I have lived in Costa Rica for nearly thirty years and have been in business here almost as long. My first venture was as a self-publisher in the 1980s. I wrote a Spanish language book with an accompanying cassette entitled, “The Costa Rican Spanish Survival Course.” Next, I published the future bestseller, “New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica.” Fifteen editions later I am still selling this guidebook. Since that time I have written, published and marketed eight other books on similar subjects. I have done all of this while living full-time in Costa Rica. I sell my popular guidebooks through Amazon.com and in U.S. and Canadian bookstores.
How is it possible to run this type a business from Costa Rica? Actually, it is very easy. At first it proved to be difficult until I worked out all of the logistics. My main market has always been the U.S. and Canada but I have always lived here. What I did was end up having my books printed, stored and sold in the U.S. without having to live there. Finding a printer was easy. The biggest obstacle was locating a place where I could store my products and from where I could have them shipped. Fortunately, a friend of a friend was looking for a part time job and offered to help me. She even had a large garage where I could store all of the books.
With the advent of the Internet to facilitate communication and the opening of private mail companies here in Costa Rica it became even easier to operate my business from here. I receive book orders over the Internet and then have my people in the U.S. fill and ship the the product.
About 12 years ago I started a Relocation/Retirement Tour web-based business which I run successfully from here using all of the methods and services which I mention above.
I know other entrepreneurs of all ages who operate their businesses from Costa Rica. One person runs a mail order medical supply company. Another is involved in stocks. I have one acquaintance who has a successfully built a website optimizing empire.
Fiesta Casino near Juan Santamaría International Airport in the Pirate’s Bar inside is a good place to watch two or three NFL games every sunday.
I am not a gambler but I do go to the Fiesta Casino near Juan Santamaría International Airport almost every Sunday during football season. A group of my friends and I gather at the Pirate’s Bar inside to watch two or three NFL games. This has become sort of a tradition and we even get together for the Super Bowl there.
Most of the members of our group are retired but some still work. Nathan and Sully are former law enforcement officers from California. Allen used to work for the telephone company in Canada. Ed is a photographer from Colorado. Rudy is a successful real estate investor and salesman in Costa Rica. The rest of the group share similar backgrounds.
The reason we chose the Fiesta is because of the options. They can air up to six games simultaneously on different televisions sets. They have two giant screens where they show the best games or the ones their patron’s request. They also have specials where you can order an ice-cold beer and get a plate of Buffalo Wings for free. The food is good and there are a lot of dishes from which to choose. Best of all the waitress are friendly and very attractive in their scanty pirate attire. They have to have a good sense of humor to put up with us bunch of rowdy Americans and Canadians.
Actually we use the games as an excuse to socialize and have fun. One of the guys is always telling a joke and making some humorous remark. We probably miss about half of the games because of the playful banter. A few of the people in our group do a little gambling but football is the main attraction.
On Sunday and Monday nights after the games there is live music at the casino and the place heats up in all senses of the word. Some of the best local groups perform and the dance floor fills up with curvaceous Latin women dancing to the tropical rhythms of the night.
This is just one example of the many activities to stay busy and happy if you choose to live, retire or work in Costa Rica.
The last Friday of every month I am privileged to be a key note speaker at the Association of Residents Seminar. The topic I talk about is “Learning Spanish.” Most of the audience is made up of people thinking of retiring or going into business in Costa Rica. I stress the importance of learning at least a survival level Spanish in order to get the most out of the country and be able to communicate effectively with the locals.
By survival level Spanish I mean being able to handle most daily situations like going grocery shopping, banking, taking a taxi, asking directions, ordering food in a restaurant, etc. With these basic language skills you will be able to get by. Actually the more Spanish you learn the better off you will be.
One of Costa Rica’s greatest treasures are its wonderful people and culture. Without knowing at least some Spanish you won’t truly be able to experience everything this lovely country has to offer.
One way to motivate yourself to learn the language is to try and make the experience fun. You are not getting graded nor being pressured to perform, so try and enjoy the experience. Take Spanish classes but don’t be in a hurry to learn the language too quickly. Take a couple of classes a week but don’t overload yourself or it will become drudgery and you will lose interest. If you like music, start listening to songs in Spanish. You will pick up some new catchy words. If you like to dance then take Latin Dance classes at one of the local dance academies. Everyone has a hobby or interest. Try to learn the appropriate Spanish vocabulary that has to do with your hobby. If you like sports or sewing learn all of the terms that go along with these activities.
Walk down the street and look in the windows of stores and look for words you don’t know. Jot them down and look them up when you get home. Try to learn five new words a day.
Find a Spanish speaker who wants to learn English and exchange lessons. I know an American woman who lives in a gated community in Heredia and gets together with her Spanish speaking neighbors a couple times a week so they can practice their English and she can practice her Spanish. She says everyone has a great time during their gatherings.
You can learn a second language at any age if you make an effort and make the activity enjoyable as possible.
“To know another language is to know another world.”
-Cervantes
Also I recommend to visit my blog about tips for learning english: Guide to Costa Rican Spanish
Today I had a great experience at the Clínica Bíblica that should clear up any doubts you may have about the quality of medical care in Costa Rica for retirees.
All of my life I have been a “jock.” In high school I played basketball, water polo, ran cross country and was on the swim team. In college I participate in flag football and martial arts. After graduation I continued my career as an amateur athlete by doing cycling, tennis, playground basketball games, running and my favorite activity, martial arts. I became very competent in Aikido, Northern Sil um Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Contemporary Fighting Street Arts. In fact, I taught Tai Chi at the University of Costa Rica for several years.
As a result all of my athletic endeavors my knees took a terrible pounding over the years. Recently they really started to bother me, so I went to see an orthopedic surgeon at the Clínica Bíblica in San Jose. Bíblica is the country’s oldest private hospital. Anyway after extensive tests on my knees Dr. Oscar Oeding determined I would need arthroscopic surgery on both knees to correct the problem. It turned out I had a broken meniscus in both knees.
Today I went through the procedure and was very impressed with everything. I was treated well and the operation was basically painless. I even watched the whole thing on a monitor which I found fascinating. Since it was an outpatient procedure I am now at home writing this article while I can remember all of the details.
Best of all the price was right. I paid a total of $3600 for everything and am very satisfied.
If you are thinking about retirement in Costa Rica health care should not be a deterrent. Costa Rica’s doctors are excellent and very well trained. Dr. Oeding frequently attends seminars and conferences abroad to stay up the latest technology which ensures his patients receive the finest health care possible.
I had a couple on my August relocation/retirement tour from Corpus Christi, Texas who had to return a couple of days earlier than expected because of Hurricane Gustav. They wanted to return home to board up their windows and secure their property. Too bad part of their vacation was spoiled by the bad weather up north. However, they promised to return because they really loved Costa Rica and what they saw on the tour. Mrs. Tate explained to me that they usually don’t travel during hurricane season, but due to their busy schedule they had to visit Costa Rica at this time of year. I assured them that when they move to Costa Rica they won’t be faced with hurricane problem.
Although the east coast of the country is on the Caribbean, fortunately we don’t have hurricanes here. All we get is the rain and not the wind. Granted a lot of rain does fall here but we avoid the destructive winds that affect the areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico and especially the state of Florida. The Caribbean side of Costa Rica country experiences most of the flooding. Luckily the area is not densely populated so any damage is minimal. Our tall mountain rages act as a natural barrier which protects the rest of the country from storms. Countries to the north like Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico have not been spared the ravages of past storms because their topography is different.
In 1998 Hurricane Mitch devastated parts of Nicaragua and Honduras leaving a path of death and destruction in its wake. A year ago Hurricane Felix also raised havoc and damaged the economy of the countries to the north of Costa Rica. Once again mother nature spared Costa Rica. Indeed, this country is blessed in many ways.
So, as you can see hurricanes are not a factor and should not deter you from retiring in Costa Rica.
