Locals refer to Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast—the region of Limon—as the “Forgotten Province.” Both the government and developers have long neglected it in favor of the nation’s Pacific side. But that is changing.

I’d often mused about retiring to Latin America. But I thought—with just my Social Security income—I’d probably not have enough to do it. Then in January of 2007, I picked up a young man from Limon, Costa Rica in my cab. He told me about how beautiful his home is and how, as soon as he’d earned enough to buy a house there he was headed back. A couple of weeks later I went for my Social Security interview and was told my monthly entitlement would be almost $965—more than I expected.

U.S. stock markets have rallied recently. If you’ve recouped some of your losses, now could be a good time to consider diversifying a portion of your IRA funds out of U.S. markets by putting them into a home -- maybe a winter retreat -- overseas.

When you’re traveling, the last thing you want to hear on your flight is that the person next to you paid less for their airfare than you did.