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my wife and i are receiving 1,700 a month. can we live here on that. everyone talks about how cheap it is to live there , while they’re trying to sell you a million dollar home, lol. any info would be appreciated.
To obtain Pensionado status, [i]one of you[/i] must have a guaranteed pension or SS of at least $1000 per month.
With an income of $1700 you can live well once approved.I am not sure what kind of a lifestyle you want but $1700 for a couple might be tight, especially if you are renting your accommodations. Not saying it can’t be done.
I agree with costaricafinca and plasticbrad that $1,700 per month might afford you a reasonably comfortable lifestyle with a couple of caveats.
First, you could not own much of a car, if any. The annual [i]marchamo[/i], and fuel and maintenance costs would be prohibitive for anything above the very barest minimum. You could try to do your own maintenance, but replacement parts and lubricants are much more expensive than in the U.S.
Second, you’d pretty much have to own your home. True, you can rent some houses for a few hundred dollars per month, but they’re not likely to be what you’re used to or aspire to. And while water and telephone are inexpensive, electricity is not. The latter is especially significant if you settle where air conditioning or continuous use of fans is needed.
Sounds like you have never even been to Costa Rica. Have you ever lived or visited for that matter a Third World country? If not than I would strongly encourage you to research such a move much further. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and can be extremely affordable but the lifestyle is very….very…different than what many people who have never been here think. As far as $1700 a month…that’s not really a whole lot…doable though but make a few trips and do some homework on what kind of lifestyle $1700 gets you.
Just for the record, Costa Rica is NOT a “Third World Country” it is considered a “Less Developed Country” or an LDC.
I might as well add another important line item to your budget….health insurance. For some reason many people move here and as one woman told me “chose to stay healthy,” and decide to risk it. Unfortunately, this choice is often out of our hands. Accidents and unfortunate events happen.
We chose an international insurance that “saved our bacon” when my husband got sick. Medical care is not cheap. The national coverage is great if you have time on your hands. The private hospitals are full of nationals who have opted to pay out of pocket to get the needed service that they might have to wait a year to receive. One man I spoke with while my husband was hospitalized told me he was willing to sell the boat he uses for his fishing business if necessary to cover his emergency medical expenses.
If you are retirement age, sorry, the choice has been made for you, at some time in the probably near future you will need it. As already mentioned $1,700 is tight but doable but be sure to factor in realistic expenses. No, Medicare does not cover you in CR.
And to expand a little on what sandymae has written above, in order to maintain your legal residency status, now you must be continuously enrolled in the CAJA, the national health system. That’ll be another expense to take out of your $1,700 per month.
You might opt to try the “perpetual tourist” route instead and leave the country every three months or travel to Immigration in La Uruca and pay to have your tourist visa extended. Trouble is, either of those options, too, will eat into your $1,700 and neither will gain you any material benefit.
Once you decide you wish to move here start the residency process. Do it while you are in the states. Leaving the country every three months is inconvenient and costly. A couple can expect to put out a minimum of $400 just to cross the border by bus and stay at a so-so hotel for three days. A great way to sight-see but once again a hit on the $1700 budget.
Has everyone here already affiliated themselves with the CAJA?
It seems to me that quite a few expats have not.
Will have to send out a reminder next week.
Scott
[quote=”jerseybob”]my wife and i are receiving 1,700 a month. can we live here on that. everyone talks about how cheap it is to live there , while they’re trying to sell you a million dollar home, lol. any info would be appreciated.[/quote]
My wife and I each have SS incomes totalling $2900. We own our home outright but are able to help a Tico family by providing educational expenses for seven children as well as quite a bit of fruit and vegetables. In return they help us to find what we need at decent prices.
Care must be taken to avoid paying too much for things simply because you are an expat. Many Ticos think that you are fat with money.
I think that there is agreement on this forum that those in our position financially need the help of Tico friends.
If you can adapt to the different way of thinking it is a wonderful life.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]To obtain Pensionado status, [i]one of you[/i] must have a guaranteed pension or SS of at least $1000 per month.
With an income of $1700 you can live well once approved.[/quote]Ok…One site for the government says that you only need $600.00 a month in Social Security income, and $1,000.00 a month for pension. Which is correct?
The website that states the $600 per month income figure is out of date. Any application for [i]pensionado[/i] temporary residency that was filed after last March now must meet the income standard of $1,000US per month. And that income must be received by one partner or the other if a married couple is applying. That is, you cannot combine (say) the husband’s $900 with the wife’s $950. One or the other must meet the $1,000 per month standard.
That said, there is no need to disclose other income than what is required to qualify for residency. If both are on Social Security, for instance, and either one has a monthly income of at least $1,000, then the other’s income need not be disclosed.
Note, too, that the requirement is for an income of $1,000 per month that’s assured for life. So, for instance, a military or federal government pension, a state or local government pension, and some annuities that are guaranteed for life will also meet the income requirement.
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