Cost to Live there

It will depend entirely on your lifestyle choices.  Where and what you rent, will you have a car, what kinds of foods you shop for, etc.  It can most certainly be done if you are conservative in your needs / wants.

For the sake of discussion let's say we would like the following:
A two bedroom apartment or bungalow within a half hour of a beach.
Maybe a car
whatever locals eat and is safe and good
cook our own but go out a few times a month.
Safe area for walks etc.
Internet, American TV, and cell phone service
I don't think we're informed enough to know what questions to ask.

We (2 of us)
live on a budget of 2000.00$ USD a month.  We live in Playa Lagarto (but own the place).  We just moved in our new house, so we still have quite a bit of expense on the house.  We eat out 2-3 times a week. We also have a 4x4 pick up truck.  I beleive If you are careful, 2000.00$ USD is plenty !

Thank you - how much to build there?

Different beach areas have different costs in relation to living there. Once a legal resident, you will have mandatory health care costs if you decide to go that route. $2000 a month budget is good for the Central Valley but for the beach areas, I have heard that this is not the case, especially if you use A/C.
You do need a extra funds set aside for a 'safety net'.

You should do the 'feet on the ground' approach to see if Costa Rica has what you are looking for....and at various beach locations.

Beware of developments where the infrastructure will never be completed.

That vary, DryFork.  In this development, I think it s ~ 90.00$ - 120.00$ USD

We built a two story house with 3374 square feet of covered area.  It is a pretty upscale house and it came in at $95 per square foot.  That figure included the 10% the builder charged to do the whole project.  We are S.W. of Puriscal.

Wow! That's amazing. Thank you.
Is it hard to buy land there?

I can't find Playa Lagarto on Google Earth.

Hehehe DryFork !  It is a small village.  If you look for Playa Lagarto Eco Development or "Recap" you will find something.  We are between Tamarindo and Nosara, just next door to Playa Junquillal.

It is not hard to buy land at all.  The trick is to ensure it is useable land, has no liens on the property, has all the services available, and to ensure you will be developing it and not leaving it idle for a squatter to occupy.
Playa Lagarto

Very easy to buy land all over the countryif you have cash... but make sure to travel around to check out different areas before you do so.
Playa Lagarto is a very small place and hardly any development. Playa Tamarindo is about 45 minute drive and  Nosara, 30 minutes for those who are used to that type of driving. Santa Cruz is also about 30 minute drive.

I have 2 lots in Playa Lagarto development for sale if you are interested 1.25 acre ocean view. Purchasing is very easy in Costa Rica

Tell me more rocket

Hi there, can you give me more info on the lots you have for sale in Costa Rica?

I would strongly recommend that you consider renting for at least two years before you buy.  Extremely easy to buy and build here and ten times as hard to sell.   

Very few Gringos move here and stay longer that five years.  The majority that I've seen return to their home countries within two years.  Living here is not easy and it's not for everyone.  The cost of living here is more expensive the North America.  So, simply put, if you live the life style here that you live there, you cannot live comfortably on $2,000.00 per month.  As others have said, it all depends on your life style.

I am not trying to sound as negative as this comes across.  I sincerely wish more people would come down with eyes wide open.  It's not cheap to move here and it's not cheap to live here.

- Expat Dave

Thanks

ExpatDave wrote:

I would strongly recommend that you consider renting for at least two years before you buy.  Extremely easy to buy and build here and ten times as hard to sell.   

Very few Gringos move here and stay longer that five years.  The majority that I've seen return to their home countries within two years.  Living here is not easy and it's not for everyone.  The cost of living here is more expensive the North America.  So, simply put, if you live the life style here that you live there, you cannot live comfortably on $2,000.00 per month.  As others have said, it all depends on your life style.

I am not trying to sound as negative as this comes across.  I sincerely wish more people would come down with eyes wide open.  It's not cheap to move here and it's not cheap to live here.

- Expat Dave

Good post, Dave.  Everything you've said I've found to be true in my year or so of living near Tamarindo.  To live cheaply here means living like a Tico, and I'd doubt if many people who grew up in NA know what that entails.  To live here like a gringo is more expensive than NA, easily.

As well, it costs thousands of dollars each to become a resident.   Who knows if you'll stay that long.  If you don't, it's a large amount of cash down the drain.  And until then, it's an expensive flight home every 3 months, or hundreds of dollars and a long bus ride to Nicaragua or Panama.  Not for everybody, for sure.

Costa Rica has become so expensive that I decided no to retire there, I usually go 4 times a year but last month was my last visit, I think Costa Ricans are being spoiled with our dollars
cost of living now is much higher than U.S. The traffic is horrendous
Consider another place
George,

Costa Rica is keeping their currency artificially high to the US dollar.   Almost every currency in the world has declined against the USD this year, but the colon hasn't moved an inch.  If you want a decent cost of living, consider Mexico.  The peso has declined 14% this year against the USD, the Colon: 0%.  Costa Rica is way overpriced right now.

This chart tells the story:

https://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1& … bBe937qfgB

thewizz wrote:

Costa Rica is keeping their currency artificially high to the US dollar.   Almost every currency in the world has declined against the USD this year, but the colon hasn't moved an inch.  If you want a decent cost of living, consider Mexico.  The peso has declined 14% this year against the USD, the Colon: 0%.  Costa Rica is way overpriced right now.

This chart tells the story:

https://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1& … bBe937qfgB

Unfortunately this is true.  As much as I do like and for the most part enjoy living in CR, if I was looking today I would be looking at other countries.  Mexico would not be near the top of my list but I would consider others.

DryFork wrote:

For the sake of discussion let's say we would like the following:
A two bedroom apartment or bungalow within a half hour of a beach.
Maybe a car
whatever locals eat and is safe and good
cook our own but go out a few times a month.
Safe area for walks etc.
Internet, American TV, and cell phone service
I don't think we're informed enough to know what questions to ask.

DryFork,, you can totally do what you said above for $2k a month! You could do it for less but maybe not as well or as easily.

2 bedroom apt or bungalow - could you afford to buy and build? If so you could save a lot of rent and live on $2k. If you rent then it will depend on how much you pay for rent. I think having at least $1250 a month for spending is close to what is needed - again, depending on your lifestyle.

Costa Rica is expensive but show me where it is safe, has the features of Costa Rica and is NOT expensive, and I'll consider moving there.

Every place in the world that is not cold has become a lot more expensive than it used to be.
Mexico? RU kidding? Super dangerous. Sure there are pockets that might not be, but hey, I used to LOVE Mexico and go there often and I won't go now.
Panama? It's a police state, the people aren't generally as friendly as in Costa Rica, and it doesn't have the feeling of being in nature that Costa Rica has - even though they claim to have more parks. There the nature is "set aside" more like in the USA. In Costa Rica, it's all around.
Ecuador? I've heard it's expensive and I wouldn't BUY there.
Colombia: I hear it's safe but I wouldn't trust it.
Nicaragua: beautiful but seems rather sketchy to me.

Admittedly I have not lived in these other countries above but I have done research and have been to some of them; have traveled all over Mexico and have relatives there.

Costa Rica has gone up in cost of living, yes but there are still a lot of inexpensive things about it:
labor (mechanic, yard work, maids, doctors, dentists, attorneys, etc)
food (veges, fruit, beans and rice)
health care (not cheap but cheaper than USofA)
construction (much cheaper than USofA)
property (show me 1.5 acre USofA property with ocean views for $50k!)

You can no longer live well here on $1k/month (unless you ride the bus all the time (i.e. live in town or very close to a town), eat at home all the time, don't have a car, pay very little rent. Yes it's possible to do so, though and I know people who have done it and are doing it.

If you own your own home you can live on $1k/month - especially if you don't own a car.

Car upkeep and gas are big expenses and stuff like suntan lotion, health food, healthy creams and lotions and remedies, plastic items like wastebaskets and such, appliances, electronics etc are way more expensive here than in the USA! (example: $90 for a coffee maker - the exact same one you get at amazon in the USA for $30-40) Toaster ovens, microwaves, toasters, blenders - all ridiculously high here.
Mattresses, however, are cheaper here, in general.
Wooden rocking chairs - cheaper here.

Once you get all that stuff you need for your home then the cost of living goes down quite a bit. Buying it at first is expensive and had I known just HOW expensive I'd have brought more stuff with me.

Take a look at http://retireforlessincostarica.com/.  This couple posts their actual expenses each month, with a goal of spending only $2000/month.  (They don't always make it.)  Read about their lifestyle and recommendations to determine if it appeals to you.

Good recommendation. They said on p1 they average $1900/mo.
I didn't get into whether they own their own home or not but that makes a big difference in the budget.
Also some who live on less than $1500/month do not have a car, they live near a bus route.
Just some things to think about regarding budget.

Thank you