Costa Rica Cost of Living – Utilities Costs

It’s that time of the year when I look back and analyze the costs of living in my home/office and see if I actually made any money this year.

I keep a record of every single dime, cent and Costa Rican colone that has been spent living in great comfort here in Escazú, in Costa Rica.

Strange how living in Costa Rica seems to have made money and the desire to make money less important than ever yet, I KNOW that I am more content than ever before.

Well the bad news is that thanks to the price of oil, my overall cost of living has increased somewhat. The good news is that the cost of living in Costa Rica is far more affordable than any place in the US, Canada or the UK that I have lived in.

There is simply no way, that I could enjoy the same high quality of life anywhere in the UK or the USA.

Since I work in my home office with various computers, scanners and printers running for about 18 hours a days, my household expenses are significantly more than than the average family however, you may have six children, all of whom play electric guitars in the evening, (perish the thought!) – So you can take a look at the numbers and come to your own conclusions.

During the last twelve months, on average I have paid:

US$32.50 per month for electricity
US$12.26 per month on my home telephone
US$24.74 per month on my cellular telephone
US$4 per month on propane for my oven.

All figures were calculated in US dollars at the prevailing exchange rate at the end of each month.

My biggest expense, which most retired people would probably not have, is my cable internet service because I am online about 18 hours per day (no kidding.) For this 256K/512K service provided by Amnet, I pay about US$99 per month.

Because the weather in the Central Valley area is so very comfortable all year round, I have used my air conditioning on maybe five nights only and of course, we never need heating.

This may sound trivial but according to the Wall Street Journal of 17th October – Years of Short-Term Strategy Create a Crunch in Natural Gas: “Owners of gas heated homes should expect to spend an average of $1,096 this winter, up 48% from last winter’s already high prices…”

And this could be deadly too… According to the Chicago Sun Times: “In Chicago, 30,000 households have had their heat disconnected, and another 14,000 are eligible to be disconnected.” Unfortunately the old and weak, may not live through a cold winter.

In Costa Rica, that $1,096 that you would normally spend for winter heating bills stays in your pocket.

Would ask you to remember that if you are retired, you will have the time to find the deals that are out there when it comes to shopping. I happen to go to one of the most expensive grocery stores in the country simply because there’s just not enough hours in the day and it happens to be located very near my home.

And whatever outrageous amount you spend on air conditioning in the summer? If you are living in the Central Valley area, that $1,000+ will also stay in your pocket and you know that the price of oil is only going to go higher, right?

Hope this gives you an idea about the costs of living in Costa Rica and utilities costs…

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.