It does sound feasible, but one additional consideration is to have extra money for the first couple of years - moving and travel expenses, getting established in a new home- new purchases, buy a car(?), Spanish lessons(?), learning how to reduce costs in a new environment, etc. Add cost to obtain residency and/or cost to leave the country every 3 months until you have residency. I assume that your rental income will increase to keep up with future inflation.

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I am assuming you have no kids?

Do you need or want to live on the beach which is usually more pricey due to air conditioning. But Pombina can tell you about Coco Beach where she says it is not that expensive.

Another factor is Health Care cost. Will you be keeping a reasonable policy in US where if you had to could go for anything costly, because at your age I read here that it would be expensive here. But, keep in mind, that I have read and experienced that sometimes to cost of private health care here, depending on what, can be cheaper than the deductible in US. We personally use private doctors and dentists here, and for us is cheaper than paying premiums with high deductibles every month.

Also your expenses depend on whether you will have a car or not. We don't by choice and are within walking distance to town. When needed, we take a taxi, round trip about $3.65. But most of the time walk.

It sounds like you are practice being frugal as we do. We now own a house, but for a year and a half we rented a small 1BR on a coffee farm with lots of fruit trees and a beautiful swimming pool. They have since expanded the 1BR to 2BR. $600 per month, all utilities paid.

So even if you pay $900 per month, including your bills, it comes to just $10,800 per year. If you spent more than we do for food - $500 per month - per year $6,000. Unless you decide on (can't remember the term) investor status, you will need to return to US every 90 days. SO, you did not say where you presently live, but you would need to go back to US or at least out of country, So figure up your plane tickets to US, or to Nicaragua or Panama on bus, and multiply by 4.

I know of many people in your situation, and once they are here for awhile, they find a way. It sounds to me that you are very resourceful and business minded, and within the legal structure here, you can make a way.

As for my opinion, I believe that you can more than make it. When deciding to move here, I got on Excel, and made a list of possible scenarios, and found that we do better than we would have here, than with my husband working himself to death in the US. We are retired, and have no where near the income you have.

We live in Grecia, a small city of 17,000 people. If you ever want to visit Grecia, we will be happy to meet for coffee. If you want more info, feel free to send Personal Message.

I wish I had done what you are doing at your age. You are truly blessed!

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"Some say it is very expensive, some say super cheap."

Obviously cost/ price is relative.

Definitely not "super cheap", maybe 10-20 years ago?

A $60k a year income would probably place you in the top 10-15% of Tico's.

You must understand the cost of residency & CAJA participation which is a requirement of residency.

Got a good immigration attorney?

Costa Rica does have the highest cost of living in Central America but also the highest standard of living. I say you get what you pay for, I have lived here for five years and while it's certainly not cheap it's for me.

La vida es Buena, if you can afford it!

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Thank you so much for your response! We currently have around 40,000$ in savings we plan on using for travel expenses and getting set up. I figure that will be more than enough but we are also planning on selling both of our vehicles(they are payed off and will give us another 20,000$ of liquid cash).

We are currently enrolled in full time extensive Spanish classes and are learning quickly, it's a fun language:) So hopefully we will have enough knowledge by our planned move date in August.

As for rentals, we have the loans staggered so that every two years we will have an additional 6,000$ per year added as income.

I'm trying to be as thorough as possible so thank you for the input!

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With all due respect, it's a bad idea to refer to your assets or possessions in any detail here or on any other public forum. Who's following and why?

Just a thought,

Pura Vida!

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Sounds like you do have a reasonable plan. Make sure you understand residency requirements (with income requirements) and mandatory CAJA (health coverage) costs, as well as potential private health care costs. (Search for previous discussions on these topics.)

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Hi there! I appreciate you taking the time to write such an in depth response:)

We have no children, and that's definitely not something we will ever consider. I think if we had chosen to that early retirement would not be feasible.

We don't really have a preference as to the area. As long as there is plenty of outdoor activities we can keep busy. I do love the beach but I don't need to be near it. A quick trip once or twice a year is fine with me. I have been looking at Arenal as the weather seems ideal. Our plan is to do our 90 days in one area, cross the border for the 72 hrs, and then try a different area until we decide what we like.
We live in New Orleans so flights aren't too expensive, and we have at least 8 tickets due to frequent flyer miles.

We are both in excellent health, we eat right and work out daily. As of now our employer offers excellent health care. We've spent the last year getting all of our dental/vision/health needs up to par. Unfortunately we will lose the benefits when we quit our jobs but are willing and have the resources to pay our of pocket until we get residency.

Right now we rarely drive our vehicles, we live close to city center and bike most places. I think we would like to have one vehicle once we settle down but that is something we will definitely have a discussion about the pros and cons.

I love the idea of making a spreadsheet of possible scenarios. I'm going to get on that asap. We do have a chunk of cash for just in case emergencies.

Thank you so much for your response. It does make me feel better that our situation sounds doable to you. We definitely feel blessed, and have worked so hard to get to where we are.

I would love to have coffee if we make it to Grecia! Our plan now is set for August of this year as we are currently busy tying up loose ends. Wish us luck!

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I just figured it is better to give details so I can get detailed answers. Many people say they live on x amount a month, simple math and anyone can deduce yearly income. I refuse to live my life scared of what could happen. In this day and age anyone can look up someone's profile online and find out what they do for a living and get an idea of their money.

That being said, thank you for the advice:)

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I admire your ambition and spirit of adventure. You will have no problem living on your income. People live on less in the US and Costa Rica is less expensive than the US. The real consideration is whether you will enjoy the Central American lifestyle.

If seeing the newest first-run movies, watching your favorite TV shows, and eating in fast-food restaurants are important to you, you will not be happy in Central America. You will need to be adventurous, yet have a laid-back attitude. Service will not usually be fast and English will not always be spoken. When you become frustrated (and you will) you must retain your sense of humor.

Costa Rica is a beautiful place with some of the most friendly, welcoming people you will ever meet, however many North Americans return home after a short time because they came with the wrong attitude. Costa Ricans are very relaxed, they don't have the same attitude about work schedules as "gringos".

If you come with a laid-back attitude and don't expect CR to be the same as the US (and many Americans do) you will find this is a great place to live.

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I think you will do just fine. But the way things are done here, is not fast, and 'it must be done now' mentality.

To see rentals in Grecia, look up greciarealestate.net for pictures and prices to give you an idea.

It sounds to me, you have thought out and prepared well. If you were me, I would be packing and here in about 3 seconds.

Wish you the best. As someone said earlier, be careful with the details. Since you revealed alot, you might want to limit to Personal Messages any more, and especially your location when you get here, so the unscrupulous are not meeting you at the airport!

Best wishes.

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Applying fro Rentista or Investor status may leave you with a high mandatory healthcare premium of $450 per month, if under 55.

Investor rates vary with amount of investment, but tends to be similar to Rentista.


http://www.retirenowincostarica.com/020914-expat-health-care-costs-become-more-complex.htm

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