{"id":34579,"date":"2020-05-04T08:06:05","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T12:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=34579"},"modified":"2021-04-19T11:24:30","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T16:24:30","slug":"retiring-in-costa-rica-all-the-reasons-you-should","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/retiring-in-costa-rica-all-the-reasons-you-should\/","title":{"rendered":"Retiring in Costa Rica: All the Reasons You Should"},"content":{"rendered":"

Retiring in Costa Rica: All the Reasons You Should<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the most recognizable countries in Central America, Costa Rica is best known for its rich natural landscape\u2014fun fact, \u201cCosta Rica\u201d literally means \u201crich coast\u201d!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Costa Rica paints a pretty picture: it has well-built roads, impressive medical care, and is known as <\/span>one of the safest places<\/span><\/a> in Central America. The education system is equally impressive, with a <\/span>high literacy rate<\/span><\/a> and an enviable public school system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this makes it the perfect place for you to take root after a lifetime of hard work. Need more convincing? Here are all the reasons you should retire in Costa Rica:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s Start at the Heart of it all: It\u2019s a Beautiful Country<\/b><\/h2>\n

Living your entire life working day and night to make sure that you and your family are never short of money is exhausting\u00a0 Most of your life during these years is spent on mundane money-making matters. You\u2019re stuck in a loop where all you\u2019re doing is going from home to work and from work to home. It leaves you longing for some peace and quiet; a respite from the grind.<\/span><\/p>\n

For most of us, that respite comes in the form of retirement. For most people, once they retire, they start thinking about the ideal place to live out the rest of their days. And that place is epitomized in Costa Rica.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With a topography and a climate as diverse as Costa Rica\u2019s, you could choose between living next to a rainforest or by the ocean.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s wish-fulfillment in a country; whatever your idyllic life looks like in your mind\u2019s eye, Costa Rica will have an area that reflects that.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Getting Residency, Buying Property\u2014The Basics<\/b><\/h2>\n

Foreigners are required to make an investment of about $200,000 for a temporary residency and are eligible to apply for a permanent residency after three years. Note than under said program, residents are required to reside in the country for a minimum of six months in a year. But that\u2019s hardly a hassle\u2014Costa Rica\u2019s pretty enough to keep you captivated for a lifetime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the filing and processing of the residency application, you\u2019ll need to get in touch with the <\/span>Costa Rican Department of Immigration<\/span><\/a> if you\u2019re already here\u2014such as if you\u2019re on a tourist visa. If not, visit the Costa Rican Consular office in your country and file a residency application. The fee for the application is around $50. Note that if you\u2019re already in Costa Rica, you\u2019ll be applying for a change of status, and an additional fee of about $200 will have to be paid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for more information, we’ve written extensively about residency options in Costa Rica\u2014you can read about them <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s Beyond Peaceful\u2014In Every Way Possible<\/b><\/h2>\n

Costa Rica is one of the very few countries in the world that <\/span>doesn\u2019t have any standing army<\/span><\/a>! In fact, the army that it did have was abolished more than 70 years ago. All that military budget was funnelled into the <\/span>country\u2019s education system<\/span><\/a>\u2014and it paid off big time; Costa Rica has one of the highest literacy rates in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re one of those people who finds that the world is a sad, sorry place that\u2019s rife with wars and infighting, pollution and global warming; the clean air of a land with no armies is a godsend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re worried about your health in your retired years, don\u2019t! Costa Rica also happens to have one of the <\/span>highest life expectancies<\/span><\/a> in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Cost\u2019a Costa Rica\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

One of the first things people are concerned about\u2014especially when it comes to the prospect of moving to a different place\u2014is the cost of living there. Here\u2019s the good news: Costa Rica is a relatively affordable country to live in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the cost of living anywhere will depend on your lifestyle, you\u2019ll need way less than $2,000\/month as a single person to live comfortably in Costa Rica. If you\u2019re a couple, you can get by with $3,000 very comfortably. And this will cover everything: from transport to medical bills and from housing to entertainment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also an abundance of homes that are similar to the homes back in North America while costing a lot less. You can\u2019t get a waterfront property anywhere in the U.S. <\/span>for $100,000<\/span><\/a>\u2014but you can in Costa Rica. Of course, that\u2019s only the starting rate\u2014but even if you consider bigger homes for bigger families, the prices are far more affordable than what they are in more affluent countries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s Pura Vida\u2014Pure Life<\/b><\/h2>\n

For those who don\u2019t know, \u201cPura Vida\u201d is a greeting in Costa Rica that\u2019s said when parting ways, and means \u201cpure life.\u201d As is probably evident by now, Costa Rica is all about nature\u2019s bounties with its diverse fauna and flora and the government\u2019s efforts to keep the essence of the country alive and thriving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Be it, tourists or residents, only the heartless won\u2019t be mesmerized by Costa Rica\u2019s enthralling natural beauty. And the government is serious about preservation too. Costa Rica has 28 national parks, 32 protected zones, 58 wildlife refuges, 15 wetland areas (such as mangroves), 19 forest and biological reserves, and that <\/span>isn\u2019t even all of it<\/span>. The country houses about <\/span>5% of all the world\u2019s animal species<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No wonder Costa Ricans\u2014or Ticos and Tacas as we call them\u2014are among the <\/span>happiest people in the world<\/span><\/a>!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ecotourism: One of the Many Secrets behind Costa Rica\u2019s Flourishing Economy<\/b><\/h2>\n

Many Americans mistakenly believe that Costa Rica lies within the United States. And when they realize that it doesn\u2019t, they wonder how it could have a thriving economy considering it isn\u2019t a technological or industrial hub.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spoiler, it\u2019s once again Costa Rica\u2019s arresting natural beauty that bolsters the many avenues locals have for business. Every year, <\/span>more than 1.7 million tourists<\/span><\/a> visit the country, and a majority of them are from North America. Just tourism earnings add $1.7 billion to the country\u2019s revenues, and almost 80% of all visitors to Costa Rica visit it for tourism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tourism, then, is the country\u2019s leading exchequer. And it isn\u2019t difficult to see why. With <\/span>four UNESCO World Heritage Sites<\/span><\/a>, a booming medical tourism industry, and a leading responsible tourism site in the world, Costa Rica keeps its economy clean and simple\u2014depending on good old Mother Nature to make things work.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Final Say<\/b><\/h2>\n

The first thing that struck me when I first saw Costa Rica was, naturally, the sheer natural beauty of the place. Its wildlife and plant habitats make it one of the most visually stunning and peaceful places in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Costa Rica\u2019s focus on education, health, and environment makes for a stable economy that\u2019s run on tourism dollars, promising an affordable, clean, and high quality of living.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have family living in the U.S. or Canada, Costa Rica isn\u2019t even that far. The country should definitely be on one of the top spots on your retirement list.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can find out more about moving to and living in Costa Rica in <\/span>this guide<\/span><\/a>\u2014the handbook is absolutely free.<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope you enjoyed reading: Retiring in Costa Rica: All the Reasons You Should. For more information on Costa Rica, please contact us HERE<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some amazing articles about Reasons to Retire in Costa Rica, I know you’ll really enjoy reading them:<\/strong><\/p>\n

8 Reasons to Retire to Costa Rica in 2020 <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Path to Costa Rican Nationality through Retirement <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Dive into Costa Rica\u2014A Cultural Guide to the Central American Paradise <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Best Places to Visit in Costa Rica <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

17 Things You Might Not Know About Costa Rica <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Retiring in Costa Rica: All the Reasons You Should One of the most recognizable countries in Central America, Costa Rica is best known for its rich natural landscape\u2014fun fact, \u201cCosta Rica\u201d literally means \u201crich coast\u201d!\u00a0 Costa Rica paints a pretty picture: it has well-built roads, impressive medical care, and is known as one of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":34992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1399],"tags":[49,56,71,127,168,266,442,451],"yst_prominent_words":[2113,2342,2340,26497,2444,1716,26037,2022,1768,2143,3299,19363,26038,2419,2418,26500,26498,2350,26499,2018],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/retire-Costa-Rica.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34579"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34579"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44651,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34579\/revisions\/44651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34579"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=34579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}