Cost of Living in Costa Rica
The cost of living in Costa Rica is a popular topic among those considering it as a retirement location or for those moving down with their family. Everyone wants to know how far their Dollar or Euro can stretch; which depends a lot on your life style. If you have an affluent lifestyle where you are from, you will also have that type of lifestyle here, just for a bit less. If you can live modestly using mostly local products, then you can save a lot. More importantly no matter what your spending habits are, the quality of life here is so much more than anything I experienced in the U.S. with beautiful natural scenery, pristine beaches, clean rivers and waterfalls, fresh fruits and vegetables, locally caught fish, and the “Pura Vida” laid back lifestyle. In this Blog I will attempt to portray some common expenses that the average retiree or person living in Costa Rica can expect.
1) The weather. NASA says CR has the best weather of any country in the world, however there are great variances in weather over the country. We examined various places in CR to find what we thought was the most perfect weather in the country. We ruled out the coasts as they are too hot, requiring air-conditioning most of the year. We ruled out the very high elevations due to cold/rainy conditions. The city of Turrialba is in a valley and is too hot much of the year but the lower mountains above Turrialba are perfect. The all time record high for here is 85F. However, were we live when it gets around 80F we get a strong cooling breeze. We never need heat or air conditioning. In the 7 years we have lived here the only times we have had bad weather has been a week or so in Oct/Nov when will be cloudy with light rain. Also, as you know CR is immune from Hurricanes.