real cost of living in CR?

Phil:

There is an article in WLC:

Living in Costa Rica With Just Enough

this should be a mandatory to read for people thatt ask your question

Search for it and read it

Phil, well intentioned though they may be, no one but you can determine what you can live on in Costa Rica or anywhere else. So much depends upon what your real needs are, what your perceived needs are, and what material things are central to your happiness, your wants, that no one can give you specific advice, a specific number. If you can’t be happy living here, you won’t stay and the issue will be moot.

As a U.S. citizen, you will continue to be liable for U.S. income taxes under the IRS Code. That’s not going to change. And while Costa Rican taxes are lower in some respects, the universal sales tax (13%) blunts some of that benefit.

Most imported things are more expensive here than in the U.S. And some things, like electricity, are on an upward climb. Other things are still a bargain.

We, too, tired of long, cold winters, so I can sympathize on that point. Consider Costa Rica for its mild climate, peaceful society, and friendly people, but don’t be misled by someone’s idea of what you can live on until you’ve spent time with boots on the ground doing your own investigation.

[i]”You can still live on the guaranteed $1,000 monthly income if it is necessary”[/i] but this [u]is very hard to do[/u] if you want to run a car and pay rent!! If you purchase a home outright, this makes a huge difference… but some of us suggest you rent first to see if your chosen area is the right one for the long run.
The OP didn’t mention whether he was aware of the funds required to apply for residency, so please check out [url=http://www.costaricalaw.com/Immigration-and-Residency/]this website[/url] which can explain what is required.

I should add to what’s been written above that too much of the information about Costa Rica both online and in print is way out of date. A book, still for sale, that was published in 2005 was probably researched in 2003. The intervening ten years have seen dramatic changes in costs. Likewise, somebody’s reply from even 2009 will be woefully out of date. Nobody ever updates or redacts the old information.

As for Nicaragua, it’s probably cheaper, but it comes with Daniel Ortega.

Let me tell you about my sister. She’s going to be 72 next December. Her life consists of going to bed at about 5AM after watching television. She might wake up around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. She’s a heavy smoker, and is always complaining about pains here and there. So far she’s been lucky that all her lung xrays are okay.
She complains about not having enough time, and the reason is obvious if you wake up that late? Duh, eh?

The predicament she’s going to be in within 6 months or so, is that her ex husband will be retiring, and her cut that she gets from him will be reduced from $4583.00 per month, to $2500.00 per month.
Sometimes she has trouble making ends meet with those $4500.00 bucks.
She just rented a 2 bedroom apt in Ontario, CA for $1500.00. Crazy huh?
At first she didn’t pay any attention to me when I told her that maybe she should consider moving to Costa Rica, where we have extended family on my mother’s side.
We were both born in C.R. so we have the option of dual citizenship.
Anyways, lately she has become receptive after I have described the rents in Costa Rica vary between $700.00 to $1200.00 per month in barrios like Escazu.
I understand that some Ticos don’t even make $700.00 a month. So my question following this thread is how well can she live, and carry a more modest lifestyle, which would probably be the same in Costa Rica?
Obviously she is going to have to adapt to a better cheaper lifestyle, including a Tico diet.
Would she also be able to afford her 2002 Ford Escape in Costa Rica after she pays the import duties? By that I mean insurance and gas. Thanks:D

Phil:
The responses are on target in that only you can determine what your level of comfort will be at a given level of expenditure. You might benefit from taking a tour, such as the tour offered by George Lundquist. My wife and I did this tour in February and the most informative portion of the tour was the meetings with ex-pats. We probably met 20-25 expat “units” that had been in-country from 1-6+ years and had the opportunity to quiz them as to what it cost them to live in CR. Keep in mind that owning vs. renting has some advantages in that your housing costs are not really a part of your monthly expenses, per se. Our quizzing of the expats found that most of them lived with reasonable comfort in the $2000 per month range and this was a mix of renters and owners. This is not to say that you could live on $2000 per month as it depends on your circumstances, but from our research this does not appear to be an unduly low number and was echoed by a number of in-country expats. We are coming back this summer to do a test run/reality check as there is no experience like your own, as this is based on what your particular needs and wants may be. I think that being adaptive to the Tico lifestyle vs. having all the same/same of what you experience now could prove to be a cost saving lifestyle change and the added side benefit is that you may wind up healthier to boot. Best of luck with your plans!