Selected Book
Choose Costa Rica for Retirement, 8th: Information for Travel, Retirement, Investment, and Affordable Living (Choose Retirement Series)
- Paperback
- Edition: 8th
- Author: John Howells
- Publisher: GPP Travel
- Release Date: November 2006
- ISBN-10: 0762741643
- ISBN-13: 9780762741649
- List Price: $14.95
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryInformation on managing investments, cost of living, and medical care and safety in Costa Rica makes this guide perfect for retirees looking to relocate. In addition, the guide offers useful tips for exploring the beautiful coastal areas, finding entertainment, and dining on delicious Costa Rican specialties. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Costa Rica - complete info
Rating:
What an all inclusive book! Puts all the information you need at hand and gives you lots of choices for further investigation.
Excellent resource
Rating:
This book (8th edition) is a frank and helpful look at the practicalities of moving to Costa Rica. I especially appreciated the information about altitudes and temperatures of the various locales where expatriates tend to live, detailed immigration information, and considerations for renting or buying real estate. John Howells has a wry, self-deprecating wit that I found refreshing and his writing is entertaining as well as very informative. I found this book more helpful and much better written and edited than "The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica."
Excellent Overview of the Subject
Rating:
I just finished reading the 6th edition. The book really does a great job of discussing the many aspects of making the move to paradise (aka CR). The advice about importing vs buying a car alone was worth the price of the book -- that's the kind of useful info you just won't find in most of the books about moving to CR. He also does a good job explaining the rather daunting problems of employing people in CR (the rules are worlds different than in the US).
I especially appreciated that the author admits when he doesn't know absolutely everything about a given subject. Makes me feel I can better trust the information he does impart. I also appreciated that he wasn't hawking his services like many similar books (he does suggest you visit his website, which is fine -- no hard sell or anything).
The 6th edition was, I felt, a little light on language issues. I have found that not many Costa Ricans outside the tourist industry know much English but the author seemed to gloss over the fact that you better know your espanol when you make the move (unless you plan to lock yourself up in one of those expat enclaves -- ugh!). If you want to move to CR and not get taken for a ride by shady gringo characters your best defense is to learn Spanish so that you can deal with the Ticos yourself.
Interesting, well written & up-to-date
Rating:
I'll mention up front that this is the only book I've read on the subject of living in Costa Rica, but I can't imagine many being much better. I spent 10 weeks in Costa Rica (8 weeks in language immersion school, 4 days a week). Having two full weeks plus several 3-day weekends to travel around, I'm familiar with the basics of Costa Rican culture & geography.
Nowhere near retirement age myself, I was impressed to find plenty of information on other topics: Mr. Howells reviews culture & politics, but not in any long and boring sense - really keeping to the necessities. He frequently compares cultural topics with North American analogies, helping to define it better for North Americans. He does take pains to be clear, while concise, about business, legal & immigration matters - all of which you probably find interesting, anyway, if you think you want to move to Costa Rica. He also does a great job covering costs of living for all life styles, health care, transportation, education, real estate and investments. He's interviewed plenty of folks for the content, too. From parents with children in private or public schools to immigration or real estate lawyers. This was clearly not his first attempt at such a book.
One thing I repeatedly found interesting were the details about North American & European expat communities all over the country. I'm sure some of those details change in time, but it really gives you a feel for what to expect in the way of finding English (or other European language) speaking friends & advice. (But you are encouraged to learn some Spanish, of course!) Another specific that he gives several pages to is driving to Costa Rica from the US! I've always wanted to do that, and he's done it several times... I'm inspired already!
My only concern with the book would be for someone who isn't familiar with the geography (thus my disclaimer @ the top) might like to supplement their reading with Google Earth or a map. The book does a fair job of keeping you oriented as he travels around, though, so don't worry if you'd rather not. It does have some maps indicating the regions he discusses.
I found the book so interesting that I actually read most of it while traveling in Ecuador. At no point did I ever feel bored or bogged down and I didn't skip a single page. There's even some comic relief! This book, combined with a good trip, should be a nice spring board into living, retiring or doing business in Costa Rica.
Very Helpful Book on Costa Rica
Rating:
This is one of the first books we chose to start the process of deciding whether Costa Rica might be the spot where we could retire. The book is very informative - and teamed with some of the other Costa Rica books that Amazon has to offer - has helped us make our choice.
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