Costa Rica Retirement - Why So Many Gringos Are Considering It.

Scott Oliver

Why are so many people thinking about a Costa Rica retirement?

What to do when work is over is something that many of you are considering and it's easy to see why - 77 million baby boomers in the USA who began retiring in 2008 and it would appear that a few of them are thinking about a Costa Rica retirement...

This country is without doubt a place of stunning scenery, sunshine and smiles with 'spring-like' weather all year round, no income taxes on foreign earned income, no capital gains taxes, excellent world-class medical facilities, affordable medical plans and populated by the 'Ticos' who are an amiable and very attractive people.

If someone is looking at 'downsizing' and considering a Costa Rica retirement, think on this for a moment...

My friend Jack tells everybody that he was spending US$80,000 per year to live well in Sarasota, Florida but now spends less than ten percent of that (US$6,850) living the good life in a luxury condo (fully paid for) on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica! And Jack L-O-V-E-S the fact that his property taxes are only 0.25%

Even before the so called financial "crisis", only 1% of US households headed by folks aged 62-72 have $1 million or more in assets other than their home. Now that might sound like a lot of money but $1M today lasts less than 20 years assuming a rate of return of 7%, inflation of 3% and inflation-adjusted annual withdrawals of $75K.

Your money will last a lot longer with a Costa Rica retirement.

And what about the hundreds of millions of retiring Americans that do not have that kind of money in the piggy bank? What if you only had US$500K?

Even with that amount invested in "safe" investments yielding about 4-5% you would only have US$20K-US$25,000 per year to live on. Living on that is difficult in most countries but a Costa Rica retirement?

You might have trouble living 'the good life' on that amount in the USA, Canada or Europe but that kind of money would buy you a very comfortable lifestyle in this country...

And that's if there are no 'surprises!

In MetLife's 2003 Survey, it was reported that the average rate for a private room in a nursing home was US$181.24 per day (US$5,437.20 per month) and the cost of a home-health aide was US$18.12 per hour.

And we all know it's a lot more expensive today...

Heck! In this country you could stay at a luxury hotel for US$181.24 per day (meals, massage and wine included) and your own home-health aide for about US$18.12 ** per DAY!**

Yup! There's a few folks thinking about retiring in here...

Written by Scott Oliver, author of How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa and Costa Rica's Guide To Making Money Offshore.