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Is retirement in CR really affordable for a couple living on Social Security?
How hard is it to find transportation if you are living in the central part of the area?
You’re asking two questions which have been covered on this site extensively…
The answers in short are:
1. There are thousands of Americans happily living here on their SS income, can you? Only you will be able to answer that …
2. The public transportation system here – especially in the Central Valley – is by bus, it is extensive and extremely affordable…
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Does that help?
Scott
[quote=”debhill01″]Is retirement in CR really affordable for a couple living on Social Security?
How hard is it to find transportation if you are living in the central part of the area?[/quote]
It depends on how much you get in Social Security and how much you spend, just like everywhere else.
Transportation by bus is as near as the nearest bus stop. That could bevright outside your front door or quite a ways away. It depends on where you live.
You would need to have a ‘fund’ set aside for emergencies, such as medical costs as [i]everything[/i] is not covered.
Housing costs vary, as mentioned above.costaricafinca makes a good point above about having an emergency fund, but that theme bears expanding upon.
While whether or not you can [u]live[/u] here on your Social Security depends on many factors, whether or not you can [u]move[/u] here is another very important consideration. Anyone who comes to Costa Rica expecting to stay will be faced with a host of mostly one-time costs that will add up to a substantial sum.
Those include at least the airfare to get here, making a run to Panama or Nicaragua to obtain a new tourist visa until your residency application is accepted by Immigration, bringing all or some of your personal possessions, finding and buying the household goods you didn’t bring but still need, obtaining the documentation required for a residency application, engaging an attorney to process that application, obtaining driver’s licenses, paying for medical care while your residency application is pending, paying for medical care that’s not available through the CAJA once you are enrolled in it, putting a security deposit on a rental home (maybe), buying and insuring a car (maybe), and a host of other “getting settled” expenses.
These are not trivial expenses that, for the most part, cannot be avoided.
The first three responses are dead on. You may choose to do as I am doing (not there yet) and spend a considerable amount of time archiving on this site, establishing contacts and examining, from afar, all the optionis CR has to offer. Then if you visit and love it, do what almost EVERYONE that has expatted to CR says to do, which is live somewhere for 6 months and let CR speak to you. Keep in mind (as I remind myself) that you stand no chance of changing the country any more than you would in the USA, or any other country. Dig deep, googlemap, establish contact with realtors, do a lot of due diligence ahead of time. Know what, this is fun! I have learned much and cannot wait to get boots on the ground so I can unlearn, unload any preconceived notions and relearn.
Then for a real kick, tell your friends what you are thinking about doing. I put a sign up in my business about my retiring and of course everyone wants to know what I am going to do. I tell them I am taking Costa Rica out for a test drive and if we like the ride, we may choose to stay. Two things have happened: (1) I never knew how many people I know have been to Costa Rica and (2) I have yet to get any negative feedback. Mostly they urge me on and ask, “why are you still here??
Anyway, have fun, make it a quest, due a lot of due diligence and set up your test ride. It becomes a lot more interesting after you have paid for your airline tickets!!
Enjoy.
Consider reading the informative blog, [url=http://the-ex-expat.com/]where an ex-pat returns ‘home'[/url] . Very well written.
I sent you a private message. In case you don’t know how to retrieve it (I didn’t know about it at first), your “Inbox” is above the blue “Message” line.
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