Retired expats should know its importance On September 15th Costa Rica will be holding a special bicentennial celebration. Costa Rica gained independence on September 15, 1821, as a result of the Mexican War of Independence that lasted from 1810 until 1821. The country never had to fight for its independence, […]
In March 1992, a change in the pensionado law eliminated many tax privileges retirees had enjoyed since the program started in 1964. Under the old system, foreigners with official pensionado or rentista (permanent retiree) status were required to live in the country four months a year. They were entitled to […]
I never get tired about writing about the accolades that Costa Rica continually receives. One of my last blogs was about Costa Rica having the lowest Covid mortality rates in the whole world based on this information: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality Below you will see that the country continues to be by far the […]
Despite the pandemic Costa Rica is still Latin America’s number one retirement haven. We are slowly catching up on vaccinating the rest of the population. Because of the high education level of the country’s people, in most cases the protocols are being followed. Just look at the mortality statistics below. […]
International Living’s annual Global Retirement Index compares, contrasts, ranks, and rates 25 countries across 10 categories. “All over the planet, we’ve identified friendly, good-value, warm-weather escapes where you could effectively upgrade your life—places where it’s possible to live better, but spend less. For many expats, that’s the end goal. “Even […]
New immigration law to attract retirees Recently, a modified version of the country’s former Pensionado Law was proposed to attract more expat retirees. The government realizes that currently retirees contribute around 500 million dollars annually to Costa Rica’s economy. So, it is in the country’s best interest to attract more […]
With the whole world’s topsy-turvey due to worldwide pandemic, Costa Rica still continues to receive the attention it deserves. 1 It is predicted that by the end of 2021 some degree of normalcy may return to the world. For anyone thinking of retiring abroad, International Living, a website about living […]
The world-wide pandemic has devastated the world’s health care systems. Poorer and underdeveloped countries have specially been hit hard by the current health crisis. For years relocation organizations have been promoting Panama as a retirement haven. Panama’s drawing card is its low cost of living and perks that it offers […]
Costa Rica was placed in the first place as a destination for retirees in 2021, according to the annual ranking of the International Living.com publication, surpassing countries like Panama, Mexico, Colombia and Portugal. According to the 2021 Global Retirement Index, which has existed since 1979, Costa Rica advanced, as it was in third place […]
No, I am not talking about credit cards but the plastic bills that will replace the paper money (papel moneda in Spanish) that has been circulating. But first let’s look at how to calculate the rate of the local currency, the colón, in dollars. On my monthly exploratory retirement tours […]