As the belts are tightened in the United States and elsewhere, more eyes turn to Costa Rica as a cheap place to live and retirement. The first question usually is what is the cost of living there. And there is no easy answer.

Retirees range from the person squeaking by on $700 a month in U.S. Social Security to someone who can write a check for a $450,000 oceanside condo. But those short on funds usually want to know how low can you go. Because Costa Rica is a socialist country, great attention is paid to the costs of public services. In simple terms, they are a steal. And they will continue to be.

Want a cell phone? The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad will charge you a base rate of 3,375 colons or about $8.10 a month. A land line will cost 3,220 colons or $5.88 a month.

Basic Internet hookup can be had for 8,350 colons a month or $28.25. But then there also is the charge for using the telephone to connect to a server.  The alternative, a cable hookup, can cost about $18 for basic service which usually is sufficient for one household. And there is an obligatory purchase of cable television. The price also depends on which company has the service contract for the specific geographical area.

Columnist Jo Stuart frequently mentions prices in her Friday column. She also is an astute shopper at the various weekend ferias where vegetables and other agricultural products are sold far below supermarket prices. Even in the supermarket, some products are price controlled. Milk is 1,430 colons a gallon or $2.61.  Those who simply have to have imported U.S. goods will pay handsomely. They shop at Pricesmart.

Costa Rica National Theatre

The best seats in the Teatro Nacional for a major orchestra performance can be just 8,000 colons or about $14.60. But she usually goes a little higher in the building for a whole lot less. The cheap seats are 3,000 colons ($5.50) and all tickets are subject to a 10 percent discount for senior citizens.

The ciudadano de oro card is accepted universally and can mean deep discounts. To get one, an expat has to have a pensionado, rentista, inversionista or residencia cédula.

The government has decided to dispense with the bus coupons for the elderly. They were subject to resale and caused a lot of woe. So shortly seniors will simply have to show an identification specifying their age, including the ciudadano de oro card, to get a discount.

The bus fares are a steal to begin with. The fare from San José to Tamarindo on the far Pacific coast is 3,055 colons or $6.23. That’s nearly an all-day ride. And in the city few routes are more than 250 colons  (about 45 cents). Taxis also are a deal, although recent increases have Costa Ricans unhappy.  The first kilometer of a taxi ride is 420 colons or about 77 cents. Additional kilometers in the city are still 380 colons (69 cents). Those are definitely not New York City prices.

There are the apartments. Even after paying the informal tax levied on those who do not speak Spanish well, a decent two-bedroom, secure unit can be had for $450 a month. An A.M. Costa Rica reporter just vacated a one-bedroom with loft where the rent was $275 a month. And this was no slum.

Electrical and water bills are designed for the low-end user. The Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz rates favor low use. The current rate is 43 colons (8 cents) for each kilowatt for the first 200 kilowatts of use. Each of the next 100 kilowatts is 66 colons (12 cents). Larger consumers pay more per unit. The government water company just got a 25 percent overall raise but the actual rates have not been set yet. Company officials promise to favor low users.

Orotina Fruits Stand

Then there is free. Like nearly all the country’s beaches from high water to 50 meters inland. And the parks. And frequent entertainment. Again, prices and use of utilities depend a lot on where the expat lives. Air conditioning can add a lot of an electric bill. So can alcohol or cigarettes. Remember, socialist countries like to control your bad habits.

Beer is about 800 colons a can, about $1.45. Local beer is cheaper by the two-liter bottle, but still it is no bargain. On the other hand, a glass of decent Chilean or Italian wine in a four-star hotel restaurant will cost between 3,100  and 3,500 colons (from $5.66 to $6.39). Better to buy by the bottle (4,000 to 6,000 colons or $7.30 to $10.95) except for infrequent sprees.

Bars that cater to expats will reflect that in their beer prices where 1,200 colon beer means nearly $2.20 a bottle. The big ticket items here are automobiles because the government levies a gigantic tax. So an expat can figure paying twice for what a vehicle costs in the States. But the insurance is very reasonable, again based on coverage and type of vehicle. But $100 a year is possible.

A lot has been said about the Costa Rican health system. And one must accept the fact that most U.S. medical benefits do not extend outside the States. An exception is the health plan for retired military and some federal employees. Patients in the government system probably do not have their own assigned physician. And the waits are legendary. However, older patients of the ciudadano de oro category usually get to go to the head of the line. Expats find they can obtain very reasonable health insurance from the only provider, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros.  Some group plans reduce the cost even more.

Costa Rican employees are covered because the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social takes 10 percent of their gross pay as a salary deduction. Employees add to the total.

The answer is, “Yes.” But it depends completely on your lifestyle.

Once you settled and know all of the ins and outs about how to save money it is possible to live very cheaply. For sure you will live a whole lot better on the same amount of money here than you would live in the States. Most likely you couldn’t live for under $1000 in the Sates without you lifestyle really suffering. You would also be below the poverty line.

Here are some suggestions to help you retire on a shoestring.

1. Get a ciudadano de oro card  to get discounts on many items and services. To obtain  one, you have to have a pensionado, rentista, inversionista or residencia cédula.
2. Shopping at the weekend  farmer’s market or ferias where vegetables and other agricultural products are sold far below supermarket prices. Shop at low end supermarkets like Palí.
3. Don’t by goods imported from the U.S.
4. Use Internet cafés at $1.00 per hour instead of purchasing a computer or signing up for Internet service.
5. Go to bargain matinees.
6. Don’t buy a car.
7. Take the bus or walk if you can.
8. Conserve energy in your apartment.
9. Look for free events to attend.
10. Use the public health care system
11. When you eat out do it like the locals do. For example, have lunch at the Central Market. Stay out of U.S. Fast-food restaurant.
12. Don’t have vices like gambling, chasing.
13. Do your own house cleaning and laundry.
14. Look for a cheap hobby.
15. Frequent the second-hand clothing stores.
16. If you have talent barter.
17. Don’t hang around with people who have expensive habits.
18. In general try to simplify your lifestyle. Remember less is more and more is less.

Lately, a lot of space has been devoted in the  media to the economic melt down in the U.S. People there do have reason to be alarmed. The situation is downright scary.

I don’t know what it is but I really feel removed form the whole thing living in Costa Rica. All of the events seem to be a world away. People say eventually there may be a “trickle down effect” here, but I don’t see it yet. Remember the old  saying “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”? I say the bigger the economy the harder it is hit in an economic crisis. Large economics like  U.S., Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil in this part of the world have traditionally been more adversely affected by economic downturns. It’s like a small business versus a big business. A smaller business can adapt, change and roll with the punches a lot easier than a large corporation with a lot of employees and offices.

Fortunately, Costa Rica only has just over  four million people. Puebla, Mexico alone has that number of people. People are accustomed to living with a lot less here than in the U.S. Furthermore, Costa Rica can grow 90% of everything its fruits, vegetables and grains. So the country is self sufficient to some extent. We also have abundant water for our crops, personal consumption and energy.

Costa Rica is the solution to a lot of what is happening up north in that “smaller is better” in most cases. People from the U.S. can come here to live or retire and simplify their lifestyles without sacrificing their quality of life.

People ask how Costa Rica’s hot real estate market will be affected by the events up north. Noted Costa Rica Economist Gilbert E. Arce  recently stated in La Nación Newspaper. “In the real estate sector the effects will be mixed. On one hand there will be less resources for acquiring property on the local level.  However, on the other hand, investors, especially foreigners, will try to limit the exposure to risk by means of safe real estate investments in Costa Rica.”  Costa Rica Rica’s real estate market may be the solution to its devastated U.S. counterpart.

The growing popularity of Costa Rica as one of the most popular retirement havens in the world has given birth to an industry of retirement related businesses.

The first being retirement tours. When I started in the retirement tour business almost 30 years ago there were no retirement tours in Costa Rica. There wasn’t even a book about retiring here until I wrote one in 1988.

By popular demand in 1996 I conducted my first retirement/relocation tour. Since then my tour business has grown by leaps and bounds. In the process my monthly tour has been evolved and improved to the point to where it is today. The majority of the improvements have been made as a result of my clients feedback and suggestions. Originally, I didn’t include visits to homes on my tours. However, everyone who moves to Costa Rica has to have a place  to live, so I now include a carefully selected cross section of homes and properties for all budgets. This way my clients gain a perspective on the housing situation here, thus enabling them to make the right decision about where to live or buy.

Another good thing I did was to obtain license from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute  (ICT) to legally conduct my tours here. The idea is to protect my clients and guarantee the high quality of my tours. This is a tough two-year battle with lot of screening and background checks. NOT everyone who applies is granted a license to operate legally here. Unfortunately, enforcement is lax and there are companies offering tours in Costa Rica with NO licenses or regulations to protect their clients.

Due to the overwhelming success of my tours other less qualified Americans have tried to imitate them but with little success.

The newest endeavor to try and cash in on Costa Rica’s hot real estate market are real estate tours. No license is required to sell real estate here nor are there any tours of this type which are legally sanctioned. In general, what you have are rogue tour operators and Johnny Come Latelys sponsoring these so-called real estate tours. The agents have NO real estate license, try to prey on their naïve countrymen and neophytes, are often be tourists without residency status, have only lived here  short time, don’t speak the language or know much about the culture, are here to make a fast buck, are wet behind the ears,  have never been in the tour business and are most likely working illegally. Would you buy real estate form a tourist or from a tour operator in your home country? Not if you have a an ounce of brains.

I have found one company with experienced honest real estate agents who do conduct a well-organized real estate lifestyle tour. All of their salespeople have prior experience in the States in the field of real estate and have worked in the travel business. My clients have been extremely pleased to work with them.

The company is Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties and they 100 % client/service oriented. Their tour is excellent and designed to help future land owners find the answers to all of the questions, not waste time and zero in on their specific needs so they can make the wisest choice when it comes to buying a home in Costa Rica.

Don’t leave your brain on the plane when you come here.

Recently I have been having some allergy related problems. I have always suffered form chronic Rhinitis even when I lived in the States. I hard a great nose, ear and throat specialist in California by the name of Harry Sperling. He was absolutely the best around and kept my recurring problem under control.

After I moved here I began to experience occasional bouts with rhinitis. Mostly I just took pills and used sprays to keep the condition under control. For the most part  what I did worked. I’d only have to visit the doctor once or twice a year if I needed additional treatment or more specific medication.

Anyway lately I have had a lot of pressure in my ears. It felt like someone was pressing their fingers against them. Last Sunday I could barley hear out of my left ear and the right one wasn’t much better. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. On Monday I called the Clínica Bíblica, San José’s finest private hospital, and made an appointment with Dr. Maurico Buitrago. Yesterday I went to see him. Like the punctual American I am and  despite having live here 25 years I arrived early. NO problem! I brought some reading material to help pass the time.

About one half hour later I was ushered into the doctor’s office. He sat me down and examined me. He was astonished. It turned out I had enough wax accumulated in my ears to start a candle factory. He quickly set about cleaning both ears. After about 10 minutes later I could hear perfectly and the pressure was alleviated. What a relief! I felt like a new man. My ears were reborn.

The account I have written above is another example of the excellent quality of health care available to retirees in Costa Rica. Good quality health should be an issue of you choose to retire or live here.