What is the cost of living in Costa Rica? [Updated for 2023]

Understanding the cost of living is crucial for planning to relocate to Costa Rica. People ask us all the time about expenses like housing, groceries, healthcare, transportation, and other day-to-day necessities to determine if they can afford the lifestyle they desire in Costa Rica.

💵 In this video, we answer:
What is cheaper, what is more?
How to figure out what things will cost
Why are things more expensive than you find in the States or even Panama?
... and more

Find us:

[yourpuravida]

If you're watching this video and have questions about the cost of living in Costa Rica, please hit us up with a comment and we'll respond. We're here to help!

[sandrabedard]

We retired here in 2021 and are residents and I agree. We live simpler here and we don't live in touristy areas we actually live in Heredia up with the coffee plantations. We have no need for AC so we don't have that expense and we shop at our local Farmers market for our groceries on weekends. We only eat at local Soda's if eating out but cook at home more. Our lives are much happier and healthier mentally and physically since living here. We immersed ourselves into the people, culture and history, in fact we live among the Locals and we love it. We have many local friends and the local people are amazing. I can't put a dollar amount to compare the the better lifestyle we have now. Central Valley is cheaper to live and is definitely under rated. We lived at the Beach towns before we came to Heredia and it was very expensive for everything. It comes down to people's wants versus needs. CR is definitely not for everyone especially people that have high expectations and compare this Country to where they came from. Or people that have no patience won't make it here.

[billgalli]

You can find almost anything in the 2 malls in San Jose if you really want it rather than Amazon. We love the Farmers markets for the food and some other local stuff. You just need to get out and explore.

[kennethheim]

We have found that even for locally sourced items can be rather expensive. We often wonder how the locals are able to purchase groceries here. Much of this has to do with the increasing weakness of the dollar right now. Many things that you don't even think about or don't worry about bringing suddenly have you rethinking the process, as you said, Amazon is definitely an eye opening experience. Still and all we love the country and would rather pay more so as to avoid the lifestyle that is the US. The locals are so friendly, we love it here.

[matthewmasur]

I live in California and inflation has driven up groceries soo much. I'm single and its hard not to pay $200 for simple groceries for the week. Not to mention the occasional eating out, buying toiletries, stuff like that. Crazy

[unifiedevents]

would love to see walk around videos for costa rica i can never find videos that show how the streets look the markets look general stuff. its always people in their houses talking to the camera. come on get outside, show us around !

[TheRealUncensoredTravelGuide]

It’s similar for all imported goods when I lived in the 8 million medium sized Suzhou. Which is approximately 2.5 hour drive from Shanghai. A block of Tilamook cheese in China half the size is triple. My rent in China for a 1 bedroom was also cheaper but in Taipei I had a luxury apartment with pools and chandeliers for $700. To your point, it’s understandable to have newbies misunderstand cost of goods. I was supposed to travel to Belize 🇧🇿 for 6 weeks but last minute changed it due to Airbnb tripling monthly rental fees. It will be my first living abroad as a Digital Nomad. I will have a roommate in San Jose for 1.1k for 6 weeks with Airbnb fees vs 2400$ for my rent here in Seattle. So it’s a wash. My concern is language barrier as Belize would have been English speaking. Due to my time in China, my Mandarin language skills surpassed my Espanol speaking sills. Hopefully 🤞 I’ll be alright. I will be relatively close to an expat community.Hopefully my business will grow in 6 weeks. It’s hard to imagine anything being more than 3200-3500 per month including food and taxis like the Pacific NW. I believe my Coaching job for AI ChatGPT Prompt Engineering and Solar sales can easily eclipse 3k per month plus some drip income. If need be I can go to Alabama as the cost of living there is damn near the same 😂

[coastuncle]

Guy from San Francisco asked realtor "What floor do I get?" Realtor said you get the whole building

[kd]

Just to be clear, what you pay in a grocery store here in the States would shock you too!

[vikingkitten]

Hey there! So how much is a kilo of.
Beans
Rice
Chicken
Pork
Eggs
Detergent
Cooking oil
Flour
Masa seco
?
Veggies and fruit at the market?

[angelstar]

Can i find a good rental for $300 a month?

[lishang]

I look for retire home, can you help me ?