Tamsta2004

Hi,

Are there any Brits in Costa Rica?

Many thanks

Tammie

BEVS

Hi there.

I see you have found us.

Hopefully someone will be along soon.

It sounds rather exoctic and exciting to me. How did you happen upon Costa Rica , rather than say..... the Isle of Wight

Tamsta2004

Hahaha. .. Isle of White!???

A friend has visited there and told me how beautiful a country it is. She and her family are moving to Tamarind in April.
We hope to head out to San Jose around October time.
I wanted to know if there are any other Brits living out there.

bakedbean

Hello and welcome to the forum

I'm not much help to you as I'm on t'other side of the planet in Malaysia

I've heard that Costa Rica is a good retirement spot. I imagine there are plenty of Americans and Canadians who take advantage of the visa. And, I imagine like everywhere, there are pros and cons to the place.

Tootlepootle

Someone on the
Canadian pages has visited a few times so might have some helpful info. Maybe go to their Maple Leaf lounge and ask the question there.

Gordon Barlow

Tammie. If you Google "British residents in Costa Rica", you'll have the choice of over a million sites!

Tamsta2004

Cheers Gordon.

amideislas

Hi and welcome!

My son was planning to move to Costa Rica but ended up moving to Panama instead. Don't ask why ...

Anyway, he met with plenty of British expats in the process, so I doubt you'll find yourself isolated. I've been only once, but found it delightful.

Good luck with everything!

Tamsta2004

Gordon , i have found your advice really helpful, so thanks for that tip.

Tamsta2004

Amideislas,

Thank you. We are intending to head to San Jose in the beginning. I hear Panama is nice.
My friend and her family are moving to Tamarindo in April.
I'm just wanting to get a bit of a head start and begin networking to make the transition easier on our family.

uk_grenada

Panama is in a few places bit like afghanistan. Panama city has some great shopping, but not very safe from my observations / asking people. Not for the faint hearted, but the countryside and its people are from all ive seen and heard lovely.

uk_grenada

This looks quite enlightening, possibly pnama isnt as bad as its painted, but its all relative i guess.

Which Country is Safer: Nicaragua, Costa Rica, or Panama? - Costa Rica Star News

Gordon Barlow

Basically, you pays your money and you takes your choice, in respect of where to retire to in this part of the world. We love living here in Cayman - 38 years this month - but it's a bit expensive for retirees, so we're looking for places to move to. A couple of years ago we spent a weekend in Jaco on the Pacific coast of CR: nice enough but a bit run-down; and we have friends who bought 200 acres up near Liberia where there is an international airport. My wife has just been down to Panama checking out David and Boqueta. She dismisses them as "a dump"; liked Panama City but says it's quite expensive. A friend lives quite cheaply up in the hills of Nicaragua, but then his wife is from there. A couple of our age (mid-70s) live near Cancun in Mexico, and love it. Our own choice might be somewhere on Lake Chappala.

Then there are the Caribbean islands - some of which are cheap and some not. Cayman doesn't have income-tax, but its import-duties make up for that. Jamaica is rather crime-ridden. My personal choice might be either Grenada and Nevis. In sum, pretty much anywhere would be OK, for someone who's new to the region. Trust to luck.

uk_grenada

If you fancy grenada i would get on and buy some property or at least land, its increasing in value quite nicely as more discover the place, and of course they just arent making it any more... Its still possible to live in splendid quiet with a few fruit trees, a few neighbours and all the comforts, but there is definitely pressure on land in some areas.

Gordon Barlow

I'm very glad for Grenada. However, our own retirement problem is influenced by the fact that our family lives in Norway - and that's a long way away!