COST OF LIVING IN COSTA RICA

What will it cost to live in Costa Rica? How you view the cost of living in Costa Rica depends upon your lifestyle and where you live in the US or Canada.

 

In General, we have found the cost of living in Costa Rica to be approximately 50 cents to 60 cents on the dollar compared to living in the US. It is even better if you live in Canada as taxes are much lower in Costa Rica. Often times we see companies promoting other countries in Latin America which accuse Costa Rica of being too expensive. It is true that the cost of living has increased in Costa Rica vs. where it was fifteen years ago, but it is still reasonable and in most cases a better value than elsewhere.

 

Every region in Costa Rica will have different prices for goods and services just like there are differences in the US. In Jaco, for example, if you dine at a restaurant on Main Street that is focused on tourists, you will pay more than if you eat at a restaurant off Main Street (there are many). We can get a great meal here off Main Street for under $4. Further, on Main Street, you can get a gourmet meal for about $10 per person. That is a great deal as long as you are comparing apples to apples. Services are much less in Costa Rica than elsewhere in North America. The cost for labor is about $2 / hr for minimum wage. True, you can go to a very poor, depressed country and get labor much cheaper, but what you will learn is that the quality of life is also lower and often the large disparities of incomes and classes create higher crime rates. What good is it to live dirt cheap in a depressed country, if you never feel safe? You will feel safe and fit in, in most areas of Costa Rica. Further, on activity we like to do is to take weekend drives and explore the different areas of natural beauty in Costa Rica. We do this freely and safely.

 

Property taxes cost less than in the US or Canada. Property taxes in Costa RIca are one quarter of one percent or .25% (.0025). That means for every hundred thousand dollars of value for your property, you pay only $250 per year. Note - there is a luxury tax for large home of another .25% so if your home qualifies (is roughly over 3,000SF) than you will pay $500 per every $100,000 in value. This is also declared value. Most municipalities do not have an assessor so you declare what your home is worth and pay tax on that amount. If you do not grossly underestimate the value and pay your taxes every year, you will most likely never be audited.

 

 

Electronics and vehicles cost more because of import taxes. We recommend buying computers in the US or at a duty free store in Costa Rica like the one in Golfito. By the way, you can save a lot of money buy buying big ticket, name brand items like tv's to car tires at the duty free stores. Costa Rica also has a store called Pricemart, which is the Latin American version of Sam's Club or Costco. Many items are found here at good prices.

 

Cars cost more, but also hold their values vs. used car costs in the US. When you sell your car, you will retain more and in the long run, this may cost you less for the value of the vehicle. For example, I owned a car for five years that was a popular SUV with all of the options. This vehicle only depreciated $10,000 over 5 years or only $2,000 per year. By the time you add in licensing, insurance, maintenance, you will find that it costs you about the same to have a car in Costa Rica, though it will cost more upfront.

 

Buy food from local sources and save money. There is a big trend in the US to buy locally right now. It reduces your carbon footprint due to reduced fuel costs to ship items to your area, it supports local farmers and its just plain good for the community and for your local environment. The same holds true in Costa Rica. Buy your food from Costa Rica and you can save a lot of money. Costa Rica has many  wonderful fruits and vegetables that are sold at local famers markets (almost every region has one). The prices are cheap, the produce is fresh and you cut out the middleman and save on taxes. Local beef is also much cheaper than steroid induced imported beef. Costa Rican beef is free range and much leaner than imported beer, so in addition to being cheaper, it is also better for you. We live at the coast and buy our fish fresh, from the fisherman. It once again cuts out the middleman, the grocery store, saves on packaging, tastes better and costs less (about half of what we would pay in the US for fresh fish).

 

Pay for convenience and tastes of home, but try local alternatives. The great thing about living in Costa Rica is that products that you have grown up with in the United States and Canada are available in Costa Rica. We can get everything from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to Johnsonville Braats and Paul Newman Salad Dressings. Try local alternatives to imported brand names to save money. We have found a locally branded ketchup that is different, but tastes very good and is priced much lower than the Heinz Ketchup we grew up on. We have also tried and found many local spices and sauces that are different, but have become our favorites. If you shop only imported items, you will pay more, but if you are creative, try new things and are open minded, you will find that there are some things that you can live without and will also discover new things that may broaden your life.

 

Daycare costs about $2/hour for one on one care. If you have small children, you will save money vs daycare in the US. In additon your child will benefit from first hand, one on one care vs being a number in a crowed, expensive daycare center in the US. Plus, instead of taking your child to daycare, the daycare nannies come to your home. No rat race, running from place to place to place.

 

Adultcare costs are about $5 per hour. If you are at that age where you have parents that are gettting older where it is difficult for them to care for themselves and you want an alternative to adult foster care or a nursing home, consider relocating to Costa Rica. The climate is perfect, healthcare costs are affordable and the care is excellent for just a fraction of the price.

 

Gasoline will cost about $1 more a gallon than in the US and about the same or maybe even a little less than in Canada. Costa Rica isn't an oil producing country and depends on imported oil, although they are investing in green technologies and ethynol, gas just costs a little more. What we have found is that we drive less, so we spend less money on gasoline even though it costs more.

 

Electricity costs more compared to most of the US, but with taxes on the rise in the US and with a shortage of electricity in the US looming, this may not be true for long. Costa Rica recieves about 95% of its electricity through hydro-electric, 3% from wind turbines and the remainder from diesel generators. Costa Rica is also investing heavily in new electrical infrastructure and has recently entered into a free trade agreement with the US, opening up its electrical monopoly (ICE) to foreign competition which should drive down the price. In the mean time, the biggest electrical expense is to run air-conditioning. If you choose to live in the Central Valley, you won't need any air-conditioning and if you live at the coast and can live either beachfront or in the elevation near the beach, you will save on electricity. Further, once you acclimate to the climate, you will learn to use the AC less and in most cases, most times of the year a ceiling fan and a dip in the pool will be sufficient to keeping you cool.

 

The cost of water in Costa Rica varies by location, but in general is much cheaper than in the US and Canada. An average water bill is approximately $15 per month (or less).

 

Healthcare costs less than in the US and Canada. Costa Rica has a public healthcare system and a private system. The public system is about 10 cents on the dollar to US medical costs and the private healthcare costs vary by physician and medical procedure, but in general private healthcare gives personal service that doctors in the US and Canada used to give at about 50 cents on the dollar. Further, most doctors in private practice from CIMA Hospital or Clinica Biblica have been trained or educated (or both) in the US or Europe. Costa Rica offers first world healthcare at third world prices.

 

Overall, we have found that when all things are factored in to the equation and when comparing apples to apples that it is about 40% to 50% cheaper, living in Costa Rica than in most parts of the US, but with a high quality of life and lower stress.