I and My Partner are looking to move with my best girlfriend from high school. We are ages between 35 and 40. We want to make this move because of the fact we are sick of living to work and not working to live. We want to move somewhere that life slows down some. We want to have a small business where ever we go. We are in real estate now and this is not what I want to do, I am so over it. I'm sure every expact opens a bar or restaurant but that is something we would like to do close to where a lot of tourists are.
We are looking to move to Costa Rica or Panama within the next two years. We have been looking all over the web and we seem to get different things. We read that you should not believe everything on the web because Agents and Business owners try to paint a pretty picture when in fact it is not that pretty. So we have put a list of questions together that will hopefully help us make or decision. We would appreciate if you are able to help out. We plan on taking a trip and would love to meet some of you. Cheers.
Why did you decide to move to Costa Rica or panama?
What type of research did you do before moving?
o Were there any resources you used that you could share?
Websites, books, other ex-pats or services you would recommend that we speak to?
How long have you lived there?
What do you do to support yourself financially?
o If you run a business from Panamanian soil, was it hard to get the business started from a legal/administrative/immigration perspective? And do you have any recommendations?
How much of a savings/reserve did you have at the time you moved there? I know this is personal. But we just don't know what is going to be a fair amount to live off of or make sure we have savings.
Are you renting or did you buy your home?
o If renting, what type of property are you renting and how much is the rent?
Has the rent been stable or has it been increased? If so, how much? How often? We have heard read that landlords can raise rent at any time they want.
o Is this rent typical for this type of housing in your area?
o How did you find your home?
o For someone who wants to live close to a busy down but not in the city what areas would you recommend?
What made you choose where you live?
o Are there many other ex-pats in your area?
o Would you consider the area you live in to be gay-friendly?
o What areas would you say to avoid as an ex-pat, especially a gay ex-pat?
o If you were to live in another part of Costa Rica or panama, where would it be?
Why?
o What area would you recommend someone look in if they wanted to be near other ex-pats, live in a house with a yard in a safe, suburban area, not too far from popular tourist areas and maybe have a territorial view, with rents below $1,500 per month?
When getting residency in panama or Costa Rica do you need to give up your us residency or can you keep both?
Did you have a real estate agent help you with your rental or purchase?
o Would you recommend this person to others?
Why?
If not, why?
o Can you give us a referral to them?
How would you describe your lifestyle in terms of your monthly spending?
o Simple? (I eat at home; I take public transit; I maybe go out to a movie once per month; I may travel outside of the country once every couple of years).
o Average? (I eat out once or twice a week; I own and drive my own car; I go out with friends to bars/nightclubs and see movies weekly; I travel/vacation outside of the country once per year).
o Extravagant? (I eat out most nights, drive my own car, entertain frequently, go out with friends to clubs/dinner often, travel/vacation outside of the country 2-3 times per year, etc).
What is your monthly budget, including rent?
What was your experience like with immigration?
o Was it easy to get your visa?
o What type of visa do you have?
Did you bring any pets into the country?
o If so, what was that experience like?
Quarantine?
Did you bring a vehicle into the country?
o What was that experience like?
o What did it cost to get it registered in _____________?
Did you bring household items like furniture, etc, with you?
o If so, how did you ship it from the US?
o How long did it take to arrive?
o Did it cost you anything (taxes, etc) to bring it into the country?
Who do you have your health insurance through?
Do you have a primary care physician that you could recommend?
What other advice/information that is not covered in these questions would you give to someone looking to move to ____________ ?
Thank you for taking the time to help us do our research. We have been told that many people move to Costa Rica and panama and they end up leaving back to the us within the first year. And if we make the move we cannot be one of them because we will give up everything here in Washington State. So we are trying to do all the research we can to make sure this is the right decision for us.