Gary and Debra Chohamin moved from Florida in the U.S to Altos de Antigua in Puriscal, Costa Rica in June 2011.

Gary had lived for almost 30 years in South Florida and they started their research into different retirement destinations about five years ago. They visited many different countries including Australia and although Gary says that they loved Australia, “it was way too far …”

“As soon as we got to Costa Rica though we found that we really felt very comfortable here” said Gary.

Debra says that: “I find the people wonderful, I love the climate, it’s somewhat similar to Florida but nothing at all and I love the lifestyle, it’s very laid back, easy going, no hustle no bustle, a whole lot less stress and a much brighter future. I’m really looking forward to having some serious commitments with friends and reconnecting in a family sort of way here.”

Gary explains that: “We chose to live in Altos de Antigua because we felt very comfortable with this community…”

Altos de Antigua “has all the amenities we liked… it’s not far from Puriscal… we have the conveniences of shopping” and “you can’t beat the drive, it’s a scenic as you get and it only takes 25 minutes to get into the city and back.”

And for people who may occasionally wish to travel to San José to see the big city or to go shopping in Escazu, that’s only about an hour away.

Gary adds that: “What did it for us is the beauty of some of the houses that we stayed in as rentals and the quality of construction that we saw here.”

Debra says: “We did a due diligence trip down and that gave us the down and dirty of things, a real eye-opening experience…”

“We compared this community to others and hands above it was definitely worth coming and taking another look… and that point in time we decided that this is where we wanted to live and spend the rest of our lives.”

“I love the serenity here, I love the fact that it’s gated, I feel secure but yet not so restricted there’s not that restriction that you find in the US in gated communities, it’s very natural it’s very beautiful, it’s very tranquil…”

Gary says: “The reason we chose to build in Costa Rica in Altos de Antigua was that we were able to turn over the complete project to a developer that we felt comfortable with…. When you come to Costa Rica there’s a lot of complexity involved in buying a lot, forming a corporation, taking everything from dirt to the actual building and that’s something that I don’t think anyone from the US understands until you appreciate how much complexity there is.”

“It is very convenient for us to have Altos de Antigua take the entire project, plan it, design it, get all the permitting and have all the building process happen.”

Debra “you could rest assured that this builder is going to make sure you have quality water running to your house, the electricity is sufficient and safe, the construction is sound.”

“After we got the answers we did, we felt very confident to come and live here.”

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.