Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes
I just got off the phone with someone from Oregon who wants to downsize when buying a home in Costa Rica.
It depends a little where you’re moving from though. If you’re European or from downtown in a large US city, you probably already live in a small house or apartment. If you are from Texas, you probably don’t use 60% of your house.
The client from Oregon lives in a 3 BR home of 1,758 ft2. She is a single woman with dogs. Her idea is to downsize and buy a 2 BR single family home of fewer than 900 ft2. The lady doesn’t want to live in a large, sprawling home.
Are you ready to downsize when starting your new adventure of moving to Costa Rica? I was able to come up with 7 important sign that might make you realize you also want to downsize:
1. The Weather
One of the biggest reasons you’re probably moving to Costa Rica is the weather. The microclimates that Costa Rica has to offer in different locations in the country offer choices. If you want to enjoy the eternal spring, the Central Valley is your best choice.
But in case you prefer the eternal summer, choose any of the hundreds of beaches the country has to offer.
Since we have no winter, only rainy season, your outdoor living suddenly becomes important. Instead of having huge interior spaces, now you can use the outdoors as your living room. Suddenly a covered terrace or gazebo becomes important. This will allow you to downsize at least 50% of your social areas.
2. Your knees
Yes, your knees should oblige you to think of buying or building a single-story home. Not everyone will be fit to dance until they’re really old.
A ranch home in Costa Rica is much more compact than you’d think. You save on all those hallways, corridors, and other wasted space that you don’t need anymore. Raw land is still quite affordable in Costa Rica, and you’ll see ranch style homes everywhere. Now you can stop walking the stairs to get to your bedroom.
3. Guests
For the first years, you’ll have more guests than ever.
But probably you won’t need all those rooms for the kids anymore.
Two bedrooms are probably sufficient for your new lifestyle in Costa Rica. Did you know there are many homes in Costa Rica that have a guest house? And when those guests stop coming, you can create some extra rental income on Airbnb.
4. Vacation home
I’m sure you’ve stayed in a vacation home before. For vacations, you don’t need a big home. Well, your new life in Costa Rica will probably feel like an eternal vacation. You can leave all that stuff behind. All those fancy suits and dresses, as well as your winter clothing. All the things from the past that you don’t use anymore.
Who needs all that stuff you had before…?
5. Travel
You are not going to move to Costa Rica all day long, just to hang in front of the TV. Once you get here, you’ll want to travel the country. For sure you first want to get to know the country. Visit the volcanoes, the hundreds of beaches, and the forest reserves.
Once you’ve seen it all, you’ll be visiting the world. You’ll want to see all those places that you never had a chance to. Because you were too busy working. Therefore, you don’t need a big home anymore, you won’t be there anyway.
6. Too much stuff
You’ll soon realize you don’t need all that stuff that you always had. In your last home, you had stuff everywhere. In Costa Rica, the name for stuff is chunches. Assuming you got rid of all that stuff before you moved here, you don’t need the storage space to keep it.
Think hard about your new hobbies, so you’ll have enough storage. Like for your surfboard or your mountain bike. No more a full attic, garage, and basement to keep stuff that you don’t need. Please hold that garage sale BEFORE you move to Costa Rica.
7. Maintenance
Because of the amount of rainfall during the rainy season and the sunshine in the dry season, the maintenance of your property is really important. Now that you live in the tropics, you might want to spend your time better than on the maintenance of your home. Maybe it’s time to downsize instead of buying a huge property that requires a lot of maintenance?
Or, if you love maintenance, you can just buy a home as large as or even larger than the home you had before. Or start a maintenance company, that’ll keep you busy.
Large or Small Garden
Gardening might become your hobby once you retire in Costa Rica. But some prefer indoor hobbies and hate gardening. In that case, a townhouse or condo might be your best option.
We would love to assist you in the purchase of your new home in Costa Rica if you plan to downsize or not! Contact us now.
