The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica [Paperback]

Christopher Howard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Here are some the topics covered: Actual accounts and anecdotes of foreign resident's experiences here. Live for less than you ever dreamed possible and enjoy all the amenities of home How to make the break and start a new exciting life How to really make money in Cosa Rica-surefire information for investing and starting a business How to choose where to live Tips for buying bargain property or buying a home Access to affordable health care Secrets for success in Costa Rica and profiles of those who have done it How to make new friends and even find love and romance 1000's of activities for staying busy and happy Tax savings for foreign residents Shortcuts for learning Spanish Plus loads of "insider" information and all the ins and outs do's and don'ts of living and investing in Costa Rica.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'If you want to live or invest in Costa Rica, READ this book.' -- Wall Street Journal -

'Here is the primer for retirees or anyone searching for a foreign home.' -- Jerry Flemmons, Travel Editor, Fort Worth Star-Telegram'

'Reading this book is like having lived in Costa Rica. Mr. Howard brings his readers a book that will become a classic.' -- Shirley Miller, Costa Rican Outlook newsletter

'The Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica offers helpful advice to any would-be resident of Costa Rica.' -- Mary Ellen Botter, Travel Editor, Denver Post

About the Author

Christopher Howard has lived, worked and played in one of the most magical places on earth for more than 20 years. His love for Costa Rica is so great that he became a citizen. During this time he has had the opportunity to gather a plethora of information about living, investing & retiring in Costa Rica. He has first hand knowledge and insight into all aspects of Costa Rica's culture and people. He is a frequent lecturer at numerous investment seminars. Mr. Howard has an extensive foreign language background, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American studies and a Masters degree in Spanish from the University of California. He also has credentials to teach Spanish at all levels from California State University San Francisco. He was the recipient of scholarships for graduate study at the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico and the Jesuit University of Guadalajara, Mexico in conjunction with the University of San Diego, California. In 19 85 he founded a successful language institute in San Jose, Costa Rica. He has written three foreign language books including the one of a kind Christopher Howard's Guide to Costa Rican Spanish. This is the only guide that teaches Costa Rican Spanish. Currently Mr. HOward works as a consultant for National Geographic Magazine, has recently published articles and columns in Costa Rica Today, Escape America, Escape Artist.com, Costa Rica Outdoors, Inside Costa Rica & AM Costa Rica. He also serves as an officer on the Board of Directors of the Association of Residents Costa Rica. Due to a large demand from readers of earlier editions of this book, he began to offer relocation & retirement tours in 1997. SInce then he has assisted 1000's to Costa Rica .

Product Details

• Paperback: 557 pages
• Publisher: Costa Rica Books; 15th edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881233650
• ISBN-13: 978-1881233657
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Costa Rica

More About the Author

Christopher Howard has resided in Costa Rica for over 30 years and is Costa Rican citizen. During this time, he has had the opportunity to gather a plethora of information about living, retiring and investing in Costa Rica. It is not surprising that he has first-hand knowledge and insight into all aspects of Costa Rica's culture and its people. Because of his expertise, he is a frequent lecturer at numerous retirement and investment seminars. He has also appeared on the NBC Today Show and CNBC World Business News and was interviewed for Good Morning America.

Mr. Howard has extensive foreign language background, having earned a B.A in Latin American studies and a Masters degree in Spanish from the University of California. The author writes columns titled "Learning the Language" for the Association of Residents of Costa Rica's magazine La Voz, "Short Cuts for Learning Spanish" for the newspapers AM Costa Rica and Inside Costa Rica and the Costa Rica Living News Group.

Christopher has written 14 language and travel guidebooks about Latin America including 16 editions of the perennial bestselling "New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica", "Official Guide to Costa Rica Spanish" and the one-of-a-kind "Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica."

Due to a multitude of requests from the readers of his guidebooks, Christopher Howard began to offer monthly relocation and retirement tours to Costa Rica starting in 1997. Since then he has personally helped thousands of people move to Costa Rica successfully through his one-of-a-kind licensed tours, seminars and private consultation services. Please see www.liveincostarica.com for more information about his unique tours.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!, June 19, 2007

By 

Barbara Branscum (Belleair, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica (Paperback)

Christopher Howard is clearly the leading expert on Costa Rica retirement and living. He does all the research for you and gives you all the facts and information you need to make your trip a big success! These nuggets of wisdom can come only from someone who has lived in Costa Rica for nearly two decades and loves his work. Each new edition just keeps getting better and better. After you treat yourself to this masterpiece, you may want to take one of Mr. Howard's tours. If you do, you'll save much time and money in the process. You'll soon value him as a good friend as well as an amazing writer!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Ever, March 26, 2008

By 

Drake Eleanor Ann "Annie Drake" (Costa Rica) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica (Paperback)

I have lived in Costa Rica for over 12 years and have worked extensively in the areas of tourism and real estate. I recommend this book to PEOPLE OF ALL AGES with an interest learning about every possible area of LIVING and INVESTING here. I have read all of the other books about making the move and Mr. Howard seems to have a BETTER FEEL for the country than any of the other authors. Perhaps this is because he is the ONLY one of them who has lived here FULL TIME during the last 27 years. Therefore, it is not surprising that he displays GOOD COMMON SENSE and possesses INCREDIBLE knowledge of how things REALLY WORK here. NOBODY seems to have the network of CONTACTS that Mr. Howard has made over the years.

For example, he has met with Noble Prize winning president of Costa Rica on several occasions to discuss retirement and other important issues. Mr. Howard even has access to the president's private cell phone number and is one of the FEW Americans who can contact the president anytime. This says a lot about Christopher Howard's respectability.
In over a decade, I have seen him work with literally hundreds of people. He has never failed to be fair, honest and sincere. If he is in the least bit unsure of an inquiry, he will verify the answer with several sources. He never quits studying and expanding himself through self education and information that comes through his connections. To keep himself aware and up-to-date is a job he takes seriously, but enjoys doing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Proof is in the Pudding, March 28, 2010

By 

Frank Ruffa "calabro" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica (Paperback)

My wife and I have just returned from a fabulous 8-day stay in Costa Rica. We are considering it as our retirement destination and before we decided to visit, we spent a gillion dollars buying and reading all sorts of guides and treatises as well as scoured every blog we could find. Yes, other guides have fewer typos, are better organized, and perhaps, even more humorous. Who cares!? I want content, not flash!

During our last minute preparations, I found myself looking up all the essential information in Mr. Howard's book and nothing we ran into in Costa Rica surprised us because Mr. Howard had prepared us. Even when we had a road "mishap", I knew what to do and whom to call lest I end up on the wrong side of the law. Even the Policia de Transito was impressed by my knowledge and preparedness to deal with the events. I tip my hat to Mr. Howard in gratitude! For the meager price of his book I avoided a potentially very expensive set of troubles.

All other activities and events turned out very much as they are described in the book. So, even though we deeply mistrust most brochure-pushing marketers and tend to go and investigate independently, we do appreciate the insights provided by someone who DOESN'T sell real estate or some other tourist-scamming service. Our trip was sufficient to prove to ourselves that what Mr. Howard has to say is certainly valuable.

Per pure chance, I ran into Mr. Howard in the lobby of the Occidental Torremolinos Hotel; he mentioned he has just finished a new book and as soon as I can reserve it on Amazon, I will. Also, I will give serious consideration to signing up for one of his seminars. Why take chances? Don't mess with a good thing!