5 reasons to move to Costa Rica
We met many interesting people during our trip, and it seems that everyone has different reasons for moving to Costa Rica, with the two most common are cost of living and climate. Here are 5 reasons why moving to Costa Rica works for me.
1. Climate
I prefer hot weather over cold, by far. Costa Rica is in the tropics, where there are two seasons: Dry and Wet. The majority of the population lives in the Central Valley, around the capital of San Jose. San Jose is about 4000ft above sea level and has a mild climate, with temperatures ranging between 59 and 79. What’s really cool is that you can pick the exact climate you want. Go for a higher elevation for cooler temperatures, or go lower for warmer. Our first destination will probably be Atenas – an hour or so from San Jose and warmer. A better climate also has monetary benefits, leading to…
2. Cost of Living
Things can be much cheaper there, but it all depends on how you live. If you want to recreate American suburban life, you can do it – probably at a similar cost to the US. The per capita monthly income is $425, so there are plenty of Ticos (ie Costa Ricans) living cheaply. Rents for a 2-3br house/apartment/condo can range from $180-$2000 so you can pick a budget and find a place that’s right for you. I don’t want to pay more than $500/mo for rent, cutting one major monthly expense in more than half.
A better climate also affects cost of living – there’s no need to heat a house. Unless, of course, you choose to live at an elevation where a fireplace is needed for occasional heat. I’m sure that won’t cost thousands annually like heating a home in winter.
Food – particularly fresh produce and meat – can be a lot cheaper if you opt to buy at farmer’s markets (ferias) instead of Western-style supermarkets. The overhead required to pay salaries for executives and rent for stores add quite a lot to the cost of food. Buying directly from farmers means your food is fresher too – and that almost always tastes better.
I priced full coverage health insurance for the 4 of us and it comes to $2600 annually (including coverage in the US, as long as we don’t live in the US). That’s on the expensive side and it’s still less per month than many families in the US pay. A retired couple could join the national healthcare system for only $37/mo. Many expat residents do a combo of both, reducing insurance to cover only catastrophic stuff and paying for prescriptions out of pocket. Someone we met had a root canal done for $120 – her dentist in the US had quoted over $1000. She had a nice vacation and still saved money by having it done in Costa Rica. I’ve heard of hospital births for $3500. Prescriptions for practically pennies. If you’re concerned about the quality of healthcare – fear not. Costa Rica is the first country to be covered for urgent care by Medicare. And there’s that little World Health Organization healthcare rankings from 2000 where Costa Rica clocks in at #36 right before America.
3. Quality of Life
This one is very subjective – your idea of a good life might mean living large near a lot of amenities, or it might mean roughing it in the middle of nowhere. For me, it’s somewhere in between. With the lowered cost of living, I can work a lot less than I do now. (probably going from 50-60hrs/wk to 10-20hrs/wk) That gives a lot more time to enjoy life – to be with Trish & the kids, enjoy the great outdoors and pursue all the things I’d do if I didn’t have to work. Like learning how to animate, writing stories for children or building Lego. (somehow the lists of stuff I want to do never involve working)
We’d be able to afford to travel more too – there’s a lot of places in Central and South America I’d like to explore – the Amazon, Buenos Aires, Mexico, Patagonia, Machu Picchu. We should be able to save up for a trip to India too. Living a rich life with the opportunity for such great experiences would be great for unschooling – and it beats eking out a living in suburbia.
4. the Natural World
Like the US, the natural beauty in Costa Rica is stunning. Except it’s about the size of West Virginia. Beautiful crescent beaches, mountains, valleys, volcanoes, rich green leaves almost everywhere. And there are neat plants and animals up the wazoo, with 5% of the world’s biodiversity in 0.1% of the landmass. In the short time we were there I saw sloths, howler monkeys, countless birds, butterflies and plants. I’ll gladly trade carpenter ants for leafcutter ants. Though I do have some fear about some of the creatures we didn’t see yet – venomous snakes, tarantulas & scorpions. I’m sure one or more of those will add some excitement to our days at some point.
5. the People
We met a lot of interesting people there, and we had a lot of wonderful interactions with Ticos as well. Ticos live up to their kid-friendly reputation. They do seem to love kids, and M & J were often smiled at and complimented by strangers. I found myself smiling a lot more too – it’s infectious.
The expats we met were quite interesting too. We ran into quite a few in all the areas we visited. We met several through Vida Tropical, where we started and ended our trip. Everyone we met was inspiring in some way or another. There’s something different about being an expat in Costa Rica, and we had a lot of discussions sharing the how and why people pick Costa Rica. I liked meeting people who dare to make their dreams real, who make the brave choice to follow their hearts. I look forward to meeting many of the people again.
The people may well be the most important part – all the beauty in the world doesn’t mean a thing if the community around you is empty. There were many times when I talked with shopkeepers where, in spite of the differences in language, that I just felt comfortable. Meeting other like-minded expats was gravy after that.
love to get more information on properties around the area.
Do you have an area in mind? There are quite a few real estate websites around. The best deals, of course, are never listed on them. The advice we’ve gotten is to check the pulperias (small grocery store) for ads and to have a Tico contact sellers on our behalf.
While there, we learned about better deals for both rentals and purchases. We met a couple who live in a 2br house in San Ramon for $180/mo. 2 br apartments in Alajuela can be had for $180-250/mo. A car rental guy mentioned a 2br house with a 2 car garage in Atenas for $25k. The prices online seem totally geared towards the expat. It’s more likely that you’ll find a more realistic price by meeting people and becoming part of a community.
Another thing is that real estate is not very liquid there – if you buy something, selling it is not easy. That makes me think that a lot of the prices are overvalued, and jumping on a house just because the same thing in the US would cost 3-4x more may not be the wisest move. We will rent for 1-2 years and spend the time learning about different places and checking out microclimates.
What about the kids? How are they going to be accustomed to the language and not to forget schools. Are you going to send them to an international school of some sort or to a local one? Do they have language classes for English-speaking children?
Magnus,
Considering how fast children learn new languages, I’m not concerned about them at all. I’m actually more concerned about my own language learning skills. From the stories I’ve heard of expats abroad, it sounds like the kids often learn the new language faster than the parents do. Either way, we are starting to learn Spanish now, as we wrap up our lives in the States.
As far as school is concerned, we will handle that in Costa Rica in the same way we handle it here – we are unschoolers. Yes, there are plenty of good private schools in Costa Rica, for those that want that sort of thing. But that isn’t something we’ve ever really considered.
You have really given me a lot to think about. I never ever considered Costa Rica. The points you offer make a lot of sense. I think I may have found a new dream place to live. Thanks for the blog!
You’re welcome! I keep telling my parents to retire, head down and lead a relaxing life. I myself don’t want to wait until 65 for that
I’m sorry but this makes me sad. This is not a new idea anymore; check any Barnes & Nobel and you’ll find a handful of books about retiring in/moving to Costa Rica. I spent about a month backpacking around CR last year and loved it… especially when stayed off the tourist trail and sought the REAL Costa Rica. It’s not easy to find. Almost every beautiful little forgotten town I thought I “found” (especially on the coasts) already had big gated mansions on the prime spots or “USA Real Estate” signs nailed to the trees (meaning big gated mansions coming very soon).
It’s not that I’m down on Americans. I’m not. Everybody has the right to try to find their own little slice of paradise. But what kind of paradise will be left in 10 more years? What will happen to the culture? If all your neighbors are ex-pats, couldn’t you have just gone to Florida? And yes, Costa Ricans have the right to sell their beachfront property if they choose — but often is it really much of a choice? The rate that the entire country is being gentrified/anglofied is downright scary. Anyone who has been there twice in the last 20 or so years will tell you that it wasn’t the same the 2nd time. And I can tell you from talking to Ticas — particularly the older generation — that they are not excited anymore by the influx of dollars. They are scared of their town becoming the next Tamarindo or Jaco (think McDonalds on every other corner).
So in the end, you’re going to do what will make your family happy. And honestly, I hope that you will be happy. By all means, spend your dollars at locally owned businesses. If you really must own your little piece, I hope you try to do it in a responsible way. Me, I’ve already got plans to go to Nicaragua in a couple months. Hope to not see you there! (kidding — sort of)
Consider: What is the effect of telling everyone to move to Costa Rica on its cost of living, quality of life, natural world, and people?
@matt #1: It is not a new idea, for sure. I joined a Yahoo group called CostaRicaLiving a couple of years back and it seems that the old timers are the ones who moved in the 70s. Ma & Pa Ingalls would be proud of them
We avoided Tamarindo, Jaco and the popular Pacific areas. We also skipped Escazu, though we’re curious to see if it’s really as commercialized as it’s reputed to be. It IS unfortunate that so much of Costa Rica has been bought, gated and commercialized. We cringed every time we saw a fast food joint (we don’t eat fast food). We were horrified by a development of McMansions we drove by. We don’t want to be a part of that at all.
CAFTA aside, I think the explosion will slow quite a bit. Much of the housing market was speculative and fueled by the real estate boom of the past 10 years. I noticed after I started researching that many houses were still unsold after 12 months. If they’re not selling they’re overpriced. To someone surfing, finding a house that is nicer than the one they have and costs 1/2 to 1/3 sounds like a great deal. That was my first reaction too, but that view shifted as I don’t want to replicate the overworked life I have now.
I do share and appreciate your concern, and hope to be someone who makes a difference for the better. Live modestly, spend frugally and try to enjoy and take care of the real Costa Rica.
ps Nicaragua’s been on my radar too, but I am put off completely by their total ban on abortion.
@Matt #2: I can’t keep a lid on my dreams. I am utterly cognizant of the fact that the influx of expats, as a whole, has had serious negative effects in many ways. My long term dream is to homestead and try to live off the grid. I don’t want to be in a gated community with other expats. I think I met only one person during out trip who may have lived in a gated community. I say ‘think’ because I’m guessing, based on the fact that she didn’t know any towns aside from hers, the one next to hers and San Jose. And she said she never, ever bought a fruit or vegetable she didn’t know, of which there are TONS – my new favorite fruit for juice is the guanabana. btw – ‘guanabana’ rhymes with ‘mahna mahna,’ and yes, we sang the song a lot while we were there
Anyone nowadays can search online, find a real estate site and marvel at the prices there. I hope that someone finding our blog would find a different perspective. I didn’t let a lot of myself seep into the Cost of Living section, but I didn’t want to be preachy. I believe in living modestly, spending less and leading a more personally fulfilling lifestyle. For me, that means spending time with my family. The less I need to work, the more time I can spend with my family. I also believe in making responsible, environmentally sound choices as well. It would nice to get ALL our food locally, drive less and not burn any oil for home heat.
Matt,
I, too, share your concerns.
On the one hand, I mostly consider myself a citizen of the world, of humankind. I would like to see a world where all people are free to move around the world freely, and one in which we all stop fighting over the little lines that we put on the map. Of course, I don’t see any of that happening any time soon.
I would hope that other people who choose to travel the world will show respect for the cultures that they interact with. The world is now a fluid place – there will always be people moving in and out and around. Just the presence of a person will change a place. World travelers have to be careful and respectful of the cultures they interact with so that the world doesn’t “lose” those cultures faster than we can blink.
But look – culture is hardly ever constant anywhere anyway. Every culture has to contend with cultural shifts. The trouble with this situation of North America and Costa Rica colliding is that there is a consideration of race and class. Considering the history of the world, it is reasonable to worry when supposedly richer folks, and “gringos”, sort of invade a less developed country. If we choose to go to Costa Rica, we have to be aware of those issues.
I’m not sure I have the answers to your concerns, Matt, but I am well aware of them. I don’t happen to think that not traveling or living in Costa Rica is the answer. I am going to CR with the mindset of embracing a new culture, not taking over with my own culture.
Really well said Trish. Your thoughtful reply does give me relief. I think you hit it on the head with the notion that what makes the difference is a cognizance of how our presence (as tourists or as residents, as 1st worlders, as Americans, or simply as humans) affects others and their environment. Listen, you and your family are obviously not the “Ugly Americans” — far from it — and I wouldn’t accuse you of personally trying to take over a culture. I guess my point was that, like it or not, the takeover is occurring and I’m not so sure I agree it’s showing signs of slowing in CR (that’s what would keep me from moving there). To anyone who knows just a little of the lexicon of US involvement (read: constant destabilizing force) in Central America for the last century or two, this “invasion” as you put it, seems all the more unjust. Despite all this, and luckily for you, the Costa Ricans are a kind, wonderful people and they will judge you on your own merits — not on where you’re from.
It’s a complicated issue, but I think you hit on a nice sentiment that’s not often heard. I hope you can share it with some more of the traffic that comes through your website.
Best of luck and pura vida!
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I have enjoyed reading your blog. My family and I are planning a trip out to CR later this year to attend a Spanish language school for a couple of months. During that time, we will travel the country on the weekends. We have considered the possibility of moving there but have been told that it is very difficult, as an American, to find work. Have any thoughts or suggestions?
The problem isn’t finding work – it’s working legally. You have to be a citizen, permanent resident or get a special residency for investors to have the ability to work. Tourists can’t work and neither can rentistas (the special residency for people who stick some $60k per person into a bank for 5 yrs of income).
The solution is to work on the internet. Create a business or do affiliate marketing. It might be a good idea to do something like that in your spare time anyway as it seems that the economy in the US is teetering on the edge. At the least, you’ll have a chance to do something where you’re the boss. I like a lot of the tax benefits of being a business owner too (I build and develop websites).
[...] know – I mentioned this as a positive in my 5 good reasons post, but it’s worth heeding. It’s not hard to spend as much or more than you do in the US [...]
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