Our Costs To Live Well in the Central Valley

We asked our VIP Members if they could help us in giving real life examples of what they spend on a monthly basis here living in Costa Rica.

This retired couple are friends of mine living in the Central Valley area and this is what they emailed me for their overall cost of living for two people in Costa Rica.

These are their average monthly expenditures for the past three months in 2008:

• Mortgage: $1,132
• Car insurance and marchamo: $267
• Medical insurance (INS and CAJA): $360
• Property tax: $40
• High Speed Internet access: $35
• Gardener: $80
• Cash contribution to the local school parents’ committee: $60
• U.S. source TV service: $50
• Water and electricity: $70
• Phones (3 landlines, 2 cellphones, including Internet connect time): $72
[custom_script adID=155]
• Mail forwarding from the U.S.: $40
• Pharmacy (U.S. mail-in pharmacy plus local purchases): $275
• All supermarket items (includes food, paper and cleaning supplies, etc): $525
• Restaurant meals: $209
• Diesel fuel: $242
• Car maintenance: $26
• Hair cuts: $12
• Entertainment (can’t figure this one out): $47
• Grand Monthly Total: US$3,542

You can also see some interesting commentary by our VIP Members on the cost of living in our Discussion Forum here.

Obviously the cost of living anywhere varies dramatically and in this case, we can see that the largest monthly outgoing by far is the mortgage which for many retired people would not apply since they have bought their Costa Rica homes outright.

Our thanks to our VIP Members for helping us give a clear idea of what they spend to live well in Costa Rica.

[custom_script adID=97]

Want More Information About Buying Real Estate in the Central Valley Area?

If you are serious about buying a home, apartment or land in Santa Ana or Escazu, then please contact us using the simple form below:

You can see some interesting commentary by our VIP Members on the cost of living in our Discussion Forum here.

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.