Dispatches from the coast
What expat life in Costa Rica is actually like: the costs, the paperwork, the beach towns, and the parts nobody puts on Instagram.
The Coast Bulletin: What Expats Need to Know, November 2026
The month in Costa Rica for expats: the 2027 marchamo, the strong colón, dengue in Guanacaste, an early dry season, and new flights from Canada.
What Does a Howler Monkey Sound Like? Hear One From Guanacaste
Press play on a real mantled howler recorded in Guanacaste, then find out how an animal the size of a house cat makes a roar you can hear for kilometres.
The Midterms Were Good News. We're Still Staying in Costa Rica.
The 2026 midterms gave us real hope. Why, as American expats in Costa Rica, we're celebrating from paradise and still not moving back.
Living in Playas del Coco: An Honest Guide
What it is actually like to live in Playas del Coco, Guanacaste. The town, the beach, the costs, the heat, the water, and who it suits, from a resident.
Living in Ocotal, Costa Rica: The Quiet Neighbour
Ocotal is five minutes from Coco and a world quieter. Hillside ocean views, a calm dark sand bay, and no town of its own. Who it suits and who it does not.
Living in Playa Grande: Turtles, Surf and Dark Skies
Across the estuary from Tamarindo and a world away. National park beach, serious surf, low density, and building rules that keep it that way.
Living Inland: Sardinal and Guanacaste Beyond the Beach
Ten minutes inland from Coco, prices drop and Spanish comes back. What living in Sardinal and inland Guanacaste is actually like, and the trade you are making.
Living in Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste: The Gentle One
Playa Hermosa has calm swimmable water, a long clean beach and a slower residential feel. Why families and retirees choose it, and what it lacks.
Living in Tamarindo, Costa Rica: An Honest Guide
Tamarindo is the busiest, most international town on the Guanacaste coast. Surf, nightlife, restaurants and crowds, and what it is really like year round.
Playas del Coco vs Tamarindo: Which Should You Live In?
A resident's comparison of Coco and Tamarindo on cost, crowds, community, beaches and airport runs, and an honest answer on which suits which kind of person.
Moving to Guanacaste: What to Know First
Why most American expats end up in Guanacaste, what the province is actually like to live in, and how the Gold Coast beach towns differ from each other.
Liberia Airport to Playas del Coco: Every Option
How to get from Liberia airport (LIR) to Playas del Coco and the Papagayo beach towns. Shuttle, taxi, rental car and bus, with honest costs and drive times.
Guanacaste Rainy Season: What Green Season Is Really Like
What the rainy season is actually like in Guanacaste month by month, including the veranillo, the roads, the wildlife, and why a lot of residents prefer it.
Best Time to Visit Costa Rica: A Month by Month Guide
Dry season, green season and the shoulder weeks worth targeting. How the weather differs between Guanacaste, the Central Valley and the Caribbean.
Costa Rica Packing List: What to Actually Bring
What to pack for Costa Rica by season and region, what you can buy here for less, and the things visitors always overpack. Written from Guanacaste.
How to Move to Costa Rica From the US: A Step by Step Guide
The real order of operations for moving to Costa Rica, from scouting trip to residency card, written by an American who did it and lives in Guanacaste.
What to Know Before Moving to Costa Rica
The things I wish someone had told me before I moved: the heat, the paperwork, the real costs, and who thrives here versus who goes home after a year.
Costa Rica's 180 Day Tourist Visa: How It Works
US citizens can be admitted to Costa Rica for up to 180 days, but the officer decides. What that means in practice, and why it is not a residency plan.
LGBTQ+ Life in Costa Rica: Rights, Safety and Reality
A queer American in Guanacaste on what marriage equality actually changes day to day, where LGBTQ+ expats land on this coast, and the parts nobody writes about.
Retiring in Costa Rica: Costs, Visas and Healthcare
What retirement in Costa Rica actually costs, how the pensionado visa works, and what healthcare looks like once you are in the Caja system.
8 Things Not to Bring When You Move to Costa Rica
Shipping a container is expensive and heat is unkind to American furniture. The things that are not worth bringing, and what to do with them instead.
Best Places to Live in Costa Rica for Expats
Guanacaste beach towns, the Central Valley, the southern Pacific and the Caribbean, compared honestly on cost, climate, community and how far things are.
10 Reasons Americans Move to Costa Rica
Healthcare, climate, cost, pace and politics. The reasons Americans actually give me for moving here, and which of them hold up after a year.
The Downsides of Living in Costa Rica Nobody Mentions
The heat, the bureaucracy, the cost of a car, the distance from family. The honest case against moving here, from someone who moved here anyway.
Costa Rica Digital Nomad Visa: Requirements and Reality
The income you need, what the visa gets you, and the honest practicalities of working remotely from a Guanacaste beach town: internet, power and time zones.
Driving in Costa Rica on a Foreign Licence: The Rules
How long you can drive on your US licence in Costa Rica, what the 2024 law changed, and when you need to swap it for a Costa Rican one.
Driving in Costa Rica: Roads, 4x4s and Rainy Season
What the roads are really like, whether you need a 4x4 in Guanacaste, and the driving habits that catch out every newcomer in their first month.
Costa Rica Residency: Every Visa Option Explained
Pensionado, rentista, inversionista and the digital nomad visa, compared plainly. What each one needs, who it suits, and how long it really takes.
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