01
Should you actually move here?
The honest pros and cons, who thrives here and who goes home after a year, and how to test the waters with a scouting trip.
Read the chapter →The complete guide
Moving to Costa Rica
Everything in one place, in the order you'll actually need it. Bookmark this page; it grows as I write.
Want it as a list you can tick off? The moving checklist has every step in order and remembers where you are.
02
Visas & residency
Tourist stays, pensionado, rentista, inversionista, and digital nomad visas. What each requires and how long the paperwork really takes.
Read the chapter →03
What it costs
Real monthly budgets for singles, couples, and families, from beach-town comfortable to keep-it-lean.
See the cost of living page →04
Healthcare
How the Caja works, what private care costs, insurance options, and what expats actually do in practice.
Read the short answers →05
Where to live
Guanacaste beach towns, the Central Valley, and everything between. Match the area to your budget and lifestyle.
Browse the area guides →06
Finding a home
Renting first (do it), how buying works for foreigners, and the mistakes that cost people real money.
Read the chapter →07
Your first 90 days
Banking, phones, cars, furniture, Spanish, making friends, and settling in without losing momentum.
Read the chapter →The order that works
Most of the stress in a move comes from doing things in the wrong order. This is the sequence, and the long version of every step is in how to move to Costa Rica from the US.
- Come down and stay somewhere ordinary. A scouting trip in a normal rental, not a resort, before you decide anything.
- Pick your residency category. Pensionado asks for $1,000 a month of lifetime pension income, rentista for $2,500 a month of stable passive income, inversionista for a qualifying investment, and there is a digital nomad visa for remote workers. Every option explained.
- Hire a Costa Rican immigration lawyer. For residency and for any property purchase. A good one.
- Work out what it will really cost. The move itself is a one-off of ten to twenty thousand dollars. Living here is a separate number: a couple in Playas del Coco spends about $3,500 a month. The monthly ledger has every line.
- Choose where to land. Six towns, six personalities. Start with the area guides or let eight questions narrow it down.
- Rent first. Actually rent first.
- Sort out healthcare. Residents pay into the public Caja, private care is excellent and cheap by US standards, and most expats use a mix of both.
- Ship almost nothing. Bring what is irreplaceable and buy the rest here. See what not to bring.
- Bring the pets. A health certificate, some paperwork, and no quarantine.
- Money, banking and taxes. Keep your US accounts, and check every card for foreign transaction fees before you fly.
Questions people start with
Each of these has its own page with a short answer at the top and the detail underneath.
- How much money do you need to move to Costa Rica?
- How long does Costa Rica residency take?
- Do you need to speak Spanish to live in Costa Rica?
- Can I use Medicare in Costa Rica?
- Do you need a 4x4 in Costa Rica?
- Can you drink the tap water in Costa Rica?
- Is Playas del Coco safe?
- Is Guanacaste too hot to live in?
Still deciding whether to come at all? Read the downsides nobody mentions before the ten reasons Americans move here. Retiring rather than relocating for work? Start with retiring in Costa Rica.
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