Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Before you move: get rid of your stuff! If we were going to make a successful move to our new land, there was no choice but to sell our house. Most websites counsel you to take it slowly. But, before you get rid of your stuff, decide if you want…
How important are financial decisions before you move? I can’t overemphasize how much potential difficulty and inconvenience you can avoid once you move to Costa Rica. If you’ve attended to your financial details with a customized, flexible transaction plan. You will need ready access to your assets, so you have to take financial decisions ahead…
Some things are surprisingly different in Costa Rica than we think they are. Two weeks ago, I told you my experiences on setting up banking and utilities after our real estate. And today I am in my final blog about my story that started on January 25th, 2013. My wife and I think it turned…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Setting up Banking and Utilities after our real estate closing was a treat! During the two weeks we visited the country during our Costa Rica real estate closing, we enjoyed some downtime. Also, we did some touring and exploring and learning more about our newly-adopted second home. While meeting more…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes There have been several changes in the temporary Costa Rican residency policy and law that affect the financial wellbeing of long-term visitors. This includes those visitors applying for one of the three immigrant resident categories. Just before our arrival, Immigration made changes in the temporary Costa Rican residency. We received…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes We hit on 3 more challenges before closing on our property. I apologize for the length of time that has passed since my last blog in late February. I wanted to let some time go by to digest our house purchase, before writing the last chapter, and wrap up our…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes When you move to another country, it’s important to create a timeline for your plan. If you are changing countries, there’s a pot full of planning, changes, and notifications that need to be implemented. This is necessary to achieve a successful and less stressful transition. In my last blog, I…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes I recommend everyone to create a moving plan. Everything you read online might be inaccurate. That is why it is vital for you to stay on top of your moving plan; because I can tell you from recent first-hand experience about requirements, policies and laws nonetheless their enforcement is all…
Before you pick where to live in Costa Rica, you need to have some weather considerations. If you decide on the wrong location, it’s possible you end up hating it, which might oblige you to move elsewhere. Or return where you came from! November-April is the high season—or the dry season or tourist season. Ticos…
Now that we are in the country, we are scrambling to learn Costa Rican Spanish. Try to find the time before you leave North America or wherever your home country is, to learn some Latin American Spanish. Latin American Spanish, and more specifically Costa Rican Spanish, is not the King’s Castilian Spanish as spoken in…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes How important is the spousal compromise when moving to Costa Rica? My purpose in this blog is to show that there will be surprises and unknowns harbored by all parties when making the decision to move. The success of your move to Costa Rica will be measured by how well…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Here’s something to think about: a significant number of all of the expats fail. This mostly happens within their first year in Costa Rica, then they return home. I have some ideas about why this happens, and how to avoid becoming a statistic. I’ll discuss the most prominent reasons that…
When we returned from our due diligence trip to Costa Rica in February of 2012, the work really began. Now things started to get pretty interesting. So first, before we head home from our due diligence trip, let me pass along a few bits and pieces that I haven’t covered yet or require reinforcement. As…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Today, I’d like to cover dining in Costa Rica, as well as the cost of it. While the country isn’t renowned for its own cuisine, you will find a multitude of international restaurants. Additionally, there are well-known restaurant chains. In case you yearn for a taste of home. Although, then…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Allow me to show you how we got to the point of looking at Costa Rica as our retirement destination. My story is an introduction to Costa Rica as seen through the eyes of a retiring expat. To briefly recap our decision criteria to find the right retirement destination, I…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes To make important retirement decisions, we needed to be specific about our criteria. In my introduction, you know that we have decided to make Costa Rica our permanent retirement residence. So, I’d like to show you how made retirement decisions based on a step by step process. Our criteria and…