Costa Rica Tourism and Retirement Guide
Retire early in Costa Rica
Why you too can retire early in Costa Rica.
Have you ever thought about retiring early? Maybe the financial advice you received in your own country has discouraged you from doing so. The rules are different when you move to Costa Rica. Your money goes much further here. You don't need heating and above 1500 ft you don't need air conditioning . My water, electricity and gas bills together are less than $40 a month. You can get a haircut for $3. A mechanic charges $3 an hour. That means that an engine rebuild is comparable to a minor repair in the States. You can have a house cleaner or a gardener for $1.50 an hour. You can have a 2000 sq ft house built for about $120,000, or a simple Tico style 1000 sq ft house for less than $60,000. You (or your gardener) can grow a lot of your own food.
If you have $600,000 you can spend $100,000 on a house and from the money you have left you will have a guaranteed income of at least $15,000 a year which is enough for two persons to live on. One person can retire easily with $400,000. If you have a pension or other regular income you can retire with much less. All you need then is enough capital to build a house if you want to own one. Or you could rent.
Once you have residence, you can get health insurance for around $60 per month.
To find out how to go about moving to Costa Rica see:
The Steps to retirement in Costa Rica Page, a practical step by step explanation of how to retire in Costa Rica.