Costa Rica often ranks as one of the best countries in the world, and for good reason. First of all, it's stunningly beautiful. If you've ever been there and seen the nature and the beaches, it is second to none. One of the most biologically diverse places on the planet. An amazing place to spend your golden years. But it also has a lot of practicalities that make it an excellent place to retire. It has worldclass health care. It has a moderate cost of living. It's also generally safe and it has various different types of visa and residency permit categories that fit exactly for retirees such as the pensionado and inversionista visa which are really accessible with one 2 or $3,000 per month.
On top of that, it also has full property rights for foreigners, very low property taxes, no tax on income that's earned outside of the country, and it also has a really strong expat and international community, and also a really central location right in the middle of Central America. So, you're really close, a few hours flight to North America or South America.
If we haven't met before, I'm the author of Moving Abroad for Dummies. I've spent eight years in Costa Rica and I've been helping people retire there for much longer and in this news I'm going to share with you my top 10 picks for where to retire in Costa Rica plus a wild card.
The 10th place on my list is one of the more overlooked towns within Costa Rica. I rarely hear anyone talking about it, but it has a really nicesized community. It has a low cost of living compared to other parts of the country and it's also really green and lush and fertile and has a pretty good climate. It's also close to the beach and that place is Santa Cedro del Henal.
I don't know why this place is never at the top of any sort of retirement list. But as I mentioned, it has a really nice climate. It has a good location just about an hour from the beach and also a few hours from San Jose. And it's like a slower pace of life, not so touristy as other parts of the country.
I remember my first time I went there was back in 2002. And I'm sure it's changed a lot since then, but I always thought of it as really a hidden gem in the country, but it still has a lot of amenities. It has a pretty good-sized hospital there. And you can actually find real estate in this area for like half the price of somewhere like Tamarindo, which can be, you know, 2 3 4 five times more expensive per square meter.
We're looking at maybe $200 to $500 per square meter in Santa Cro depending on which area you're in and $1,000 to multiple thousands $5,000 $6,000 per square meter for the most luxurious properties in the North Guanoste region which we will get to a little bit later in this news.
You can still find a modest home from around $100,000 to $200,000 in this area and land can be as low as $25 to $50 per square meter outside of town. It's home to hospital Escalante Praida which is one of the largest public hospitals outside of San Jose and there's also plenty of clinics and specialists in town.
Santa Cedro is for you if you're looking for somewhere that's a little bit off the beaten path, a smaller town compared to being in the metropolitan area of the Central Valley and not so hot and dusty and muddy and everything else that comes with living on the beaches of Costa Rica, but still being pretty close so you can drive down there for the day.
Ninth on my list is actually just a short drive from Sanro del Hanaral and this is an area known as the Wales coast which is Dominical and Uvita in the southern zone of Costa Rica. I like this area because it's really quintessential Costa Rica for me. It's so tropical and beautiful. You've got the volcanic black sand beaches, really laid-back atmosphere, and when you're retiring somewhere, that's what you're looking for, right? You're looking for a slower pace of life, not too much stress rushing around, and that to me really exemplifies the feeling that you get when you're in the Dominican Uvita area.
On the downside, because this is kind of a more remote part of Costa Rica, you're farther away from the more populated areas up the central coast of Costa Rica like Hakaco and Hermosa. You're also quite a drive away from San Jose. It it can feel quite remote and so it's not the best place if you want to be, you know, really close to a major hospital, for example.
They also don't have an air strip that I'm aware of, unless a new one has popped up around there. So, you won't find really any Sansa flights to this area. And the infrastructure can be, you know, a bit spotty. It's still areas where if you're buying a house up on a mountain, you won't have a paved road almost for sure, unless you're in a very highly developed gated community.
It can be, you know, really muddy and treacherous to drive around there. And if you're not living in this area full-time, it can also be vulnerable to crime. So, one of my friends has a house in this area with a beautiful ocean view. There have been attempted breakins multiple times, which she has caught on camera, but if you've lived in Costa Rica, you know that that's not, you know, having the security cameras isn't really going to help get your stuff back.
So, it's probably not the most practical place to live in Costa Rica, but it is a very beautiful place. It has a really strong and diverse international community and a lower population density than you're going to find in the central valley or the more populated beach areas, places like Capos, Manuel Antonio, Paco, and Hermosa.
This area is also known for having a lot of eco lodges and boutique hotels mixed with really tight-knit Costa Rican local communities. It's perfect for you if you want to be surrounded by nature and right on the beach and don't mind being farther away from big city amenities.
Next on my list is somewhere that is just northwest of the San Jose area where you can find a lower cost of living, a really nice climate, and more affordable housing, and that is Gracia and San Ramon. I actually have some relocation clients living there pretty happily for the last few years with their dog. So, shout out to them. They know who they are.
And this is a really great entry-level option to living in Costa Rica because you're close to the city of San Jose and all of the amenities, but you still have your basic day-to-day amenities that you'll need over there. You've got a nice mix of locals and foreigners alike.
The center of town in San Ramon can be a lot, you know, more traditional Costa Rican. And then out in the outskirts and in the the hills and the mountains, you can find some eco communities, uh some sustainable communities, and some really interesting places to live.
Of course, you do want to be careful about where you're finding housing in Costa Rica. Make sure that it's somewhere that's secure. There can be a lot of single family homes that are just independent in this area which might have some security concerns, but it is a really nice and more affordable area than some of the more popular places to live places like Eskazoo, Santa Ana, or even in the city center of San Jose.
And you also get a more relaxed lifestyle, less traffic, and you're just about an hour, hour and a half from getting to the major hospitals of San Jose.
This corner of the western central valley is perfect for you if you're looking for a quieter lifestyle, still close to the capital cities. You've got some strong, you know, international expat community, but also still very authentically Costa Rican. You can find homes here from around 150 to $300,000 or more if you're looking for modern builds in gated communities. And while there are public hospitals in this area, you're about an hour to San Jose for specialized care.
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