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Costa Rica: Cost Of Living

The primary promise that brings new residents to third world countries such as Costa Rica, is the ability to live on a fraction of what is costs in the more developed (and therefore taxed) countries of the world.

Fortune Magazine reported in 1998, that over 600,000 American have become expatriates, mainly for this reason, they just want to maintain their lifestyle or get away from a society that does not meet their goals.

Most Americans, “the poorest retirement savers in the world”, approach retirement with the shocking realization that they will have to live on the meager benefits allotted by social security. Even those who can supplement this pittance with an IRA, 401K, or company retirement often fall far short of their goal of living in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.

Could you live on $1000 per month, tomorrow, if you had to? Could you even do it on $2000? If you live in the US, Western Europe or Australia, fat chance! But if you take that same money (as 50,000 shrewd retirees in Guadalajara have done) and emigrated south to Mexico, Belize, Honduras or Costa Rica, you could do just fine, thank you!

Cheap real estate
Sunny weather
Lower cost of living
Low taxation
Inexpensive medical care

In recent years, Central America has become the Florida, California and Arizona of the 1950’s. Remember when you could buy beachfront property in Florida for a song? When prices in California were dirt cheap? Well, those days are now in full bloom just a little further south of the border. The slower paced climate of Central American has awakened to the realization that is can revitalize its economy by becoming the retirement center of the western world.

All of the things that made Florida and California boom are now happening in Belize, Honduras and Costa Rica, as is starting to emerge, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Guatemala.

As more and more Americans Europeans and Canadians face the challenge of retirement, we are seeing an exodus of retirees to sunnier shores. If you look closely, you will find that the Europeans are right there too, especially in Costa Rica and Cuba, the next sure-fire real estate development in the Caribbean.
As I sit here, writing this article in Hawaii, I look around and see the future of development in Central America. The hotels, retirement communities and resorts surrounding me were just a dream in the 50’s and 60’s when I first came here as a soldier. Today, well, you know the story! You try to buy a piece of the rock in Hawaii!

The lower cost of living is the lure that attracts the outside world to the emerging countries. It will also be the fuel that feeds their growth and development, creating tremendous investment opportunities as well.