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My husband and I have both been laid off and–being close to retirement age but having lost most of our investments in the last few years—are considering a move to Costa Rica. I visited CR with a friend and her teenage daughter last summer. Loved the trip, but because I was traveling with people who had a tourist agenda, I had no real chance to explore areas we might like to live. Now my husband and I have booked flights for a two-week trip in January, so it’s time to get serious about how best to use our time.
In terms of relocating, the place that would probably suit us best has a mix of expats (to ease culture shock) and Ticos (so we can learn and participate in a different culture, society, and language). We have no interest in gated communities and vastly inflated gringo prices. We both want a mild climate where we don’t need AC, and I particularly like peaceful. attractive surroundings (for views, San Pedro de Poas was my favorite area when I was in CR last summer). My husband wants to be fairly near (within an hour of) shopping conveniences that provide more than the bare essentials. We also need high-speed Internet access. Finally, convenient access to good medical care will be important because my husband has some health issues that require monitoring.
Based on research I’ve done so far, areas that seem worth exploring include Heredia and environs, along with the San Ramon, Grecia, Sarchi, Zarcero, Naranjo area. Maybe Atenas. I’m also determined to visit the Orosi Valley on this trip, though I think it’s too rural for my husband to enjoy for more than a short visit. So I’m thinking we should stay for a few days in Heredia. Then perhaps we could use Naranjo (if it has any decent inexpensive places to stay) as a base for exploring San Ramon, Grecia, Sarchi and Zarcero. Then Atenas…Orosi…not sure.
Does the approach of staying in one place for a few days to explore each area make sense? Are there areas other than those noted above that we should consider? Is there a better way to conduct our on-the-ground research? If you’ve already made the move successfully, please share the approach that worked for you. And if you’re willing to get together while we’re in your area, please let us know—we’d love to pick your brain so we can learn about rental housing costs, pros/cons of each area, hidden gems and pitfalls, etc.
Thank you so much for any info you can provide.
Best wishes,
Jonny[quote=”jonnyb”] I have booked flights for a two-week trip in January, so it’s time to get serious about how best to use our time.
Jonny[/quote]
Hi, We’re doing the same. (Retirement is 3 years away) Will be in Atenas as base 1/21 – 1/27. Staying at kinda-sorta B&B [url=http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37923?price=40]http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37923?price=40[/url] You’re no doubt on a fairly tight budget, so Airbnb.com may help you find a place. I also like the fact that we are staying with residents who can guide us and educate us
We’re heading to Jaco and Quepos for a couple days, then hooking up a private two day deal. (Not cheap, but we are gonna get our money’s worth! 8) This forum and Yahoo Groups have good info too.
We’re probably going to spend the rest of the time looking at property in and around Atenas (or not 😕 )
If we think we like CR and can afford it, we’ll probably return at least twice before I retire. Haven’t ruled out Panama yet – or Nicaragua.
“high speed internet” isn’t available in CR. Best I’ve heard is 1.5 mpbs. That’s why Panama is in our sites.
If you want to contact me off board, I’d love to compare notes with you before [b]and after[/b] our trips.
Let’s share!
It sounds like both of you have done a fair amount of homework and are approaching your possible relocation process carefully. That’s good.
I’ve been a fulltime resident of CR for over ten years and have always lived on the east side of San Jose: San Pedro, Curridabat, Tres Rios, etc. I now live in San Ramon de Tres Rios (not to be confused with San Ramon de Alejuela). I’m in a semi-rural area at about 4,800′ elevation so the climate is always cool and pleasant and we are never bothered by mosquitos, houseflies or other insect pests, which I like. It’s only a 15-20 minute drive to downtown San Jose and even closer to all major shopping, medical care, etc. I definitely recommend that you check the area out. Depending on your budget and climate preferences, you might consider Tres Rios, Coronado, Guadalupe, Moravia, Curridabat, Sabanilla, or any of several other possible locations.
Panama also offers some good alternatives but I’m no expert and won’t offer advice other than that I like the Boquete area, near David.
As for Nicaragua, that’s another story altogether. For me, it’s still too unstable (both economically and politically) and, more importantly, too unsafe. Personal safety and security are major issues in many areas of Central America and even though many ex-pats do choose to relocate to lesser-developed countries because the cost of living is lower, I don’t think the trade-off makes sense.
As for high-speed internet, my cable internet through Amnet isn’t up to USA standards but isn’t too bad either. I just ran a speed test to verify my exact download and upload speeds. I’m downloading at 3mb/s and uploading at .25m/s. That’s plenty fast enough for any normal application unless you’re a gamer or watch a lot of streaming video.
Good luck and best wishes to you both. The ex-pat lifestyle isn’t for everyone but was a great decision for me and I’d never consider living in the US again.
how fast do you want the internet? mine is fast enough to stream first-run movies from chile without a problem.
if nicaragua is still on your list, perhaps you haven’t been following the recent frontera dispute. it does not bode well for nicaragua or daniel ortega who is up for re-election in january. don’t think for one minute that the political climate of a latin america country will not affect you, or your money. right now laura chinchilla wants to bring the colon down to C400 to $1.00 — if that happens there will be many many many gringos who will not be able to afford to live here any longer, and it will keep a lot of them from coming in the first place, which is probably a good thing in the end. as it is, i know several people who are bailing because of the devaluation of the colon from the high 500’s to 505 or below. everything just got more expensive and it is only going to get worse. wherever you move, if there is a pocket of gringos, the cost of life will increase dramatically. i went to the local feria to buy food for thanksgiving. i wound up paying C1000/kilo for potatoes — that makes them about $1.00 a pound, 30% more than what i paid for organic potatoes in the states last month. eggs have doubled in price in the last 5 years. factory-produced eggs are now nearly $3.00 a kilo. i was buying organic free range eggs in the states for less than that, and now i buy all my eggs from a neighbor and they are still $2.40 a kilo, but at least they aren’t full or hormones and antibiotics. chicken, meat, and fish are all about the same price as stateside, unless you go to the docks and buy it fresh off the boats. do you speak spanish? if not, i’d start learning it now. otherwise your options are very limited. you will be relegated to only hanging out with other gringos, you’ll be at the mercy of shopkeepers who probably won’t speak any english, and there is no way you can immerse yourself in a latin culture without good language skills, which is what i thought living here was all about.
[quote=”maravilla”]how fast do you want the internet? mine is fast enough to stream first-run movies from chile without a problem.
if nicaragua is still on your list, perhaps you haven’t been following the recent frontera dispute. it does not bode well for nicaragua or daniel ortega who is up for re-election in january. don’t think for one minute that the political climate of a latin america country will not affect you, or your money. right now laura chinchilla wants to bring the colon down to C400 to $1.00 — if that happens there will be many many many gringos who will not be able to afford to live here any longer, and it will keep a lot of them from coming in the first place, which is probably a good thing in the end. as it is, i know several people who are bailing because of the devaluation of the colon from the high 500’s to 505 or below. everything just got more expensive and it is only going to get worse. wherever you move, if there is a pocket of gringos, the cost of life will increase dramatically. i went to the local feria to buy food for thanksgiving. i wound up paying C1000/kilo for potatoes — that makes them about $1.00 a pound, 30% more than what i paid for organic potatoes in the states last month. eggs have doubled in price in the last 5 years. factory-produced eggs are now nearly $3.00 a kilo. i was buying organic free range eggs in the states for less than that, and now i buy all my eggs from a neighbor and they are still $2.40 a kilo, but at least they aren’t full or hormones and antibiotics. chicken, meat, and fish are all about the same price as stateside, unless you go to the docks and buy it fresh off the boats. do you speak spanish? if not, i’d start learning it now. otherwise your options are very limited. you will be relegated to only hanging out with other gringos, you’ll be at the mercy of shopkeepers who probably won’t speak any english, and there is no way you can immerse yourself in a latin culture without good language skills, which is what i thought living here was all about.[/quote]
Damn!!! Sounds like you could live a whole lot cheaper in Detroit…:)
there will be a lot of places in the States that will be cheaper than here very soon. but i wouldn’t want to live in any of them — detroit especially! at least here we don’t have snow or ice. to live here and have a typical gringo lifestyle you will be paying through the nose, but for me the trade-offs are still worth it. if i hadn’t eschewed a typical gringo lifestyle decades ago, i could never have adjusted to this place as easily as i did. i can see very easily why a lot of people only last two years and then bail out. life here will definitely separate the girls from the women toute de suite!
Thank you all for the helpful info. I especially appreciate the info on upload/download speeds and locations on the east side of San Jose. I’ve heard good things about Hospital Catholica, so I’m delighted to learn about nice areas to live that aren’t too terribly far from there.
Are there other areas we should check out? I hear traffic is pretty bad in Heredia. We want to avoid areas where traffic is the worst, that’s for sure, but my husband doesn’t want to be so far out in the country that he couldn’t readily get to stores that sell more than the bare essentials.
Thanks again to all of you for the great information!
Best,
Jonnytraffic is a nightmare almost anywhere near the cities. even in san ramon it can be a nightmare, especially on the weekends. and the last time i went to Escazu, i swore i’d never drive there again. it’s easier to take a bus and walk around town than it is to drive and try and find a parking spot. you would have to be pretty far out in the sticks to not be close to a large supermarket. some of the hill towns have shopping malls where you can get all manner of stuff.
[quote=”maravilla”]how fast do you want the internet? mine is fast enough to stream first-run movies from chile without a problem.
do you speak spanish? [/quote]
Hi,
3 mbps is really frustratingly slow to me. But I’m spoiled and will adapt! Can you run a check at Speedtest.net and report your speed – but please pick a server in the U.S.Using Pimsleur for Spanish but understand that CR Spanish is different. How much so? I understand the greetings will be different and perhaps less formal? And I guess that kind of learning comes with immersion?
Thanks for your help.
how can i pick a server in the US when my server is in Costa Rica? i doubt you will find anything faster than 3 mbps in CR at least for the time being. and yes, CR spanish is a bit different that spanish spanish, but if you don’t speak it my telling you the differences won’t mean anything to you. for starters, the slang is different. the best thing to do is take spanish classes with a native speaker. those other programs are fine, but you will never actually learn the intricacies of the language, and that’s what’s really important. if you want things to be like they are in the States, you will be terribly disappointed here. it’s what usually sends the gringos fleeing back to the States in less than two years.
Alajuela is to me, one of the worst places to live and the traffic is awful…
Definitely not a tropical paradise…i couldn’t agree more. i love going to alajuela to shop in the central market, go to the bookstore, then get the heck out of there. there are just too many cars and roads that are too narrow to accomodate them. but the central market is worth the hassle.
Speedtest will let you choose your server. Go to Settings.
That said, I’m curious why you’d want to run Speedtest on a U.S. server if you’re going to be accessing the Internet from Costa Rica. Wouldn’t it make better sense to use San Jose?
maravilla, what can you get at Alajuela’s central market that you cannot get elsewhere? I’m just curious.
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