Retire for Less in Costa Rica – February 28, 2017

We always get lots of responses and questions from readers, both newsletter subscribers and on Facebook.

We recently did a two-day customized relocation tour for some nice folks who were kind enough to send us some feedback and their thanks. Here is their note:

I know Paul is tired after the two day tour…His Grecia restaurant choice was good—we never expected to find good Mexican food in CR! Seriously, there was a lot of information. We appreciate it all.

We really enjoyed the people we met.  Especially around San Ramon.  Steve and John were incredible and seem like they have endless energy.  In Grecia, Annie and Frank were true prizes.  I can see why you and Paul think so much of them. We really liked them and think it’s great everything they’ve done and are doing.

The key is we met a lot of great people.  They certainly aren’t just “hanging around until it’s over” in CR- they are making lives and an impact.  We think that’s great!

The touring around towns was great!  We really learned a lot just walking around town, walking into shops, markets, and culture centers, and just getting a feel.  To give you one example, after we had driven through San Ramon a couple times last year we were sort of afraid to get out of our car and walk around.  After spending the day walking around with Paul we would have no trouble living there and would not be afraid at all.  In fact, we are now only considering two places in CR- Atenas and San Ramon (though we would bop to Grecia, San Ramon, and Palmares to go out for day trips and noshing around).

At any rate, thank you very much for the tour.  Thank you very much for all the information.  We both really enjoyed the days and learned a lot about Costa Rica.

T & B

Thanks T & B. We enjoyed getting to know you and showing you “our” Costa Rica. Let us know if you have any questions going forward. The info exchange doesn’t stop with the end of the tour!

After spending a month living in Santa Ana, our past tour guests Hector and Hildie wrote us to give us their thoughts about “The Good, the Not so Good and the Disappointing about Costa Rica.” They are allowing us to share it with our readers.

The Good:

• Metropolitan Hospital/Medismart. The discount bought us very good care:
  • Ophthalmological care -They discovered a medical problem that could have led to glaucoma. Something like that develops over three to four years. Annual check ups in the US did not discover it. It is easily remedied with eye drops (low cost, with pharmacy discount)
  • Physical Therapy: $15.60 for a whole hour with a licensed therapist who received additional training in Germany. Hildie’s long standing problem (tendinitis/epycondilytis) had been solved.

• Uber/The Internet/Cell Phones. Since we want to live without a car of our own, Uber is a life saver! We quickly figured out what to input so that they could find us (hint: not GPS, more like landmarks, restaurants etc.) and we met the nicest people, from teachers to warehouse workers, government employees, chemical engineers and sales people. We used it a lot and spent less than we do on our car in the U. S. in an average month. Internet coverage was flawless, much better than what we have in the U. S.

• Proximart. There was a spanking new “Mini Super”, clean and air conditioned, less than 300 ft. away – very reasonable prices, some prices under those of Mas x Menos, fresh produce, and an incredible international assortment of goods, from Swiss Ricola to Italian rice cakes.

The Not So Good

• Santa Ana. Rusty huts next to gleaming high rises; traffic congestion; and some neighborhoods really look dangerous. Too eclectic to be called “upscale.”
• Real Estate.  For our needs (a safe home and neighborhood, accessible without our own car, large enough, attractive) we’d have to spend as much as our home is worth here. Nothing under $1,000/month to rent in Santa Ana. Much lower when going directly to builder or owner.
• The prices.  The Sunday morning market isn’t cheaper than the supermarkets, and most offerings obviously come out of storage. The cauliflower everywhere was moldy, and the vendors cut off rotten carrot tips to sell them as fresh…. Restaurant dinners were way more than what we pay here.

The Disappointing

• The homeless sleeping on the sidewalk next to the hospital… and beggars in the streets of Santa Ana
• The vacation rental. Rusty doors and appliances (I had the same models in 1981), the second bedroom was no more than a walk-through closet to the bathroom. But the people were so friendly and helpful, we didn’t feel we should complain.
• The weather. Oh, that humidity. Some of our clothes got moldy. But the afternoon showers were on time!

We can understand why some people may give up on the idea of moving to Costa Rica. Not us, we still love the people and the gorgeous nature – the butterflies on every shrub and flower – and the range of temperatures at the altitude we want to be, such as Palmares and Grecia. We just have to keep looking for the right place to live, within our budget.

Hector & Hildie

Thanks Hector and Hildie! I’m sure some of our readers will find your reflections about your time in Santa Ana especially helpful.

Here is a question about why we moved into an apartment in town, plus info about buying appliances in Costa Rica, from TicoTom:

Howdy. I read your thorough explanation of your recent move into San Ramon. I’m curious what motivated you to move into the center of town?

There is another option for purchasing appliances and electronics that I discovered during my 24 years of living and working here. In San Jose, there is a warehouse where a guy distributes appliances and electronics from Golfito. If you call the guy, and tell him exactly what you want to purchase, he can get you the same brand and model you find in the local appliance stores, usually for considerably less. Since I am the administrator of furnished rental apartments in the central valley, I’m always in need of appliances that need to be replaced and or repaired.

Obtaining a certified warranty for your appliances is as important as what brand and what discount you obtain. I recently had the need to purchase a dryer and after investigating the options, I decided to purchase a gas dryer to save on electricity consumption. I found out an important fact to be considered; the gas dryers sold here are not manufactured for the propane gas tanks available here, and the machines need a conversion kit to be installed or the dryer will burn your clothes. I called the appliance guy and he offered me the same Whirlpool gas dryer I had found at the local appliance store for $80 less than the best deal I could find and he delivers and shows you how to install all the appliances he sells. I asked him about the conversion and warranty and he told me that he would give me an official receipt from an appliance store in Golfito and that I needed to guard the receipt and call a toll free number to schedule an appointment for the conversion or any future service. The receipt was in the name of another person, but this is not important for warranty purposes. The appliance guy delivers the appliances he sells to your home and helps you set them up. So after I purchased the dryer and the guy delivered it, I called the toll free number and within three days the technicians arrived to make the conversion of the new gas dryer and I have a one-year warranty for the dryer from the manufacturer. I and many other friends have purchased various appliances from this guy over the past 10 years and he is very reliable and stands behind what he sells.

I selected a gas dryer because it only consumes 110-volt electricity to run a small motor. The big savings comes when you’re not consuming 220 volt electricity for the heater. Gas tank replacement just increased to 8000 colones and that lasts for a month and my electric bill increased only 2000 colones. So there is great savings, as some friends have told me that their electric bills increased by 20,000 colones a month with an electric dryer. Additionally, the gas dryer heater is like a gas cooktop, it’s much more efficient than an electric appliance.

If you would like to contact Tom’s English-speaking appliance guy, his name is David Cohen and his phone number is 8322-1964. And here is our answer to him about why we moved into town:

Hi Tom,

Thanks for getting in touch. We had been living in the country for the last eight years and, I especially, loved it. But the negative was that we were a bit isolated from Ticos, local culture, and opportunities to speak Spanish. Those things were especially important to Paul. We both wanted to improve our Spanish and the best way to do that is be speaking it often. Plus, living in town would be a new experience. It is extremely convenient and is a different way of life. Besides the noise of the motorcycles and other traffic, we’re liking it. Since we are renting, we have the flexibility to try new things and move more easily than if we owned a home.
Thanks for asking!

Gloria

And on Facebook, we received lots of comments about the article, “10 Ways to Fit In When You Retire in Costa Rica.” 

Paul started off the discussion with this comment:

We went to a wedding shower yesterday. We had lots of fun, speaking Spanish & dancing. They had singers too & because I lived in Mexico was able to request some songs, which they sang. Unfortunately, we had to come home to feed the cats after 5 hours or we’d still be there.

Alan O. commented:

Rule Number One: Learn to speak Spanish fluently.

Paul responded with:

The first thing the article mentioned was the Spanish, but I think fluently is asking a lot. I would say, do the best you can,” but REALLY TRY, & KEEP AT IT. If you can get past the basics, well that’s where the true adventure lies.

Thanks, everyone for the lively discussion.