A comfortable retirement works out cheaper in Costa Rica — around £2,100/month for a couple, versus £2,300 in Greece (about 9% more).
Cost of living, side by side
| Costa Rica | Greece | |
|---|---|---|
| Modest (couple/mo) | £1,500 | £1,600 |
| Comfortable (couple/mo) | £2,100 | £2,300 |
| Premium (couple/mo) | £3,400 | £3,700 |
Indicative monthly estimates for a couple — real costs vary by location, lifestyle and exchange rates.
Costa Rica: Foreigners can buy and hold titled property with the same freehold rights as Costa Rican citizens. The main exception is the Maritime Zone: the first 200 metres from the high-tide line, where the initial 50 metres are public and the next 150 metres are usually held under renewable concession rather than outright title.
Greece: Foreigners can buy property freely in Greece.
Costa Rica: The Pensionado residency suits retirees with at least US$1,000 a month of lifetime pension income, while the Rentista route uses stable unearned income or a bank deposit; both are renewable and can lead to permanent residency.
Greece: Residency-by-investment and other routes attract retirees; passive-income options exist.
Costa Rica: Costa Rica is well regarded: legal residents join the public CAJA system by income-based contribution, alongside excellent private hospitals such as CIMA and Clinica Biblica in San Jose. Many keep private cover too, which is good value.
Greece: Greece's public ESY system covers residents (retirees often via a UK S1 form), and private care is high-quality, affordable and frequently English-speaking, with the best hospitals in Athens and Thessaloniki; many expats buy private cover for roughly £80-250 a month depending on age.
Costa Rica: Taxation is territorial, so a resident's foreign pension and overseas income are not taxed in Costa Rica, only locally sourced income is. That makes a UK or other foreign pension straightforward to draw here, though you keep any home-country obligations.
Greece: A retiree who moves tax residence to Greece can elect a flat 7% tax on all foreign income, including pensions, for up to 15 years (you must not have been Greek-resident for five of the prior six years and must spend 183+ days a year there); otherwise standard progressive rates apply, so take advice.
Costa Rica: Tropical with a dry season December to April and a greener rainy season May to November; the Central Valley stays spring-like around 22-27C year-round while the coasts are hotter and more humid. Safe by regional standards with everyday care against petty theft; Spanish is the language but English is widely used in expat and tourist areas, and driving is on the right.
Greece: Classic Mediterranean with hot dry summers and mild winters, the islands and south being warmest; late spring and early autumn are the loveliest months. Greece is very safe and famously welcoming; English is widely spoken in tourist and expat areas, driving is on the right, and the relaxed pace suits many British retirees.
Costa Rica: Expect total one-off costs of about 5-6%: a 1.5% transfer tax plus registry stamps, with the balance for notary and legal work; foreigners are treated like locals outside restricted coastal concession zones. Purchases usually complete within a few weeks.
Greece: Budget around 5-8% in one-off costs, a 3.09% transfer tax on resale homes (new builds may carry 24% VAT, currently suspended), notary about 1-2%, land registry near 0.5%, plus legal and agent fees; buying typically takes one to three months.
Costa Rica: The Central Valley towns of Escazu, Santa Ana, Atenas and Grecia for a spring-like climate and expat services, plus Guanacaste (Tamarindo, Nosara) and the Central and South Pacific (Uvita, Dominical) for the beach.
Greece: Crete for a large island with hospitals, airports and year-round life, Peloponnese towns like Kalamata for value and nature, Athens for the best services and flights, and islands such as Rhodes or Corfu for classic island living.
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