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What's it cost to live in Costa Rica?

There are the obvious beaches, rain forests, mountains, Waterfalls, and overall beautiful landscape. Also Costa Rica is the most Bio Diverse country in the world.?

There are also many beautiful churches, Museums and other historical buildings. natural attractions; Volcano's with various coffee plantations scattered amongst them.??

?What do you want and What you need?

The reason the short answer is really correct is that you can spend just about as much or as little as you want to live in Costa Rica.? It really depends on your needs.? I know people here who live wonderful lives in Costa Rica on as little as $900 per month and they are happy. They may live far from San Jos? and in small accommodations eschewing cable TV, cultural activities, shopping, and other amenities.

I also know people who spend $4,000 per month (and more) and THEY are happy!? You can do either... now whether you want to or are able to is a different story.? Little things you can buy here.? Items like the cos to own a car, cost of utilities, or cost of education are covered elsewhere in this site. A nice place to live with a certain kind of luxuries, the high adrenaline sports, great business deals. ?

If I were to give you and average spending for North Americans moving here, I would say the range is between $1,800 and $2,500 per month.? This is where I THINK an average middle class family from the US would spend and view their lifestyle as comfortable.

Here are just some basics on housing, food, and a few other items as they often represent the lion's share of monthly expenses for many folks. Read on!

Housing in Costa Rica - Where to live

In Costa Rica you can build, buy or rent a home, condo, apartment, etc. on or near the beach, in the Central Valley near San Jos?, or in the mountains or highlands.? You can choose to live with Ticos (Costa Ricans) or in areas that are more heavily populated with expatriates from the USA, Canada and many other countries.? You can choose to live in gated, 'secure' communities, or on a normal street setting.

What's the difference?? A LOT, and only part of it has to do with the cost.? So much has to do with the lifestyle YOU wish to lead, and just as important, what you NEED to live in a certain location.

For example, the further away you get from San Jos?, the lower the cost of housing.? If you are willing to live 75km (50 miles) from San Jose, you can rent or buy at very attractive prices.? How much?? Maybe as little as $250.00 per month to rent a small-medium house!? Maybe $50,000 to buy a small Tico style home. Property is likewise much less expensive.?

I constantly get email asking how much it costs to live here.? It is impossible to answer as I do not know you and I sure don't know what are your minimum requirements.? But if you need figures, I'd say $900.00 for a VERY simple life in decent but far from luxurious accommodations to $5,000 per month for a pretty luxurious lifestyle somewhere near the water.

So what's the catch?? There are two.? One I call it Infrastructure and the other I call Personal Preference and Need.? Often they clash.

Stay tuned for more Costa Rica Living.

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