So why should you consider Costa Rica? It just makes sense for so many reasons.
After all, Costa Rica attracts more than one million visitors every year. Many already consider it to be the most attractive and diverse nation in Latin America. It's easy to get to and direct flights leave major airports in the U.S. every day.
Costa Rica has been the buzzword for overseas retirement and eco-travel for almost 20 years. It's a small, peaceful oasis of staggering beauty... a mysterious world of volcanoes and rare creatures found nowhere else on earth.
The cost of living is low (you can still live comfortably on as little as $1,500 a month)… you can enjoy warm, sunny, tropical weather all year… take advantage of a simple, straightforward residency program… and live among the best-preserved, most-spectacular scenery on the planet.
Costa Rica enjoys a stable government, plenty of foreign investment, a well-educated populace, first-rate (affordable) health care, and a thriving tourism industry. Many expats have started profitable businesses while living in this beautiful paradise.
It's no surprise when you consider the government support in these areas...
Continued Government-Supported Growth
“North Americans and Europeans are flocking to Costa Rica because of its biodiversity, peaceful lifestyle, democratic government, and growing economy. And, of course, there’s the climate... Many retirees we met are financing their retirement and keeping busy by starting businesses based on the booming real estate market... A property can net $20,000 to $100,000 a year in rental income, depending on housing type, style, and location.” ~ Kiplinger’s
With space running out in the most popular towns, the government is working furiously to open up previously inaccessible areas. But that’s not all they’ve been doing ...
Costa Rica now ranks as the most technologically developed country in all of Central America. The government has attracted several high-tech companies by offering tax holidays of up to 20 years. There are also many incentives for tourism companies.
The workforce is well educated and English fluency isn’t even an issue. Costa Rica offers investors and relocated businesses plenty of advantages. Among the companies to open branches there are Acer America, Baxter Healthcare, Intel, Panasonic, and many more.
The presence of offshore banks has grown exponentially in recent years. Within the last three years, the total amount of funds these banks have attracted has increased by 65%.
Yes, business is booming in Costa Rica, and there are several ways that you can profit from this boom—especially in the tourism sector.
You could:
Build and rent out your own eco-cabin: Because Costa Rica has become such a popular tourism destination, it’s desperately short of hotel rooms. So you could build your own rental cabin for as little as $5,000… and then rent it out for as much as $100 a day.
Some people have been reporting a 98% occupancy rate. At such levels as this it means your $5,000 investment could be making you $35,700 per year!
Build or buy two homes: Let’s say you build two houses – a large house and a small house. You could then offer to rent both houses out… and live in the house that isn’t rented. Since living expenses in Costa Rica are low – and rental prices are relatively high – with the right marketing strategy, you could easily make enough to live on... all while living in warm, tropical, beautiful Costa Rica full-time.
Build and sell properties: Because of the rapidly increasing land values throughout Costa Rica, you could buy a piece of land that’s large enough to subdivide, build a house on it, and sell the property for a good profit.
And, if that isn’t enough, it’s one of the few places where the dollar has actually risen in value in recent years! Americans now have about a third more buying power than they did five years ago. A dollar equals around 500 Costa Rican colones today compared to 360 back then.
Costa Rica could well be the most biologically diverse region on the entire planet. Every year more than one million tourists visit to explore some of the last unspoiled natural habitats in the world.
Covering only 1/10,000th of the world’s surface, it is home to more than 500,000 different species of plants and animals... including more than 850 bird species …160 known amphibians… 220 reptiles… and 10% of all known butterflies.
You’ll find high-elevation forests where clouds meander over the treetops … deserted black-sand beaches… lowland rain forests… mysterious mangrove swamps… protected coral reefs … expansive wetlands… and just about everything between.
And there are many exhilarating ways to explore its outstanding natural beauty:
Hike through a lush green coastal rainforest—and one of Costa Rica’s best places to spot wildlife. Keep your eye out for parrots, crocodiles, caimans, toucans, kingfishers, iguanas, and lizards…
Scuba dive or snorkel among thousands of colorful tropical fish and vivid coral reefs
Explore Costa Rica’s premiere ecotourism destination. Here you can find palm trees, orchids, primitive ferns, and an incredible variety of birdlife…
White-water raft down the exhilarating and adrenaline-pumping rivers…
Kayak down the Sarapiqui River, in the Pacific Ocean, or in the Caribbean Sea…
Surf world-class waves at one of the best breaks in the country and a draw for some of the best surfers in the world.
Enjoy horseback riding on the beach at sunset in Samara, Montezuma, or many other ideal places for horseback riding in Costa Rica…
Go sport-fishing for marlin, swordfish, snook, and tarpon in blue waters under blue skies.
Bird-watch and spot hummingbirds, scarlet macaws, toucans, kingfishers, trogons, and even the resplendent quetzal…
Mountain bike in a pristine nature reserve on the Nicoya Peninsula…
So remember to bring your digital camera, your sunscreen, your hiking shoes, your swimsuit, and your sense of adventure.
Quality Of Life... And Keep An Eye Out For The Rich And Famous
You might think that living in a country with all the advantages that Costa Rica offers would be expensive.
It isn’t!
The leading expatriate organization, the Association of Residents of Costa Rica, estimates that if a couple owns a house and a car they can live well on $1,500 to $2,500 a month.
When you shop at a supermarket in Costa Rica, you can expect to spend less than half of what you would in the U.S. The savings are similar at the country’s restaurants, nearly all of which serve food fit for royalty.
Taxes are low too. When you live in Costa Rica, there’s no tax on money made outside the country, and the highest income tax rate is 15%.
Annual property taxes are low, too. You’ll pay on a sliding scale from .25% to .55% of the value of your home or condo. And you pay only on the construction value…not the land value. According to a leading real estate company, if you pay $150,000 for a house, your taxes are likely to be just a few hundred dollars a year.
Best of all, when you go to sell your home in Costa Rica, you won’t pay a dime in capital gains tax. Zero, zip, zilch.
Plus, Costa Ricans readily boast that their country is so safe it has no need for an army. The country is so peaceful that schoolchildren oversee election parades, and there are more doctors here than there are police.
In fact, Microsoft founder and one of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates, vacations here with his family. Most recently, he and his family arrived aboard a private jet and stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel in Guanacaste for a week.
And that's not even the best part of living in Costa Rica...
Where Doctors Still Make House Calls!
Costa Rica’s health care is first-rate… yet shockingly inexpensive—on average about a third of what you’d pay in the U.S.
The leading expatriate organization, the Association of Residents of Costa Rica, estimates that if a couple owns a house and a car they can live well on $1,500 to $2,500 a month.
When you shop at a supermarket in Costa Rica, you can expect to spend less than half of what you would in the U.S. The savings are similar at the country’s restaurants, nearly all of which serve food fit for royalty.
Taxes are low too. When you live in Costa Rica, there’s no tax on money made outside the country, and the highest income tax rate is 15%.
Annual property taxes are low, too. You’ll pay on a sliding scale from .25% to .55% of the value of your home or condo. And you pay only on the construction value…not the land value. According to a leading real estate company, if you pay $150,000 for a house, your taxes are likely to be just a few hundred dollars a year.
Best of all, when you go to sell your home in Costa Rica, you won’t pay a dime in capital gains tax. Zero, zip, zilch.
Plus, Costa Ricans readily boast that their country is so safe it has no need for an army. The country is so peaceful that schoolchildren oversee election parades, and there are more doctors here than there are police.
In fact, Microsoft founder and one of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates, vacations here with his family. Most recently, he and his family arrived aboard a private jet and stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel in Guanacaste for a week.
And that's not even the best part of living in Costa Rica...
Where Doctors Still Make House Calls!
Costa Rica’s health care is first-rate… yet shockingly inexpensive—on average about a third of what you’d pay in the U.S.
World-Class, Affordable
Health Care
Hands down, Costa Rica’s universal health care system is one of the best in Latin America and, indeed, among the best in the world. Once you obtain legal residency in Costa Rica, foreigners are eligible (required, in fact) to participate in Costa Rica’s universal health care system, CAJA. It’s affiliated with ten major public hospitals in the country and many small clinics in almost every community.
You can also buy private insurance—most plans cover dental work, optometry, and cosmetic surgery in the case of an accident. Prescription drugs, certain medical exams, sick visits, and hospitalization are covered at 70% cost, and surgeon and anesthesiologist costs are covered at full cost. Private medical insurance in Costa Rica currently costs about $50-$100 a month per person, depending on age, gender and other factors.
And don’t worry about language issues—many doctors speak English and have received training in Europe, Canada, or the U.S.
The doctors, many of them U.S. educated and trained, rarely charge more than $50 a visit… and most of them charge less, even for house calls. That’s right! Many doctors in Costa Rica still make house calls!
Costa Rica has been named one of the top 5 destinations for health tourism worldwide. Thousands of people are now traveling to Costa Rica to have cosmetic surgery that is too costly back home.
“Patients can save as much as 80% on procedures done by medical professionals often educated and trained in the United States at hospitals increasingly accredited for meeting U.S.-like standards.” ~ Fresno Bee
Prescription drugs are also much cheaper in Costa Rica, especially at pharmacies outside the touristy areas of San José. And it’s good to know that you don’t have to worry about a prescription. Pharmacies don’t usually require them, except for strong painkillers that could become addictive.
Costa Rica’s health care isn’t just inexpensive... the quality is exceptional.
In fact, a recent study by the World Health Organization even ranked Costa Rica’s health services ABOVE the U.S.
Low taxes, high-quality low-cost health care, and booming property prices... Costa Rica is a land where dreams can still come true.
Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.
-- Oprah Winfrey
