New members of the Costa Rica forum, introduce yourselves here - 2019

Hello Costa Rica from Canada
I'm an artist looking to move to Costa Rica. I specialize in Architectural renderings, airbrushing and watercolours. My other passion is project management in construction and architecture drafting (AutoCAD). Ideally I would love to teach art skill to whoever is looking to learn art and a variety of mediums. Any tips are welcomed. I retire in four years but could move to Costa Rica sooner if an opportunity comes up.
Thanks for any input you can share.

Hello,
We r Loreta & Florin,59, Canadian and UE citizens,residing in Alberta,Canada,planning to early retire to Panama/Costa Rica, however we prefer to try Costa Rica .
We r looking for a temperate climate as  , cannot stand extreme temperatures, but proximity to beach will be desirable.
Any suggestions or experiences regarding this,climate,relocating,budget ,health insurance, r welcomed.
Than You in advance,
Florin,Edmonton. AB,CA

I am Josef, 55, living in Boston hoping to retire later this year and have had my eye on Costa Rica for some time now. I am not married and do not have children which I hope should allow me to live somewhat simply there. I hope to find a place somewhere in the Central Valley around Atenas, but not fixated on that area. I need to be relatively close to medical access as I have unfortunately run into some problems over the past few years, though all is well under control at this time. Any information you have regarding insurance (I know about Caja) especially insurance to use the private hospitals such as Catolica. I need to keep an eye on coronary artery disease, check ups for cancer, dermatology for a run in recently with some basal cell carcinomas and kidney stones. Fun, fun line up, but all under control right now. Worse comes to worse I may set up legal residence in Houston or San Antonio and maintain insurance there while living abroad so I might just mostly need check ups. If you have any of the above problems and experience with the system, please let me know.

59 male looking at retiring outside the USA. Costa Rica is attractive from what little searching I have done.

Are there area's of the country where North Americans reside other than the hot vacation spots?

Hola!  Alan currently living in Florida, US of A.
Greetings to you all.
I am interested in hearing from those of you "in-the-know" about what is involved with getting resident status?
I also would like to know about living in the higher elevations such as Lake Arenal?  What it is like, availability of purchasing property, if there are other areas in Costa Rica where there is a nearby lake or river?
I will be following this website and looking forward to your input in the days, months and years ahead.
Gracias!
Alan

https://costaricalaw.com/costa-rica-leg … d-summary/

https://costaricalaw.com/costa-rica-leg … ents-2018/

I would suggest San Ramon.  Great temperature and lots of expats live here.  Grecia as well, but my preference is San Ramon - great town, markets, etc.    One popular place for expats in the central valley is Atenas.  Rented there once for a month but I didn't like it.  Too hot and the town isn't great.

alvpackman wrote:

Hola!  Alan currently living in Florida, US of A.
Greetings to you all.
I am interested in hearing from those of you "in-the-know" about what is involved with getting resident status?
I also would like to know about living in the higher elevations such as Lake Arenal?  What it is like, availability of purchasing property, if there are other areas in Costa Rica where there is a nearby lake or river?
I will be following this website and looking forward to your input in the days, months and years ahead.
Gracias!
Alan

Welcome to the forum, Alan.
Suggest you ask specific questions in a new post on the main forum, not here as many members do not check this thread.

You have a wide array of options if you want to be near a river; not a lot of lakes as far as I know.
Lake Arenal is cooler, and cloudier than many areas, and rains more than some, less than others. Personally I'm not wild about it as a place to live. Far from everything, cool and cloudy/rainy. But to each his own. Some love it and that's why real estate there seems costly.

Getting residency, check the links or look for Outlier Legal via google. Generally it costs over $1500 per person if I recall, you need either a guaranteed pension as in Social Security for example, OR a buncha moola to be a rentista. Takes 6 mo. to 2 years to become a resident.

My suggestion is read a tour guide type book on Costa Rica and choose an area you think you'd like, come here to check it out in person, then rent here for at least 3-6 months before deciding to buy here.

Hi! I am currently living in Los Angeles, California and looking to move to Costa Rica late summer depending on Visa status. In Los Angeles, I am working as an Electrologist (permanent hair removal), a cater waiter, and have a Bachelors in Science. I am trying to figure out what direction to take with a career move in Costa Rica. I would love any assistance/information anyone can offer. If all goes as planned, I would be moving down with my dog ASAP. I love learning and being outdoors. I am so exciting to see (and live in) beautiful Costa Rica!

Hi Casey, I hate to tell you but you cannot work in Costa Rica at all until you are a permanent resident which takes 3-4 years plus cost, many documents etc. You are first a temporary legal resident then you can apply for permanent resident.
There are 3 types of permanent residency:


Now you COULD start a business but if I'm not mistaken that takes $100k investment or something like that, and still you cannot work at it yourself.  Not sure how much of a demand there is for electrolysis in Costa Rica but it would probably be in San Jose. You'd have to do research on the demand for this; but again you would not be able to work yourself, legally.

Not to mention that the pay/chargeable fees would be much lower than you are accustomed to.

Suggest you read the many threads on the forum and check out the link https://costaricalaw.com/costa-rica-leg … d-summary/
... which says, in part:

"In order to work in Costa Rica you must either have Permanent Residency or have a specific work permit that allows you to work while on Temporary Status. Generally under Temporary Status you are not permitted to work for remuneration.

Getting work authorization is based upon the criteria developed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security along with other criteria of the Department of Immigration.

Article 18 section (20) of the Immigration law authorizes the Immigration police to investigate the immigration status of foreign workers and they may “enter upon their place or work during business hours, check passports, residency status, work permits as well as any other identification document in order to determine any violations of the law.”

Also on that page is an explanation of how to become a legal resident. Hint: It requires a steady income such as a pension or a boat load of money to deposit in a CR bank.

Hi, all. My wife and I currently reside in Raleigh, North Carolina. We'll be traveling to Costa Rica for our first visit April 30 - May 15. Our primary goal is to scout out a couple of promising areas for retirement, which will happen somewhere in the next 2-7 years, depending.

We are targeting Grecia and Arenas, but will likely take a few scouting trips over the next couple of years before we make a "final" decision. I say "final", as we will likely rent and try out a few places before we make the move the settle permanently, if we decide to do so.

Another couple, here in Raleigh, will be joining us for the scouting trip. Hopefully, we all move together near the same time, although they are focusing more on the beach areas, instead of the Central Valley.

All of us are pretty easy going folks. We are coming to Costa Rica to learn about life there and if we fit in. We do not expect anyone to cater to us - we expect to assimilate.

I have questions, so I'm likely to start a few discussions. Thanks in advance for everyone's help!

Welcome and please post questions in new threads in the main forum.

This seems to be a wonderful site, and I look forward to exploring it. My husband and I have been retired for 20 years now. We are both approximately 80, but we're still not ready to hunker down in some safe, reliable place and wait to die! We're both independent, active and reasonably healthy, and work to stay that way. Our retirement funds have been adequate for most of the things we've enjoyed doing, but inflation is rapidly closing the gap between expenses and income, so it's time to find a more affordable lifestyle. We visited Costa Rica about 30 years ago and fell in love with it, so we're seriously exploring the feasibility of making it our next adventure in life. (We're also looking at other places still - Panama, Portugal, even Thailand, but your website registration required me to pick just one - so Costa Rica is still at the head of the list.)
If everything continues to look positive, we'll plan to spend about 6 months there, to be sure it's right for us, and I'm looking for the right town - possibly Grecia. But so many questions remain! Hoping to find a lot of the answers here!

Hello Reds37Win - if you're going to check out Grecia, I would also suggest San Ramon.  It's about 20 minutes from Grecia.  Grecia is nice but San Ramon town I think is better - more to offer.  I do know of someone that could do a private tour for you if you're interested - let me know through a PM.

Hi there everyone!
We are a couple, both in our 30s. Nice to meet you!
We've been to Costa Rica a couple of times and after months thinking about it and reading about other expats' expériences, we decided that we wanted to give it a try, since it's been our dream for many years now. Of course we've been there a couple of times as well.
We are currently looking for information about building a small/tiny house. We like the idea of a substainable home, solar panels, eco friendly and so on. But it's really difficult to find anything detailled online.
Hope we'll get a chance to talk to some of you.
Cheers from France!

lokelani wrote:

Hi there everyone!
We are a couple, both in our 30s. Nice to meet you!
We've been to Costa Rica a couple of times and after months thinking about it and reading about other expats' expériences, we decided that we wanted to give it a try, since it's been our dream for many years now. Of course we've been there a couple of times as well.
We are currently looking for information about building a small/tiny house. We like the idea of a substainable home, solar panels, eco friendly and so on. But it's really difficult to find anything detailled online.
Hope we'll get a chance to talk to some of you.
Cheers from France!

This is just an introduction thread. If you want to ask specific questions more people will read it if you post a new separate thread about it.
But you can start by looking at this thread re tiny homes. I posted in it because I built a very small home using SIP panels from Panacor. Any questions, create a new thread or post in this one re tiny homes:
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=623578

US Citizen, still a few years from retirement, but I'd like to start visiting.studying Costa Rica as a possible destination!  If one were to do a 2ish week trip to start exploring options for living in CR, what wouldbe my best options?

I'm starting to plan a scouting trip as well!  How did you decide where to go, what to look for, etc???

You should probably start a post in the main forum with a specific question and it would help if we knew what kind of Lifestyle you are looking for. Do you want the beach or the mountains or the city, and any other details that would help us help you.

HI There,
My husband and I are in the very beginning stage of researching the possibility of moving to Costa Rica. We've never been there, yet. Are planning a short visit in Jan. 2020.
We currently live in L.A.,CA, I want OUT!
too many people, cars, too much plastic, too many $$ hungry people, I could go on, and won't!

I'm excited to find this website and look forward to any and all stories, experiences from expats about life in C.R.!!
thanks,
Kayla

Kayla613 wrote:

HI There,
My husband and I are in the very beginning stage of researching the possibility of moving to Costa Rica. We've never been there, yet. Are planning a short visit in Jan. 2020.
We currently live in L.A.,CA, I want OUT!
too many people, cars, too much plastic, too many $$ hungry people, I could go on, and won't!

I'm excited to find this website and look forward to any and all stories, experiences from expats about life in C.R.!!
thanks,
Kayla

Welcome! I too wanted out, and so came here 3 years ago.
For the most part the traffic is much better here but be careful where you move to because some areas do have very bad traffic.

Very few homeless here in San Ramon. The few beggars that there are, here, are mostly women with children or older women who really need help; not like the winos and drug addicts in Los Angeles. (And San Jose CR)...

Come and check out Costa Rica and see if you like it! Do a lot of reading and think about whether you want to live in a city, mountains, or at the beach, then ask questions about the areas you think you might like to live in. Post new questions in the main forum here. If you decide on the San Ramon area maybe we can meet when you come and I can tell you about our area.

Samramon,
thank you for this info. and your offer to meet up.
where is San Ramon?
is it humid there? that's my first concern is the weather, I am not good in humidity so am probably looking at Veranal, or a mountain town.s
thanks

San Ramon is here:
https://tinyurl.com/sanramoncostarica

As far as I know, there are no areas of Costa Rica that are not humid.
Someone may correct me but as far as I know there are places that are more humid and then less humid.

The beach and most sea level or near-sea level places are more humid, although there MAY be some parts of Northern Costa Rica on the west coast that are not humid?? Not sure... But most of the beaches are VERY humid.

In the mountains it is less humid, especially in the "summer months" of December through April or so. But it can still be quite humid in the mountains.

If you mean Arenal (I have never heard of Veranal), then it is still quite humid there. It rains a lot there and is overcast/cloudy a lot.

Yes, especially around Nuevo Arenal you will experience fog, quite often through out the year....and many houses have fireplaces which are really used.

Hello.
My husband and I will visit Costa Rica for a month before the end of the year. We have enjoyed CR many times as tourists, but it looks like the Central Valley would be a possible area where we might  consider relocating.
Any suggestions/ negatives on areas including but not limited to Grecia, Atenas, Heredia?
Now for the personal question: toilet tissue in the basket or toilet? (Papel hygenico en el inodoro, por favor!)
Thanks, Diana

I live in San Ramon which I think is worth looking at.
I am not super familiar with Grecia, Atenas and Heredia but what I have heard others say is that Heredia is very nice but it gets fairly cold there, as it's mostly at a higher elevation.

Grecia seems to be a place a lot of gringos like but it's also one of the more expensive places to buy property in.

Atenas I really don't know much about.

Not sure what you are asking about re the toilet paper. If you build a house with proper drainage tubes and septic you can have American style plumbing with no limitations on using toilet tissue. However what I do, even though I have proper plumbing, is only put dirty toilet paper (from #2) in the toilet. If I blow my nose with some, or clean up a bit of water on the floor or kill a bug or something, that goes in the waste basket.

If you rent a house, ask the landlord what to do.
If you buy a house, check how big the drainage tube is and ask what kind of tank they have, how long is the leach field and so on, if it has a septic tank.

At businesses, if there's no sign saying not to, I put the toilet paper in the toilet and flush it.
Hope that answers your question.

You should start your own thread in the forum to ask further questions, many do not read nor respond to posts here in the "introduce yourself" forum.

Hi all, Matt from Pennsylvania here in Pennsylvania. I found out last year that health benefits are affordable fora resident. I won $1000 playing Bingo last year and flew in to San Jose last August. .Tina and I drove around the country, started at Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean and love it but it rains too often. Then drove to La Fortuna and spent a few days there. The hot spring river is amazing, zip lining in a torrential downpour with lightning was interesting. Lol. Then Playa Carrillo at the Peace and Love Inn was amazing, Jamon is a great host, but as a pot bellied pig, he doesn't say much. Playa Callejones on the Pacific, just below Playa Negra,  was beyond wonderful, Sonny and Rita are great hosts. They turned me on to Al, an ex cop from Massachusetts, sold us our home just South of Sonny. We bought the house on our last day there, closed in November. We were down in July and repainted, reroofed, and a hundred other things in two weeks. I know were I am going to live, that is, the best place on the planet, with a view of the ocean and the sleep-lulling sound of the crashing waves, in the best little town in the world. Matt RN,    PURA VIDA !

Hi:

My name is Giovanna and me and my husband want to move to Costa Rica in the next coupe of years, we are both physicians living in California.

What is the recommend area for us to relocate, we love the beach and surfing and fishing.
We also love to travel and we would like to be active in any other kind of outdoor activities.

We both speak Spanish too.

Thank you for any advice

Understand that you cannot work here until a Permanent resident which will take approx 4-5 years or have a work visa. , which is very difficult to obtain. When in possession of a work visa know that this time, does not count towards residency. To be employed in the medical field you must retake your exams in Spanish and be bilingual, if this is your intent.

Hello Jalarod!

Greeting from Costa Rica.

Congratulations on your decision.  Costa Rica is great place to be.

No more winter clothes, clean blue sky, amazing mountains, beaches, and charming little towns await you here, along with an incredible variety of microclimates in short distances ready to suit a whole range of different preferences. 

There is much I could talk about this little country, but before I begin, tell me where do you see yourself:

At a dry and sunny beach, at an exuberant and humid beach, in a city with more cosmopolitan living, in the central valley nestled by the mountains or in downtown areas, or at plains by rural areas or near the volcanoes?   Would you like to be among Costaricans and immerse yourself in the local culture or you rather be happier around other expats?

Do you speak Spanish? Do you want to work for living locally, provide professional services abroad or just altruistic work? Are you single, married, do you have kids that go to school?

Considered all the above, for prices for housing, services, and medical varies from one location to another. Making a huge difference in things like the internet, restaurants,  foods, etc.

Let me know I will be glad to give you some inside details depending on your personal tastes, budget and general expectations.

Warm regards, Marce

Dear Loreta,

I am sorry to say that if you do not speak Spanish, Panamá is not as bilingual as Costa Rica, in Panama very few locals speak English, many of the expats that  I had seen up there, they ganged round together in very specific areas, either by Buquete, Volcán area or by little communities at the beach,  plus there is not much there, once you are  away from Panama City. I was in Panama recently and I was surprised to see how the prices have come up in the last few years, making some items even more expensive than Costa Rica. Costa Rica's Central Valley has a great climate all year round, never too hot, never too cold, good medical, good services, good restaurants, and a relatively close distance to the pacific beaches.

Warm regards,
Marce

All we know right now is that we are flying from LAX to LIR in April with our large dog.

We'll be working remotely so the biggest concern of "how do I make money" is alleviated. Leaving us to all the fun concerns like, where to live, how many bananas a day is too many, and which 4WD vehicle should we get.

Really really excited for this adventure!

workinghardly wrote:

All we know right now is that we are flying from LAX to LIR in April with our large dog.

We'll be working remotely so the biggest concern of "how do I make money" is alleviated. Leaving us to all the fun concerns like, where to live, how many bananas a day is too many, and which 4WD vehicle should we get.

Really really excited for this adventure!

Welcome! Be sure to post any questions on the main forums - create a new thread unless there is one already about  your exact question.

If you post about where to live, make sure to let us know what you require: school for kids, beach, night life, local culture, mountain living, etc etc. My advice is read all over this forum and other forums and sites and try to choose an area or 3 where you might want to live. Ask specific questions about those areas and narrow it down, then come rent there for a few months to see if you do like it

Most everyone here agrees: RENT before buying!

Since you are intending to bring in a 'large' dog, you need to check with the airlines to see which ones will allow you to do that. If over 100lbs including crate, you will be required to have him travel as 'cargo' and this could mean $$$$'s...and not all airlines will permit this.

Hi,

My name is Terri.  We currently live in California, but have bought property in CR and are in the design phase of our house.  You may have read some not so good posts from a couple people here and there about a project called Bellazo.  Well I just want everyone to know that these are isolated situations and not the norm. We bought our lot 1 1/2 years ago and are now underway to the next step. The team at Kalia have been nothing but transparent with us, and are working on improving their processes. If anyone would like additional information, please PM me and I would be more than happy to share additional information.
Thank you,
Terri

They have been so great you contacted me BEFORE meeting with them to get all the information you needed to go in armed. Why don't you tell what you saw of our house and report first hand???  We are NOT one. Just one they weren't able to silence. Nice.

Hola All, I'm a woman in her 50s from Northern California (Sebastopol), coming to check out CR in December. I'm particularly interested in the Costa Ballena area and Ojochal but am having trouble finding specific info online about expat groups, etc. whom I can connect with. Any suggestions? I'm a Life Coach and artist, very well traveled, speak Spanish, looking for conscious community in a beautiful place in Latin America. I love doing just about anything creative/artistic with others, including improv. theater, dance, playing games, art journaling, and teaching workshops about creativity and transformation.