Overseas Retirement
Today many are searching for a way to live better in retirement and that search has led to the investigation of overseas retirement choices.
There are many overseas destinations that will provide a choice for living better in retirement depending on what one desires in a country. In our own personal search for overseas retirement we applied specific criteria and then searched for countries that would provide most if perhaps not all of our criteria.
Our first criteria was a mild climate with no periods of extreme cold or heat
secondly we desired to live in a country that offered a good degree of safety where a less hectic environment existed where many spoke our own language where properties and living expenses offered a good retirement with many places to visit within country where beaches and mountain and valley areas were abundant and finally a country closer to the United States where we could visit our family and friends more often without a large expense of flying.
This was a lot of criteria to apply to a search and although many countries offered some of the above criteria we continued our search for a country where most of the criteria would be available.
After much research of various countries we were eventually led to Central America and began to apply our criteria to the countries of Central America. After a detailed search of each of these countries reading information on the internet listening to expats already there and finally visiting Central America for six weeks we found our country of choice.
Although Panama ranked high on our list our final choice was Costa Rica for several reasons the main reason was the availability of the climate of our choice which only existed in one small area of Panama whereas it existed in many areas of Costa Rica and the availability and convenience of good medical care and hospitals.
After five years of living in Costa Rica purchasing property building our home constructing vacation rental villas for visiting vacationers finding properties for others to retire to we can honestly say that Costa Rica is by far the “Jewel of Central America” and the only country that met the criteria we were searching for.
Because climate varies with elevation in the tropics there are many choices of climate in Costa Rica. If you like warm climates the coastal areas will offer many opportunities for living. Beginning at around 300 to 500 meters it gets cooler and at the 1000 to 1200 meter elevation the climate averages around 72 degrees which we find perfect for year round living but if you like a cooler climate the 1500 to 2000 meter elevation averages around 4 degrees cooler.
Many expats settle in the coastal areas especially the Pacific coastal areas from the upper Nicoya peninsula to the lower portion of the country around the Osa peninsula. Some settle in the Caribbean coastal areas however these areas are prone to winds from hurricanes and more rain during the rainy season and are subject to extensive flooding in the lower areas. The culture is also different on the Caribbean side due to the influx many years ago of the people from the islands of the Caribbean.
The majority of expats reside in the Central valley of Costa Rica from the capital at San Jose to San Ramon in the western Central valley due to the mild weather in this area. The suburban areas of San Jose are heavily populated with expats particularly the areas of Escazu and Santa Ana where there are many upscale stores and shopping. In the rural areas around the towns of Grecia Sarchi Naranjo Palmares Atenas and San Ramon you will also find enclaves of expats. Those searching for a retirement home overseas would do well to check out Costa Rica.
About the writer: Bob and Deb have lived overseas in Costa Rica approaching 5 years and maintain vacation rental villas for those coming to Costa Rica in search of property for retirement. They have a vast knowledge of living in Costa Rica and many other subjects. Visit their website at www.vacationvillasincostarica.com
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