Desire basic information for an American ex-pat living in Costa Rica

Hi gmorey -

Here are some nutshell answers. You can find details of our last 4 years on my blog - feel free to ask specific questions too!

- living in Costa Rica can be very different, or very much like your current situation - you have a lot of options for how you can live. We prefer to live more simply here than our fast-paced high-stress life in high-tech silicon valley.

- cost of living: we live here on less than half what we did in the SF bay area.  Friends who moved from NC spend about 2/3 what they used to live on (they also spend more than we do on things like cars and trips). You can spend a *lot* or not so much, depending on where and how you live.

- livable income:  we have recently found some data on salaries. A university professor makes approx $1000/month. A fully-bilingual, highly proficient software engineer makes approx $1500/month.

- to do: learn spanish, explore CR and CR neighbors, discover the culture, theater, volunteer at a school, join expat clubs (wine-tasting, birdwatching, etc), do a *lot* of visiting .

- Americans treated: "Gringos" (not a naughty word here) are treated very well.  Ticos generally like those from the United States (best to stay away from referring to yourself as an "American," simply because Costa Rica lies in "the Americas" as well). I hear some talk about "the gringo price," (e.g., higher than for locals) but generally haven't experienced it. Usually, when you say you are a gringo, you are greeted w/ smiles and questions about your home, and (often) something like "my cousin lived in NYC for 10 years"...

- American expats: funny! we were just talking about this - when you first get here, you think "oh, we're all alike! everyone moved here for the same reasons, we all had the same experiences, and we all see CR the same way!"  LOL - well, you know that is not true.  People are people, and we are as different in an adopted home as we are in the states.

good luck w/ your search, and have fun!
Julie

gmorey wrote:

Please give me the low down on what it's like living in Costa Rica, the cost of living, what is considered a livable income, what there is to do, how are Americans treated, what are the American ex-pats living there like, etc.  This is my initial foray into examining living outside the United States.  If anyone has knowledge of other countries other then Costa Rica I'd like to hear about that as well.

Im interested to find out too
Im looking to move from USA

lets talk, maybe we can find something to share
[email protected]

Nicholas