The REAL Reasons People Leave Costa Rica

Hola Michael, I am in the process of getting temporary residence in Costa Rica. I have an immigration lawyer. However I would like to speak to Pablo about moving my stuff and my four dogs to Costa Rica. Can you put me in touch with his company please.

This video was really good and very helpful thank you

We are thinking starting with 6 months there 6 months back in Canada to ease into it and to adjust to a slower pace.

What is a good business to start for a woman?

Ill get him to drive me xox

Such sweet people

The world is a beautiful place, and Costa Rica is no exception to that rule. It is a lush and beautiful small country with a darkness that lures behind it's dark facade. I certainly enjoyed my stay in Samara, Jaco, and Dominical, but the security crisis deepens Costa Rica's struggles. I am a slow traveller. I don't stay in one place longer than 3 to 6 months. I would encourage anyone to travel to Costa Rica for several months before committing to the pura vida; which is a colloquial for purity of life or simple life. Be very mindful of your surroundings because even the monkeys will steal from you. Que disfruten su viaje.

Hi Michael, Hi Pablo - Thank you for a great conversation! We're going on three years (wahoo!) and are grateful for this adventure. For us, leaving/selling everything was definitely the way to go; keeping things simple has made things easier in the long run. I had remote work in place before we moved and hubs is retired. But more than anything else, for me, this has been/is a Spiritual journey of faith seeing God at work. We rent in a very traditional Central Valley town and I'm thankful for a wonderful church and women's small group. I met a friend at church who connected me to my awesome Spanish teacher. Through Instagram, I found Costa Rican Sign Language classes and the Deaf Community. I never imagined how how wonderfully this new life would progress, but one open door leads to others! :-)

I came here to learn spanish in 2003 and within a few years I noticed that there were people who were trying to leave.
However, they were stuck because they had purchased properties/ cars.
In 2006, a desperate (and kind) man from El Salvador gave me the keys to his house under the condition that I buy the remainder of his furniture and take care of it until it sold. I took pictures, advertised, and was there to open the door (basically filter out the riff-raff).
Some properties are bigger headaches than others but generally I fix what needs to be fixed, paint, upgrade, landscape, etc. Security (in for form of ‘presence’) is part of the gig.
Anyway, I have been doing this for a while.
Like you said, among the ‘retirees’, Family is a big reason for leaving.
Also the inability to adjust.
Another reason is because of the bars on the windows. At fist they say, “Petty crime happens everywhere.”
Eventually they realize that it happens here more than they can handle.
The increased violence of the Cartels is not helping.
For working-age people, they leave because it is a nationalistic work force and the opportunities are limited.
You have to be a self-starter and your opportunities are often limited to a business in tourism, sports books, real estate, a large U.S. corporation, or education….good luck.
Getting paid is not always easy. And it is hard to get protection from the law.
For younger americans who get married and have children, they often leave when their kids are ‘school-age’.
The education system throughout Latin America is segregated between the rich and poor. An american will ask themselves, “Why would I pay $1,500 each month to send my kids to a small private school when I can get a better education at a U.S. Public School…FOR FREE?”
I volunteer at Public Schools…it’s a no-brainer….so they leave.
Regarding the culture….some call it ‘relaxed’ or ‘the simple life.’
The reality is that it is undependable.
Americans get tired of being ‘stood-up’.
In Latin America, ‘dejando la personas plantadas’ is normal behavior.
For many gringos, it is highly disrespectful….so they leave.
Another cultural condition is ‘irresponsibility’.
The most obvious statistic is the number of kids who have been abandoned by their fathers.
Lack of Teamwork.
Empty promises.
In the U.S. we "make it happen"....in Latin America, we "wait for it to happen."
Even the Chinese refer to Costa Rica as ‘bureaucratic hell’ (which is typical in Monarchy Cultures).
Dirty streets and rivers (around the GAM).
Public urination.
Dangerous drivers and excessive honking.
Costa Rica is just like anywhere…good, bad, and everything in between.
I personally love the weather.
The Central Valley has the best year around temperature in the World (opinion).
I love the beaches.
The ocean water temp is phenomenal.
Sunshine almost every morning.
General friendliness on the streets and in the parks.
Good attitudes towards life.
The Farmers are the salt of the earth.
The fruits and vegetable are amazing.
I am an athlete so I work with kids and volunteer at schools.
There are a lot of good people here making improvements.

Great info! Doesn’t hurt you’re cuties ❤

Seven year itch is one reason

I need to get in touch with Pablo looking to transport a vehicle from Ft. Lauderdale / Miami area
My name Evelyn Marti' DeLeon

Good stuff!

Awesome topic!
Pura Vida!

The more I watch your videos, the more I think we made the right decision to buy a condo in CR. We are currently going through the Residency process. We plan on keeping our tiny house in the US. It's in a recreational park and we can stay there for more than half a year, if we choose to. We plan on retiring to CR by end of the year. By that time we will have all the proper paperwork completed. We didn't want to do the border runs and want to get on the Caha. I spoke to one of your connections for shipping container and don't think it's a right choice for us. Our place was purchased fully furnished and we have a car rental place right around the corner that will pick me up and drop me off at our place. We would probably only use a car for groceries and Sunday farmer's market anyway. I even spoke to our one returning Airbnb guest and they don't think a car is necessary. We have friends there that we may be able to mooch a ride to the beach, or mountains and spend a day, or two if we want to get away. Heck, we even have a new friend who has a small place by the beach that we might be able to swap apartments for a few days.

"Wherever you go, there you are."

North Americans are used to self transport, unless your from a mass transit city. Cars, trucks are overpriced junk, and new vehicle's are way overpriced, and the roads are just trash, so for me thats a big issue, hard to give up your self control as far as getting around, but you can get around that, but damn the roads are just trash, PEACE!!!

You are a realist.... That's what makes this channel awesome.

I love living in Costa Rica 🇨🇷 6 months and 6 months in the USA. Works the best for me😊

A lot of it is self-awareness. I studied in San Jose and have visited CR a number of times since. Love that country and the people. But I know living there would not be a good fit for me. That is okay.

Agree on the grandparents at the end. Its not like here in the US that grandparents all pick up and move to be closer to grandkids. And a lot of grandkids are scattered anyway. Like you said Michael, flights within the US can be just as long or longer than flights from CR to US-so that argument doesn't really make sense. (Maybe an exception for those of us up North who need two flights and seven hours in the air for Costa Rica.)

Costa Rica, this guy as well as so many others in Costa Rica are looking to separate you from your money, don't fall for it, they make money either way, don't fall for this crap, adults are adults, Costa Rica is a lonely place and you better have a lot of money, the entire economy is built on Foreigners money, it's becoming a place where Vacationing is not even fun.

I have lived in the mountains of the central valley in Costa Rica for 5 years. The first few years were only during the dry season, and now full time. I love my grandchildren, so I visit them about twice a year. That is how often I was able to visit them when I lived in the U.S. anyway! Also, their parents have brought them here to see me. I agree with you, Mike. They see me living in this country, and they have literally said, "Wow! We have the coolest grandma ever!"

Just got back from the relocation retreat - It was amazing by the way!

One of the things that surprised some people at the retreat about my journey was the fact that I had never been to CR to vacation prior to deciding to move here. I actually did a lot of research about living abroad in general (coming from the US) by watching lots of videos and doing online research. For various reasons, I had pretty much decided that I wasn’t going to move to Europe at this time and specifically that central or south America was where I would start my journey. My initial intentions were to be a digital nomad and then pick a place to settle down eventually.

As part of my research, I took a 12-week course on relocating abroad - not to CR specifically. After that, I felt like I had a pretty solid idea about what to expect from the process (both the good and bad) no matter where I ended up. My mind was open in a different way, and I was ready to adjust and adapt from the get-go. CR had come up on my search, no matter the parameters I used to investigate, and so I started to delve further into CR as a possibility - Michael’s and Sarah’s videos were part of that info gathering process. Eventually the time came to do a scouting trip in which we took 2 months moving around to different parts of CR.

We only stayed in Airbnb’s and tried to stay away from touristy areas. We are coming from FL and we wouldn’t live in a tourist town there, so why would I do it here? We shopped at the local grocery stores and explored the areas where the Ticos lived to get a feel for how it would be to live here. What are the roads like? How is the traffic? What are the prices like for household goods? Is it cheaper to live here or not? How much Spanish do I need to know to survive here? Etc. After that trip, I felt pretty confident that CR was right for us and a year later, I packed my bags and made the move. I’ve been here now for almost a year, and I don’t regret it. I do not have rose colored glasses on. It has been an adjustment and things can be difficult, but if you have the right mindset, you can do it. Barring any unforeseen catastrophe, I plan to be here for the long haul.

Pura Vida

My wife and I are seriously considering moving there next year. I'm from Colombian heritage, so being bilingual makes me comfortable with the idea. And I've considered this decision for many years. Now I'm 45 and thinking ahead for retirement reasons but would like to integrate sooner than later. All advice, tips are welcomed. Day 1 of thorough research.

I think that they leave out of boredom...it was all peaches and cream at first and then they find out it's nothing like what they thought now they want to go back!! This is why wherever I move to has to have some kind of excitement...I live in New York...one of the reason why I moved there was for the excitement...now I'm older but I still like to go out and enjoy things in town...I love dancing so...I do need something going on wherever I live...I do have downtime where I don't want to do anything..it depends on the Country or City

I left back in 94 to go to World Cup finals, and stayed. 😀 Same scene of the crime when I saw Costa Rica beat Itay in the 84 Olympics. Today I'm closer to Costa Rica in FL and cool taking a 3hr flight 3 x a year. I remember way back where every gringo and local had a gig in CR, which continues to be boring.

👏

Very hard to get anything done in Costa Rica.. roads don't work, electricity doesn't work, water doesn't work and people don't work!

Thank You!

Almost everybody I know who has left in the last two or three years did so because of the increasing crime. They had usually been swindled or had a violent home invasion. It's no small matter when you've lost all of your investment or had six Men Storm your house and tie you up well they run sack your residence.

The loneliness can eat you alive 🌺

I loved Costa Rica and still do! Lived there for 10 years and had a business there. I feel the security issues there are bad and know 5 friends who were murdered while I was there over 10 years, all due to robberies. I was also shot while being robbed in from the the house of the house of the ex president Oscar Arias and that was the breaking point as the police came out right away from his security detail and didnt want to get involved and watched the attackers run away without doing anything except calling an ambulance. I just visited last month and going back next month since I have a lot of good friends there and the Costa Ricans are the best people. I dont know what will change, but be careful!

Costarican here now living in Canadá. In CR are 3 kind of person, 1 who don't care the corruption cause money isn't a issue. 2 who acept the corruption and already leaves shit situation. And the 3 one who is not a victim yet. People, with 33 year of experience living in my beautiful country, CR is a paradise for vacations, or millionaire people with low levels of ethics

Great video and I’m just about ready to book my flight and give it a try for a month and see what area I will like to rent and then do the move to CR. I do know the challenges will not be easy ,but I’m going to do it. See around guys.

From my perspective as a former Spanish teacher, 90% of acculturating is learning the language and stop speaking your home language. 100% immersion. You, Michael are a goddamn miracle that you have managed to do so well without speaking Spanish. You have a strength of personality which very few have. For everyone else they need to become bilingual asap or they will always be foreigners in a foreign land.

I was stationed in San Jose for 2 years in 1996. So I knew before we moved.

Been here 20 years. It is a good place, for just a few people. 1. Work/money. 2. Family obligations 3. Unrealistic expectations. 4. Health reasons.

We are at almost the three year mark and have ridden out the adaptations we need to make...so far. I'm seeing some improvements in the bureaucracy, believe it or not! The bank lines are quicker. Friends tell me the driver's license homologation process has been simplified. Some ferreterias near us allow you to take your purchase to a check out counter, pay, and then walk out the door with it!!!

We bought our house right away...in fact we put an offer in sight unseen from Canada. We got soooooo lucky. I would not ever risk that again.

My husband turns 74 this month and I'll be 62. Costa Rica was always our five year plan but our health has improved so much since we've lived here, maybe it'll become an eight year plan!!

Oh...one reason you didn't touch on...people who come here and can't or won't learn Spanish and then get frustrated around communications.

Cheers!

Good video gentlemen..I figure a lot of people come down and get bored.. you need hobbies @ and go out and make friends & walk around the corner you’ll never know what good things may come..but you need to be adventurous and have some outdoor hobbies..and don’t be afraid to get wat😂

My retirement is 4k a month...will that be sufficient??

You can't stop pura vida, well said!!!

what do u think that mostly services are shit ? mechanics , hospitals , no first aid .. The ticos almost always try to get some moneys because you arent seen like theme even if u are resident and paying taxes like them

the videos are very cultural! 🇺🇸🇨🇷🇨🇦

I’ve been here 1.5 years. Puerto Viejo, Escazu, Nosara, Santa Teresa. I’m probably heading back. For me the reasons are.

1. I started a small boxing gym here and there’s just isn’t enough people interested to make it work. I gave it an honest 1.5 years trying and I have to face reality. I wasn’t expecting the low season to be this slow either.

2. There’s almost no music culture (I’m also a musician), aside from the techno, or Bob Marley on a loop, that they play for the tourists.

3. There’s hardly any Tico’s, or Tico culture, left in these coastal towns.

4. The gringos here seem very self absorbed and not friendly at all (at least towards me). And if you want to do a business you need to deal with them, as most Ticos can’t afford much these days.

5. Rainy season is unbearable if you like to be outside, or around other humans, it gets insanely lonely.

6. I was looking to be part of the Costa Rican community and it feels like some type of economic apartheid. where Tico’s live in poverty while the foreigners build massive houses and retreat centers. That vibe is definitely not something I want to live around.

Interesting.

✌🏻🤘🏻👊🏼

Sarah walks back in with that pad of paper and is in charge and says let's go...we know. Both have great points, Michael with the grandparents thing, agree 100%. Heard a therapist say grandmas and moms with grown children treat them like a hobby and wont stay in their own lane. 2ndly, did the Bible say everything starts with the WORD? I read The 4 agreements and your word should be IMPECCABLE and do what you say your gonna accomplish or you lose all self respect. I gotta tell ya, that COLD BEER at noon sometimes? Jimmy Buffet says It's 5 o'clock somewhere, but in CR, it's NOON. Cheers.

CIMA has good healthcare and dental in Costa Rica is top notch.

I’ve been travleing to Costa Rica for years. I’m single/divorced in US ie daughter is grown and married. I’m a retired military officer, so living abroad isn’t a big issue for me. I have no other ties ie a distant family, I need a change and ready to write a new chapter in life.

Hola Michael. Awesome video and topic. I agree with everything you both talked about. We have 3 years of living here now. We left our American lifestyle behind and embraced everything about Costa Rica. I meet so many Gringo's that complain about everything because they bring their American lifestyle and attitude here and complain about everything with their high expectations!! You brought this up Michael and its definitely an issue!! And the vacationing here verses living here is completely different. We chose to emerse ourselves into the people, culture and history of CR and we don't live or hang out in EXPAT bubbles. In fact, we prefer NOT TO. We live among the locals and have all local friends!! We have Caja but also we got a supplement insurance called Medismart CR. Very affordable pricing. Yes , i can't run from myself to another country to get away because I FOLLOW LOLOL 😂. We support all locals for labor and we do groceries at our local farmers market that is huge in Mercedes Norte Heredia. They even have our fresh eggs, organic chicken and carne ( beef). We know foreigners that shop at Auto Mecardo an expat store and groceries are triple the price of the Market and then they complain about food prices!! And they go to big chain restaurants instead of local sodas and complain about cost!! If people would just live more simple like the locals they could have it affordable and stay away from Touristy places !! I could keep going on and on LoL 😂 . Have a Blessed day and thanks for sharing and have a great retreat!