retired early; moved abroad; living on less than $500/month

[rt-texas]

It's been a bit strange I have to admit during covid times to be in another country with a different primary language. But in some ways I think it has helped not being in the US. Since everything is different here anyway it's just part of the mix.

This was just the first real stop of traveling round the world with 2-3 months in different locations. So, like everyone else, we've adapted. There are a hell of a lot worse places to ride something like this out.

Hoping by this time next year we can continue on with the travel. But we like Costa Rica as a new base to be from for awhile.

[FIREarly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happyhere i left the US at 57; decided i could live on a small amount of savings until age 62. needed a new country to live in on future SS payments of $1500/mo. I sold all i had, came to Costa Rica... and it was/is the best decision i ever made. i own a house, live in a rural area, garden all day... and spend less than $500 a month (including healthcare and utilities). And i hear it's even less expensive in some other countries; but i think this is paradise. ask me questions if you are curious...

Oh wow, amazing and congratulations!

I visited Panama City in school and we took a day-trip to the jungle in Costa Rica... saw wild monkeys! Stopped for the MOST AMAZING bread at some rinky dink stop along the way. Think it was .50 a loaf and so unbelievable. On the other end of the spectrum, at an outdoor eatery type stop, I tried some beef stew looking item and it was so slimy. The bus drive came over and said, "do you know what you're eating?" "No" "That's tripe." (cow's stomach) That was the end of that FOREVER!

Long story about me, back to your amazing story. Heard Costa Rica has one of the longest lifespans and no military. Imagine they have amazing culture too. If you look up Short-term Rental University (STRU) on YouTube, the vlogger, Richard Fertig, has a STR in Costa Rica that was not making much money due to the restrictions with tourists visiting and he was staying there.

Questions:
1. Is the weather near perfect temperature year round?
2. Is there a rain season?
3. What other countries did you research before moving to Costa Rica and, besides CR winning, what other places almost won?
4. How is the expat application process for CR? What is required?
5. How good is the healthcare/medical in CR? (heard great things about Portugal and Australia... now CR)
6. How are you staying in touch with family/friends and possibly seeing them? (beyond/pre COVID restrictions)
7. How much Spanish do you know when you arrived and now?

Thank you for reading my abbreviated CR... writing Costa Rica was a lot of work and felt the abbreviation was helpful

[harllee]

happyhere, thanks so much for posting this, I am really enjoying your story. What about making friends? Did you have any trouble making friends and meeting people when you got there? Did you already know people in CR? I assume you are not married. Do you ever date anyone there?

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by texasdiver FYI, my wife is Chilean and we visit Chile every year or so. Her family and extended family own a lot of property in Chile. We are contemplating retiring in Chile but I would absolutely NOT recommend it as a cheap place to retire. There is a LOT of hidden wealth in Chile, it is more European or American in the level of affluence compared to Central America so property values are high and the cost of living is roughly comparable to coastal US outside of say California. At least the nice places where you'd want to live. it is a very nice country but no cheaper than the US.

I have been to many South American countries. Chile is far and away my favorite. I was especially fond of Valparaiso.

[kgtest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by happyhere i left the US at 57; decided i could live on a small amount of savings until age 62. ask me questions if you are curious...

Do you ever travel off island? How much is a gallon of milk? Gas?

[melijov]

All you story is very inspiring. I am planning to retire in Costa Rica next year with my wife. I would love to hear more on what steps I need to take to make it happen. Your lifestyle in Costa Rica really appeals to us. Any recommendations on what to do and not to do will be really appreciated. I do speak Spanish, and my wife as well.

I would really love to hear more stories. Kind regards, Vlad

[happyhere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREarly Oh wow, amazing and congratulations! I visited Panama City in school and we took a day-trip to the jungle in Costa Rica... saw wild monkeys! Stopped for the MOST AMAZING bread at some rinky dink stop along the way. Think it was .50 a loaf and so unbelievable. On the other end of the spectrum, at an outdoor eatery type stop, I tried some beef stew looking item and it was so slimy. The bus drive came over and said, "do you know what you're eating?" "No" "That's tripe." (cow's stomach) That was the end of that FOREVER! Long story about me, back to your amazing story. Heard Costa Rica has one of the longest lifespans and no military. Imagine they have amazing culture too. If you look up Short-term Rental University (STRU) on YouTube, the vlogger, Richard Fertig, has a STR in Costa Rica that was not making much money due to the restrictions with tourists visiting and he was staying there. Questions: 1. Is the weather near perfect temperature year round? 2. Is there a rain season? 3. What other countries did you research before moving to Costa Rica and, besides CR winning, what other places almost won? 4. How is the expat application process for CR? What is required? 5. How good is the healthcare/medical in CR? (heard great things about Portugal and Australia... now CR) 6. How are you staying in touch with family/friends and possibly seeing them? (beyond/pre COVID restrictions) 7. How much Spanish do you know when you arrived and now? Thank you for reading my abbreviated CR... writing Costa Rica was a lot of work and felt the abbreviation was helpful

Hello FIREarly.
sorry to reply late... i am finding that 'retired?' life is really busy.
i shall attempt to answer your Q's...

1) weather: It's tropical. i am on the east flank of some mountains at the edge of a valley. never below 70F, and rarely over 90F. it's humid a lot.. but i am used to it already. There is actually a lot of breeze and some days during the 'dry' season (summer) can be very windy. I have lost some banana and plantain plants to the wind. I know that the higher elev. you live, the cooler it can be... and probably hotter near the carribean. I came from Philadelphia and the summers are hotter 'up' there than they are here. Honestly, i don't think I've worn long pants or a shirt with sleeves (or any shirt at all) for over a year. But i do wear tall rubber boots a lot. kind of goofy, but i am in a farming village and everybody wears them not just for the mud, but to keep bugs and scratchy/sharp things from your legs. I garden a lot. Otherwise, sandals and sneakers.

2) Rain!!! yes!!!!! lots. where i am, rainy season (they call it winter) is from May thru... Nov/Dec.? but it can last into Jan as it did this year. The dry season (they call it summer?) is from Jan till end of April early May. The temps don't change that much season to season. 12 hours of sunlight almost every day all year... but i think the days are a little longer in May-July. Sun up between 5-5:30a.m. goes down between 5-6 p.m. depending on the month.
Note: it doesn't rain all day, every day, during the rainy season. It can... but most times it is dry until 2 or 3 pm... then downpours that really can cool things off. The rain also makes things 'clean' and of course... it is very very very Green here. you can stick a stick in the ground and it will grow 'something'. But the rain is intense... i have seen it rain for over 40 hours and it can easily rain 5-6 inches + in a day. I enjoy falling asleep to the sound of the rain on the metal roof.

3) other Countries: i first went to Nicaragua, got an apartment, and started to hunt for a property to buy. It was a wonderful place, the people were very kind and helpful (lots of english speaking people) and it was incredibly inexpensive. example: house on 2-3 acres with mature fruit trees... etc. can be less than $40K. (rural) but there was a socio-political issue that disrupted life for all Nicaraguans in spring of 2018 and i had to leave as things were going 'boom' in the night. I will return there someday to visit as i made good, fast friends.
My list included Morocco, Croatia, Bulgaria, Paraguay, Ecuador, Guatemala and Colombia. I really like Colombia and it is surprisingly safe since their conflict ended. Bogota had a great vibe and great art scene. I have been to all the other places except Paraguay, but i read a lot about the city of Asuncion... it sounded like the more affordable and smaller version of Buenos Aires. But i am here. San Jose is only a 3 hour flight to Miami/4 hours to Charlotte... so it is actually as close to the east coast of the US as Seattle is.

4) Process. it depends on you. I started the 'rentista' residency application process immediately. Its for people that don't have a pension yet. it wasn't too difficult and i used a service because i was already here. The service had a person in the US to do the legwork up there (FBI checks, etc.) and they had a person here who took me thru the finger-printing and legal processes. Less than a day. Until the application is considered 'accepted' for processing... you have to leave every 90 days. You can go by road/bus to Nicaragua or Panama... or you can fly somewhere. Once my application was officially being 'processed' i didn't have to leave. Once it was 'approved' (about 9 months later) ... i got my Costa Rican ID and joined (mandatory for the ID) the 'caja' which is the national health care system. I have used it and it is ok. I actually had retina and cataract surgeries here... excellent doctors.
After 2 years, i will apply for Permanent Residency. There are financial requirements for all of this stuff... but not steep at all. I am still a US citizen and always will be.

5) as i said above... the healthcare is fine. I have to pay roughly $200 a month as a foreigner (the locals pay a fraction of that) I am not a 'run to the doctor' kind of person. There are private clinics that are quite popular and not too pricey if you don't want to wait in line at your local clinic.
(i had an EKG at a cardiologists office... it was about $60) i used a lawyer to help me opt 'out' of the pension plan here as I don't need it. It saved me, as a foreigner, about $200 a month. his legal fees were less than $100 and he was a really nice guy.

6) communications: They're pretty much the same here as they are in the rest of the world. Email, 'whatsapp', etc. whatsapp is the #1 way that people here communicate via phone for talking, texting, video chats, fotos, etc. There is no 'phone' bill. You buy a phone and pay an initial 'purchase' fee to join a service provider. After that, no bills. it's a one-time payment. You have to add minutes to your phone and can do that almost anywhere. It's very cheap. I put about $20 in minutes on my phone in Nov. of 2019 and i still have time left. !!! That was more than 18 months ago. But i don't call people much... mostly texts. Most smart phones already have 'whatsapp' on them. i have wifi at my house... it is about $30 a month. no cable yet, i don't really use TV.

7) Spanish?? not much at first. I had a few semesters of Spanish in University... and I spoke enough Italian to live in Italy for a year... a long time ago. So that all helped a bit... and I studied on the free website, Duolingo, intensely before coming to central america and since i got here in 2018 i have lived in a tiny village where nobody speaks ANY english... except the little kids that learn to say ByeBye in school; and a french lady. So between Duo and full blown emersion... i am already conversational (somewhat) and can read, ask questions, etc. It sneaks up on you. Suddenly, you just start to understand and communicate. There is some frustration, but i am a grownup, i think. Google translate and other apps are very handy to have. i honestly think that learning English would be so much harder. Pronunciation is quite easy in Spanish once you know your vowels and such.
Note: because i live in a small village (150 people) and it's on a dead-end road... it is very social. I see many of the same people every day and we seem to have things to say. it seems isolated, but it's not. I got adopted by an abandoned dog when i first 'landed' and so walking Azel has it's advantages... i am not hiding at home. the neighbors share extra produce and such, and my left-over construction materials became a great way to make friends as people would say "hey, are you using that metal post?" we all sort of rely on each other and i have had to help dig yucca, carry heavy bunches of plantains, baby-sit some little rascals, cut the grass on the soccer field, and chase cows, horses, goats, dogs, etc. (usually out of my garden!).
Maybe i got lucky and found the ideal little niche. But i think it's more about me accepting everything 'Tico' and forgetting about any/all american expectations.

Get out there and try something new!!!!!!!!! sincerely, happyhere

[happyhere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee happyhere, thanks so much for posting this, I am really enjoying your story. What about making friends? Did you have any trouble making friends and meeting people when you got there? Did you already know people in CR? I assume you are not married. Do you ever date anyone there?

Making friends has been effortless, for the most part. You know, things just sort of fell into place. when hunting for property, i hired a cab driver from a nearby city to drive me to properties in this area. we are still friends to this day!! we had a great time and laughed a lot... he spoke no english, and i knew bits and pieces of Spanish. He was my go-to guy when i flew back and forth to the US to sell my house and then bring all that I could (on a plane) and my 3 cats and such.
when i found a property to buy (made an offer at the 'showing'), the owner immediately (that day!) hooked me up with some locals that could do some immediate work. They are now my neighbors/friends and i have used them for two good-sized projects. I think there may be at least 10 guys in the village who have worked here at one time or another... and i know their families and such. walking the dog 5x a day helps a lot to see people regularly and become part of the fabric of everyday life.
I didn't know anybody here, but a little humor breaks the ice rather quickly; regardless of language barriers.
I am a deliriously happy single person. Big city life in the US meant good friends; but insane work hours/job stress. I am a creative person and I don't know what 'boring' is. it's amazing how much of 'american' life is simply not needed nor important; nor does it 'exist' in other parts of the world. i think i shed a truckload of nonsense within my first 2 years of being here.
example: Mail. there is no mail here. it doesn't exist. the 'idea' of mail doesn't exist. I don't even have an address... my house has no number and my road has no name. Only my Property has a number.. but thats for tax purposes only. bills are electronic and everybody pays everything the first 10 days of the month... at the local store. no mail. You can use a private service (good luck!)... but no mail.
i don't date nor plan to here. that's all i'll say except that it is 'latin' america... wink, wink.

[happyhere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgtest Do you ever travel off island? How much is a gallon of milk? Gas?

Ahhhh... Costa Rica isn't an island. it's at the lower, narrow end of the Isthus of land that connects South America (at Colombia) to North America (at Mexico). we are between Panama (to our south) and Nicaragua (to our north)... to the west is the Pacific, and to the east is the Caribbean. It's fun to look at a map of the area... i actually live due north of the Galapagos Islands, and i actually live a little more 'south' than the northern most tip of Colombia... so there are people in Colombia that live further north, on the globe, than I do. who knew

i haven't bought a gallon of milk... a quart is about $1 ... i think??
not sure about gas; i don't and never will have a car here; i use public transport (busses). There are as many motorcycles as there are cars, so they are probably less to operate than a car... and walking and biking are Normal... even for distances of a few miles on mountainous roads.

[happyhere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by melijov All you story is very inspiring. I am planning to retire in Costa Rica next year with my wife. I would love to hear more on what steps I need to take to make it happen. Your lifestyle in Costa Rica really appeals to us. Any recommendations on what to do and not to do will be really appreciated. I do speak Spanish, and my wife as well. I would really love to hear more stories. Kind regards, Vlad

Hello Vlad;
Happy to share.
1st: I think that the most important 'recommendation' i can make is to put together a reasonably well thought-thru, List of things that are important to your lifestyle and needs; taking 'future' into consideration as non of us are lucky enough to be getting younger.
example: i wanted rural, but with a paved road and easy access to public transport (busses) to good sized towns/small cities for shopping/pharmacy/vet/etc. I didn't want to be around tourists or concentrations of expats/english speakers.
2nd: look all over the country, if you can, for a place that 'feels' right for you. i spent 10 days on a whirlwind adventure of looking at properties for sale in the far corners of CR... thinking that i would end up on the Nicoya Penninsula. Boy was i wrong. I saw a lot; but the places that 'visually' appealed to me were all going to be a challenge to live in as i got older. I didn't want to have a car or 4x4, nor did i want a trip to the nearest big town to be 3.5 hours on a muddy/rocky road. I ended up in a lush green valley edged with mountains full of rainforest/wildlife reserves, numerous rivers, creeks and streams, and just a couple hundred yards off a main highway that has busses to good sized cities and the craziness of La Fortuna & the majestic Arenal Volcano and lake. (fun to just go for the day and enjoy some pizza and cappuccino... and soak in natural hot springs)
My village is tiny, and the people around here are farmers for the most part. I learn so much from them... they really understand the land, the plants, the weather, the wildlife... and they are incredibly resourceful and capable and kind and generous; and funny!
3rd... when looking for real estate (maybe rent for a year first??... while you are looking around,) i suggest going to a not so fancy pants website called Encuentra 24... it is sort of like an old fashioned 'want-ads'. i found a ton of houses/properties on there... and prices for houses sold by local realtors were far less than those sold by the big realtors that you'll recognize as being 'american'. And... even more importantly; once you find an 'area' during your search that seems to fit your style, talk to the locals. There are MANY properties for sale that just aren't listed... and are better/bigger and cheaper than those on paper. the locals will tell you about them. I was told, by the man living in a house that i saw for sale, about a better property in the same village, and he called the owner, on the spot, to show it to me... i went, and fell in love, and made an offer within 15 minutes. I now call it home.
You already speak Spanish... so you're half way there buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pura Vida, Timoteo

[2HOTinPHX]

What about bugs....ack...don't like big flying or crawly ones....

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[happyhere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDPascale What about bugs....ack...don't like big flying or crawly ones.... Thanks for sharing your experience!

Yep. tons of bugs. There are giant ones that fly into the walls and windows of the house at night until they basically, kill themselves.
Not many flies, but lots of tiny moths; zillions of them.
Ants are the biggie. Tons of ants that bite bite bite. But their bite isn't as bad as the bite of a black widow spider, however, which you have a lot of up there in Arizona, right Oh, and the ants build 'mounds' in your yard and you have to either poison it, or flood it, or douse it with boiling water. It's a constant battle. But there are millions of birds and millions more lizards that do a really great job of eating the tons of bugs. And yes, the lizards are crawly...
It's a vicious cycle... but it's all a part of the beauty of tropical nature. the big bugs eat the little bugs. lizards eat the bugs, and the bigger birds eat the lizards and snakes and frogs that eat the bugs. round and round and round...

[happyhere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by melijov All you story is very inspiring. I am planning to retire in Costa Rica next year with my wife. I would love to hear more on what steps I need to take to make it happen. Your lifestyle in Costa Rica really appeals to us. Any recommendations on what to do and not to do will be really appreciated. I do speak Spanish, and my wife as well. I would really love to hear more stories. Kind regards, Vlad

Hey Vlad; forgot to say, if you have specific questions, I'm happy to fill you in on anything that i know or have already experienced. I do know now of a few things that i definitely would have done differently to make the move/transition easier.
i.e. things I would have done while still in the States before coming down here permanently.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but experience is a valuable asset that I'm happy to share.
t

[Finance Dave]

fascinating!

I studied Spanish in junior high school for 3 years...so I am definitely not fluent but somewhat conversational...just have a very limited vocabulary and I always tell people they must speak "muy despacio" or "una palabra a vez" and then often I can get the gist of what they are saying. I just need a lot more practice to be fluent.

What is the electrical supply there? 120V? Different plugs than US? What about the weather...can you describe the highs and lows of the seasons and how much rain?

Thanks!

[SecondCor521]

Spent a week in CR in summer 2006.

Two memories:

The best weather I have ever experienced was at a coffee plantation a bit north of San Jose at altitude. Cool, breezy, beautiful views. (And coffee!)

We were staying in San Jose but had a free day, and I chose to go to Manuel Antonio State Park I think it was over on the west coast. I looked into transportation options and decided to not take a personal taxi but to take the bus and make an adventure out of it. I don't remember the exact cost but it was something crazy like $2 for the three hour bus ride. I napped and just enjoyed listening to the Spanish around me and immersed myself.

[glax]

Great to read this thread. Love CR. Love the La Fortuna area. Spend a bunch of time whitewater kayaking around that area 20 years ago. We used to sneak into the Tabacon Hot springs after a day on the river. The Rio Toro is one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever been on.
Purchased some land in Nicaragua in 2015 for a for a future early retirement with my wife once our kids go off to college. We are still a few years away. We were getting ready to start building in 2018 and pumped the breaks. Started building in Jan of 2020, covid hit we and decided to keep building. House is finished and just spent a month there. Love it. We will be back and forth 3-5 times per year until we make the move in a few years.
So many great places and people throughout Central America. Pure and happy living. Great internet, clean water, safe, stress-free and the natural foods. I lost 10 pounds after being there for a month. Drank lots of beer, but I credit it to the non processed foods and maybe some extra sweat coming from Colorado.

Pura Vida!

[SmallCityDave]

Thanks for sharing!