Note from Scott Oliver: Well I’m 54 years old and I am going to start paying more attention to the advice that I have always given our VIP Members.

After a couple of ‘health scares’ in the past two years – even though I have always eaten healthily and exercised regularly – my wife and will be taking a lot more vacations this year. In fact, aas you can see from the photographs embedded in this article, we’re on vacation celebrating Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Antigua, Guatemala at the moment visiting her family…

So I hope you enjoy the following, very powerful article by VIP Member Laurice Albert ….

“Cuando, cuando, cuando,” goes the old song! If you are old enough to remember the refrain you will probably relate also to the question WHEN is the right time to retire?

If not now, then when?




The WHEN is different for everyone of us. For my husband & I the “Ah Hah” moment came when we lost three close colleagues in my office in Canada, all in one year. They were too young to die, but they did! at 57, 60 and 61 yrs.




Right “WHEN” they should have been anticipating retirement.

We were fortunate to have already purchased our piece of paradise in a little known village in the southern zone in December 2001.




We found Scott Oliver’s wonderful WeLoveCostaRica.com website and absolute devoured the information therein. What insight he was to give us over the intervening years until we finally recognized the irony of: “If not now, then when?”




When indeed!




I loved my job of 20+ years as a real estate broker and international relocation specialist however, I did not want that to be how my life ended. My husband, a chemist, was just 58 years old when we came down to build our gorgeous villa on Tortuga Ridge, 230 feet above the Pacific Ocean …

A little too young to actually retire but we figured Costa Rica is inexpensive to live compared to some parts of Canada, so we bit the bullet and came down January 2007.




We laid out the best plans, don’t we all! We sold the home we lived in and because we felt we were doing this three years earlier than we had planned, we “knew” we had enough to build and live until other monies kicked in.




Ooops! In February 2007 our financial advisor sent the first of numerous emails announcing a slight slide.., in what we now know was the global downturn in the economy.

I wasn’t too worried after all I was already building my dream villa and had a Canadian Builder to boot… Which made me feel secure, at least he spoke the same language.




Then China began to build, and build for the Olympics and build they did, taking up most of the world’s supply of the same building materials we needed in Costa Rica. Concrete blocks, cement, re-bars. My builder’s costs went up and so did mine. The saving grace was we were in the villa within 6 months. No kidding!




So, back to the question of “If not now, then when?”




When is the right time for YOU?

Write down your goals for the next 1-5 years, for the next 6-10 years. Where do you expect to be personally, financially, globally living? Are your dreams really goals you are committed to? Or just wishful thinking?




This is important in saving you and your advisors this end both time and money. Do your scouting on line first. Sign up for Scott’s WeLoveCostaRica.com site like we did and take advantage of all the fabulous articles he has put together along with well recommended people he knows personally.

An international living magazine recently referred to our area as the best kept secret in Costa Rica, Ojochal in the southern zone, once difficult to get to and now opened up due to the connecting roads. Here’s what they had to say in their December 2009 issue.




“Prices have stayed low in Costa Rica’s Southern zone because it’s difficult to get to. That’s set to change.”




Truth is this area already had the best road in Costa Rica back in 2002 along the Costanera but only the portion south of Dominical to the Panamanian border, the roads north to connect up to existing development were in really poor shape, read that “terrible.” Hence one had to fly in.

After one night driving expedition where we following the other vehicles in a zig-zag, from one side of the road to the other, we read a very timely joke the very next morning: What is the definition of a drunk in Costa Rica? One who drives in a straight line! Such was the state of the roads. Not anymore…




If you are seriously looking at either retirement or opening a business here in Costa Rica, don’t be like everyone else, waiting until the market has risen out of line with your financial capabilities. Act now!

Follow your star and chart your own course. Your friends back home in Europe, Canada or USA may think you crazy…, but only until they see what you have found.




What can I say? The location here in Costa Rica is fabulous and the only time to live is in the present. Especially if you have your personal WHEN figured out.









So, ask yourself.., “If not now, then when?”

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Written by Premium VIP Member Laurice Albert.

If you have ever dreamed of living in a place that’s as close to a tropical paradise as you can find … Please contact our Recommended Costa Rica Realtors Daveed Hollander, John Wieland and James Drews in Dominical in the Southern Pacific area, by using the simple form below:

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.