The Costa Rica Map
The 14 decisions every American moving to Costa Rica has to make, in the order I make them with my clients.
Make them yourself, one at a time. Each one fills in a section of your written plan, saved to your account.Make them yourself, one at a time. Each one fills in a section of your plan, and when you finish you have a written plan in ten sections, saved to your account. Already living in Costa Rica? The decisions you've made are marked done, and your map is shorter.
Written by Brennan Vitali, CFP®.
The same order I use with my clients.
$297 until Wednesday, October 14. $497 after that. 30-day refund, no questions asked.
CFP®
professional, and founder of Vitality Wealth Planning
Since 2019
in financial services, starting at Schwab
1,000+
Americans have taken my Cross-Border Readiness Quiz
Decision 1
is free to read before you buy anything
Watch first
The map in 50 seconds.
Getting to Costa Rica takes 14 decisions, and the order matters. Here's the route.
Why the order matters
The hard part is the order.
Most of the people I talk to have been researching this move for a year or more. They've read the forums, watched the videos and joined the Facebook groups. They know a lot. What they don't have is a set of decisions, made in the right order.
Here's one example.
Pensionado residency needs permanent pension income. IRA and 401(k) withdrawals don't count.
So most people retiring on a portfolio end up looking at Rentista instead. People often find that out months into gathering documents.
That's why residency comes fourth. First you work out what kind of move this is, who's coming, and whether your money supports the life you have in mind. You can't pick a residency category until you know which of your income counts. You can't decide whether to rent or buy until you know your residency category and what your money supports. Each decision builds on the ones before it.
The lesson walks through how the categories work. Which one fits you is a question to confirm with a licensed immigration attorney before you file anything.
It's the real lesson, not a teaser.
Who built it
A CFP® professional, and the order he uses with clients.
I'm Brennan Vitali, a CFP® professional and the founder of Vitality Wealth Planning, a registered investment adviser. I've worked in financial services since 2019. I started at Schwab. I've spent significant time on the ground in Costa Rica.
The 14 decisions in this map are the ones I work through with my clients, in the same order.
Over 1,000 Americans have taken my Cross-Border Readiness Quiz. Most of them never booked a call with me. I built this so they could do the work on their own.
One thing I want to be plain about.
This is education. It explains how each decision works and gives you worksheets to apply it to your own life. It isn't advice on your accounts, taxes or legal setup, and I don't set up legal structures or file paperwork. Licensed professionals do that. By the end, your plan includes a list of what to confirm with them.
What's inside
14 decisions in 4 phases.
In the order I use with clients. Later decisions lean on earlier ones, and the map always shows you the next one.
Phase 1
Foundation
- 1What kind of move is this?
- 2Is everyone who's coming actually in?
- 3Can your money support the life you have in mind?
Phase 2
The structural decisions
- 4Which residency pathway do you actually qualify for?
- 5Where will you live?
- 6Rent or buy, and in what structure?
- 7What happens with Medicare?
- 8How will you cover healthcare in Costa Rica?
- 9Medication, ongoing care and long-term care
Phase 3
The money decisions
- 10Where does each month's income come from?
- 11What do you owe the IRS from abroad?
- 12What happens to your US accounts?
- 13What happens if you get sick or die there?
Phase 4
Commitment
- 14What is your sequence?
What you finish with
A written plan in 10 sections, saved to your account.
Every decision fills in a section. When you finish, it's all written down in one place.
- 01Household snapshot
- 02Why you are moving, and what kind of move it is
- 03Your residency pathway
- 04Your location shortlist
- 05Healthcare, Medicare and insurance
- 06Your income and cash-flow map
- 07US tax and reporting
- 08Your accounts and banking
- 09Estate, legal and family continuity
- 10Your move sequence and open questions
If you already live there
Already in Costa Rica? Your map is shorter.
Tell the map you're already here. Where you live is usually settled, so that decision is marked done. Four more become quick checks on what you set up when you moved: your residency, rent or buy, your healthcare and your US accounts.
Your time goes to what's still open. For most people who are already here, that's healthcare gaps, US taxes and reporting, their accounts and their estate.
Everything you get
One system that produces your written plan.
- 01
The 14-Decision Sequence
The same fourteen decisions I work through with my clients, in the same order, in four phases. Each one is broken into short steps, and the map always shows you the next one. No more guessing what to figure out first.
- 02
Your Written Move Plan
Ten sections that fill in as you decide: your household, why you are moving, your residency pathway, your location shortlist, healthcare and insurance, your income map, US tax and reporting, your accounts, your estate, and your move sequence. Saved to your account as you type.
- 03
The Worksheet Kit
62 interactive worksheets: region scorecards, a cost-of-living planner, an insurance comparison, a residency one-pager, and estate and account checklists. They turn "I should figure that out" into an answer on the page.
- 04
The Household Library
60 lessons for when a topic comes up for your household: moving as a couple, with kids, on your own or with a business, plus culture, health and money.
- 05
The Already-Here Shortcut
Already living in Costa Rica? Tell the map, and the decisions you have usually made are marked done. You spend your time on what is still open.
- 06
The Help-or-DIY Sort
The last decision sorts every part of your plan into four lists, so you know what you can do yourself, what to confirm with a professional, and what you want help with.
- 07
Updates as the rules change
Rules and figures change. When they do, the lessons get updated, and you keep access for as long as the program exists.
30
days to decide
The refund
Try the first four decisions. Then decide.
Here's what I'd do. Read decision 1 free, before you pay anything. If you buy, work through the first four decisions and fill in those sections of your plan. If the map isn't worth it to you, email me within 30 days and I'll refund the full price. No questions and no forms.
The refund is about whether the map was worth it to you. It isn't tied to any result.
This is for you if
- You've been reading about Costa Rica for months, maybe years, and you're ready to turn it into decisions.
- You're retiring on savings and investments and want to know the money side holds together before you commit.
- You're moving as a couple, on your own, with kids, or with a business to run.
- You already live there and want to check your healthcare, US taxes, accounts and estate against what you set up when you moved.
- You'd like to work through it at your own pace before you talk to anyone.
What it isn't
- Personal advice on your specific accounts, taxes or legal setup.
- A relocation service. I don't set up legal structures or file paperwork. Licensed professionals do that.
- A community or a live program. It's written, and you work through it on your own schedule.
When you finish
You'll know what's done and what you want help with.
Decision 14 is your sequence. In it, you sort every section of your plan into one of four lists:
- 1Decided, and I can do it.
- 2Decided, but I'll confirm it with a professional.
- 3I want help carrying it out.
- 4Not decided yet.
If most of your plan lands on the first two lists, you can take it from there. If that third list is long, that's what I do.
Working with me is a separate thing, as a client, with its own agreement. I work with you on the money side of your plan, for your own situation. There's a link inside if you want to talk, and you don't need it to finish the map. The map is the first step either way.
Questions
Is this advice?
No. It's education. The lessons explain how each decision works and the worksheets help you apply that to your own situation, but nothing in it is a recommendation for your specific accounts, taxes or legal setup. That kind of advice only happens inside a client relationship.
I already live in Costa Rica. Is this for me?
Yes. Tell the map you're already here and it gets shorter: the decisions you've made are marked done, a few become quick checks on what you set up when you moved, and your time goes to what's still open. For most people who are already here, that's healthcare gaps, US taxes and reporting, their accounts and their estate.
What if it isn't for me?
Email me within 30 days and I'll refund you. No questions, no forms.
Why is it $297 right now?
Because it's new. There are no reviews on this page yet, and I won't make any up. The first people who buy are taking more of a chance on it than people who buy later, so they pay less. After Wednesday, October 14, the price goes to $497, and it stays there.
Is this just a way to get me on a call?
Fair question. I'm a financial planner, and some people who finish the map do hire me. You may never need to. The map is built to be finished on your own, and nothing in it is held back to push you onto a call. If you want help later, you'll know exactly what with.
Can my spouse use it too?
Yes. It's one account, and you can work through it together. Decision 2, "Is everyone who's coming actually in?", is written for exactly that conversation.
What happens after I pay?
Checkout is on Stripe. Afterward you create an account on this site with the same email you paid with, and the lessons open right away. Your plan and worksheet answers save to that account.
How long does it take?
About 3 hours of reading across the fourteen decisions, plus time on each worksheet. Most people work through it over a few weeks, a decision or two at a sitting. If you're already in Costa Rica, it's shorter.
How long do I have access?
As long as the program exists, including updates. Rules and figures change, and the lessons get updated when they do.
Why not keep researching for free?
You can. Most of the facts are out there somewhere. What isn't out there is the order, and one place where your answers add up to a plan. That's what you're paying for.
Start with decision 1. It's free to read.
If the way it's laid out helps you, the whole map is $297 until Wednesday, October 14. Then $497. You have 30 days to decide whether it was worth it.
30-day refund, no questions asked. Secure checkout by Stripe.
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