Cost of living in Costa Rica

Hello Susie5qt,

Welcome to Expat.com

Please note that a new thread has been created from your post on the Costa Rica forum for a better interaction.

Christopher
Expat.com

Hi Susie, your question is a bit open ended to give you an answer.  Rent varies greatly by the area chosen.  Transportation costs will also vary by area but more so on whether you plan to own a car or not.  Food costs also vary somewhat by area but more so by your choices in food.

Location is key....

However, legally one should apply for residency , else you must leave at least every 90 days. At the final stage of  residency aplication, you are required to join CAJA the socialized healthcare system, and depending on age and status applied for, it does vary.

Hola Susie,

If you are still living in North Carolina, I would say that it would most likely be cheaper to live there - depending on where you live.  Same as in the States, the cost of living here is dependent on the area that you choose to live.

*  Average Gringo stye house rental here $800 (you can compare housing cost on Craigslist CR).
*  Food costs - "approximately" 20% higher here, just depends on what you're comparing.
*  Cars cost almost double what they cost in the States
*  Car mechanics cost about 1/2 of what they cost there.
*  Car insurance is about 1/2 of what it is there.
*  Gas prices about $1.50 per gallon more here.
*  Electricity is about double per kilowatt hour here.
* Water, municipality water costs about $12 per month (again, depending on what area).
*  Dental care 1/3 less.
*  Good medical care about 30% less .
*  Attorneys costs 1/3 of what they are in the States.
*  Animal vets cost about 1/4 of what they are in the States; however, you get what you pay for with this.
*  Hiring unskilled labor is much less, about $3 per hour unless you're a cheap person - some Gringos pay less.

If someone is moving here to save money, I would say DO NOT DO IT.  Overall it is not less expensive unless you move here and change your lifestyle; but, you can stay home and do that just as easily.

Hope this helps a bit.

- Expat Dave

I have to disagree with Dave in one sense. If you have to RENT then maybe it's not that much cheaper here. But real estate is cheaper and if you buy your own property / house here then it IS cheaper to live than in the USA in my humble opinion.

I am on social security and we live on less than 1500 a month US $ BUT we own our house and so don't pay rent. I know several people who live or lived here on less than $1100 a month but they owned their house.

If you have to rent then maybe it's a wash. But then again, the USA is going into the toilet so do you really want to live there? I'd rather live here if it cost a little more here!

I do agree with Dave in general though - certain things cost more, like gas for the car and much food and electronics and cars and appliances and so on.

On the other hand, doctors and dentists are cheaper, CAJA is mostly good (low cost health care) (though there are waits involved), veges and fruits are mostly cheaper (some more expensive depending on where you live in USA and where you live here)...

You can read my blog at my profile to get more info on living here and cost of living and so on. By the way our car insurance is the same here as in the USA but in the USA it was better with more benefits for the same price.

Our electricity and water are cheaper here in Costa Rica, but that depends on where you live and how much elec. and water you use.

The bottom line is I PREFER living in Costa Rica, regardless of whether it's cheaper. But I submit that if you own your home it IS cheaper to live here!

I AGREE with San Ramon's excellent post especially the fact that living here in General in better for MOST of us! and his knowing many people who live on $1100 to $1500 per month IF they own their own house,and do not bother buying a car,I do also,  so makes me upset when people keep posting here that one needs at LEAST $3000 per month to live . (Maybe with THEIR lifestyle ) They may be living at the beach where A/C is needed and  rents, food and restaurants are more expensive and buying lots of expensive booze ..
Sure you can eat up money on luxuries but if you put yourself on a budget  .NOT scrimping, you can manage nicely. And  IF do not own a car ( which is NOT necessary in most areas here in the Central Valley  ( Buses run regularly on good roads and are clean and safe) So don't think you must be wealthy to live here come and ENJOY a great life and be CAREFUL where you choose to live ..ENJOY!

My point was that the same thing could be said of most home countries.  If your house is paid for, either here or there, for the most part expenses are about the same.  The higher price of one thing is offset by the lower price of something else.

The original question had to do with the actual cost of living and renting.  I was basing my opinion on  people first moving down and I would hope that they'd be renting initially.

As to San Ramon's electricity costs being lower than in the States, that is not comparing apples to apples. Your monthly bill may be lower but that is only because you're using a lot less electricity.  In our area of San Ramon we're not using either air conditioning or central heat, thus a much lower bill.

According to World Atlas, the average cost in the U.S. for electricity is .10 cents per kilowatt hour.  In Costa Rica it averages between .29 and .39 cents per kilowat hour, depending on your usage for a given month.  The more you use the higher the rate.

So if you locate to one of the higher elevations, your monthly bill will be less.  If your living near the beach and using air conditioning, you'll pay considerably more.

The main point would be not to move here if you think you're going to find a much cheaper way to live.  It is not less expensive, it's just a change in lifestyle.  It may be that with the change we make in moving here, it makes it more of an adventure to at the same time change from our previous lifestyles.  Life is what you make it.

- Expat Dave

Susie5qt:  What would a monthly income look like for rent , food, transportation, etc in the USA?  That cannot be answered without asking where one would live, the type of neighborhood, size of home to rent, lifestyle, car ownership vs public transportation, etc.   If you change your lifestyle when you come to CR (e.g. no car, change in eating habits, etc), you should save money - but you might also save money by moving to a lower cost and warmer area in the USA and changing your lifestyle there.   

ExpatDave provides some good info for some relative costs.  In general, we have found that our "comfortable lifestyle" in a beach area is currently about 15% less than our comparable lifestyle in the USA (Colorado).  The first year or two were a bit more costly, but dropped as we got settled in.

Redbeard,

I am curious, do you use air conditioning?  If so, how often do you run it and what is your average monthly electrical bill.  If you also use gas, what is the combined total?

I use all electric - stove, on-demand hot water, etc.,  no gas and electric bill averages about $80-$100 per month.  Higher in the rainy season when we do use the clothes dryer.

Thanks,
- Expat Dave

Our electrical costs in Tamarindo have varied from $140 to $430 per month over the past few years, with January to April being towards the lower end and July thru August being towards the high end. 

We use A/C sparingly during the dry season (minimum of 1 night per week), but use it much more during rainy season.  We live in a condo near the ocean and can have nice breezes through our unit, supplemented by ceiling and floor fans throughout our unit.  Fans are often sufficient during dry season, but we are not well accustomed to high humidity, so we turn on the A/C when uncomfortable.  This past year we used "dry mode" on our A/C units, which lowers the humidity and cools the air some but is more efficient that the "cooling mode".

We also use an electric water heater, stove, oven, clothes dryer, and dishwasher (but let the dishes air dry vs heated dry).

I have heard of some condos that run their A/C all the time and have bills around $700 per month.

Thanks Redbeard.  This is a great comparison for people comparing pricing between living in the cooler mountain areas vs. closer to the beach.

Average monthly electric bill living in San Ramon, Alajuela - $75 - $125
Average monthly electric bill living in Tamarindo, Guanacaste - $140 - $700

- Expat Dave

$140 to $700 for electricity in  Tamarindo?   

I have a 2 bedroom condo and turn on the A/C whenever I'm hot, usually late morning to late afternoon.  I hardly even use it in the rainy season.   My bill has never gone over $120 and it's usually around $80 in rainy season.  Granted, I live outside Tamarindo where it isn't hot and dusty.

I worked out how much Coopeguanacaste charges me per KwH and it's 17 cents.  Anybody spending $700 on A/C here must be a true Gringo who has a big house with the temperature at 65 degrees!   I set it to around 80 degrees and am very comfortable.

Coopeguanacaste charges about $0.16/kw for the first 200 kwh, then $0.22/kw above that.  (That is more than double what I was paying in Colorado.)   Our condo is mostly 3 BR units with about 1800 SF interior, and many units are rentals.  Some renters turn on the A/C and then sit on the balcony with the doors open to the condo!

Sounds about right.   Expensive, but not that big of a deal in the big expense picture.  I like this area for all the beaches, bars, restaurants, activities, and the expat community .   Not sure what I'd do in the central valley.  Buy a fruit farm?  Buy more at Pricesmart?

My water bill in the USA was 0 because I rented and they paid it.
My electric was $50 a month and we rarely used a.c., just fans, because I hate a.c., it's always too cold or too hot - at least the small window type unit we had was.
Natural gas was $22 a month for cooking and for heat in "winter" (mild winters).
So that's $72 for utilities that I paid in the USA in a mild climate.

Here in San Ramon area I average about $8-12 a month for water and $20-25 a month for electricity. We don't use a.c.. We rarely use a fan. We have a washer but no dryer.
And $4 a month for propane. We don't cook a lot and use an electric toaster oven for a lot of cooking.
So that's $32 to $41 here in San Ramon area vs. $72 in USA. Not a huge difference actually but it IS cheaper.

Food here is about the same for us, maybe even a little more here. But about the same.

Gas for the car is way more expensive here but since I don't work any more I drive a lot less. Car maintenance is about the same here. Mechanics are cheaper and parts can be cheaper but since we live on a semi-bad road we have more repairs, more tires etc to buy.

Property and homes of equal quality / desirability are cheaper in Costa Rica.
Dental is cheaper here.
Eye glasses can be cheaper here.
Many medicines are cheaper here.
Doctors are cheaper here and operations are cheaper here.
Mechanics are cheaper here - and if you don't beat up your car a lot that's a big savings.

I am in agreement that it's "ABOUT" as cheap in the U.S. for most living expenses. But here's where it's different in a major way:
Here I could buy a 2 acre lot with ocean view for about 1/10 the price as a similar lot in the USA. Here I could build a house for about 1/5 the cost of the USA. And by doing so there is no rent to pay.
Major difference!

If we're talking purely RENTING it's much the same. My friend can't afford to buy land or a home here, so he rents. He says "I could not rent a 3 bedroom home for my kids and my wife and I IN AN EQUALLY DESIRABLE AREA for anywhere near the same price as here in Costa Rica". That's straight from the horse's mouth from a guy who's on a relatively low income here with his 2 teenage kids and wife.

EQUALLY DESIRABLE is the keyword. He's currently renting a 3 bedroom home on a nice quiet road on the edge of forest land next to a coffee farm for $450/month. Currently looking to move to another area (for personal reasons, not because he doesn't like the area here) and is looking at renting another 3br house for $600. Hard to find these prices? Yes. Impossible? No. When you're HERE you can shop around, ask around and negotiate. Many would rather rent long term for a lower price than they're asking, than to let their rental go empty for months. Especially if you convince them you're not a problematic tenant and will pay on time each month and take good care of the place.

I have a friend looking into just renting a ROOM in Maine, and the cheapest she could find was $450/month! A major city: even more!

Sometimes here you can even make a deal to take care of the property in some way, or fix the house or improve the property in exchange for a lower rent.

Just my 2 cents. Everyone has their opinion but mine is that it IS cheaper to live here, for MANY people. It all depends on your lifestyle. Certainly it IS cheaper to buy beautiful property and to build here, unless you are buying on the beach (even then it's comparably cheaper!)
And if you do buy and build then you have no rent and your monthly expenses can get down to around $1000-1200 a month for a thrifty married couple.