kumusta
8/6/2019 13:06 EST
I'm looking to retire next year and was thinking of Central America as a single man considering Costa Rica or Panama, I would like to ask the forum what city in Costa Rica would be physically safe and what area coastal or inland would have the most reasonable cost as far as rentals food possibly Vegetarian or Vegan not looking for expensive living since I'm very frugal information would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance.
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1952cajun
8/6/2019 16:30 EST
I hope you do come to Costa Rica .it is a beautiful country with very welcoming people. Almost any place in Costa Rica is safer than many cities in the US. I would stay away from San Jose at night. I live in Atenas and I walk at night all around town and never feel threatened . Very peaceful here and centrally located to get to nice beaches, one hour, and La Fortuna area where thermal rivers are available. 40 minutes to the airport and one hour to San Jose. I was fortunate enough to find an apartment for $240/month. I can live in this Paradise on my limited Social security check. Please come .
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ILuvCR
8/6/2019 18:01 EST
Thank you 1952cajun for your positivity and sharing your first hand experiences with the group and being so welcoming!
I'm very happy for you.
Very refreshing!
Pura Vida!
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Kohl
8/6/2019 18:03 EST
1952cajun, was VERY lucky to find such a bargain, however do not presume that YOU will also find decent accommodation at this price.
Living at the beach will be much more expensive.
Please read the requirements for residing here as a Pensionado:
https://costaricalaw.com/costa-rica-legal-topics/immigration-and-residency/residency-general-information-and-summary/
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lindyluvsCR
8/6/2019 20:29 EST
No problem being a vegan or vegetarian here. Awesome fruits and veggies here.
Atenas is great, Grecia a little cooler. The price of his apartment is unusually low.
look up grecia real estate.net. for pics and prices
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kumusta
8/6/2019 21:42 EST
Perfect thank you for the welcome and information sounds like you found the perfect place...
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peter2017
8/6/2019 23:35 EST
kumusta,
You will find a lot of people here who will try to convince that Costa Rica is the best country on the planet.
If you are looking for a confirmation for the decision you have already made, you came to the right place.
Many places in the US and Canada are safer and cheaper than most places in Costa Rica.
Personal safety and cost of living are only two variables in the equation.
How is your Spanish? How is your health? What are your hobbies?
What do you do when you retired?
Do you care of what you eat? Are you a type A personality? Do you care when you will not be able to accoplish something despite your best efforts? Are you ok with lowering your standard of living?
Walking after 6 pm wearing a watch or jewelry is not safe, anywhere in Costa Rica, I don't care what others will tell you.
Petty crime is a big issue in Costa Rica.
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PombinhaCoco7
8/7/2019 01:28 EST
Hi Peter2017,
I hope you enjoyed your vacation.
You said:
"Many places in the US and Canada are safer and cheaper than most places in Costa Rica".
Actually right now my husband and I could no longer afford to live in Canada.
I believe that his CPP+OAS would be just for the rent and I'm not sure if it would be enough.
Even though it was too bad that he had a very bad work accident many years ago, he gets a compensation for that. Even so with that compensation and my OAS we still wouldn't be able to live in Canada.
We could sell our 2 condos here but
you know how much we paid for them and the money wouldn't last for too many years considering that we would have to pay rent and all the bills and all the other expenses.
We would have to start using that money (from the sale of our condos from the beginning since our pensions wouldn't cover our costs.
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peter2017
8/7/2019 08:15 EST
Pombina,
Our vacation was great. Kids loved it.
Did you check out Atlantic provinces? How about Quebec?
Small towns in those provinces have cost of living lower than Playas del Coco.
Try places like Moncton, NB. How about Quebec City?
You can rent 1 BR in those places for $500-$600 CANADIAN.
If you must stay in Ontario, try Kitchener, or any towns in the Owen Sound, Hanover, London, Sarnia areas.
You can easily make it in Canada with your OAS supplement.
Anyway, Good Luck!!!
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PombinhaCoco7
8/7/2019 09:21 EST
Peter2017
Well, my husband speaks French so would feel comfortable in Quebec. My French is from high school.
We have lived in Leamington, Ontario when we first moved to Canada. That's where my daughter was born.
All those places have long and harsh Winters..
That's exactly why we decided to move to a tropical country.
Out of curiosity I just checked the rentals in Mississauga, Toronto and Barrie and even the basement apartments are expensive even though I wouldn't consider to live in one of them. Unless I wouldn't have any other choice.
If I would ever need to move to Canada I would want to be closer to my daughter. We also would need a vehicle.
So far I'm happy here in Costa Rica because as you know we came originally from Portugal where our faith, favorite sport, food and even our language are very similar. So we never had the culture shock that some people have.
In Toronto I remember that when we needed to renew our passports they wanted for us to give them someone's name for references but it had to be a Canadian citizen. Not only the name but the passport number and phone. Our Portuguese friends were all using their European Union Passport and I didn't feel comfortable asking my neighbors for this information. We had to use our son in law parents for references. Here in Coco, when the workers in our complex found out that we were going to Immigration, they thought that we would need someone for references. They say that they have helped Nicas by giving them letters for the Immigration.
So in less than 15 minutes I had our security lady, our gardener, a cleaning lady and a property manager (Tica) giving me their Cedula Numbers, full names and phone numbers.
When I mentioned this to my Tica neighbor who lives in L.A she insisted that she too wanted to give me a letter.
Then our Tico treasurer too.
I thought that it was so cute that I decided to print a list with their names. Oh, our treasurer holds a very good job in one of the TV stations. He is the "Administrador Financiero" He lives in San Jose but he has a condo here.
Then I realized how it would have been so easy to get letters from so many locals in case we needed them.
From Mari from Palm Real Estate (that you know) from taxi drivers, waitresses, neighbors, a family that we help, fishermen, lawyers, who know us, local artists and even street vendors.
This is the same environment we were used to in Portugal.
That's why I say that Costarricenses are very "educados y amables".
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lindyluvsCR
8/7/2019 12:33 EST
In general, those cheaper places in US include cold weather or out in the sticks where you have to have a car. No thanks. And even in very small towns, occurs shootings in post office etc,
I did not lower my standard of living other than doing without a car which is my choice. I live in 2X bigger house that would be price of tiny 1BR or studio condo in Florida.
Eating out in expensive restaurants and drinking myself under the table is not my idea of enjoyment,
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PombinhaCoco7
8/7/2019 13:49 EST
lindyluvsCR
Don't make me feel guilty.
I enjoy eating while watching the ocean but it's not in expensive restaurants even though I've been in a few.
I never cared too much for margaritas or those type of drinks except when I used to go to Cuba.
There is a place at the beach that has happy hour and I enjoy going there once in a while.
Today I'm making rice pudding for my
"oblivious" lawyer and for our property manager who just had a bad fall. On our way back from their offices we may stop for a tropical drink. My husband prefers coffee.
To me this is part of living in the tropical even though I have a good cook at home.
I am the baker now.
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lindyluvsCR
8/7/2019 16:16 EST
Pombinha - Not trying to make anyone feel guilty. Just not my cup of tea. Just trying to point out, that those who think it is expensive, is because of their choices which are luxuries and not necessities that are necessary for peace or happiness. If truly hard times come, many people will be very unhappy. I do have and enjoy my favorite things, but can also do without and am fine.
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