$5000 month budget

[quote=”sunnytom”]My wife and I are planning a trip to CR. We live in Dallas and I don’t care for the weather. Hot in the summer and can get cold in the winter. I love to scuba dive. I like Thailand, but it is so far away. Can we live a nice lifestyle on $5000. a month in CR? We would like to rent long term. One or two bedroom with a pool, or condo with pool.[/quote]

Hi Tom –
As Scott says, you can live very comfortably on $5,000/month. Before taking the plunge, you should make a couple of exploratory trips and try out different areas.

Much to the surprise of many people that do NOT live at the beach in Costa Rica, not all areas are as hot, humid and buggy as they think (and say).

My wife and I moved full time to Playa Samara, on the Nicoya Peninsula. We have been here 5 years now, and we spend more days and nights WITHOUT air conditioning that with. We returned from the States on 2 Nov, and since our return we have not used any of our air conditioning units for 1 minute, day or night! We are fortunate to have a refreshing sea breeze most of each day, and a very cool breeze off of the mountains every night. We are at an elevation of only 300 feet or so, and our friends that live less than 10 minutes away at 1200 feet elevation enjoy 5-7 degrees cooler temperature than we do – so there are “micro-climates” within each area to investigate.

Last night the low in our area was 66 degrees F, and the high today was 86 – and this is SUMMER. For most of the last 2 weeks I have been sleeping outside (by choice) on our terrace enjoying the stars, and I do not have one insect bite to show for it. Everyone of those nights has been in the high 60’s.

Are there nights and days during the year that are warmer and buggier? Sure, but unlike the Central Valley and many of the mountainous areas we VERY RARELY (if ever) suffer from floods, mudslides, sinkholes, road closures or bridge outages during our comparatively brief rainy season. And before any of my good forum friends point to Samara’s 7.6 earthquake in September of 2012, I will point out that buildings in San Jose, Puntarenas and Liberia and elsewhere suffered much, much more damage that we had in the Samara area. Fortunately (for us) the quake was 40 miles deep and the shock waves resonated outward, rather than upward. Anyway, I think it is safe to say that no place in Costa Rica is immune from those frequent “tremblors”.

There are so many areas of Costa Rica with varying climates, and by and large, the people that live in each area will tell you that their climate is the best and you should live there. They all have the privilege of saying that because that is where they chose to live and the climate they chose to live in.

You didn’t mention your like, or dislike, of wind and/or rain. Many areas of Costa Rica get an inordinate amount of one or the other – or both. Temperature is not the only determining factor in one’s comfort level. If it stays in the 70’s but rains 75% of the days of the year or the wind blows 30mph on most days, then that can get old pretty fast.

Air quality is another factor. Any area that has 3 million people or so (and almost as many cars) will have concerns with air quality – especially if it is surrounded by mountains (like a “valley”).

So don’t take my word for it, or anyone else’s word for it.

A little internet research on the different areas of Costa Rica will get you started in the right direction, and then go visit those areas of most interest and see for your self. Spend a few days and nights or more in each area and ask a lot of questions – then take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Sift through what you are hearing, and search for the truth.

There are a lot of other considerations as well when relocating. Creature comforts, access to stores, health care, crime, airports (if you are traveling often), etc. If you want Dallas-style mega-malls, theaters, U.S.-based fast food and chain restaurants, etc., then “the valley” is probably best for you; but that is not what many of us were looking for when we chose Costa Rica.

The good thing is that you are fortunate enough to have the means to pick up and relocate (or return to the States) if you find yourself in an area or areas that don’t meet your expectations.

And one more great thing about Costa Rica – it is so small that if you live in the mountains and want to enjoy the beach, or vice versa, within 2, 3, or 4 hours at the most, you can be in just about any other part of the country enjoying someone else’s self proclaimed “perfect climate”.

Do what [b]costaricabil[/b]l advises and check out various areas of the country and you should be able to find what you are looking for. With your budget, it will make it much easier to find.
Suggest you read these [url=http://www.costaricalaw.com/Immigration-and-Residency/residency-general-information-and-summary.html]requirement to living here legally[/url], if you haven’t already done so.