A Fresh look at Costa Rica for Retirement or Second Home

By Andrew Mastrandonas

For many years, Costa Rica has been touted as one of the top retirement havens in the world. With a stable democracy, growing economy government friendly to foreigners and tropical climate, as well as incredible natural beauty, it rightly earned the phrase, “the Switzerland of Latin America.”

Below are a few questions I often receive from our clients who are searching for a retirement spot or investment opportunity. The responses will suggest that Costa Rica is still a terrific place to retire, or to start new life in if you still wish to work, particularly if you choose your location and activities carefully.

How expensive is it?

I have been living in Costa Rica for a few years now, and have been in and out the country frequently since 1989. Based on my extensive travel throughout the country in conjunction with my “Boomers in Costa Rica Retirement Tours,” I’ve found that there are still inexpensive areas in which to live, particularly if you stay away from the close-in suburbs of San Jose.

Take, for example, the growing city of San Ramon, an agricultural town of 70,000, situated on the northwest edge of the Central Valley. San Ramon offers a peaceful environment in which to live yet it offers all of the services of a larger city including numerous supermarkets, a mall with a three-screen theater, numerous outstanding restaurants and warm, welcoming locals. It is also only 40 minutes to the international airport in Alajuela, one hour to San Jose and 40 minutes to the Pacific Coast.

San Ramon also offers a wide variety of lots for building one’s retirement dream home, either in the mountains which the “Tico Times” calls “the Tuscany or Provence of Central America,” or stunning ocean view properties in which one can see the Nicoya Peninsula, the Pacific Ocean and the bustling port city of Puntarenas.

Prices for land from reputable sellers still remain low, with some lots as inexpensive as $35,000 for a one-half acre lot, to $75,000 for an incredible ocean-view lot on 1.25 acres. You can still have an incredible ocean view lot and house, complete with all the services you need, for under $200,000. If you decide you don’t want ocean views, you’ll pay even less, perhaps around $110,000 for a nice lot and home. There are also rental properties available for less than $200 dollars a month. It is just imperative that you pair up with someone knowledgeable who has the capacity to introduce you to the values that still exist today. While San Ramon is a bargain, the towns of Grecia, Sarchi, Atenas, and Puriscal may offer excellent value as well.

Property taxes are very low, only .25% of the registered value of your home/land. I paid $66 in property taxes for an entire year! The local government office even asked me if I wanted to pay my taxes quarterly!

I also eat inexpensively, perhaps a $1.50-5.00 for breakfast, $6.00 for lunch, and then I splurge for dinner, perhaps $5.00-$12.00, and this is if I go out to eat! Of course, if you visit some of this country’s wonderful outdoor markets, you’ll find the freshest meats, fruits and vegetables, and can cook for yourself and spend even less.

Is there convenient access to medical care?

Yes, in some areas there are less doctors per capita than in the United States but this generally applies to people living in the San Jose area, and often times relates to people who have elected to get on the “CAJA” system, which is the most basic health insurance program, run by the government, to which most Costa Ricans belong.

Once you leave the San Jose area, even if you are on the CAJA, the lines lessen and more often than not, you’ll form a great relationship with an English-speaking doctor who is well-trained, and in some cases, will even make house calls. There are also other privately-run programs that allow you to see any doctor and even these programs are much less expensive than insurance programs in the states.

Costa Rica also has several outstanding hospitals that provide the same level and quality of service that you would find in the United States. CIMA Hospital San Jose, which is affiliated with Baylor Medical Center in Houston, is a brand new facility with all of the new technologies you would find in any top hospital in the United States. In fact, my doctor at CIMA has more advanced technology in his office than my doctor in New York City. Clinica Biblica, also near San Jose, is also another top hospital, with the same quality of service you would find at CIMA.

Is Costa Rica overrun with tourists?

Costa Rica certainly is a well-traveled tourist destination and sees over 1 million holiday makers a year. If you visit the beaches at Manuel Antonio, the rain forest of Monteverde or Arenal Volcano during the dry season, yes, you will see many North Americans and Europeans. However, living here, particularly in towns such as San Ramon or Grecia, you would hardly know it is the tourist season. These towns, and others, see few tourists and move at their own consistent pace year round.

Actually, visiting tourist destinations during the off season is a significant benefit of living here, particularly given that prices are significantly less than during the high season.

Costa Rica does count among its residents some 40,000 North Americans, mostly from the United States. They come for a variety of reasons from wanting to leave their corporate careers for more meaningful work to just wanting to retire and enjoy a slower, relaxed pace of life that Costa Rica offers.

How is the infrastructure?

Like any developing country, particularly one with a rainy season for part of the year, and with trucks and cars sharing the same, often two-lane road, it can be hard to maintain the roads in perfect condition all the time.

Fortunately, under the new administration of Nobel Prize winner, President Oscar Arias, significant steps are being taken to address these concerns. Millions of dollars have been allocated to new road construction and repair. Costa Rica has come a long way in infrastructure improvements, and it is only getting better. Utilities such as water and electricity, especially in the Central Valley, are well supplied. In fact, the water is more safe to drink here than in some areas in North America. And, your electric and water bill combined should not exceed $50 per month!

No hablo Espanol!

While one can get by without knowing much Spanish, you’ll have a better experience if you try to learn at least some key words, phrases and sentences. In addition, befriending a Costa Rican (hopefully a bilingual one!) will go a long way in helping you get things done here.

On our retirement tours, for example, we provide a post-tour relocation service where we link up our clients with a Tico to help with some critical “post-move” tasks such as getting a driver’s license, hooking up electricity, phone, and Internet services, and a variety of other things. I couldn’t get by without my “Tico connections” and my Spanish is getting better all the time.

Isn’t Costa Rica a third world country?

Absolutely not!  I find time and time again how pleasantly surprised my tour guests are at how much more Costa Rica is developed than anticipated. For more information I encourage you to read Preston Gitlin’s article, “The difference between a third world country and Costa Rica.”