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I've read about expats praising Costa Rica for its low costs and beautiful properties that foreigners can buy. How was your experience there?

by belval 5y ago

leesalminen 5y ago
It took about 2 months of us being there to pull the trigger and buy a house. Costs for most things are low, except for cars. Cars are insanely expensive due to the ~50% import tax. Electricity is also fairly expensive per KWH. The people are very nice and generally welcoming to foreigners. You never run out of things to do, either. There’s always another adventure to explore. Fiber internet is accessible in most areas I’ve been to. Pretty reliable to boot. I’ve never had an issue Zooming etc. It really is extremely beautiful. Overall, we have very few complaints about the country.
- megabless123 5y ago
  how about the weather and climate?
- Cd00d 5y ago
  That import tax on cars is interesting. Several years ago I sold a used Toyota Echo that I'd had for ~12 years, but had maintained nicely. The buyer's whole effort was buying used Echos and shipping them to Costa Rica. I thought that was pretty niche, but I guess a very reliable and quite cheap car finding a home in a place where prices high makes a lot of sense. Thanks for helping make the pieces fit.
asdff 5y ago
I don't think foreigners can get a mortgage though, you might have to buy property outright.
- belval 5y ago
  If median salary is $9k/year I would assume their housing market to be a lot more affordable than Toronto's.
  - asdff 5y ago
    Actually if thats really the median salary then Costa Rica is far less affordable than Toronto. Look at these prices on this website (albeit one of the first search hits that comes up) (1) I'm seeing 3-4 bedroom homes for at least $500k USD in some cases. If you can afford to pay that outright with no financing as a foreigner in Costa Rica, you can certainly afford a down payment in Toronto's housing market today. 1. https://www.propertiesincostarica.com/homes.html https://www.propertiesincostarica.com/homes.html

I've read about expats praising Costa Rica for its low costs and beautiful properties that foreigners can buy. How was your experience there?

by belval 5y ago

I've read about expats praising Costa Rica for its low costs and beautiful properties that foreigners can buy. How was your experience there?

leesalminen 5y ago

It took about 2 months of us being there to pull the trigger and buy a house. Costs for most things are low, except for cars. Cars are insanely expensive due to the ~50% import tax. Electricity is also fairly expensive per KWH. The people are very nice and generally welcoming to foreigners. You never run out of things to do, either. There’s always another adventure to explore. Fiber internet is accessible in most areas I’ve been to. Pretty reliable to boot. I’ve never had an issue Zooming etc. It really is extremely beautiful. Overall, we have very few complaints about the country.

megabless123 5y ago
how about the weather and climate?
Cd00d 5y ago
That import tax on cars is interesting. Several years ago I sold a used Toyota Echo that I'd had for ~12 years, but had maintained nicely. The buyer's whole effort was buying used Echos and shipping them to Costa Rica. I thought that was pretty niche, but I guess a very reliable and quite cheap car finding a home in a place where prices high makes a lot of sense. Thanks for helping make the pieces fit.

asdff 5y ago

I don't think foreigners can get a mortgage though, you might have to buy property outright.

belval 5y ago
If median salary is $9k/year I would assume their housing market to be a lot more affordable than Toronto's.
- asdff 5y ago
  Actually if thats really the median salary then Costa Rica is far less affordable than Toronto. Look at these prices on this website (albeit one of the first search hits that comes up) (1) I'm seeing 3-4 bedroom homes for at least $500k USD in some cases. If you can afford to pay that outright with no financing as a foreigner in Costa Rica, you can certainly afford a down payment in Toronto's housing market today. 1. https://www.propertiesincostarica.com/homes.html https://www.propertiesincostarica.com/homes.html