The cost of living in Costa Rica has assuredly become one of the principle considerations when contemplating living in Costa Rica. Costa Rica’s cost of living is substantially lower than that of the United States. Some of the primary costs associated with living in Costa Rica include:

• PROPERTY TAXES-Low property tax rates are one of the most attractive benefits when living in Costa Rica. Property tax rates can be as low as 1/25th of the rates of some areas in the U.S. The Costa Rican government has divided the country into many areas called municipalidades. Each municipalidad has various regions with different tax rates for each. The areas around San Jose and the coastal areas will typically have the highest tax rates which pale in comparison to that of the United States. A home in the coastal regions with a market value of $350,000 would have annual tax rates around $300.00   The same home located in a more remote mountainous region would have annual tax rates in the $150.00 range. 
• UTILITY COSTS-The costs of services such as electricity, water, phone, and cable are also considerably lower than those in the United States.  The moderate climate prevalent throughout the country greatly reduces the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling thus keeping electricity costs down. A typical three bedroom home with American amenities (AC,Dryer,etc) would incur costs around $50-$80 monthly.  Costs associated with water and sewer are typically under $20 per month. Cellular phone service is quite good throughout the country with monthly costs around $10-$25 depending on usage. Direct TV is available throughout the country with English programming and the rates are comparable to those in the U.S.
• TRANSPORTATION AND FUEL COSTS-Vehicles are typically more expensive in Costa Rica. On average one can figure approximately a 25% increase in the cost of both new and used vehicles when purchasing a car in Costa Rica. It is also expensive to drive or ship your own car as the import taxes are very high. However, maintenance on vehicles is typically less than half of the costs you would pay in the U.S.  Gasoline in Costa Rica is also about 20% more expensive, but diesel is typically less expensive. Costa Rica has a very inexpensive bus system, and taxi cabs are very reasonable when compared to other countries.
• FOOD COSTS-The cost of food varies greatly in Costa Rica depending on whether or not it is a domestic product. Things produced in Costa Rica (chicken, fish, pork, rice beans, fruits and vegetables) are very inexpensive. Packaged and processed foods imported from the U.S and other countries can be very expensive. Costa Rica also offers a wide variety of restaurants with American fast food chains in many urban areas, and with local cafes or “sodas” throughout the country. A typical meal consisting of fish or chicken served with rice, beans and salad will run around $3 in a typical café. Many coastal areas and resort towns offer gourmet quality dining for under $20 per person.

Tags: cost of living, costa rica currency

This entry was posted on Friday, December 7th, 2007 at 2:44 pm and is filed under Knowledge Base. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.