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

In my bestselling travel guidebook, “The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica,” I talk about two Americans drunks who get “taken to the cleaners” by a couple of sly Costa Rican women. Most Americans who come here and get involved with Costa Rican women have good relationships but about 25 percent experience a lot of hardships and grief and end up paying a steep emotional and step monetary price for their mistakes. I would now like to tell you about one such American retiree who is even stupider than dumb and dumber.

Jim came to Costa Rica about eight years ago. He proudly served his country in Vietnam and eventually became a policeman when he returned to the States. He worked as an peace officer in Arizona for about 20 years but injuring his back in the line of duty and was forced to retire at age 50. Fortunately, he received a good disability pension of around $3,000 per month. If you saw Jim you’d never think he had a physical disability. Jim is an imposing figure who stands about six feet three and must weigh about 245 pounds.

A couple of years after he moved to Costa Rica he met a 25 year old Costa Rican woman who had two teenage sons. Jim dated her for a couple of years and they got married. Here is where the story gets interesting. As I mentioned above Jim is a combat veteran, an ex-policeman and built like an NFL linebacker. It turns out that his wife has his him wrapped around her little finger. All she has to do is say, “jump” and he jumps. For some reason he is scared shitless of his little woman.

On top of that, she controls all of his money and only gives him a small allowance of about $250 per month. He even has to ask her for permission to go out with his male friends. When he is out she calls him about every hour to se where he is and often shows up at the place he is at to check up on him. Poor Jim! His wife is a very jealous and insecure woman.

Jim is also paying for her two son’s college educations at a private Costa Rican university. The two kids show there gratitude by stealing money from Jim’s wallet every so often. He wouldn’t dare accuse them in front of his wife or she’d rip off his head.

If things weren’t bad enough, Jim is forced has to help his wife’s relatives with bills from time to time. He is nothing more than their on-demand ATM machine.

I could go and tell you hundreds of sad anecdotes about Jim’s terrible relationship but don’t want to bore you with the details. I just wonder why he hangs in there. My whole point is to warn American retirees about the dangers of getting involved with the wrong Costa Rican women. If guys use a little common sense, test the woman they are dating, look at the family that surround them and don’t rush into things out of desperation, they stand a much better chance of having a successful relationship and not ending up like Dumb and Dumber or my friend JIm.

There are a lot of Baby Boomers and others who have had to put their retirement and life plans on hold because of the current world financial crisis.

Moving to a country like Costa Rica may help Baby Boomer retirees solve their indebtedness and enjoy their Golden years.

In a recent newspaper article it was pointed out that 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.

All kinds of debt held by this age group have risen, but the big problem is mortgages. Thirty-nine percent of households with heads aged 60 through 64 had primary mortgages in 2010 and 20% had secondary mortgages, including home-equity lines. And the housing crash has made things worse. 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. Unfortunately, the amount of indebtedness with respect to the value of their homes has gone up because house prices have fallen faster than mortgages have been reduced.

So many Boomers and seniors have little choice but to keep working. Some people will be faced with having to work into their 70s and beyond. To make matters worse the typical American household nearing retirement with a 401(k) retirement account has less than one-quarter of what it needs in that account to maintain its standard of living in retirement. Instead of boosting their savings as they approach retirement, a period when people usually make their largest retirement contributions, some older people are stopping contributions in order to service debts. Some who had already retired are going back to work because they can’t make the financial numbers add up.

Debt levels of older Americans have been rising for more than two decades. Of households with heads aged 62 through 69 and with mortgages, the median amount of mortgage debt hit $71,000 in 2007, five times the 1987 inflation-adjusted median. Most people make their biggest salaries in their 50s and 60s, which should permit them to make their biggest retirement-savings contributions. But partly because of debt payments, many are missing out on the end-of-career push that is supposed to boost retirement savings to where they need to be.

So what is the solution? How are retirees now or in the immediate future going to be able to maintain or increase their standard of living given the gloomy picture above? The answer for some is to move to a country like Costa Rica to salvage what they have left of their money and lifestyle. It boils down to either riding out the storm, which may take years, or becoming proactive and looking for a place to live where a couple’s Social Security checks and/or pension will go farther, thus enabling them not to have to continue working the rest of their lives. A couple can live in Costa Rica, have a decent lifestyle for a few thousand dollars monthly, enjoy affordable medical care and the other amenities the country has to offer.

Something for Baby Boomers and Retirees to think about.

FDI intelligence recently stated, “In the future Costa Rica will be the best place in Central America and the Caribbean for foreign investment.

The country also was ranked in first place in the categories of best human resources and economic potential, friendly business atmosphere and investment attractiveness.

FDI Intelligence is a specialist division from the Financial Times Ltd established to provide industry leading insight into globalization with a portfolio of world-class products, services and business tools that allow organizations such as investment promotion agencies, companies, services providers and academic institutions to make informed decisions regarding foreign direct investment and associated activities.

This news is not only good for large companies and businesses that want to relocate to Costa Rica but also small time investors like Baby Boomers retirees. They can feel safe investing in a home, property or business given FDI’s ranking of the country. In addition to the factors they took into consideration the country’s political stability, educated work force, medical care, tourism and other factors make Costa Rica a good bet.

How often do you hear bad things about Costa Rica on the evening news in the U.S.? The answer is never. News about Costa Rica is most often mentioned in conjunction with programs about nature and travel. On the other hand, other so-called retirement places like Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia and Ecuador are most often mentioned in a negative context.

It is inevitable that everyday some unhappy “gringo” posts something negative on the Costa Rica Living news group, AM Costa Rica or Inside Costa Rica. Some of their complaints are valid but most are based on ignorance or the person’s lack of ability to understand or adapt to the culture here. They just beat subjects and threads to death as they stand perched on their soap boxes.

Costa Rica is NOT paradise. Paradise does not exist. However, with the right attitude people can have an incredible lifestyle here and enjoy their retirement years less expensively than in the U.S.

I was watching the evening news last night and it really make me feel lucky to live in a country like this. First, they talked about the gut-wrenching famine in Somalia. It really brings tears in one’s eyes to see all of those poor children starving. Thank god even the poorest children in Costa Rica don’t have to go through that.

Next, they showed the war in Afghanistan and the effects of the violence on the people of that country. We don’t have a war going on here and don’t even have an army which is a blessing in itself. Our only pseudo wars are the fight against crime and drunken drivers.

Then came the stories about the riots in London and the story about civilians being slaughtered in Syria. None of this extreme violence exists in Costa Rica. We do have more crime than before but no violence on the scale of the countries I just mentioned.

The headline story was about the recent blow to the U.S. economy, the fear of a double-dip recession and the plunge of the stock market. All of this is very disheartening for those Americans who have already been clobbered by a loss of home equity, the loss of their homes, the loss of jobs and the attrition of savings and stocks. Some Baby Boomers Retirees, especially those with fixed incomes, will surely be adversely impacted by this new downturn. We’ll just have to see how this all plays out.

So when the “Gringo” malcontents start bitching about their woes in Costa Rica, they should put things in their proper perspective and look what’s happening in the rest of the world. Indeed we are lucky to live here. Things could be a hell of a lot worse in these tough times.

Recently, I was interviewed by Fox Business News for an article which came out on August 10, 2011. I sent a copy of the article to my sister who is retired and living in Washington, state. After reading it she told me that it is definitely less expensive to live in Costa Rica than in the United States.

In the article I show two carefully researched sample budgets for people living here. The first demonstrates approximately what you need and what you get with a monthly pension of $1500. The second list shows how well you can live with a pension between $3000 to $4000 dollars.

In any case you can get more bang for your buck and will undoubtedly have a richer lifestyle due to the lower cost of living here. A Social Security check of $2000 is like a millionaire’s pay for a Costa Rican. Two thousand dollars is the equivalent of one million colones (the Costa Rican unit of currency). Thus, many retirees will be considered millionaires here.

If a Costa Rican who earns under $500 per month is considered lower class and one who makes making $500 to $2000 monthly is considered middle class, then any retiree with a pension of more than $2,000 is well off and should be able to live comfortably here.

Here are the sample budgets from the 16th edition of my bestselling book, “The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica” which I used for the Fox article. Readers should get a good idea of what they can get for their money be look at the lists.

I just read an article by a single American who claims to live well for under $1000 per month. This clearly demonstrates that those with a limited pension and a bit of self-discipline can live here successfully.

Here is an example of a budget for a single person who has no more than $1,500 to spend a month:
Rent $200 to $300
Electricity and water $20
Cable TV $25
Monthly Transportation $50
Monthly public health insurance (medicines included) $50
Food $200
Entertainment $100 -$150
Misc. $200

Budge for someone with $3000, to $4,000 to spend per month
A couple who owns a $150,000 home (three bedrooms and three baths) free and clear and has a car will probably have the following monthly expenses in Costa Rica.
Private medical insurance $200
Dental care $50 per month
A part time maid $100 to $150
Part time gardener $30
Beauty parlor $75
Food including inexpensive fruits and vegetables from a
Farmer’s market and many imported American products $500 per month
Entertainment (movies, socializing) $200- $300
Dining out a couple of times a week $300
Private gym $50 – $100 per couple
Country Club (after you pay initial fees) $100 to $200 per month
Car insurance for a relatively new car $100
Utilities (water and electricity) $100
Telephone (using Vonage or Skype for long distance) $75-$100
High speed Internet $50
Cable or satellite TV $50
Car repairs $50
Garbage $40 per year
Property taxes on your $150,000 home $20 per month
Misc. expenses $300
Other possible expenses
Travel to U.S. or other countries $3000-$5000 or more per year