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I have been over many, many web sites regarding living in Costa Rica. My husband and I are in our 40’s and are not retiring, so this is a thing we want to do for a change. We have never been to Costa Rica but are planning a weeklong trip in March of 2010 to have a look around. This is something we have wanted to do for a long time and now we can. And we are looking forward to this!
Questions (and comments with questions):
1 – Where is a good town for “home base” on the Pacific Coast to drive up and down the coast looking at areas for long term rentals? (I was thinking Nicoya or Tamarindo and work our way down in a rental car?)
2 – If we move to CR for a year, we have two dogs we would bring with us. I haven’t seen a quarantine requirement on any CR related web site. Is there a pet quarantine requirement upon arrival?
3 – Is it hard to find a house with full A/C at/near the beach on the Pacific Coast? I’m not meaning to be toooo picky (believe me) but I am a fair skinned redhead who loves the ocean but who melts at 85 degrees. I do love the tropics (been to Belize and Mexico several times) Any ideas? (besides “You are going to need the SPF 80”.)
4 – We’d want to just let the dogs out for a stretch in a secured yard without having to bother anyone in a villa-type community or apartment community (hence the walled-garden idea). Are homes for rent typically walled or fenced in? Or is a villa more commonly walled?
5 – Is there better hospitals (public or private) or medical care for “temporary expats” in one region of the Pacific Coast as opposed to another region of the Pacific Coast? (hope that made sense)
6 – Does it make sense to look at both “official” long term rental housing, and to inquire with who are listed online as “vacation rentals” about whether they would consider long term rental at a reduced rate?
7 – Is it better to work with a real estate agent for a long-term rental, or to do it ourselves? Any caveats on both side most welcome.
That’s about it for now. I really appreciate your help. We are really looking forward to visiting CR and hopefully finding a place.
There is no quarantine requirement for your dogs and you can see a TON more information about bringing your pets into Costa Rica by doing a simple search of this site so I won’t repeat the information here…
It is not hard to find a home with full A/C at the beach although that will of course increase your monthly expenses quite dramatically.
You might contact one of our Recommended Realtors Becky Clower for long term beach rentals [ https://www.welovecostarica.com/public/2266.cfm ]
If we had a family emergency, there are no private hospitals that I know of – where I would take a member of my family – on either the Pacific or Caribbean coast. All the best hospitals, doctors and surgeons are in San Jose.
What’s the difference between “official” and “vacation rentals”? I have no idea…
If you know nothing about Costa Rica, and know nothing about the Costa Rican legal system and nothing about rental contracts, and can’t speak fluent Spanish then I would strongly recommend you work with a trusted Realtor.
Lastly, you have not mentioned under what residency status you plan on using to live here for a year. I am assuming that you plan on staying as “tourists” so you understand you’ll have to leave the country every 90 days, yes?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThanks for your response. We would make application for a temporary stay beyond 90 days. A rentisa visa, I believe. I’m researching that when I can.
There are long-term house rentals and then there are vacation rentals. My questions is: Do the standard “vacation rental” homes take on guests for a longer term (6 months, for example) at a reduced rate. That’s a curiousity question for a realtor perhaps.
Mi espanol is muy malo, so we will talk with a realtor when we visit, most likely.
The thought of a trip to CR is a great thing. Some many others have asked many of the same questions and there are only a few to answer them. The best advice is to read all the forums and every post that you can although they might not pertain to what you are interested in. You will pick up so much more info that will answer many other questions you will have after you arrive and it will greatly enhance your visit. There are some great threads almost exactly like the plans that you have. Thanks for posting. Please start a thread about your trip while in Cr or after you return home. Darn i sound lie a moderator or something and i am neither. Just a shmuck like anyone else! lol
Will do. I’m eager to learn as much as I can, so perhaps I’ve irritatingly jumped the gun with my post. I’m the schmuck!
I’ll search around and revel in the thought of visiting CR.
The immigration law is in flux, so no one knows for certain just how things will be in the future. That said, traditionally a tourist is granted a ninety-day visa which may be renewed after s/he leaves the country and returns. There is talk about being able to renew that visa administratively by going to Immigration. This is one of the details that has yet to be worked out.
The term [i]rentista[/i] refers to a status of temporary residency. It requires all the paperwork associated with any other application for residency and also the deposit of a very substantial sum of money and proof of that deposit. Whether you have the cash to commit or not, the current processing of [i]rentista[/i] and [i]pensionado[/i] applications will take most of a year (or sometimes much longer). Since you have said that your plan is to stay a year, even if you apply for one of these residency statuses you probably won’t receive it before your year is up.
In your situation, I think the renewed tourist visa is your best bet.
[quote=”maryfrix”]Will do. I’m eager to learn as much as I can, so perhaps I’ve irritatingly jumped the gun with my post. I’m the schmuck!
I’ll search around and revel in the thought of visiting
Naw, you haven’t irritated anyone imo. Just trying to get you up to speed on the fast track. You will definitely enjoy your trip.
Thanks, David. I have read quite a lot about the immigration laws regarding CR, and our stay would begin around the middle of 2011. For all practical purposes, we would qualify for the [i]rentista [/i]visa, but I have heard it can be quite the long process.
I would prefer to avoid having to leave every 90 days, but that might indeed be the best bet. (I see an immigration attorney in my future if we like CR as much as we have heard we would).
You will have a great time! Now some of my thoughts:
Tamarindo would be fine (more expensive) and not as inland as Nicoya – it would really depend on your direction north or south. Playa del Coco would probably be better for you easy access, shopping, vets, medical care, closer to the border.
Just leave every 90 days. Rent a beach place in Nicarauga and have a great time.
Bring your dogs. Vets’ are around and the care is good.
You might have a little bit of a hard time finding a place on the beach that is fenced. Consider inland a little and this will be much easier. A five or ten minute walk to the beach is nothing.
Sun screen – if you are fair skinned you will have to start high and work your way down!
Long term rental – vacation rental – it doesn’t hurt to ask – ever.
At the very least, you’re going to have to leave the country every ninety days until Immigration assigns your completed residency application a folio number. That alone could take months (maybe more than twelve months). So you’re going to be traveling every ninety days regardless. You might as well get used to that.
There is no such thing as a “rentista visa”. [i]Rentista[/i] is a category of temporary legal residency. [i]Pensionado[/i] is another category. Legal residency (temporary or permanent) confers upon holders more rights and privileges than does any visa. Visas are granted to temporary visitors.
An application for legal residency is approvable by Immigration only upon submission of an approved application document and the supporting documentation required by law. Visas, especially tourists’ visas, are typically granted upon presentation of a valid passport at any border entry point. Visas and residencies are not the same thing.
Thanks David and John. Perhaps my thinking is incorrect regarding the rentista residency status.
My thought was we visit in early 2010, look around, and if we like what we see to go ahead (in 2010)and make application for rentista status for the year 2011.
We would not be visiting CR for more than a week or so in 2010. We plan on four trips before August 2010 to check out the various regions.
Should we like what we see in Costa Rica, does one have to be [i]living there[/i] on a tourist visa in order to make rentista residency application? Or can this be done from the U.S. for future residency?
At any rate, we’ll be taking to an immigration attorney that works with folks who want to live in CR for any amount of time over 90 days.
To begin, I think we will start out in Samara or Tamarindo, work our way around Guanacaste and the Central Pacific coastline and head on down to South Puntarenas. I am looking into travel times via rental 4X4 from a variety of points in CR.
Someone PM’d me a web site (ARCR), so that’s my reading for the week.
We’ll start as the usual tourists and then see what we’ll see.
it’s not possible to apply for rentista status for a specific time period. you apply, submit all your supporting documents, and then wait, and wait, and wait. you will also have to deposit $60,000 into an account to qualify for rentista status, and when the new law goes into effect, i think it goes up to $120,000 for a couple. applying for residency under this category is long and complicated. for only a year in costa rica, it’s hardly worth the trouble. just plan on booking out of the country every 90 days and be done with it.
thanks for the reply – I have seen that it might not be worth it (rentista status for just a year)….so as the alternative, a few days in Nicaragua or Panama might be interesting until the required 72 or so hours are up.
Realize, that your dogs shots/paperwork [u]may[/u] also have be updated when you leave Costa Rica every three months. While you may get away without doing this going to Panama or Nicaragua traveling in your own car, I don’t believe you can take a rental car out of Costa Rica. You won’t be allowed to take them on a bus to either country, so will need their paperwork renewed if you take them on by airplane.
You definitely will need this done prior to returning to the USA.
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