On Sunday November 27, 2011 I finished my monthly relocation retirement tour and I am proud to announce it was a complete success. One only had to see the smile on my client’s faces at the end of the tour to know that everything went smoothly and that they received all of the necessary information, tools and contacts to relocate to Costa Rica successfully.

I had fifteen people on the tour. I usually don’t have that large of a group but business has really picked up lately and it seemed like everyone wanted to come in November.

One the first half of the tour we visited the beautiful Dominical-Uvita-Ojochal area on the southern Pacific Coast. That part of Costa Rica is reminiscent of California’s Big Sur where the mountains come down to the sea. My clients were really blown away by the area’s beauty. While there we visited a breathtaking rain forest and ocean view community called Portasol. It really has to be seen to believed.

Next we spent the night in the Manuel Antonio/Quepos area. My clients saw the sights, strolled on a white sand beach, toured the new marina, and witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime sunset from the Mariposa Hotel high above Manuel Antonio Beach.

On our last day at the beach we visited Esterillos Este, Playa Hermosa, Jacó Beach and the Los Sueños Marina.

Next we returned to San José on Wednesday and spent Thursday and Friday in a highly informative relocation seminar sponsored by the Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR).

Finally, on Saturday and Sunday we toured the Central Valley. We visited San José, Escazú, Santa Ana, Ciudad Colón, San Antonio de Belén, Heredia, Atenas, Grecia, San Ramón and Alajuela.

My clients thanked me for everything and I assured them that they were lifetime customers and to contact me if there was anything they needed.

On my website www.liveincostarica.com I basically offer three retirement/relocation tours: The Central Valley Tour or Inland Tour, The Central and South Pacific Beach Tour and my most popular tour, The Combination Central and South Pacific Beach Tour/Inland Valley Tour.

Over the years thousands of people have been introduced to Costa Rica by taking one of my tours. I have noticed that some people just sign up for the beach tour thinking the beach is for them. While Costa Rica’s beaches are beautiful, living at the beach is not for the feint of heart. Except for Jaco, Quepos and Tamarindo living at the beach can be very isolated. None of these beaches have infrastructure like most beach towns in the U.S. i.e. movie theaters, great shopping and good medical services. The hot humid weather can also get to be too much. Costa Rica’s beach areas are drop-dead beautiful and alluring but lacking a lot.

For that very reason I suggest that if people are interested in the beach, they also take the Inland portion as part of the Combination Tour. Many times clients who only take only the beach portion have told me, “I should have signed up for the Combo Tour to see the Central Valley. Now I have to make a another trip to find out what it like.”

My purpose for writing this is to help potential clients make the best possible use of their time and money during their initial exploratory tour of Costa Rica

This week we were all saddened by the death of Steve Jobs at the age of 56. I have always used the products he pioneered and invented in my self-publishing and travel businesses. But what really moved me was something he said during a commencement address at Stanford University in 2005.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

I was about the same age as the students Steve was addressing in the excerpt above when my passion for living in Latin America was born. I had won a scholarship to study Spanish in Puebla, Mexico for one year. During the time I studied there I lived with a fantastic Mexican family. They went out of their way to treat me like one of their own children. I felt so at home that I really didn’t want to return to the States when my year of studying ended. However, I had no other choice because I had to finish college and I had no way of making a living in Mexico.

I promised myself that I was going to live in Mexico or some other place in Latin America as soon as possible. Thus, my dream was born and I was going to pursue it at almost any cost. I eventually found a job as Spanish Bilingual teacher in San Francisco, California which gave me at least four months vacation every year to explore Mexico and the other countries Central and South America. After traveling extensively I decided that Costa Rica was the place I wanted to live for a variety of factors: The people, the weather, the country’s unparalleled natural beauty and a lot of intangibles. I knew I just had to live here.

It took me a couple of years to get my affairs in order to be able to make the move but I did it June of 1980. I gave a up an excellent teaching position, sold a home and cashed out, left some good friends and family behind and embarked on a new journey. The rest is really history. I found success beyond my wildest dreams, got married, had a son and most of all followed my heart and intuition as Steve Jobs stated in his graduation speech.

I truly feel blessed that I made the right choice. A lot of my close friends in the States admire me for having had the courage to pursue and live my dreams. Not many people in life get the chance to do it.

It is really never to late to undertake a new adventure in life. Fortunately, I had the insight to make the journey early in life. For retirees and Baby Boomers who want to experience the excitement of living in a foreign land like Costa Rica, there is still time to live their dream.

As everyone knows there is a huge financial crisis in the United States and in many of the world’s countries. Unfortunately medical costs have not gone down as a result and people are finding themselves with less money to pay their medical bills. This situation is especially hard for retirees on a fixed income.

Recently, it was stated on the CBS Evening News that the average annual cost of medical insurance for a family in the U.S. was around $15,000. Well, in Costa Rica I have private medical insurance and pay just a little over $2,000 yearly. Costa Rica’s public health care system is even more affordable. A retiree pays just under $60 monthly to be in the country’s public health care system which covers doctor’s visits, lab work, hospitalization and medicines.

In general medical treatment in Costa Rica can range from a third to even a fourth of what it can cost in the United States and Canada.

Here are some of the costs in the U.S. Versus Costa Rica

Medical procedures

• Heart Bypass $130,000 USA / $24,000 Costa Rica
• Angioplasty $57,000 USA / $9,000 Costa Rica
• Hip Replacement $43,000 USA / $12,000 Costa Rica
• Hysterectomy $20,000 USA / $4,000 Costa Rica
• Knee Replacement $40,000 USA / $11,000 Costa Rica
• Facelift $7,000-$9,000 USA / $4,600 – $5,000 Costa Rica
• Nose job $8,000-$12,000 USA / $3,500 – $3,900 Costa Rica
• Breast Lift $5,000-$8,000 USA / $3,000 – $3,400 Costa Rica
• Breast Augmentation $5,000-$8,000 USA  / $2,700 – $2,900 Costa Rica
• Tummy Tuck $6,000-$8,500 USA  / $3,900 – $4,200 Costa Rica
• Facelift $7,000-$9,000 USA  / $4,600 – $5,000 Costa Rica
• Laparoscopic Gastroplasty $30,000 USA /  $10,500 Costa Rica

General and Cosmetic Dentistry

• Bridges $1,000+ per tooth USA /  $250 – $400 per tooth Costa Rica
• Crowns $1,000+ per tooth  / $250 – $400 per tooth Costa Rica
• Implants $3,500+ per tooth USA  / $700 – $900 per tooth Costa Rica
• Root canal $800 USA  / $315 Costa Rica

Given the duration of the current economic disaster in the United States and the fact that there is end in sight, a lot of older Americans are basically faced with two choices: They can attempt to ride out the storm or bail out by moving to a less expensive country like Costa Rica.

If they choose to hang in the future is very, very uncertain. Some Boomers may have to work well into their 70s and many will virtually have to work the rest of their lives. In a recent blog I wrote this: “More Americans are reaching their 60s with so much debt they can’t afford to retire. In the past most people used to pay off their debts before reaching the retirement age. Unfortunately wages have barely kept up with rising prices over the past 35 years Americans have pushed debt higher, living beyond their means. Sadly, now many boomers and others are being forced to delay their retirement, cutting living standards or both.” Furthermore “A few years ago, homeowners in their 60s with big mortgages could sell their homes for a profit and buy smaller places or rent. But the drop in housing values means that many homeowners have little equity, and some now owe more than their houses are worth.”

On the other hand, retirees who choose to move abroad can reduce their cost of living significantly and start enjoying their Golden years now. I was talking to my sister, who lives in the Seattle area, and we were comparing the cost of living in both places. Here is the end result:

• Medical care is much more affordable in Costa Rica
• Hired help is a bargain here
• Home repairs are a fraction of what they are in the U.S.
• Fruits, vegetables and other items produced here are also much more affordable.
• If you want to continue your education by studying Spanish or anything else to saty busy ad happy, you can do it for a lot less here.
• The cost of entertainment is also more reasonable
• Cell phone rates are also affordable. I have two lines and pay les than $30 a month.
• Public transportation is also incredibly cheap when compared to the U.S.
• Decent apartments can be found for around $600 per month, especially in outlying towns.

There are many more ways a retiree can have an affordable lifestyle by moving here.

Mi granito de arena – My two cents worth