Retirement communities?

When we were looking for a place to hang our hat we did not come across any age specific but having said that we were not looking for one.  We are located in a gated community SW of Puriscal and of the 20+ houses here all are over 55 not by mandate but just because of the kind of lifestyle here.  Best of luck in your search!

As far as I know, after living here many years, is that there isn't retirement communities such as they have in North America. There are probably gated communities/condos for those over 55. but I haven't heard of any specifically. If there was, I would think that the majority of those living there, would be Costa Ricans with Spanish being the prevalent language spoken there.

You won't find retirement centers where 'retirees' will gather, with the exception in some towns where  'expats' will get together occasionally for coffee or lunch...however, for the most part, people are content to just live their own separate lives. At least, all of those that I know, do.

I think Florida would be much easier place to find them...

Donna2269 wrote:

Hi Everyone,

Are there any communities specifically for 50+ retirees? Are they located by the ocean or more in the mountains? Trying to narrow a search window. Thanks for any info anyone has and is open to sharing.

Donna

Hola Donna,

Welcome to Expat.com!

Outside of the larger cities, you'll find that almost any area where you find there are groups of Gringos living in the area they will be over 55.  A lot of old farts down here.  Yep, I admit it.   

WARNING: Just my personal opinion, if you move into a gated community of nothing but Gringo's, what is the advantage of living here?  You won't experience the culture or the people to the same extent that you would if you're within a Tico community.  It would pretty much be the same as living in North America, just with a higher cost of living.

Come down, rent in a few different areas and get a feel for what you like.  Find what works best for "you."  😁

- Expat Dave
Expat.com Team Member

I have to disagree with Dave on this one.  We live in a gated community and some of the advantages are increased safety, reassured resale value, and in case of emergency there is an immediate English speaking person nearby (we have a fan out procedure).  Having said that we are not isolated from the local community.  We have WAY more Tico friends than Expats.  We teach English at two local schools, we attend bingos and church functions, my wife has English classes in our house for five local Ticas,  we had three teenage kids here just minutes ago for advanced English.  Our community sponsors a Christmas party for all the people in the area over 65.  We sponsor a Christmas party every year for the elementary school and all the younger siblings.  Two days ago we had a birthday party ....... 21 Ticos and 4 expats.  I never had that feeling back in Canada.   I am still in North America so am not sure as to what Dave refers to. http://help.nationalgeographic.com/cust … are-there-  Bottom line is do not listen to others generalize, come and experience as many situations as you can before deciding on what YOU prefer.

TerrynVin,

Gotcha!  😊  So, what you're saying as the bottom line, you do agree with me.  People need to find what works for them and not necessarily base their decisions on the "opinions" of others.  Hence my warning.  🤗

- Expat Dave

Until the past few years, we lived very much like TerrynViv are presently enjoying, but now we are really retired and living a quieter lifestyle...although we do still mix with mostly locals, just not so much teaching English.  This is mainly due to health restraints...and not so easily able to stick to a schedule.

"...in case of emergency there is immediate access to a Spanish/English speaking person nearby (we have a fan out procedure)"  whether it is an earthquake, mudslide or flooding. It is very important, that someone near you can translate, if need be, to what is happening in your area, as the radio or TV will not broadcast in English. We have experienced quite a few earthquakes where we have not been able to find out what is going on. We do have a 'go package' with copies of important information.

We too, live in a gated community and we are the only [i]extranjeros here and don't miss having Gringo neighbors around us, at all.

Yes, Expat Dave is right too. Come and see for yourself and don't be rushed into anything...

.

Sorry, TerrynViv, I thought I had changed text to differentiate between us, when I added to your quote "...in case of emergency there is an immediate English speaking person nearby (we have a fan out procedure) but it obviously didn't work.

No problems     We have used it twice and it has worked well for us.  We have four people fully fluent in Spanish and their job (when contacted) is to contact the authorities whether it be medical, police, etc.  It is EXTREMELY important for the first call to be right and contain all information possible as all 911 calls are answered in San Jose and then they get relayed to your local contacts.  Something usually gets lost in transit although on one of the two calls the ambulance driver in our local area called us while on route requesting information.