Most people think of Costa Rica as a retirement haven for those who want to stretch their pensions and enjoy a high quality of life. However, there is another group of people who are becoming interested in Costa Rica — the wealthy.

I was watching Fox News today and Donald Trump, the real estate mogul and reality TV star, was interviewed at length about Obama’s proposed tax plan that would that would exclude those making over $2,000 yearly. Mr. Trump opposes President Obama’s effort to deny an extension of the Bush era tax cuts for people with income of more than $200,000 a year. “He’s taking away a lot of incentives from a lot of people that produce a lot of taxes,” Trump told Fox News. Trump also stated, “A lot of wealthy people may choose to move outside of the United States because of Obama’s tax policy.”

If the above happens don’t be surprised if a lot wealthy people choose to relocate to Costa Rica. Americans from different walks of life and with different levels of income all fit in here. There is something for everyone regardless of their resources. The wealthy will find the countries tax structure and private corporations very appealing for protecting their assets. There are more Americans living proportionately in Costa Rica than any other country outside of the U.S. They can’t be wrong!

The other day I was listening to an interview of Dr. Travis Stork who is one of stars of the television show, “The Doctors.” He was talking about the danger of going on the internet and trying to diagnose one’s symptoms. He stated that if you go to a medical website because you have a pain in some part of your body, you can actually end up thinking that you may have cancer or some other serious diseases according to what you read. He stressed it is always better to go to the doctor rather than seek a self-diagnosis.

The same thing can happen when goes on the Internet to find out about retiring or living in Costa Rica. The are over 1,000,000 results on Google for this term. So who or what do you believe? Probably 99 percent of all of the sites have information that was copied from the few good sources on the subject. Other sites are trying to sell you real estate or something else. You really never know who is behind the site or if the information and advise that is dolled out can help or hinder you.

What you need to do is this:
(1) Look for companies and individuals who have been here for at least 10 years. A lot of gringos who move here think they know everything after only having lived her a year. I hear these people talking all of the time. If you go to a medical specialist, do you choose one who has 2 to 5 years of experience or one who has 20 years in the field? A no brainer!!!!!
(2) Google the person or organization’s name to see if they have any baggage.
(3) If you contact one of these sites ask to talk with some former clients.
(4) Ask what the person behind the organization did before moving to Costa Rica to make sure that he or she isn’t an overnight expert.
(5) Most of all remember the Internet is a valuable tool but unfortunately it has provided a theater to give some people their five minutes of fame and others the opportunity to take advantage of you or give out incorrect information.

Like everyone else I still remember where I was on September 11, 2002. I was at the Clínica Bíblica Hospital in downtown San José, Costa Rica. I recall sitting in the waiting room and watching the horrible events of that day transpire. After I left the hospital I went to the MacDonald’s across from the National Theater and stayed there for a few hours following the developing story on TV. There was a strange silence that filled the room as everyone had their eyes glued to the television.

The ticos joked about the tragedy months later saying that a similar event could never take place in Costa Rica because the locals are so disorganized that they could never coordinate getting four planes of the ground at one time. The also said the the thieves would probably rob the terrorists of all of their funds making it impossible for them to carry out their mission.

Fortunately, terrorism is not an issue in Costa Rica. The country has no external nor internal enemies and hasn’t had a standing army since the late 1940s. There is no need for one. Costa Rica also has the U.S.looking over it like a big brother. The United States would come to the rescue if anything happened here.

Don’t get me wrong! There are strict security checks at the country’s airports to limit the chances of a terrorist act occurring here.

Potential retirees can feel safe about moving here and not worry about terrorism as an issue.

A recent edition of the publication “Travel and Leisure” considers Costa Rica a good place for those traveling alone. In the article the magazine considered the fifteen best places for single travelers. The most important factor taken into consideration was safety. According to the Global Peace Index Costa Rica ranks 27 out of 149 countries in terms of safety. Another important factor is the fact that Costa Rica was the #1 country in the category of happiness. All tourists feel welcome here.

Besides single travelers single retirees also feel welcome. On my monthly retirement and relocation tours I have many singles who eventually move here. Furthermore, over the years I have met scores of single male and female retirees who lead very happy and productive lives here. There are hundreds of activities in which they can participate to keep busy and avoid loneliness. Many singles even get involved romantically and end up getting married here. I personally know many people who have married here and are very happy.

Costa Rica isn’t for every single person but those who make the effort to socialize lead good lives here.

Today was the first day of the monthly ARCR seminar for potential retirees. I always make it a point to chat with other lecturers about current trends in Costa Rica and the rest of Central America. I was talking to Charles Zeller who is an expert on moving household goods from the U.S. to Costa Rica for those who choose to retire here. Somehow we started to talk about Panama since Charles has also had a lot of experience moving people there.

The people and companies who promote Panama always make a point of talking about the incentives the country offers retirees. According to the law retirees are entitled to many discounts on a variety of services and products including some tax exonerations on certain items. However, Charles told me that “all that glitters is not gold.”

In Costa Rica a retiree’s household good and imported automobiles are taxed according to established rules and percentages. Charles point out that this process is arbitrary in Panama and a lot of retirees end up paying much more in taxes than they would have paid in Costa Rica despite all of the incentives the Panamanian offers. This came as a complete surprise to me.

After the U.S.military officially pulled out of Panama ten years ago the government began to promote tourism and retirement in order to make up for the sudden loss of revenue. So, they began to offer attractive incentives to draw Baby Boomers to the country. As you can see from the above they are not as attractive as they appear to be.