www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I know this question has been asked--BUT -I have tried search without satisfying results. What would be a reasonable amount to live in San Jose area.

Depends a lot on your housing requirements. My buddy has a decent furnished one bedroom apartment in San Pedro for $600 per month and you can go up from there.

Excluding Entertainment Costs, I would say you can get by on $1000 to $1200 per month reasonably comfortably. Of course you can go up from there.

In my case, my entertainment expenses exceed my living expenses. That part depends entirely upon you.

That question is asked in not only this forum but many others that deal with living in Costa Rica.

The simplistic, but very accurate, answer is that the amount can vary widely. It is totally dependent on life style. Your housing costs, transportation cost, living expenses, entertainment costs are all going to be impacted by your life style.

I know guys who live only their Social Security checks. I know other guys that live on their Social Security, military retirement and private sector pensions. Still others live on proceeds from the sale of there business and investments. Obviously they all have incomes that vary widely.

You need to make trips to CR, find an area that you want to live in, determine your life style and then start constructing your expense budget.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I can tell you one thing for sure, your grocery and food bills will be almost exactly the same as US.
Appliance computers and electronics are 20-50% more.
The the real savings of costa rica comes in labor for example a maid or cook or personal massuese with happy ending, and housing if you choose to live just 40 minutes outside of SJ you can get screaming rent deals from 100-250 per month.
Internet is the same price as US, other utilities are a little less unless you live in escazu.
So your real material savings are in housing/rent so if you pay 1400 in rent now figure your living expenses are going to be your current US living expenses minus 1200 dollars IF you choose to live 40 minutes out of SJ. If you live in San Pedro subtract 700 dollars and if you live in Escazu you will probably have the same cost of living as in the US
ID is more knowledgeable and can better comment on the Escazu costs but I think they are roughly the same as US 800-3000 per month depending on your digs.
One narrow comment entertainment: if you like going to the movies in the US and use massueses with or without happy endings then you will see those costs go down 50%. Other entertainment costs vary widely, for example gambling the rake is more expensive and you dont always get free drinks most places, also strip clubs can be more effective at clipping you in CR since you are a foreigner.
One more thing, Cars are more expensive in CR and gas is a little more as well.
If you are willing to compromise on your current american lifestyle then you can live much cheaper in CR, but if you cannot compromise and you want the same US ammenities, security, car and lifestyle then your cost of living is not going to be much less than US

I think HunterS has hit the nail on the head. I have thought about why it is, or is considered, cheaper to live in Central America. I lived for a while in Honduras. When you explain to people that electronics, gas and cars are all more expensive, not less, they find that puzzling. The main reason rent is cheaper in some cases, is because the housing is below the standards in the developed world. That's not always true, like Hunter said, if you can accept living in the outlands, you can find something really cheaper. The main thing that is cheaper is labor and/or services, and of course poontang.

If you want absolute dollar numbers then I offer this rough estimate:
A) More than 40 minutes of out SJ you could live by yourself in a two bedroom with food and utilities and taking the bus for transport and eating rice beans hamburgers hotdogs and pasta at home, no going out to eat at restaraunts only sodas but still going to the movies for less than a 1000 bucks and that means little entertainment. Add 500 bucks if you want maid, massages dates etc.
B)In town san Pedro your looking at 1.5-2 grand a month with no entertainment and no hookers, ok maybe one or two MPs a month.
c)Escazu gated community with american lifestyle and habits 2-5 grand a month depending on your spending habits

Now your habits on Poontang could distort these budgets immensely....

However I think ID probably has the best info on this.

$220 a month for a 3 bedroom, LR, Kitchen, and 1 full bath....With no traffic, you can be to the HDR in 15 - 20 minutes. $200 for a 2 bedroom in the same complex

Again I have to say that it depends on your life style.

Be a typical gringo shop at Auto Mercado and by foods imported from the United States, eat at gringo owned and priced restaurants when you eat out, take taxis everywhere you go, etc, etc, etc. Then you are going to pay more than you did in the US.

If you shop at Pali for basics, go to the weekend feria agriculture for your fruits, vegetables, chicken and fish, take the local buses to get around and eat at local Tico sodas and restaurants you will half your expenditures. As a side note you do not have to eat rice, beans, hot dogs, pasta at home. A casada ( meat or fish or chicken, salad, rice, beans, plantains, desert, natural beverage) at your local Tico soda will cost about $4.00 and be very filling.

Appliances and electronics very expensive absolutely, hand made custom wood furniture ridiculous low price. The question is how often do you buy those items? Once or twice in your time in CR. How often do you buy food, pay rent, etc? Then crank in utilities land line phone $5.00, cell phone $7.50 a month, electricity, water, etc cheap, cable, internet, etc. less then the US.

Live cheap or live extravagantly the choice is yours.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

One thing you will probably save on is AC/heating cost, of which I pay nothing, if you exclude the electricity I need to run a fan once in a while. Of course if you decide to live near sea level you may want AC, but I don't find it necessary in San Jose.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

ID and Bilko live here as does KC. Their comments and estimates are as accurate as one can be when dealing with varying generalities.

I also live here and am one of those living solely on SS (close to $1500/month). I live in San Pedro in a rented 2 br furnished condo; very safe, not luxurious, but nice, clean and very convient to everything I need. I use the bus as much as posible, do a lot of walking, and only use taxis late at night after bus from Rey area quits running. I like to cook, so eat most of my meals at home, eat a lot of local foods and very little imported canned products. I have cable and hi-spead internet, phone and electric bills which in total run around $125/mth. As for entertainment, I spend a lot of time in the gringo hangouts--REY, SL, NYB. I also have several Tico friends and spend time with them. I session in the low rent MPs 2-4 times per week, have "friends"from the REY and other lugares that come to my place occasionally, and had a novia, x DR/KL chica, for several months.

I do not have a lot of extra cash and have to watch my expencises. Except for being STUPID and spending to much on the ex novia, I have not had too much trouble living here on my SS.

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

Hell fellows.... you have this all wrong. Become a "chivo" with a DR/hooker/novia. You don't work, get to spend her money, and the sexo is unlimited... if you're ok with sloppy seconds!

Berk.....

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FRUITCAKE... and you thought it was something you eat! Not on CRT!

Great post! I think you have given a great account of how to make ends meet and still have fun. Yoiu add in Irishdrifters explanation of how some spend gringo money and others like you make it for less gives a feel of cost in CR. I will be in CR Feb 9th thru 13th. I hope to meet you and others living there.

Another option you might consider is to live with a Tico family as I am doing. I live in a 5 bedroom 5 bath house on the east side of San Jose. I have my own room and private bath, daily maid service, laundry service, 3 meals a day cooked for my health condition, cable tv and have my exercise machine in the garage. I pay $500 a month for all the above. Sorry no rooms available

I have to pay for my hi-speed internet, cell and land line phone. Costs approx. $75 a mo.

One thing for you to consider when choosing a place to live. how close is the bus and taxis from your house because in the rainy season making a long walk from the stop to your house can be a real pain.

I have 2 bus stops (for going to San Jose) which run every 20 min. and taxi stand 1 block from my house.
I average about $10 a mo on bus fare and $25 for taxi. I do not have or want a car, for me it is more trouble than it is worth

I first came to San Jose 4 yrs ago and have been living here for 2 yrs. I am strictly a MP person as I am not wanting to have a girlfriend and all the BS that goes with it.

For you guys living outside of San Jose, are there tico MPs in the areas you live in (e,g, San Pedro) or do you really have to go into the city for MP action?

There are most likely Tico MP's in almost any area around San Jose. The trick is finding them as they have no signage or other indication that a particular house is an MP. They keep a low profile and most business is word of mouth from Tico to Tico so unless you have a contact in the Tico community you will have a difficult time locating them.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine