Cost of living in Costa Rica

Hi Richmondrob,

welcome to Expat.com!

I have created a new topic as from your post on the Costa Rica forum for better visibility.

Best of luck,
Christine

All depends on where you live in Costa Rica and what kind of living accommodations you want. You need to narrow down your preferences to get a meaningful answer. On the coasts, yes, it's hot, but you don't necessarily need A/C if there are breezes and you can adjust. Up in the mountains you might need a heater! Depending on if you live in a city or out in the country rents will differ greatly. All I could say is a range between $100 and $1000 without knowing more.

- Casey

A Dull Roar

Craigslist is a good place to look to get an idea of rental costs in various parts of the country.
Electricity is "very" expensive here.  Last month I used 389 kilowatt hours and the cost was $85.  Average cost of electricity in the States is 12 cents per kilowatt hour.  So on average it's twice as much here.
I live at 3,200 feet and I do not need or have heat or air conditioning. If you live along the coast where it's much hotter, you would need air and I'm sure the cost would be high.

Electricity rates here are graduated. They start out at around 17 cents per KWh, but very quickly the rate rises. Over 300 KWh you are paying about 33 cents per KWh. Most Ticos however don't use a lot of electricity and cook on gas, so their bills are typically under 20 bucks. The good news is that if you're above 300 KWh usage you can do some really simple things to save a lot. For example, we are replacing all our CFC lights with LED lights where we can. They are more expensive but last 5 times longer and use about 20% as much electricity.

- Casey
A Dull Roar

Casey,
Thanks for that info.  I had been told that the rate increases at a certain point but didn't know what/when that was.  The other big savings on electricity here, especially for Gringos, is to line dry rather than using the electric dryer.  Hard for some Gringos to give up. 
- Dave

Very true, only the gringos use a tumble dryer. We brought one down, too, but rarely use it. It's handy sometimes when the rain goes on a long time and nothing gets dry, but that's not often. If you look on my blog you can find a picture of a little solar clothesline I made with a clear cover. Now we don't have to make a mad dash when the rain starts and we forgot to take down the clothes!

Clothes Line