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Pre-retirement Exploratory Tour

6 years ago
Hello to all,
My wife and I are considering retiring to Costa Rica in the next year or so and would like to get some input from folks actually living in-country.
First let me preface my question with a little important background info: my wife had a stroke a number of years ago and has some rather limiting mobility issues. For example, while she is not confined to a wheel chair, she does requires some assistance with getting around. She can climb a few stairs and walk short distances but going without readily available transportation (i.e. a private auto) is out of the question for us.
So here is my 2 part question:
1) Is living in the rural areas of C.R. a reasonable consideration for someone who has mobility issues or should we stick to the more urban area areas near the larger cities, or just forget it all together?
We have traveled internationally pretty extensively both before and after her stroke and have found that a lot of even well developed countries have little or no accommodations for the handicapped such as wheelchair ramps, hand rails, etc. which are commonplace in the U.S.
2) We would like to come down to explore the country for ourselves to get a feel for the practicability of retirement in C.R. and were wondering if there is some kind of a publicized self-tour guide available that would give us some guidance in planning an exploratory trip to the area.
I am quite leery of the tour companies that I have come across on the internet that supposedly offer unbiased bus tours of the region and charge an exorbitant amount of money for their services. ($4,000.00 per couple). I have read enough reports from people living in the area to know that almost anyone who has real estate holdings there is working some kind of angle if they are not outright crooked. Bottom line, I don’t believe the articles in International Living. I have learned from the School of Hard Knocks that you should never believe anything that someone with a profit motive has to say and nearly everyone down there has some devious scheme to bilk perspective expats.
So the bottom line is: is this a practical consideration and can we find trustworthy unbiased help finding a place to retire to in Costa Rica.
Thank you in advance for your assistance!

SJB Global
SJB Global

SJB Global
SJB Global

SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
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SJB GlobalSJB Global

SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
Learn More

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SJB Global
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SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
Learn More

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SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
Learn More

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