Expats on the move: Establishing residency in Costa Rica

Expats on the move: Establishing residency in Costa Rica

While health care debates, social security reform and higher taxes take center stage in Washington, D.C., more and more Americans seem to be seeking residency elsewhere in the world and the number one destination appears to be Costa Rica.

Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) November 23, 2010

While health care debates, social security reform and higher taxes take center stage in Washington, D.C., more and more Americans seem to be seeking residency elsewhere in the world and the number one destination appears to be Costa Rica.

“We’ve seen a lot of passive inquiries about moving to Costa Rica and establishing residency there since starting our project,” commented Hacienda Matapalo Executive Vice President Brian Albury, whose company is building a 665-acre master planned gated community on the country’s South Pacific Coast. “But lately we’ve seen a dramatic upswing in serious interest – more so than any other time during this phase of our development.”

According to Christopher Howard, an authoritarian on Costa Rica and author of the recently released book "The New Golden Door To Retirement and Living in Costa Rica," there are more Americans living in Costa Rica per capita than any other country in the world. In an article on the Web site Costa Rica Outdoors, Howard wrote that Americans tend to feel more at home in Costa Rica than other Latin American country citing several reasons including health care, business opportunities, high yielding investments, tax breaks, real estate costs and security concerns.

Because of the increased interest in establishing residence in the land of Pura Vida, on Tuesday, December 14th, Albury will host an in depth Web-based seminar on what it's actually like to live in Costa Rica and establish residency there. Scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET, but also available On-Demand, not only will Albury go over all the nuances of living in the Central American country from housing, transportation, communications and medical, but he will provide a real sense of what expats can expect when they choose to make the move there – something thousands of Americans and Canadians have already done.

“There is so much to know about establishing residency it can boggle the mind,” said Albury. “For example, just like in the U.S. where there are several types of residency statuses, the same holds true for Costa Rica and whether we’re talking about a pensionado (retiree), rentista (legal resident), inversionista (investor), vinculo (relation to citizen) or any other classification, each has its own set of criteria.”

To register for the December 14th eSeminar click here or visit http://haciendamatapalo.com for more details.

Hacineda Matapalo is Costa Rica’s most sought after project with more than $63 million in pre-construction sales. It is located between the cities of Quepos and Dominical and adjacent to the new Costanera Highway. In October they announced they had awarded their infrastructure construction contract as well as a strategic partnership with Su Casa Desarrollos de Vivienda S.A, the leading company of the Tu Hogar S.A. Real Estate Group.Expats on the move: Establishing residency in Costa Rica

New On-Demand Seminar kicks off with focus on Costa Rica Health Care

New On-Demand Seminar kicks off with focus on Costa Rica Health Care

New On-Demand Seminar kicks off with focus on Costa Rica Health Care

Hacienda Matapalo, the most sought after gated community on Costa Rica’s South Pacific Coast with more than $60 million in pre-construction sales, is launching its new On-Demand Web Seminar service, which enables those who register for their eSeminars to watch them at any time, with an inaugural presentation on Costa Rican health care.

Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) November 5, 2010

The issue of health care in Costa Rica continues to spark interest from diverse groups across the U.S. and on Tuesday, November 9, Hacienda Matapalo Executive Vice President Brian Albury, will host a comprehensive online presentation that focuses on that country’s health care system and details about how it works.

However, even though the presentation will be held live at 9 p.m. Eastern, those interested in viewing this online seminar will be able to watch it at any time they desire.

Hacienda Matapalo (https://http://www.haciendamatapalo.com), the most sought after gated community on Costa Rica’s South Pacific Coast with more than $60 million in pre-construction sales (http://www.prweb.com/releases/costaricarealestate/bestsellingproperty/prweb4018844.htm), is launching its new On-Demand Web Seminar service, which enables those who register for their eSeminars to watch them at any time.

“This will give users the flexibility of participating in our Web-based seminars when they are able to without the constraints of having to abide by a clock,” said Albury. “Whether they join us live or at four in the morning, the result is going to be the same – they will get the same useful information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.”

Those who register for the eSeminars will not only get an access link to the live presentation, but the next morning they will be emailed a special link that will enable them to view the presentation at any time.

“It’s great that health care was chosen for our inaugural On-Demand Seminar,” said Albury as he pointed out this will be the most wide-ranging presentation to date since the company started providing this complimentary service two years ago.

“Historically, the number of people interested in health care as a topic tells us that it is one of the most important subjects for those who are looking at Costa Rica from both a lifestyle and investment opportunity perspective.”

Albury’s comments seem to be echoing a national trend.

Several months ago when radio personality Rush Limbaugh told his listeners that if U.S. President Barack Obama’s health care bill passed the House and Senate, he would move to Costa Rica, not only did it further the debate between Democrats and Republicans, drew attention to Costa Rica’s universal health care system and both sides of the political aisle agreed it was the best health care system in all of the Americas.

The results of this past Tuesday’s elections across the U.S. reinforced that notion as many of the candidates voted in, campaigned on the platform of overturning “Obamacare.”

But while the debate in the U.S. rages on, what can one actually expect when living in Costa Rica?

As with any nationalized program, one can anticipate red tape and long waiting periods, but despite that, the quality of Costa Rica's health care is excellent. Private high quality health care is available throughout the country and very affordable. Most doctors speak English and are U.S., Canadian and/or European trained. There are several large private hospitals in Costa Rica which cater to expatriates who live in the country and the 85,000 square foot state-of-the-art public Hospital de Osa (http://www.haciendamatapalo.com/downloads/HospitalDeOsa.pdf), located in the town of Cortez, just a short drive from Hacienda Matapalo.

The World Health Organization frequently ranks Costa Rica among the top countries for long life expectancy, ahead of the U.S., Canada and Great Britain (even though the per-capita income of Costa Ricans is about one-tenth that of the U.S.). Arguably, one of the reasons for this is the slower pace of life in Costa Rica and of course, the healthy, fresh, non-preservative foods found there and the tropical climate doesn’t hurt either. Costa Rica is just a healthy place to live.

To ensure everybody has the opportunity to watch and hear about this important topic, interested participants may register here (https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/882741818) or visit http://haciendamatapalo.com (http://haciendamatapalo.com) for more details.