Coming from Tyler, Texas, Harold and Lisa Beasley brought more than clothes and household items when they moved to the village of Atenas, in Costa Rica’s Central Valley region. They also brought with them a touch of Southern hospitality. That and home-style cooking is on offer at Kay’s Gringo Postres, a restaurant with a long history in the expat community, which they bought from its original expat owners.
"The environment here is beautiful,” says Lisa Vanderhaak of her new life along Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast. “You can hike just out the back door. We were looking for a slower and better pace of life and we found it.” Lisa and her husband Pete are much like many expats on the central Pacific coast. They’ve found a place where life has slowed down…where warm weather year-round means you can enjoy the natural beauty around you every day…and you can find a community that’s a good fit for you. Plus, the cost of living is very reasonable for such a beautiful, tropical beach area. Cost of living has a lot to do with the lifestyle you want. But you can live comfortably as a couple for under $3,000 a month, including housing, transportation, healthcare—everything.
Sun, sand, and surfing. These are the three main draws enticing visitors to Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast. And these have also created a ready market for businesses that can cater to the massive influx of tourists to the region, as California expat Danny Clark can attest. Danny first came to the central Pacific coast more than 20 years ago for a surf trip, and it changed his life. Today, the 42-yearold owns and manages a pair of successful restaurants in the bustling resort town of Jacó. And he says he lives a better lifestyle than he could in the States. His Side Street Bistro is a gourmet sandwich shop with an on-site microbrewery. And Graffiti is an upscale restaurant and wine bar.
When I first started planning my move to Costa Rica years ago, I got some interesting feedback from more than one acquaintance. “Aren’t you worried about safety? They love to rob gringos there, you know.” I guess they pictured “banditos” crouched in the bushes ready for ambush around every bend in the road. It’s worth mentioning this seemed to be their view of all of Latin America, Asia, and most of Europe.
Costa Rica is one of the most popular and well-known vacation, second-home, and retirement destinations for North Americans. Though a small country, Costa Rica’s regions offer a wide variety of climate, lifestyle, and landscape. And renting in Costa Rica is a great way to experience day-to-day life while looking for your own place under the tropical sun. Much of Costa Rica’s lush tropical forests and sun-splashed shoreline has been designated as national parkland or reserve. Costa Rica is rapidly approaching carbon-neutral status in energy production and emissions, and its health care system is one of the most affordable and highly rated in the world.
I’ve never seen such blue water as the Caribbean in Belize. I couldn’t keep my eyes off it, whether I was cruising around by boat, watching tiny islets fade into the distance… swinging in a hammock strung between two palms on the beach…or beating that tropical heat with a cold Belikin beer in the shade of a palm frond-roofed beach bar. Belize has a lot to offer those seeking a new life abroad. The low cost of living means a couple can live well on $2,000 to $3,000 or less a month.
A relatively small town (about 10,000 people) set on a grid, Corozal is mostly a collection of small shops, restaurants, and simple homes. But this is a bustling burg, with walkways and parks lining the vast, turquoise Corozal Bay. The bay gives it that Caribbean feel. Locals lounge in the shade of the town square, and in the small farmers’ market you’ll find oranges, potatoes, carrots, and succulent mangoes. You can walk away with a week’s worth of fruit and vegetables, plus dry goods and any imported must-haves available at local grocery stores, for under $50.
I’ve never seen so much green...and in so many shades and variations. The tall, jungle-covered mountains of Costa Rica’s Southern Zone dominate the landscape. And many locals and long-time expats say they enjoy these mountain views even more than the ocean, thanks to the lush vegetation that covers them. This region, on the southern Pacific coast, is a land of extremes. Empty beaches, wild Pacific waters, those tall mountains dropping to brief lowlands before turning to a strip of sand, and then blue ocean.
Corozal, on the northern edge of Belize, might just be the perfect retirement destination. It’s certainly captured the hearts of the 1,000 or so North American expats who call it home.
Vikki Gold is delighted with her move to Costa Rica. “I love it here. I’m at peace. There’s beautiful scenery, a great climate, and so much wildlife. It’s our little paradise,” she says. She came here just over a year ago after she and her daughter, Hollee, bought and renovated a boutique hotel in the jungle, which they renamed Villas de Oros (Villas of Golds in Spanish—a play on their last name).