Did We Visit Costa RIca and Fall in Love?

We first visited Costa Rica in August of 2019, for a vacation to someplace different. It was out of the country and required that we apply for passports which we something we had never done. Our vacation destinations were California—Squaw Valley, Sacramento, Napa Valley, Sonoma and other wine country spots, and of course Lake Tahoe and San Francisco. Never before had we ventured out of the states, and except for a few recent trips to the Florida Keys, California was our go-to vacation stop.

It made perfect sense. California was where family was. Dallas’ brothers and sister, my sister (until recently), and Dallas’ mom and dad had located in California. Strangely we were the east coast contingent.

Jacksonville Co. Courthouse

Earlier in the year Dallas and I attended a Passport Expo on a Saturday in the Courthouse where we applied for and ultimately received our travel documents. I remember there being a discount available (which was funny what people will do for a $15 dollar discount on a $150 purchase). The line for passport applications made the discount seem pretty paltry.

It was actually a good thing that we applied in advance of needing them because the required documents meant we had to do some groundwork to get everything together—and it came in handy that everything was together when we needed it all again for my pension application.

Our first trip in August was smack in the middle of the rainy season. Which meant that while it rains most every day, it doesn’t rain all day. Being from Florida we are used to the summer rainy season—we call it the Florida monsoon season. It rains almost everyday at about four pm and while it cools the temperatures it increases the humidity. Think sticky and hot.

But we found the rainy season in Costa Rica to be pleasant, depending on your location and elevation. If you’re close to a beach it is at least ten degrees (Fahrenheit) more than it is at a higher elevation away from the sea. We visited the Nicoya Peninsula in Guanacaste Province which was near the beach and rose to about 400 ft. in elevation inland. The temperatures range from 71⁰ F to 95⁰ F and the weather was nice; humid and rainy, but with air conditioning quite pleasant. (Remember this is a Floridian’s view.)

But for a retirement destination, running air conditioning adds to your budget in ways that are not welcomed. Still, Guanacaste remains on our list of Costa Rican locations that are very attractive.

We also visited, in the rainy season, the beaches between Jaco and Quepos in Puntarenas Province.  This is an area of beautiful beaches, great surf, rain forests, and exotic animals to see. Near Quepos is Manual Antonio National Park where it is easy to spot monkeys, iguanas, morpho butterflies, and sloths. Truly an incredible place to see. And to dabble your toes in the Pacific Ocean.

The weather in Jaco and the South Pacific area is hot most of the year. 75⁰ F to 92⁰ F is the norm. Again, air conditioning is required if you want to be comfortable.

Did we visit Costa Rica and fall in love with the country and its people? This was our first trip and we both knew this was a place with serious potential to meet our needs for a retirement destination. There would still be lots of investigation and fact checking needed, but we were sold on Costa Rica and its potential for us.

Why Costa Rica?

Thirty years ago, while completing my MBA at Jacksonville University, I conducted a research project on Costa Rica. It was completely by random that I was assigned this country—as I recall the paper was to be a State Department type of analysis into their economic, demographic, political, and military status. I learned several interesting facts about this left-leaning Central American country.

Costa Rica abolished their military in 1949 earning them the nickname of Switzerland of Central America and redirected most of their military spending to healthcare and education. Over 98% of their energy is produced using renewable sources—predominately solar, wind, and hydro. Nearly a quarter of their land is designated for environmental protection.

Following the abolition of the military, a constitution was adopted in 1952. Since that time Costa Rica has held fourteen presidential elections with a smooth and uninterrupted transfer of presidential power. The country is considered by most to be Central America’s most stable country.

When you’re facing a decision concerning retirement planning and you have a viable solution within your grasp, it’s clear how and why we made the choice to relocate to Costa Rica. I have had Costa Rica on my radar for many years and it has only gotten more and more enticing. And while I don’t know that their leaders made all the right moves economically or politically, they seem to make wise decisions which are  in the best interests of their people.

Costa Rica is not a third-world country—it is a developing country and they are deploying their resources for the good of their people and their country—now and for the future. In many ways their infrastructure is not up to our standards in the States, but they have high quality, affordable health care exemplified by a booming medical tourism industry, they care about their land and their environment demonstrated by their commitment to Green Energy and reforestation of their land, they promote diversity with reasonable immigration policies, and they value the education of their people with a free and compulsory education system through age 18 which achieves a literacy rate two points higher than the average for Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Expats may complain that the system is full of corruption and greed that takes advantage of the locals as they try to lead simple lives in pursuit of Pura Vida.  But what nation can claim to be without greed, corruption, and self-interest? 

The reality is, Costa Rica is a development success story with a 25-year history of steady economic expansion. The question is, can Costa Rica ride this expansion into the future without falling prey to the temptation to "pave paradise and put in a parking lot."

Until this year Dallas and I had never been to Costa Rica, or any country we considered to be a retirement destination—though we had discussed a trip to see the sights and maybe pet a sloth.  It was only after assessing our wants and needs regarding life in retirement that we allowed ourselves to be open to moving anywhere out of the States.

When you put your mind to something—anything can happen.

How did we pick Costa Rica?

A view from our casa in Puriscal, Costa Rica

Our decision to come to Costa Rica was both sudden and well-planned. It was the result of a seed planted thirty years ago and a desire to live a different life than the one we were living today—in this city and culture and time. 

We knew that our ability to retire and live a lifestyle in which we wished to be accustomed would be severely limited by the cost-of-living we found ourselves facing. The economy was good, and our incomes were enough to sustain our standard of living through a foreseeable retirement period only if we delayed the start for several years past my age of full retirement. 

And for Dallas to begin drawing her benefits, she would have to wait years beyond when I would be able to step down. Without relocating to a place with a lower cost-of-living, there was just no way we were going to have a life together in retirement for twenty plus years without continuing to work into my late seventies. And being able to do that is something of which none of us are assured—even if we wanted to. 

We have good health, but what lies around the next medical corner no one knows. I had suffered a stroke three years ago and though I had a complete recovery I know the chances of another stroke within ten years is much higher because of the first.

When faced with our own mortality whoever hoped and dreamed for more time to spend in the office, making sales calls, counseling parishioners, attending meetings, or whatever the details of the job entail—knowing that all the activities that go into a successful career are things that lead to stress and medical problems. 

I want time for myself—and to be with my wife away from the hurry up life we were living. I want to leave the anxiety of future medical conditions behind and live a contented life for as long as possible.

With these considerations we looked for places where our funds could be stretched, where reasonable medical options were available, where we could communicate well enough with the locals, where the climate was good, a place within easy reach, and a place that shared a time zone with the states.

We think that place is Costa Rica.

End of the First Month

Toucans are the “unofficial” bird of Costa Rica used by many businesses and corporations as their symbol or logo—think Toucan Sam from Fruit Loops.

Today during our morning coffee, we were visited by two toucans, which is how you normally see them. Toucans travel in pairs so when you see one you know that you will soon see another not far behind. They spent several minutes sitting in the tree in front of our terrace chatting and playing before moving on.

Trying to identify the birds is difficult for the amateur birder. The ones we saw seemed to have a smaller build than the typical toucan with orange and black (or dark) coloring on the bill and a dark body with red markings on its back and belly. They were about 12-14 inches long of which half was body and half were tail feathers and bill.  We’re guessing they were Fiery-billed Aracari toucans. Latter we saw the Keel-billed toucan which is the typical Toucan Sam everyone hopes to see.

The toucans brought into sharp focus the fact that we weren’t on a holiday in the States but were in an exotic and faraway place where animals and birds are not what you see at home—where sounds, weather, and smells are new and different and language is a new code you better try to understand.

It is a beautiful land with beautiful people—even magical.

Thursday Day 17

The men of Alto de Antigua have a couple ways to get away and enjoy time with the guys. Thursday night is Poker Night at Centro Touristico in Santa Marta. I haven’t been to a Poker Night yet. Brian tells me they just play for chips—no cash—but I have a hard time believing that is so. I’ve never heard of a poker game that didn’t involve at least an occasional hand or two that involved a wager. Don’t think I’ll make it tonight but asked to be kept on the list for Thursday Night Poker.

The other men’s activity is Tuesday golf. I haven’t seen the course where they play but I’m told it is a working man’s club. Again, we’ll see, coming from a place in Florida that has more courses than it has movie theaters I have pretty high expectations for golf in Costa Rica.

Let the sandbagging begin.

On a personal note, I talked to my sister today. Happy Birthday, Sis!

Wednesday Day 16

We took the day off from travel and adventure. Two days in a row to San Jose was enough excitement for this newly retired couple—or at least for me.

Driving up and down the mountains from Puriscal to Santa Ana and San Jose is a real hassle. The roads are okay—they’re paved, two lane highways where you can expect to maintain 40 KPH unless you get behind a bus, truck, or just a slow driver. Then you might be stuck the entire trip to your destination.

Motorcycles are everywhere and they don’t think twice about passing on the left or the right, regardless of the presence of oncoming traffic. I’ve gasped several times as a Honda 125 passes on a blind hairpin turn only to face an oncoming gravel truck or city bus that cannot make room for the speeding cyclist as he darts in and out of traffic. It is only the modest speed on the mountain roads that save us all from disaster.

The FedEx package I mailed yesterday arrived in NYC at the Church Pension Group office at 9:50 am. Deadline met! Retirement Application reached the CPG office before the end of the month. 

I will get my church retirement benefits starting in March!

Tuesday Day 15

This should have been a easy day. We were going to visit an attorney, take my Pension Application package to FedEx in Alajuela, and maybe stop at Price Mart in Santa Ana.

We found an attorney who was willing to help us. By email we had confirmed a time to meet at his office, near the high school in Puriscal. We waited a few minutes past nine o’clock for him to arrive. His English was good enough and he notarized my signature on the Retirement Application, made a few copies for us and we left for the FedEx pickup in San Jose.

As far as I can tell there are four FedEx drop-off offices in the country of Costa Rica. The first one we were directed to by Google Maps was near the San Jose airport. But it turned out to be a guarded, international office and not a drop-off point for retail drop-off customers.

Back to Google Maps and a few miles down the road we found another FedEx office. It was in a guarded, secured, office park which I thought was going to be off limits to foreign visitors. As we sat at the gate talking to the security guard in ‘Spanglish’, I could see the FedEx office only 100 meters away. We showed our passports to the guard and soon were allowed in.

With tracking number in safely in my hand and my Retirement Application safely in FedEx’s possession, I couldn’t help thinking of the Tom Hanks movie “Cast Away”. I kept close watch on the tracking app on my iPhone and was relieved to see that the package was soon headed from the drop-off point to the San Jose airport where it was soon in route to Jacksonville, Memphis, and NYC.  

I had heard horror stories about overnight packages to and from Costa Rica taking several days to reach their destinations, so when the nice young man at FedEx took my envelope and said—it will be there by 10:15 tomorrow morning—I thought—I’ll believe it when it happens.

It happened! My Pension Application arrived in NYC at 9:50 the next morning.

Monday Day 14

When we arrived in Costa Rica, I had everything complete and ready for it to be FedEx’d to NYC. Except for one small detail—there was a signature that needed to be notarized. I stopped at a Banco Nacional branch in Puriscal where I thought I would find someone who could notarize my signature. Wrong.

I stopped at the office of a local attorney. (All attorneys in Costa Rica are notaries.) Nope.

I finally realized that notaries are asked to notarize documents or signatures. I needed my signature notarized and they thought I needed a document notarized—which would need to be officially translated into Spanish. 

I also needed a recommendation for an attorney who spoke enough English they could help me.

Sunday Day 13

My biggest frustration with my new status as retired priest is not that there is no such thing as a retired priest. Unless one renounces their vows or are disciplined by their Bishop, they will forever and always be a priest in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. My biggest frustration is dealing with the Church Pension Group to start my retirement benefits.

As the Rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Jacksonville Florida I have retired. I discussed it with my Bishop and received his blessing in mid-November. Our plans were put into motion. I was shocked, however, when I notified the Church’s Pension administrators in NYC. As soon as I talked with my Bishop, I called the pension fund and let them know of my plans to retire and begin my pension benefits. 

—Congratulations, Father Atkinson. When will you be retiring?

—The last day of the year. I said.

—Oh, I'm afraid that the soonest we can process your request is March first. We need at least ninety days and your completed Retirement Application (application. I need to apply to retire?) must be in our hands by January 31^st to ensure we can start your benefits on March 1.

Now I had another Huge to-do on my growing To Do list of items to finish before leaving the country. I don’t know why I thought this was going to be easy. I don’t know why I thought that I would receive all the help I needed in “applying” for my retirement benefits. When I had checked the Pension Group’s website to find a contact name and number, I was faced with pages of information about how I could open new and better retirement investment accounts but no information about how to begin receiving benefits in which I had invested. This should have been a warning.

I will say, the Church Pension Group is a well run and skilled organization which I have found to be full of help and information throughout my tenure as a priest in the church. But now my thought was overwhelmingly, you want to draw your pension, we are not as anxious to help you make the process easy.

I received my Retirement Application Package and spent the rest of out time stateside assembling, confirming, and collating all the information the Church Pension Group needed. 

Most of which was confirmation and documentation of information that was already in their database.