DAILY POSTCARD | MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2026 |
|
|
Dear International Living reader, Losing your job later in life is hard enough. Losing your healthcare too can make it feel downright catastrophic. But what if that setback was actually the beginning of something better? For Rob Evans, a frustrating job search and sky-high health insurance costs in the US forced him to consider a path he'd never expected. Instead of staying stuck, he started looking beyond America's borders. That search led to Costa Rica. And the person who first saw the answer wasn't Rob at all—it was his wife. Read their story below. |
P.S. Costa Rica is the world's easiest place to retire. Click here for details on our Costa Rica Summit. Your ticket is FREE with this special membership offer today. |
|
|
You're invited to the Retire to Costa Rica Summit. All online and your ticket is FREE with this special membership offer today. With over a dozen speakers, it's a must-watch. Plus you'll receive tons more great gifts. Click here to learn more… |
| |
|
Did Costa Rica Save My Life? Probably. Did it Improve it? Definitely |
I worked for IBM for 32 years, but if I'd stayed in the US, I'd have needed another job just to cover my healthcare bills. That's the primary reason I live in Costa Rica now. I like the beaches, the year-round warm weather, and the carefree, laidback lifestyle. But most of all, I like that I can afford to look after my health. My wife, Jeni, was an English teacher. I'd given more than three decades to my career, living in Raleigh, North Carolina. I'd paid my taxes and lived sensibly, and yet, when I got laid off and lost my employer-paid insurance, it was going to cost $18,000 a year to cover us both. No chance. We were faced with a choice between staying in the US and continuing to work, or finding somewhere in the world we could truly live off of our retirement funds. I had this idea of moving outside the US, but I was going to have to convince Jeni that it was the way to go. In the end, it was she who convinced me. In the summer of 2013, Jeni visited the beach town of Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. As it happens, at the same time, our daughter was also in Costa Rica, learning Spanish in Tamarindo on the Pacific side of the country. |
Rob's wife, Jeni, fell in love with Costa Rica when she visited its Caribbean beaches in 2013. |
Jeni and I had been considering a few places for an overseas retirement—Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Panama—but when the two girls came back from Costa Rica, raving about how great it was, the decision was pretty much made. We'd be moving to Costa Rica. Fine by me. The girls loved their trips, and felt completely comfortable traveling around Costa Rica. They felt welcomed by the locals, too. But there's a difference between a vacation and actually moving somewhere full-time. They both said that living at the beach would be difficult, because it's just too hot for their tastes. Plus, keeping a home cool in that heat is costly. We didn't want to be running the a/c constantly. So, while Costa Rica got the nod, we were looking for somewhere with a naturally comfortable climate. In February 2014, Jeni and I went on a tour of the Central Valley just north of the capital, San José. By that October, we had our residence visas approved, and we were hopping onto a plane with everything we had in 10 suitcases, no looking back. |
For the first few years, we settled in San Ramón, a quiet town in the highlands of the Central Valley. We rented a cabin in the woods, just two bedrooms. That cost us $700 a month, with utilities included, and someone to come in regularly and keep house for us. It was blissful. We'd sit on rocking chairs on the porch and watch the wildlife pass through. I couldn't begin to name all the different birds that were there, and there were also mammals like sloths and coatimundi. Endless entertainment, and it was always comfortable enough to throw the windows open and let the healthy breeze flow through. Eventually, though, we felt like a change of scene. One of the joys of relocating overseas, and of renting, is that you can move around. We actually found that we both enjoyed being around the buzz of people and activity. So we moved to the capital, San José, to be closer to the bus terminals, shopping, entertainment, and the airport. In San José, we rent a two-bedroom furnished apartment in an enclosed, secure complex of about 10 units. It's got a shared courtyard, a private garden, patio, and balcony. That costs us $600 a month. Water is included in the rent, and we pay $60 for internet and $50 for electricity. In total, we spend about $2,500 a month, which allows us to travel often to Mexico, the US, and Canada. And as for that initial reason for moving here: The healthcare. We pay about $5,500 a year for both Caja (Costa Rica's public healthcare) and for supplementary private insurance. It's a great deal compared to the $18,000 it would have cost us in the States, and that's without even considering the amount we'd have been spending on copays. Thing is, we don't even need the healthcare system here as much as we would have in the US. I mean, within about a year of moving here, I went from 230 pounds to just 180 pounds. That wasn't through any special effort or exercise regime—it was just that I was walking a lot more and eating a lot more simply. Produce here is excellent. Fresh, inexpensive, and incredibly tasty. When that's part of your diet, you can't help but get healthier. Local staples like rice and beans, grilled chicken, salad, plantains… those are what you get at the little local restaurants. You can get US-style food, and the same chain restaurants as at home, if you want to. But after a while living healthily, you get to the point where you no longer want that sort of thing. And your body rewards you. And what do we get up to, now that we've moved to the city? I've become very interested in exploring Costa Rica using its excellent, inexpensive bus system. So much so that I now run a Facebook group called Costa Rica by Bus. It's got over 16,000 members, so it keeps me busy. Jeni enjoys sewing and quilting. And we also enjoy frequent trips to the beaches, jungles, and hot springs in Costa Rica, and getting together with friends all over this wonderful country. We continue to consider Plan B retirement scenarios, but everything always comes up short when compared to our lives in Costa Rica. |
|
|
Editorial Note: Unspoiled, sun-kissed beaches, rolling mountain havens where anything grows, misty, dreamlike cloud forests. Perfect climate, world-class healthcare, and political stability. All for as little as $2,200 a month or even less. Join us at the Retire to Costa Rica Summit, it's 100% online and your ticket is FREE with this special membership offer today – plus it includes 6 bonus gifts. Click here to learn how to claim your FREE ticket... |
|
|
Unspoiled, sun-kissed beaches, rolling mountain havens where anything grows, misty, dreamlike cloud forests. Perfect climate, world-class healthcare, and political stability. All for as little as $2,200 a month or even less… Join Us at the Retire to Costa Rica Summit... 100% online...FREE TICKET with this special membership offer today – includes 6 bonus gifts... Click here to learn how to claim your FREE ticket... |
| |
|
Inbox too crowded? Don't worry—if you can't keep up with our International Living Postcards every day, click here to switch to the Weekly Best of IL Postcards instead. If you no longer wish to receive IL Postcards, click here to unsubscribe. Your feedback is very important to us, so if you would like to contact us with a question or comment, please click here. © 2026 International Living Publishing Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright laws of the United States and international treaties. This newsletter may only be used pursuant to the subscription agreement and any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including on the world wide web), in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of International Living, Woodlock House, Carrick Road, Portlaw, Co. Waterford, Ireland. Registered in Ireland No. 285214
Website: www.internationalliving.com Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized advice. NO-SPAM PLEDGE: We Value Your Privacy. We will NEVER rent, sell, or give away your e-mail address to anyone for any reason. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read the International Living Privacy Policy. Reference Number: |
|
|
|
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment