Why Move To Canada?

... when you can move to Costa Rica? Dig this house on 2 acres with ocean views for $350K.

Did I mention the ocean views?

Freak out about the American election if you must, but there are still plenty of attractive places to live in the world.

Meanwhile, IBM is laying off Americans and hiring Costa Ricans.

Last Wednesday, in IBM offices around the United States, managers called in a large but as yet unknown number of employees and told them they’d just been RA’d—that’s IBM shorthand for lost their jobs as part of a “Resource Action.” ...

Many of those commentors are not buying the “workforce rebalancing” spin, or at least, think only a small number of the layoffs are motivated by the need to adjust the company’s skill sets. Instead, they believe the majority of the layoffs are a matter of “workforce relocating,” specifically, out of the U.S. to India, Brazil, Costa Rica, and other countries with cheaper labor costs.

Reality Check

Here are a few quotes from Costa Rica Expat Forum, from a Canadian perspective.

• With the Canadian dollar being what it is, unfortunately, it WILL affect you. Many food items are more expensive than "home' I was in Playas del Coco last weekend, and found that many Canadians are trying to sell their properties there, and return to Canada. Cars cost twice as much.
• Yes, the $450 premium would cover all of you, but know that the healthcare system has very little money, and I recently read that they are presently setting up appointments with some specialists for 2021...so many also purchase private insurance or pay cash for treatment. Unfortunately, investing as an Inversionista, the premiums may be even higher, as they are based on a percentage of the 'investment'....and you won't know what that will be until the end of the application process....Some towns have great markets but not all towns offer them, and they may only be open 1 or maybe 2 days a week...Canadians are finding it much more expensive with the low dollar. We have a friend who moved here at the same time as we did, over 16 years ago and she is moving back and going into a retirement home, next week as her funds don't go very far now.

Another bit from a PBS site.

So, they (an American expat couple) spent nearly $100,000 to move from the states and build their dream house in the Lake Arenal region. Once the thrill of the move had faded, the culture and bureaucracy of this developing country quickly took over.

Thieves stole their electricity, tapping into Dungan’s electrical service. When the Dungans finally discovered what had happened, they couldn’t get help from either the power company or the police.

When the ATM they used regularly to retrieve money from the states to pay their bills stole their money, the bank did nothing.

Well, OK then. The American Gulf Coast is looking better and better all the time! With any luck, Hillary will be elected president and the South will secede again. :-)