Retiring Six Months Or Full Time?

[Collin]

Hi folks, help!!
            I'm from Canada trying to convince a somewhat reluctant partner that it would be a good idea to buy a small two bed property and spend 6months from October to end of March in Costa Rica, rather than Mexico. Her questions that I can't answer :-

            Do most people fly down and keep a car there? How do you get from the airport to your home? What is medical care like. Could we find a North American community there, within easy travel to the airport. The community and neighborhood would need to be a 'Retirement community touristy area'.

            We have no great desire to live in a fabulous home in a wealthy neighborhood, or to be on the beach or stuck on a lonely hilltop with a fantastic view. We're far from movie stars, we're just friendly folks, who like walks, swimming, shopping, and most of all dinning out with good friends. In or near town would suit us better. We need to attract relations to come and visit from VERY far away so living within reasonable travel of a holiday resort or beach is important too.

            We are interested in a holiday village type community, of similar retireees. Near shops and friendly people. Idealy with community activities. Perhaps you get the picture?
            I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks folks for reading this far. BFN   Collin and Sandra Hunte

[Russ]

Welcome to the forum Collin and Sandra Hunte!
Those are great questions and I hope we can fill you in with the right answers.  I think you are wise to consider Costa Rica vs. Mexico and I think Costa Rica has the edge, especially as you learn the language and get settled in.
 

Do most people fly down and keep a car there? How do you get from the airport to your home?

That's hard to answer, because it's probably mixed.  If you live in a gated community that has on site management, you could probably store a car for 6 months with no worries.  Some people probably wouldn't want to bother with the mechanics of storing the car for that long or they don't want to worry about it, so they probably don't bother with a car and use public transportation. (which is very good in most areas by the way)  In the end it will probably depend on how accessible the property you choose and on your personal preferences. This applies to the airport question too.  Some gated communities would offer pick up and a lot of people rely on friends and neighbors.  If you are in a more remote location you may end up renting a car or paying a private transfer service.  I believe some beach communities have established airport transfer services that are informal (unlicensed).

What is medical care like?

In San JoséThere are well established private hospitals that offer world class medical care.  The public health care system is a universal system.  The biggest problem is the red tape and getting in to see the doctor or getting  medication.  My experience has been that the doctors and nurses are very competent once they actually treat you.

We are interested in a holiday village type community...

Recently a number of successful communities have been developed in Costa Rica, as opposed to 5 or 10 years ago when there were almost none worth purchasing land in. From what you describe, I think that you would be interested in the Jacó Beach area.  Resort Communities near Jacó From there you can find out more about that area and contact Ronald.

Another good option would be to look at condominium properties that offer a rental pool.  This is where you can live in the condominium as long as you like, but you can also turn it over on specified dates for vacation rentals.  In your case you would occupy during 6 months the condominium and allow it to be rented for the other 6 months.  The on site management would take care of all the maintenance and rental duties in exchange for a commission that varies from community to community.  The advantage is that you can earn money on your investment while you are away and you also are able to use the condominium when you wish.  In Tamarindo Beach and Langosta are some complexes and communities that offer this option. See the ABC website for details: ABC Real Estate Tamarindo
 
Have fun in the sun and please come back with more questions!

[Robert]

My wife Ellen and I are looking to relocate in Costa Rica.  Like Colin and Sandra we are also Canadian and are interested in finding the right situation around the right people.  Our goal is 10 or 11 month residency.  What can people tell me about importing our furniture and other goods?  Obviously we would be ‘downsizing’ but I don’t think I could live anywhere without satellite television and a big screen during the hockey season…  We have a modern centre beam cedar bungalow which is furnished in my wife’s ‘traditional’ taste.   I suspect that most of our furniture would not be appropriate for the tropical climate, however, I suspect local builders would be prohibitively expensive.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Russ]

Hi Robert, welcome aboard!

Satellite TV
My experience is with DirecTV, and I personally don't like them very much, but that's another story.  Since I am too far out for cable, I am stuck with them.    I think you would have a hard time during Hockey season, since most of the matches are shown on ESPN2 in Spanish. This is an oversight from ESPN, since the games shown on ESPN's main channel have alternate audio.  In any case, I'm pretty sure you are going to need a satellite dish that picks up (or pirates?) North American signals in order to get hockey in English, even if you are in an area that has digital cable.  There are some local firms that sometimes advertise in the Tico Times print edition. The Tico Times You might do better in Canada in this case, so be sure to check out your local suppliers or satellite services.

Big Screen TV
Consumer Electronics are much cheaper now that they were before, but still not as low cost as in the US or in duty free Panama.  You can see the pros and cons here of bringing your own big screen down, my personal preference would be to buy locally, since this is something that could break in transit and also you would want a good guarantee.   Importing Household Goods

Furniture
I don't have much experience with furniture prices up north, probably some of the realtors can help you compare better, based on client experiences, but my general impression is that you can find pretty good furniture here at very fair prices.  There are a lot of local makers and the Colonial - Old Mexico style is very popular.  The prices vary according to reputation and market, but you can find a lot of small local shops that do really good work at fair prices.  Sarchi also has a good reputation for wood furniture with very high quality and decent prices.  On the higher end there are many retailers that import great furniture from all over the world with prices ranging from high to very expensive.