People from all walks of life are relocating to Costa Rica

Most people who relocate here are doing so to stretch the dollars they get from their pensions, retirement funds and/or Social Security. Interestingly, even those with money, some of whom can work from abroad, are relocating to Costa Rica from the U.S to live more affordably, as in the article below demonstrates.

Costa Rica also attracts people because of the unparalleled lifestyle, natural beauty, 100s activities to stay busy and happy, choices of place to live and so much more.

Yes, the word is out.

Miriam Merino’s life might cause anyone to think she enjoyed the best of Miami-Dade County.

Tuesday, August 5, 2023
Partially courtesy of Yahoo

On her $400,000 real estate salary, she said she could afford weekly dinners at The River Oyster Bar and the latest $6,500 Santa Cruz Tallboy Mountain bike to ride on her next adventure in Costa Rica’s Vuelta al Lago Arenal or Oleta River State Park in Miami. She traveled around the globe and owned two condos outright in Miami.

For the Cuban-born 59-year-old whose family escaped Fidel Castro’s Communist regime in 1968, Merino had made it big in Miami. But in recent years, her quality of life declined. The city’s allure had faded.

“Traffic became impossible. People that came in were disrespectful. The developers get whatever they want,” Merino said. “It became a pirate town. Whoever has more money, wins.”

With $1 million in her pocket from the sale of her condos, Merino left in April after 40 years in Miami for San José, the capital of Costa Rica. She bought a 700-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom condominium for $150,000. She continues to work remotely doing real estate consulting for a firm in Miami.

Murray, associate director of the Jorge M. Pérez Metropolitan Center at Florida International University, said he expects many more people to move out of Miami-Dade, especially those looking to buy a home in today’s fraught housing market.

More decadeslong residents, and some of them born-and-bred Miamians, want out like Merino. The Miami Herald spoke with people who have departed for near and far, others who are determined to move and two residents contemplating the decision, to understand why longtimers would leave. They painted a picture of Miami-Dade as a county, where homes and most goods are overpriced, and a place with lackluster urban planning and subpar public transportation.