Thinking of moving to CR

Bingbing19 wrote:

I'm a single 64 year old woman from California and want to live on my social security. Are there communities that are affordable to live on $1600 a month? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!   I can't wait!!!!

Hola Bingbing,

Welcome to Expat.com!

I am an expat from Northern California, the "real" California  .  Yeah, only a Californian will get that one.  If you are living anywhere in California on $1,600 per month, then yes, you can live here on that.  I would recommend that you first pursue through previous posts in the Forum section.  You will find numerous posts on this subject.

What you may find in time is that it may be necessary to adjust your way of living.  After you've had a chance to review previous post, please feel free to ask any/all unanswered questions.  There are many expats here that are willing to help.  We've all gone through the wondering, worrying and stressing of "should I do this?"  It's much easier than you think; but, do a lot of research, spend time here before actually relocating and make sure it's right for YOU.  🌴😎

- Expat Dave
Expat.com Team Member

Thanks Dave...I have so many questions don't know where to start...when I get it more together I will ask away!!!

Thanks again!

You can live on that but if you have a car + insurance + repairs it might be a LITTLE tight. My wife and I live on about that much and we do fine but we do worry a bit re What if the car needs MAJOR work or what if we have a major house repair etc.

If you plan to live in a town where you don't need a car - either because you can use the buses or like a small town where you walk everywhere - then $1600 should be pretty good. Also if you don't pay too much rent... But if you're willing to live on a budget, yes, absolutely you can do it on $1600.

Remember that many Ticos live on $500-700 a month! They don't live luxuriously but they manage and they are pretty happy.

We don't go out to eat a lot and we don't travel a lot but we get by pretty well and I enjoy living here and have no interest in living in the USA again.