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Costa Rica Residency


Ajijic

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Mexico's location in relation to Canada and the US are certainly in its favour, as are its many mostly pleasant climates, good beaches etc. Maybe more important is the economic relationship in place for so many years, plus it's a large country by comparison with much of Latin America (excuding Brazil). Panama may be stable (thanks to a strong US military and CIA presence) but I know a couple of people who are less than happy there, and have more problematic landlords than in Mexico.

What always strikes me as odd though is how short people's political memory is. Some of those countries are, well, not so long off the creepy chart. And has anyone read what a mess Guatemala is in lately?

Who said today Colon Panama was stable. My sister was on a trip there last winter and the tour company would not take them to Colon as it has a bad reputation for crime. They took them on a jungle cruise instead near there. Two elderly couples didn´t take the tour companies advise and went to Colon. One of the woman´s purse was snatched inside a nice restaurant from the back of her chair.

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Ah, Colon. We hung out there in 1975, waiting to pass through the canal on our sailboat. Met some nice German guys, who were crewing on another sailing vessel, Locala, enroute to Fiji. They discovered that we were going to eat ashore for my wifes birthday and they showed up with an accordion and began a serenade for the occasion. Then, the owner of their vessel showed up with a cake. It was Malcolm Forbes. He was returning from lunch with President Noriega. Nice party! Just one of many good memories.

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Ah, Colon. We hung out there in 1975, waiting to pass through the canal on our sailboat. Met some nice German guys, who were crewing on another sailing vessel, Locala, enroute to Fiji. They discovered that we were going to eat ashore for my wifes birthday and they showed up with an accordion and began a serenade for the occasion. Then, the owner of their vessel showed up with a cake. It was Malcolm Forbes. He was returning from lunch with President Noriega. Nice party! Just one of many good memories.

Great story!

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Who said today Colon Panama was stable. My sister was on a trip there last winter and the tour company would not take them to Colon as it has a bad reputation for crime. They took them on a jungle cruise instead near there. Two elderly couples didn´t take the tour companies advise and went to Colon. One of the woman´s purse was snatched inside a nice restaurant from the back of her chair.

Who said, indeed. You're quite right. I think people's general perception is that it is, because of the US presence. Of course those glossy real estate magazines/web sites would have us think it is, along with all the other Latin American countries with shady pasts and millions of skeletons barely stuffed in the closet. Hence I'd say Mexico by comparison is a better choice and certainly its requirements for living here compared to Costa Rica, Thailand and some of the above are fairly tame.

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Mainecoons ...welcome. No one article tells all but it helps open the mind to research, explore options even if it is just to dream or visit.

Based on our personal experience, renting is significantly less expensive that buying and it frees up options to explore and even live in other parts of Mexico and other countries such as those named in the article.

We bought for the security of our family but would not recommend it for those who can live with renting. Buying ties you down, there are always some maintenance and improvements to be done as these are typically unlike homes in Canada or the US and there is furniture to buy / replace. When I see what people rent for $1000 / month even in SMA with no additional upkeep there is no comparison to renting cost wise.

As we all get older we start to loose confidence and sometimes the physical ability to explore and follow our dreams. For anyone wanting to do so I encourage you to make it happen. Life is short and we only are sure about now. No where is perfect but life is about the journey.

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Interesting story. Notice that the focus is on lowest cost. On that basis it is probably correct to leave Mexico out although if you get away from gringo ghettos and high priced cities, Mexico is still a great deal cheaper than it is around here.

Thanks for posting it, Ajijic.

I don't think it was only about the cost of living anymore than articles about Mexico are just about the cost of living. The descriptions of each country included the lifestyle and why someone would want to live there. Other than cost of living I don't know what Mexico offers that many other countries don't also offe and many are safer than Mexico which is a plus. A few excerpts:

Belize is also one of the safest countries in the world, despite what you may read about it.

Belize was a colony of Britain until 1981, meaning the people here speak English. They also value their freedom, as it's relatively new.

This is a sleepy Caribbean nation with but 330,000 people and three highways. On the other hand, little Belize offers a whole lot of what many retirees and investors are looking for--a chance to start over on sandy, sunny shores--and the country has built a reputation as a Caribbean holiday destination.

The reason to consider this island nation is its cost of living and of real estate. The Philippines is a popular destination among retired U.S. military, because the people are friendly, the health care is good, and a military pension buys a better-than-comfortable standard of living. As throughout Asia, foreign ownership of real estate is restricted, but you can buy a condo in your own name for full- or part-time use, retirement, and rental. The government seems to be on a path to relaxing foreign ownership restrictions.

I would recommend Cuenca, Ecuador, a beautiful colonial city with a fresh, spring-like climate 12 months of the year and a large and growing expat community that is one of Latin America's most diverse and well-blended.

it's easy for a foreigner to feel something akin to a walking wallet. Not in Malaysia. Foreigners pay the same prices as the locals. Health care is first-rate, public transportation is modern and efficient, and the tap water is safe to drink. Beautiful beaches are just a short drive or flight away, cool mountain retreats can be reached in less than an hour, and the thriving city-state of Singapore is easily accessible in a few hours by car, train, or bus or an hour by plane.

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Yes I know but both the overall theme was cost and each location was discussed from the standpoint of cost as well. The title of the piece is the World's 7 best BUDGET Destinations.

There's no argument that this isn't the cheapest retirement location around. However, it would equalize pretty fast with the ones in this piece if you travel back to the U.S. a couple times per year, for example. Not to mention that from here, you can get to a whole lot of places there in 4 hours or less.

Travel to and from all of these places is considerably more expensive than from GDL to the U.S. And the price seems to keep dropping as Volaris opens up more and more cities. Most recent is Phoenix. I'm seeing my brother there for $246 round trip at the end of November.

BTW, I know people who have checked out Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaraugua, Costa Rica, Panama and Belize. They're all still here. Many of them mention climate, others speak about isolation, others about relatively primitive infrastructure. So it still comes down for what works for the individuals.

I'm as annoyed with the visa and car hassles as the next person but they haven't really changed the positives/negatives of living here for us. We're dealing with it.

I agree this is not a "budget destination" now. It has gotten a lot more expensive just in the 5.5 years we've been here.

BTW, there is a serious error in the piece. Panama is no longer a tax haven. But Belize still is. I think this shows the piece probably could have used a little more research.

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Yes, we still get screwed on flights from GDL to DFW. But Volaris is trying to initiate service to Love Field apparently. That will cut ticket prices big time when it happens.

Volaris just started flying to Phoenix, another place where you were a prisoner of a truly lousy airline with high fares, U.S. (useless) Air. Volaris has cut the cost in half.

Come on Volaris, fly to Love Field!

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