada (less than three hours from Miami).
• Excellent weather—From the Central Valley and its cool, lush mountain forests to the beautiful unspoiled beaches of both Caribbean and Pacific Oceans, there's a climate for everyone.
• Top-quality health care—The World Health Organization praises Costa Rica for its exceptional government-run health care system, and has ranked it better than the U.S., despite spending 87% less on health care per capita. (I'll tell you more about health care in Costa Rica in just a bit. Importantly, it gets these great health care marks despite providing free care to 86.8% of the population!)
• The most stable democracy in Latin America—No other country has the peaceful history and democratic stability of Costa Rica (and no army)!
• • All the comforts of home—The centrally located capital city of San Jose boasts modern shopping malls and world-class hospitals. And reliable high-speed Internet is available just about everywhere.
  • Low, low taxes—You'll pay zero income taxes on your foreign-earned income...very good news. And if you buy a home in Costa Rica, your annual property taxes will be laughably low...no more than $100-$200 in most cases. And there's no capital gains tax!
  And although it has one of the lowest poverty indexes in the world—which means Costa Ricans have a high standard of living—it's surprisingly affordable, with a low low cost of living.  
  Sure, some of the things I've just mentioned are also true of many Latin American countries. All of them are more affordable than the U.S., and some are even closer geographically (but not by much). Many have democratically elected governments, although few with as longstanding a history as Costa Rica.
  But as Andy and Fran learned, there are many advantages unique to Costa Rica that most of us aren't aware of:
  • There's a built-in community of English-speaking locals and expats—some accounts say that more than 11,000 U.S. retirees currently live in Costa Rica.
  • It's healthy...as one of the 'greenest, cleanest' countries in the worldwith little pollution and lots of clean water and fresh air. (Costa Rica is one of the only countries in the world to actually reverse deforestation!)
  • A staggering 99% of its energy comes from renewable sources. I don't have to tell you what that means in terms of dollars...and sense!
  • Adult literacy is practically 100%. People are well-educated and well-informed. (Many international companies have established international offices, factories, and call centers here for this reason—contributing to a strong and stable economy.)
  • Sociologists say Costa Ricans are the happiest people on the planet. This is according to the Happy Planet Index, an independent think tank founded to study environmental impact and human well-being. They say: "Costa Ricans report the highest life satisfaction in the world and have the second-highest average life expectancy of the Americas (second only to Canada)
  • Costa Rica, the surer they became that this was the right move.
    Today they're living the good life once again...in Costa Rica
    They've happily adjusted to "life after work," they say. They spend their days doing "fun things"—playing with the dog, hanging out with friends, and volunteering whenever possible.
    And, they say, a pleasant side affect of the retirement in Costa Rica is they've each lost 25 pounds...without dieting. "We attribute this to better eating habits and no fast food," Andy says.
    Even though their primary motivation to move to Costa Rica was to reduce expenses, Andy and Fran say they've benefited far more than just financially.
    "We love it here," they say, "Costa Rica is our new home."
    
    
    
    
    
    In Costa Rica, you very well
    may live longer!
    Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula is one of the world's "Blue Zones," where scientists have studied and proven that locals have the longest life expectancy of anyone in the world, regularly living well into their 90s.
    Overall, according to the World Health Organization, life expectancy at birth for Costa Ricans is 78.8 years, among the top country rankings in the world and nearly a year ahead of the United States—even though the per-capita income of Costa Ricans is about one-tenth that of the U.S. Arguably, one reason for this is the slower pace of living and the warm, welcoming climate in Costa Rica. And, of course, you'll eat healthy, fresh foods...without preservatives and chemicals in them. Costa Rica is a healthy place to live.
    
    
    
    
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    International Living - The Greatest Name In Wordldwide Real Estate
    
    
    
    
    Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have.
    
    

International Living - Live And Invest In Costa Rica

How crazy was it to move our family with two young daughters from a comfortable home in Colorado Springs to the unknowns of Costa Rica?
Well, I thought it was nuts when my husband suggested we do just that for his five-month sabbatical. Now that we’ve been in Monteverde for six weeks, the only crazy part is that we hesitated at all.

The more we looked at Costa Rica, the more appealing it became—drinkable water, no military, Spanish and English, lots of amazing plants and animals in the rainforest…

When my husband was searching online and stumbled upon the CEC School in Monteverde with its focus on bilingual education and environmental science, we decided to go for it.

We found a comfortable house to rent for $500 a month, and relished the thought of a home without a TV, car, or Internet. We really like making a conscious effort to connect to the world via a walk to one of many nearby Internet cafes (Café Cabure is one of our favorites with its amazing Argentine cuisine and high-speed wireless Internet).

Our fears of the unknown were quickly vanquished by the pleasant realities. We do have hot water; our girls are befriending Tico children; it doesn’t rain all the time. Without the static of modern-day life, we can hear the croaking toucans in the mornings and the chirping crickets at night. We haven’t tired of the howler monkeys bellowing their dominance even when it is at 5.30 in the morning.

With our purposeful pace of life, we take the time to focus on what matters the most to us, and we are laughing and enjoying life more as a family. Instead of turning on “60 Minutes” we talk with our daughters about the capuchin monkeys that swung across their campus or watch our girls proudly twirl their hand-made batons for the upcoming parade.

To see a blue morpho butterfly float drunkenly across your path…or to taste fresh cow’s milk from a spigot on the wall rather than a plastic carton is indescribable. We relish walking two miles to the feria every Saturday morning to purchase our week’s supply of fresh cilantro, tomatoes, mangoes and watermelon.

Our daughters no longer ask when we’re going to get there but rather eagerly pace us with hopes the homemade donuts won’t sell out.

Removing ourselves from the noise of routine is extremely satisfying. How can another gymnastics class compare to spotting a resplendent quetzal with your children in the rainforest? It’s hard to believe it took leaving the familiar to find our family’s pulse.

Americans often pity those living in small houses with tin roofs, but the Costa Ricans and ex-pats we’ve met are some of the happiest and most genuine people we know. In less than two months we’ve met people we plan to connect with for the rest of our lives.

Our concern now is: How will we return to the frenetic pace in America and preserve the simple calm and happiness we discovered here in the green mountains of the cloud forest?

International Living - The Best In World Real Estate Values

Moran Real Estate Over 50 Years of Tropical Real Estate Excellence

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

More Good News For Retirement In Costa Rica

"The President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias is expected to sign an Executive Decree which will make


the attraction of foreign retirees to Costa Rica a National Priority.



By implementing this policy the government can then provide incentives to the baby boomers that

want to retire in Costa Rica. The government will also be able to provide incentives and

streamline the permitting process for companies that build retirement communities for the Baby

Boomers.



In 1971 Costa Rica was at the forefront in legislation attracting foreign retirees. In that year

Costa Rica passed the Pensionado-Rentista program which at the time was administered by the Costa

Rican Tourism Board. The program was very successful and instrumental in attracting retirees and

investors to Costa Rica for many years.



The program provided several tax incentives to retirees that would settle in Costa Rica including

duty free importation of an automobile and tax exemption on household furnishings brought into

the country by the retiree.



Decisions of previous governmental administrations eliminated all the tax exemptions making the

program just another immigration category with no incentives at all.



The personalized treatment previously offered to applicants by the Costa Rican Tourism Board was

eliminated and the processing was turned over to the general processing window at the Department

of Immigration.



While Costa Rica minimized the Retiree program other countries in Latin America such as Panama,

Nicaragua, Ecuador, Uruguay, Belize and Mexico implemented and strengthened retiree programs of

their own. By signing this decree it now appears that Costa Rica wants to once again take the

lead in attracting retirees. After all it is estimated that in the United States alone there are

more than 70 million "baby boomers".



For Baby Boomers interested in Costa Rica this means that you will be offered tax breaks and

incentives for settling in Costa Rica. Another benefit which is surely welcome is that Retirees

will have a special processing window at the Department of Immigration to handle their

immigration applications.



We won't know the extent of those incentives until the Executive Decree is signed and published."

Moran Real Estate Over 50 Years of Tropical Real Estate Excellence

 

The Night Is Long and the Pain weighs Heavy, But God Will Hold His World above Dispair

Look to the East, Where up in the Lucid Sky, The Morning Climbs,

The Day shall Yet be fair