Infos on Cost of Living and Rental in Costa Rica

Hello Denwiz and welcome to Expat.com!

So as to help you get more interaction, I created a new topic as from your post here in the Costa Rica Forum.

Do ask our members for specific questions if you need information.

I also suggest you try to browse through our Properties for rent in Costa Rica to get an idea of the market price of rentals.

Regards

Kenjee

When you say " I intend to rent and only want to spent $1200 a month of my nest egg" is this amount only for rent or for everything?
$1200 per month to live on here, would be difficult unless you lived in a more rural community and rented an non-furnished home and lived a very basic lifestyle. For a furnished rental to include all the basic needs, including internet, electricity the cost will be much higher.
Costa Rica Law provides good info on living here and this NUNBEO a website that compares costs for both countries. Of course, these costs will vary from town to town.

If you make a permanent move to Costa Rica, there will be mandatory healthcare costs.

If you go to retireforlessincostarica.com they show a monthly breakdown of their expenses.  They live relatively simply but at least you can see actual costs and expenses.  Their site shows the breakdown of the cost of electrify, water, phones, food, etc.
If you rent a home here, which I strongly recommend for at least your first year, the "overall" cost of living is about the same here as the States and/or Canada.  Some things are cheaper but that will be offset by those things that are more expensive.
I choose to live here because I was able to build my own home on 10,000 m2 with a view of the Gulf of Nicoya.  The taxes on the property are nothing compared to the States - $350 per year.  I could not afford a property in the States with this view.  Because I built the home myself, it only cost about $55,000 with labor and materials.  Not something I could do in the States.
If you are planning a move here because you think that the cost of living is less, you will find otherwise and be very disappointed.
For me, I do believe that the quality of life here far, far exceeds that of the U.S.  Life here is simpler.
- Dave

I have a slightly different take on this than stated in some of the other replies.

First of all I know people who at least claimed they lived on $1000/month - a couple who retired in the San Ramon area. I know they did not have a car at that time so that is part of the equation for sure. They also owned their home, so okay if you plan to rent add the cost of rent.

Rent can run as little as $300/month to as much as $$800/month for a small house or apartment/condo.

While people love to say Costa RIca is no cheaper than the U.S. this is usually because they are not factoring the exorbitant cost of health care in the U.S. I just got a bill for a normal diagnostic colonoscopy here in the USA and it was $18k! I've been told you can get the same procedure at one of the best private hospitals in Costa Rica for around $500. So health cost is a big factor of savings in Costa Rica, as is dental and optometry.

Mobile phone service is also cheaper in Costa Rica, veges and fruit are generally cheaper in Costa Rica, and bus transportation is much cheaper in Costa Rica.

When you factor it all in, living in Costa Rica - even with the rise in food and gasoline over the past several years in  Costa Rica (AND in the USA as well, don't forget!) - is much cheaper than living a similar lifestyle in the USA.

The beach area in Costa Rica will be more than the inland mountain area so keep that in mind. Food and sundries are more expensive in beach areas.

Hola San Ramon,

Normally I agree with you but have to somewhat disagree on the cost of living.  I live here, have been to and used the hospitals and a number of dentist.  You get what you pay for - to some degree.

Yes, the North American style hospitals here are nicer than the CAJA hospitals; however, they are not to American standards.  I and my daughter have both used CIMA and they are no where near as advanced as the U.S. hospitals.  Yes, the procedures are a lot less expensive than what you'd pay in the States but the care and quality is not the same.

I've tried I believe six different dentist in CR - four in San Ramon, and two in Escazu.  The quality is like most things here, less than you would expect.  This is again hard to explain.  Ticos do things differently.   As an example, I went to one dentist and told her I wanted three new caps and whitening.  I asked if she could do this and she of course said yes.  The answer here will almost always be yes.  I found out after some discussions with one of her colleagues that she had never done any caps.  Yes, she was trained to do them but hadn't done any yet.  Dental school here is three years of dentistry school.  In other words, 11 years of primary and high school that is poor at best and then three years at the University - that's it.  Again, yes, it cost a lot less and again, you get what you pay for.

You can also rent a house in certain areas of the States for $300-$800 per month.  Here is the same way.  A $300 house is just that.  This is why so many North Americans return to their home country in a very short period of time.  They hear things like what you saying and don't understand that there is a difference. 

Most houses in this price range were built by Ticos.  The plumbing is usually built with 3" drain pipes, so clog on a very regular basis.  Many you cannot even flush toilet paper down, you have to put it in a waste basket. Most of the time there is also no vent pipes for the plumbing and they have no idea what a P trap is.  Yes, they stink.  The wiring will be simple "two" wires, no ground wire and not Romex, that is often times incased in the cement walls.  They will usually come with suicide shower heads and no hot water anywhere else in the house.  And this is fine for some, but people need to know what to expect.  Life here is different.  If you come with the expectations that it will be like North America, you will be very disappointed.

And after all of this, yes, I like living here and have no desire to return to the States.  I built my own home, ordered wire from the States and installed 4" drain pipes with P traps on all drains.  The Ticos helping me at the time could not fathom why I would put plumbing in at drains with the weird looking P trap.  My point is that it is a nice place to live for some but it is in absolutely no way a great place for most people.  They just can't or don't assimilate. 

Anyone moving here needs to "live" here for a while.  Not just take a vacation and see things through the old rose colored glasses.  (This is not a reference to SanRamon)  Rent for at least a year and then make the decision on actually moving here.

...and yes, cell phone service cost almost nothing; however, unless you are a legal resident, you cannot get them.  Residency takes about one year to obtain.  Many people get around this by having a Tico obtain it for them.  My cell phone service with texting, internet, etc. is only $7.50 per month.  Yep, gotta like that one.

- Dave

Hi Dave,
I appreciate your point of view and basically agree with you but with an * - or with several asterisks. ;-D

ExpatDave wrote:

Hola San Ramon,

Normally I agree with you but have to somewhat disagree on the cost of living.  I live here, have been to and used the hospitals and a number of dentist.  You get what you pay for - to some degree.

Yes, the North American style hospitals here are nicer than the CAJA hospitals; however, they are not to American standards.  I and my daughter have both used CIMA and they are no where near as advanced as the U.S. hospitals.  Yes, the procedures are a lot less expensive than what you'd pay in the States but the care and quality is not the same.

I admit I have not been to a hospital there, thank goodness I have not needed to. I did take a tour of CIMA and was very impressed. Admittedly I base my opinions on hospitals on what I have read from other expats and from people I have talked to. (I have lived in  Costa Rica several times for up to 7 months at a time, and several more times for a month or two, plus many visits plus I know many people who live there and have lived there for many years so I hear stuff from them.)
I certainly will not disagree with you when you say the care you have gotten has not been up to par with American standards. I do think some people have gotten good care though, and that like many things it may depend on which day, which hospital, which doctor, etc.

I have read reports of ex-pats who had outstanding treatment and work done at Clinica Biblia and a few others. On the other hand I have read that some have had sub-par work done. Again, one can have sub-par work done in the U.S. too.

I mean come on, people are paying $5,000 to $18,000 here for a COLONOSCOPY! That's CRAZY! It cost me $12,000 to get 5 dental implants here! And that was at a university, with the work done by students! I have family members living on social security who have NOTHING left to live on after just buying needed medical supplies that Medicare won't pay for! One family member on  Social Security had a prescription that was $250/month for pills she needed and they were debating on whether they were going to cover them or not! Imean, it's effin CRAZY here!

ExpatDave wrote:

I've tried I believe six different dentist in CR - four in San Ramon, and two in Escazu.  The quality is like most things here, less than you would expect.  This is again hard to explain.  Ticos do things differently.   As an example, I went to one dentist and told her I wanted three new caps and whitening.  I asked if she could do this and she of course said yes.  The answer here will almost always be yes.  I found out after some discussions with one of her colleagues that she had never done any caps.  Yes, she was trained to do them but hadn't done any yet.  Dental school here is three years of dentistry school.  In other words, 11 years of primary and high school that is poor at best and then three years at the University - that's it.  Again, yes, it cost a lot less and again, you get what you pay for.

I have heard from numerous people who had excellent dental care there.

Again, like here in the USA, it depends on which dentist. I have been to dentists here in the U.S. that were absolutely HORRIBLE and had to have the work they did re-done. The #1 rule for finding a dentist is to get recommendations from people who have actually had WORK done, not just fillings or cleanings which any idiot can do. Check them out closely! Before I would have anything serious done I'd ask (even though they could easily lie - which goes back to my 1st point of getting referrals) "How many have you done and for how long have you been doing them?" It's the same in the USA. My wife had a root canal done by a U.S. dentist who completely botched it. I now will ONLY have root canals done by endodontists who have been at it for awhile. Root canals are very tricky, as are crowns and implants.

ExpatDave wrote:

You can also rent a house in certain areas of the States for $300-$800 per month.  Here is the same way.  A $300 house is just that.  This is why so many North Americans return to their home country in a very short period of time.  They hear things like what you saying and don't understand that there is a difference. 

Most houses in this price range were built by Ticos.  The plumbing is usually built with 3" drain pipes, so clog on a very regular basis.  Many you cannot even flush toilet paper down, you have to put it in a waste basket. Most of the time there is also no vent pipes for the plumbing and they have no idea what a P trap is.  Yes, they stink.  The wiring will be simple "two" wires, no ground wire and not Romex, that is often times incased in the cement walls.  They will usually come with suicide shower heads and no hot water anywhere else in the house.  And this is fine for some, but people need to know what to expect.  Life here is different.  If you come with the expectations that it will be like North America, you will be very disappointed.

You are right to point out the differences between Tico and American style homes and the differences in standards of building. When I build, I would love to talk to you to remind me of what things to watch out for and do differently! (I have a list, too!)

I have lived in Tico houses! Even "nice" ones are not nice by our standards! (There may be some nicer ones but the nice ones I've lived in were not that nice!) Suicide showers are a real drag. (If you don't know what that is, believe me you'll know when you encounter one! LOL)

However, when I say you CAN find $300 homes what I mean is that I have done it, and that it boils down to finding someone who desperately wants to rent an empty home because it's safer for them to have it rented than un-rented and that SOME rent is better than NO rent. It is not always do-able but yes, I have found homes that I have rented - big new American homes - from friends of friends - for that price. I'm saying it's possible, not that you can always find that. That's why I gave a range with $300 being the lowest. I have gotten super good deals on numerous occasions - even at the beach - just by talking to people and asking if they knew of any empty places around town. I have twice rented brand new cabins ON THE BEACH (one was a 1/4 mile or so inland) for $250-300/month. In one case it was someone I had met and befriended and in another case it was just an American who'd had trouble finding a renter and realized that 3-4 months of $300/month was better than nothing in the rainy season!

ExpatDave wrote:

And after all of this, yes, I like living here and have no desire to return to the States.  I built my own home, ordered wire from the States and installed 4" drain pipes with P traps on all drains.  The Ticos helping me at the time could not fathom why I would put plumbing in at drains with the weird looking P trap.  My point is that it is a nice place to live for some but it is in absolutely no way a great place for most people.  They just can't or don't assimilate. 

Anyone moving here needs to "live" here for a while.  Not just take a vacation and see things through the old rose colored glasses.  (This is not a reference to SanRamon)  Rent for at least a year and then make the decision on actually moving here.

I agree with this 100%. It's not for everyone. When I lived there for many months at a time I sometimes found it very frustrating. I have definitely had friends and acquaintances who moved there and then moved back to the states. And then there are people (like some on this forum) who hate it there but for whatever reason (money? masochism?) stay there and bitch about it all the time!

Even though I have lived there for long periods I realize it is possible I may not like it and want to move somewhere else. I won't be able to afford to move back to the USA though - but I promise I will not be one of those who go on forums like this just to bitch about Costa Rica! ;-D The thing is I know the ropes - or at least most of them - and I know that the immigration process and the building process and other "getting things set up" stuff will be a challenge for me to accept and deal with.

ExpatDave wrote:

...and yes, cell phone service cost almost nothing; however, unless you are a legal resident, you cannot get them.  Residency takes about one year to obtain.  Many people get around this by having a Tico obtain it for them.  My cell phone service with texting, internet, etc. is only $7.50 per month.  Yep, gotta like that one.

Yes, but even phone cards are cheap there as compared to the cost of phone service here. When I was there for a couple months last year I bought phone cards to work with the chip I put in my phone and it cost me a total of maybe $10 for the whole time I was there. No, I didn't call the states. I used skype for that.

So I still stand by my statement that health care is cheaper and can be good, that phone service is cheaper, veges and fruits are cheaper, etc. I do concede that Costa Rica is NOT the cheap place it once was! It now is not one of those places you would choose if you're looking for the cheapest place to move to. However, if you like the nature, the people, and the slower more relaxed lifestyle you can have there, it may be worth it to you to pay more than some other places. I know that I could not live in the states on what I'll be getting from Social Security, and I am 95% sure I can, in Costa Rica.

Realize that these 'good hospitals' are not what you will be experiencing  when using CAJA and which is mandatory for residency so you will be paying for 'both' if you choose private facilities.

If one has a serious medical condition you really should investigate prior to moving.

I will say that some of the CAJA facilities are better than others...as is the care provided.

kohlerias wrote:

Realize that these 'good hospitals' are not what you will be experiencing  when using CAJA and which is mandatory for residency so you will be paying for 'both' if you choose private facilities.

If one has a serious medical condition you really should investigate prior to moving.

I will say that some of the CAJA facilities are better than others...as is the care provided.

Yes I am aware of that. It's unfortunate that you HAVE to pay for CAJA if you have private insurance. Even Obamacare doesn't require that...

I also forgot to acknowledge what Dave said about how the training for dentists, for example, is not as good as it is in the U.S.. That said, I think experience counts for a lot and I would be comfortable getting dental implants, for example, from a Tico dentist who had done a few hundred of them, and was recommended by others who had the procedure by him.

Yes...we all know that there are bad dentists everywhere...

The only issue we had with moving to Costa Rica was the cost of electrical power, it is much higher than in Canada.  If you live on the coast it is vital to have an eco home built, the standard cement homes with metal roofs are nothing but pizza ovens, which will cost you a fortune to keep cool, even at night.

Edward1958 wrote:

The only issue we had with moving to Costa Rica was the cost of electrical power, it is much higher than in Canada.  If you live on the coast it is vital to have an eco home built, the standard cement homes with metal roofs are nothing but pizza ovens, which will cost you a fortune to keep cool, even at night.

I would agree and would say that wherever you build, you should keep things like cross ventilation, and such in mind. If you use a zinc roof you will want to cover it with something or otherwise use a different type of roof. I have seen tiles used but I also know they can blow off in wind storms.

I'm looking at a design that has a ventilation sort of column that is at the top middle of the roof: Not necessarily a yurt like this, but ventilation like this.

If you live at the beach there is usually a breeze so you need to have cross ventilation. The humidity is super high at the beach and in rainforests and all over  Costa Rica - except maybe Guanacaste? - so you have to have plenty of ventilation and air flow, even in the mountains.

A home built with MGO board (magnesium oxide panels), is the only way to go in Costa Rica.  You'd have to study the product to fully understand how fantastic it is.  The five inches of foam between two sheets of mgo board creates full protection from the outside temperatures.  This type of construction has been approved in Costa Rica, as the building has some movement in the even of an earthquake.   youtube.com/watch?v=tIhkVmXWYSs

Edward1958 wrote:

A home built with MGO board (magnesium oxide panels), is the only way to go in Costa Rica.  You'd have to study the product to fully understand how fantastic it is.  The five inches of foam between two sheets of mgo board creates full protection from the outside temperatures.  This type of construction has been approved in Costa Rica, as the building has some movement in the even of an earthquake.   youtube.com/watch?v=tIhkVmXWYSs

Did you build with this, or can you put me in touch with someone who did?
Which company is proficient in building with this?

Thanks for this info!