Health Care Costs Don’t Concern You
If you are healthy or covered by an affordable health care plan, moving to a country with socialized medicine won’t have an impact on your decision. It’s not free for expats, but access to the Costa Rica health care is very affordable, often less than $100 per month for complete coverage. Yes, there are long wait lists for non-emergency medical treatments. Costa Rica doctors are for the most part, U.S. trained. Outside of San Jose, the hospitals and clinics can be lacking the most basic diagnostic tools. Want a name-brand drug? Probably aren’t going to get it unless you opt to pay for it out-of-pocket.
You Have Lived in the Same Place Forever
You won’t do well adapting to new people and their customs. Think about a person from a big city in the Northeast moving to a small town in the deep south. Language barrier and all. The culture shock can be as drastic.
Many Ticos speak English, especially those that make a living dealing with Gringos. But the teller in the bank probably won’t. Your car mechanic probably won’t. The taxi driver probably won’t. If you don’t learn the language, life in Costa Rica will be much tougher.
Tico Time is another adjustment for many. Type A personalities won’t do well here because the pace is very, very slow.
You Are a Conspicuous Consumer
If you drive a nice shiny late model car and your significant other drives a nice shiny late model car and you have a pickup truck too, it’s going to be difficult for you in Costa Rica. Duties on cars range from 50-80% of the MSRP. That means cars are very expensive – even used ones. Duties on other imports are very high also. If you need the latest version iPhone, it may not even be available in Costa Rica for a year after launch in the states.
You Enjoy Cooking and Fine Dining
Gourmet cooks will be very frustrated upon moving to Costa Rica. After all, the main dish served everywhere is chicken and rice (or some variation.) Pork is plentiful but tough and beef is hard to find and very tough. Fish is variable depending on where you are located in relation to the coasts. But the ocean waters are not very clean and most fish is for export. Other ingredients for the chef can be impossible to find. Spices and cheeses and cooking wines are very scarce.
Fine dining in a restaurant is limited to the resort areas catering to the tourist or San Jose. Otherwise, forget it.
So if you’re thinking about retiring in Costa Rica and none of the above caveats apply to you, make the move. Just know that your life will be much simpler – or much more complicated – depending on what you want and need in retirement.
Above all, the advice is to know yourself – and your significant other if there is one. And communicate what is really important to you before you make the commitment to Costa Rica.
Click for other information about Costa Rica.
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Thanks for sharing your unvarnished and honest perspective of Costa Rica. It is rural with a small town feel in many areas, which doesn't work for everybody. And you can enjoy a simple life with relatively low income. That said, as you noted, it's not for everybody.
I find being a gourmet cook in Costa Rica as easy as cooking well in Alaska. You may not have everything in the world, but there are enough raw ingredients to make great food. I haven't found tough pork there and coasts are close when looking for seafood.
@robert: thanks for your comment. You are probably right - an excellent gourmet cook thrives on taking the local ingredients and making a fine meal. However, one of the things expats talk a lot about is finding spices and other ingredients that aren't readily available at the local market.
Vacationing in Costa Rica 3/25- 4/1, happen to be retiring (husband) immediately on returning to states. Flying into Liberia and staying at the Westin Playa Conchal. Any suggestions for us on things to experience in this Westin area. We live in Texas now and would love a less materialistic lifestyle.
@Janet: don't know anything about that area... have never been there. If you are seriously considering retiring in Costa Rica, you need to get away from tourist areas. It is a whole different experience (better.) Check the blogs on my site for a nice cross section from people who live here.
Have a great time.
I am surprised by the comment that the Costa Rican ocean "waters are not very clean." What comparison is being made here? I can't imagine that their waters (besides Jaco, of course) even approximate the problems that exist with ocean pollution everywhere that people live in the world today. And because fishing is done off-shore, I am not too sure that even San Jose's runoff toward Jaco is going to make for a bad situation. One of the reasons I want to visit Costa Rica is to experience a beautiful ocean. My research hasn't turned up any issues besides what is expected. I think if this were an article about southern California, then I would include a warning to check which beaches you end up at... What am I missing? Is this even accurate?
Re: dirty ocean... The waters *look* dirty for the most part. Of course there are pristine looking waters, but I'll stand by my unscientific personal opinion that Costa Rica waters are dirty. Thanks for the comment.
Since this site was created the cost of electrical power in Costa Rica has increased dramatically, and is increasing another 16% in the near future.
Many expats who cannot live in a hot climate without AC have moved back to the states, the $500. per month for electrical power was just too much for their budget. Groceries cost about the same as in the states, and the selection is far less. There is no eatable beef here, it's like rubber, but the chicken is very good. Fruits and vegetables are less expensive than in the states. The cost of a car or anything imported is outrageously high, the government here imposes very high import taxes. We rarely hear of violent crime here, but petty theft is ramped. We live in a gated community with an armed guard, and we have bars on all of our windows and doors. It's dark at 6pm and we can't go outside the development gate at night. If the muggers don't get you the drunk drivers will. The locals are friendly but many of them are lazy, which is why they import migrant workers from Nicaragua. Some Ticos will claim they need food but they'd never consider planting a fruit tree in their back yard. Even if they had a fruit tree they wouldn't take the time to even water it. Home prices here are way out of line, they sell for almost double what they are worth, as you must take into consideration that the men who build homes down here earn as little as $4. per hour. The Gringos have destroyed the real estate market down here.
Hi John,
You state "many" expats are moving out of CR... without any attribution to back up your claim. I know personally of a Canadian who moved back and also a Kentuckian that moved in.
You are correct that the cost of living here is increasing rapidly. We chose to live in an area that didn't require a/c for that reason. Our last electric bill was USD$120. Fridge, electronics, washer, dryer (sometimes), four ceiling fans.
I agree about the beef - and would add pork and chicken to the list. It's all tough in my opinion.
Agree on the food prices/selection
Petty theft is not rampant in our area. I imagine living close to the tourist areas you would find a much more undesirable element. Something to consider for sure.
I think lazy is prejorative and unfair to categorize an entire nation on your feelings.
Home prices are of course VERY subjective anywhere in the world.
Thanks for commenting.
I am fortunate enough to have visited Costa Rica in 1999 and again in 2006. Friends retired to San Jose c. 2005 and have found it a mixed bag, pretty much like most other places (mixed bag-wise, I mean). It's sad that the influx of Americans with their almighty dollars has changed the country so much. I noticed that the food in restaurants improved markedly between '99 and '06. In the latter trip I was traveling with vegetarian - pescatarians. We cooked our own meals most of the time, and the quality of the produce was fine. Admittedly, we brought our own spices with us! We stayed on the Nicoya Peninsula and our dinners out featured excellent fresh fish. It's a beautiful country with its own unique culture and of course, many wonderful people. Too bad it appears that Americans may be ruining it... but still, I hope to go back at least one more time and see for myself.