The landscape is bucolic and peaceful, with tremendous views of forested river valleys, green-covered hills and mountains, with the red rooftops of villages in the distance. It’s not a bad place to retire…to reinvent yourself in a new country.
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You wake up each morning for your daily walk on the beach. It’s flat, a long curve that runs for two-and-a-half miles, ending on either end in tree-covered cliffs. Your condo is just two blocks or so away. You’re renting, trying out the community before you commit to buying a property. It’s a one-bedroom condo in a gated complex, a nice mix of friendly expats and locals who congregate in the pool. You pay $500 a month during “low” season December through February and $700 the rest of the year. It’s fully furnished. A similar unit to this one with two bedrooms—in another part of the community—is listed for sale at $62,000.
For many years, Kathleen Evans and Steve Spada knew they wanted to live and retire abroad. So, they spent their free time researching locations, dreaming about the move, and even looking at real estate abroad. “Even before the internet,” Kathleen says, “we were subscribed to International Living and looking at properties when traveling overseas.” A few years ago, the couple got serious about selling their home in Austin and making a move. Kathleen had had enough of the rush and stress of the workaday life.
I'm moving! The owners of the house I was renting in Grecia, a wonderful little town in the Central Valley, are finally ready to leave Texas and enjoy their retirement dream home permanently, so it's time for us to go. My wife and I decided to make a big change and go back to Tamarindo, a small beach town on the northern Pacific coast. We lived there briefly two years ago and loved it. (I'll tell you more about Tamarindo, a very popular expat spot, in an upcoming monthly note.)
In 2008, when my husband Paul and I first started talking about the possibility of retiring overseas, we really only considered two countries: Mexico and Costa Rica. I often wonder why we didn't consider more countries at the time; there are so many great options. At the time, though, we only thought of countries where we'd had some personal experience. First up was Mexico. Paul lived and went to college there in the '70s and has always had a love for both the country and its culture, so it was natural that Mexico was on our short list. I had visited Costa Rica on a business trip in the '90s and remembered it as a beautiful country that I always wanted to visit again.
I speak Spanish and that's made life in Costa Rica much richer. I have great conversations with taxi drivers, shopkeepers, and neighbors—not to mention getting around the bank or government offices is easy.
On my last trip back to visit family in the U.S., I was somewhat taken aback by the lack of civility. Surly store clerks, rude fellow diners at restaurants...let's not even go into the behavior of people behind the wheel! In fact, after living in Costa Rica for several years, you could say I experienced culture shock visiting my home country. You see, in Costa Rica politeness and respect is very important. It's a way of life and I quite enjoy the little rituals that go with it.
Within a month of arriving in Costa Rica to live, my wife and I had discovered that we could enjoy one of our favorite Sunday traditions: brunch. Just down the road from our home in Grecia was Atenas, and the famous (at least among local expats) Kay's Gringo Postres. There were heaping helpings of French toast, bacon, biscuits and gravy (I've never seen them anywhere else in Costa Rica)...and never-ending coffee...for $10 each. As we enjoyed these traditional American favorites, we met a dozen or so local expats, mostly retirees but also families and young couples. The more experienced were eager to pass on advice about renting a home or buying a car and to share contact information for great contactors and service providers like mechanics and plumbers. You know, the really important stuff you need to know when you move to a new place. Personal recommendations go a long way.
January is traditionally a time to make resolutions. As somebody who's serious about making a move abroad, one of your goals for this year might be to buckle down and research places to live in Costa Rica (and elsewhere). You might even be planning a scouting trip.