Most citizens of the United States and Canada feel comfortable living where they have always resided. Some are lucky enough to have invested in property and have good retirement programs, affordable health insurance, stocks, bonds or IRAs to ensure a good quality of life during their retirement years.

Others may not have been as fortunate. They realize that they may have not planned well and may be a little short on money to maintain their present lifestyle. A simple solution is to try to lower their standard of living and be more frugal in their own country to compensate for poor financial planning and/or bad investments. They can downsize to a smaller home, move to a more affordable but less suitable area, give up their yearly vacations, fire the gardener and cut back on other areas of their life to just scrape by. But what if they could move to another country with the same amount of income and improve their lifestyle dramatically instead of reducing it?

In 2008 three out of five (60%) middle class retirees would outlive their financial assets if they didn’t cut back on spending significantly. Please stop and think about this for a second. Can you imagine a life in retirement where every day you worry that you will live longer than your money lasts? What would you do? How would you allocate your precious resources? Would you cut back on, food or medicine? Both perhaps? The thoughts of a life like this are just plain frightening.

The math gets ugly when it comes to gaining back a loss. (Note: a 50% drop requires a 100% gain to break even) Today the S&P sits at 996, p 30% from the March low but with 70% more to climb to reach the 2007 high. It’s going to take a lot of earnings to justify that kind of rally.

The other major source of funding that people planned on for retirement was the equity built up in their homes. Retirees expected to sell their appreciated home asset and use those funds for a new acquisition in a warmer climate and then bank the rest for additional income in the golden years. We all know what has happened to the values of most homes in North America. Retirees planning to free up cash for a retirement purchase will likely recover much of their investment.

The bottom line is that we don’t have to leave our future in the hands of the uncertain and volatile real estate and stock markets. There are concrete things that we can do to take control and assure a higher quality of life in retirement (or anytime) for less cost.

Living in the right country outside the United States can make all the difference in the world between just subsisting and maintaining the lifestyle to which you are accustomed. Costa Rica may offer a viable alternative.

Over the years I have read numerous articles in Spanish publications about the so-called cultura de guaro or alcohol-based culture of Costa Rica. Drinking is an integral part of most social life here. The spirits flow freely at almost every fiesta. The beer company sponsors hundreds of events yearly and their logo is everywhere. It seems there is a bar on almost every corner in Costa Rica. Binge drinking is very popular among the youth. Just check out the bars on a Friday night around the University of Costa Rica in San Pedro or the University Nacional in Heredia. They are packed with boisterous young people birriando or drinking beer as they say here. Supposedly the three most important things in a Costa Rican man’s life are soccer, women and beer, although not necessarily in that order.

Unfortunately, Costa Rica is said to have the highest rate of alcoholism in Central America –-?an estimated 20 percent of the population are problem drinkers.

Retirees and other Expatriates can easily fall into the drinking trap, too. Over the years, I have seen many fellow Americans fail to use their time constructively, and destroy their lives by becoming alcoholics while living in Costa Rica— many have died prematurely. Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of being idle. Most of the people I have met here who have had drinking problems here do so out of boredom.

There are hundreds of activities in Costa Rica to stay busy and happy. Also don’t look for companionship in bars. Don (an alias) is an acquaintance of mine who live in a small town between Heredia and Alajuela. Every time I run into him he is complaining and grumbling about something. He spends most of his time at home playing on-line poker and squabbling with his Costa Rican neighbors over trivial matters. When he does go out , he hits the local bars where he has almost been a few fights and met some unsavory women with whom he became involved. Needless to say the relationships went nowhere. Don now tells me he moving to Nicaragua because he is fed up with Costa Rica. He is already bragging about how good the bars are there. Undoubtedly , Don will fall into the same trap there and be miserable. He has also mentioned Colombia and Thailand if things don’t work out in Nicaragua. I guess he preparing for another personal disaster.

The bottom line is that if you move abroad you take your problems with you and they won’t go away by excessive drinking or other destructive behavior. Get involved in constructive activities and you will be more successful when living abroad. This is what I preach on my monthly relocation/retirement tours.

You are in shock and awe when someone shows up “on time”.
You are in shock and awe when YOU show up on time.
You haven’t looked at your wrist in years to see what time it is.
You can even travel in other countries without a watch.
You call everyone “mi amor” or “cielito”.
You know that 3 oçlock means 4, four oclock means 5 etc….
Being stood up doesn’t even phase you. You already had a back-up
plan. Actually you expect to be stood up and are pleasantly surprised when you aren’t.( This specifically applies to dating situations)
You stop to drop people off in the middle of the highway
You signal turning your car buy sticking your hand out the window and make a motion like you are petting a dog on the head
You “loan” people money and never think of being so rude as to ask for repayment
You feel like yo cannot enter a room without shaking everyone’s hand
When given an option…you choose the longest line
You miss the chaos when you leave the country.
You miss the way black beans in restaurants used
to be whole and had a different flavor.
Diay and puta come out of your mouth like you were born to them.
You watch a Spanish language movie and you
understand the body language that gives another layer of nuance to the acting.
You start to prevaricate so somebody else can save face.
You answer bien por dicha even when the other
person doesn’t ask you how you were, but you were
expecting them to, so you say it automatically.
The sound of a gringo accent in Spanish makes your ears bleed.
You get pissed off when your friend slams the door to your car.
You go to an English speaking country and when
you want to ask for a glass of water the first
thing out of your mouth to a waiter in a
restaurant is “mae, regalame….” and you don’t
get why he’s looking at you funny.
You point with your lips.
You snap your index finger against your second (bird) finger when you think something’s funny or incredible.

A few weeks ago I wrote a similar column but want to elaborate on the subject.

As most of my faithful readers know I have been living in Costa Rica for 30 years. I came here when I was young and gave up the security of a well-paying job to do it. I fell in love with the country on my first trip and became addicted to the pura vida lifestyle found here.

Immediately I realized all that the country had to offer: great people, unparalleled natural beauty, one of the best climates in the world, first-world medical care, good real estate investments, a lot to do to stay busy and happy, an incredible lifestyle, and a lot of intangibles. I feel so luck to have been able to come here and start a new career and to be extremely successful at it. My best selling guidebooks and monthly relocation/retirement tours have been successful beyond my dreams. My real estate investments have also paid off very well. So much so that I just finished a 554 page book (Christopher Howard’s Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica) about investing in Costa Rican property. It is for the neophyte or layman who wants to invest in Costa Rica’s real at estate market. It is designed to help people make safe and profitable real estate investments in a foreign country.

I have seen a lot of North Americans move here since 2000. Now they are enjoying what I have experienced for more than half of my lifetime. The difference being is that I came here when I was young and most of the recent arrivals are middle age and seniors. I feel fortunate to have experience this country in my youth and to have lived her for over a quarter of a century. Don’t get me wrong. You can enjoy the country at any age. That’s what makes the place so popular with tourists and above all with retirees.

You may order Christopher Howard’s Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica from amazon.com, by calling toll free 800-365-2342, in U.S. And Costa Rican bookstores or the eBook version at Escape Artist

Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica

SAN JOSÉ, COSTA RICA – For close to a decade, Costa Rica has been building a reputation as a reliable place to invest in property. In fact, in 2006 Costa Rica was one the hottest real estate markets in the world according to CNBC News.

The dollar is weak and will continue to spiral downward; the current world financial mess, wars, record deficits and more will keep the pressure on. Furthermore, the U.S. government will be staring at a colossal tax increase in just a few years to fund the bail out, social security, universal health coverage and Medicaid benefits for the flood of retirees. Some say that under under the current plan, federal income taxes will increase dramatically. New tax rate would possibly give the United States one of the highest tax rates among developed countries.

Where is the end of the huge financial burden the government is placing on every taxpayer? Diversifying out of a falling currency and into hard assets outside the U.S. just might be the only way to protect your hard-earned wealth—and enjoy and preserve the lifestyle you might consider. The super rich have been doing this for years to protect their wealth and educe liability. They safeguard their money and diversify their investment portfolio by investing in international assets. Now the average Joe can protect what he has left from the world economic fall out by using the same strategy.

But in these difficult economic times, those who invest in real estate anywhere in the world feel the need to do so safely.

That’s why Christopher Howard, author of many titles on living abroad, has published his latest tome, Christopher Howard’s Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica. At 544 pages, the book is the result of many years of research and personal experience, and the most comprehensive guide to the topic to date.

Written by professional journalists Lindsay Whip and Peter Krupa, the book includes carefully researched chapters on permitting, finding property, due diligence, and financing, among others. Another lengthy section gives an overview of the country’s various geographical regions and architectural styles, while a resource directory offers an extensive list of contacts, from lawyers and environmental engineers, to private bilingual schools.

“I wanted to make this book essential for one-time home buyers and developers alike,” Howard said. “Doing business in Costa Rica doesn’t have to be complicated and people should research things so they have the right questions to ask when they move forward.”

Howard stressed that co-authors Whip and Krupa wrote the book as professional journalists and are not involved in any aspect of the real estate business in Costa Rica. Whip has worked as a financial journalist for Bloomberg News and the Financial Times, while Krupa lives in Costa Rica and spent several years freelancing and working as the business and real estate reporter for English-language weekly the Tico Times.

The book is available through Amazon.com, in most bookstores through Baker & Taylor, and the eBook version from Escape Artist and review copies can be sent to members of the media. Both Howard and Krupa are available to comment to the media on the book. To request a review copy or set up an appointment for an interview, see the numbers above.

Costa Rica Books
Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica website
Call TOLL FREE 877-322-4690, 877-884-2502 or 800-365-2342 (afternoons)
E-mail to christopher@costaricabooks.com