www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I have been going to Costa Rica on vacation for about 7 or 8 years. I noticed that the Auto Market in San Jose seems more expensive than Publix supermarkets in Florida. Especially things like disposable plastic cups and prepackaged bags of chips and peanuts and chocolate. Even the South American brands. The raw meat and chicken seems more expensive. In San Jose there is a cheaper big supermarket near it that is kind of like an un air conditioned warehouse shelving looking place. If any of you have moved to Costa Rica or Lived there for months in a row what would you guess the grocery bill is versus the bill back home. Roughly what percent more or less is it? If I moved to CR I would not have to eat name brand imported stuff. I would eat rice, or potatoes and vegetables, and fruit and a protein like meat or poultry or fish. I would not eat stuff like cookies and tv dinners.

I find groceries more expensive even without packaged imported food. The Auto Mercados are more expensive than some of the other regular supermarkets, but even in them a lot of stuff seems expensive.

It all depends on if you want the high-end stuff that’s imported or if you are willing to work to save some money. We buy eggs from a neighbor that raises chickens and we get them cheaper than any of the stores plus you know they are fresh. We also buy fresh butter directly from the dairy and it is way better than what I get in the states. The butter in Auto Mercado is about 13.00 a pound and I pay about 6.00 a pound from the dairy. We do buy some things at PriceMart which was part of Costco years ago and Costco is now in the US and Pricemart is everywhere else. They do carry Kirkland products but most things there are about double what you would pay in the US. For food stuff, Walmart and MaxiPali are the largest but MaxiPali is owned by Walmart. A lot of our produce we buy at the Ferias on the weekends or we have a couple of local fruit stands but you have to pay attention to prices and always be looking. I have a guy that delivers fresh chickens for about 20-25% less than I can get at Walmart or MaxiPali but I have to let him know about 2 days in advance which is not a problem. I usually buy 5-6 at a time and use 2-3 as I smoke them on my Traeger and freeze the rest. We do buy some things at the Mercado in San Jose or Heredia on occasion too, just depends on what it is. The best place to buy stuff though is in Golfito or at the border of Panama and we usually make 2 trips a year there as the duty Free area in Golfito has great prices on alcohol as well as some household goods but if you need appliances or kitchen stuff that is the place to go. The Panama border has stores that sell all kinds of clothing shoes, household stuff but a lot of it is counterfeit knockoffs so you have to pay attention. MasXMenos is another store but it too is owned by Walmart. Local carnecerias are worth checking out as they have promotions but once again you need to know what other places are charging. I love to cook and I make everything from scratch without using prepared garbage and the taste is so much better but it takes time, even my dog looks forward to my coming back and bringing him treats from the US but he also knows he is going to eat like a king with the scraps. It just depends on what you plan on doing but honestly unless it is something that I cannot find somewhere else I stay out of Auto Mercado. I will say though I have been known to stop in just to get some of their Pretzel Rolls or other fresh baked bread that I do not make at home. If you are stuck in the gulch grab an uber and have them take you to Walmart its maybe 10 mins away from the Sportsman, there is MasXMenos just up from the Colombian Panaderia on Avenida Central just east of Calle 11 the easiest way to get there is to walk under the bridge by Parque Espana like you were going to the Del Rey but continue down 2 more blocks from the bridge and make a left onto Avenida Central it will be on the left side of the street about half a block.

Now this is some very useful info. Thank you mucho!

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" Omit no happy hour that may give furtherance to our expedition."

That MasxMenos was my go to supermarket spot for many years while staying in the gulch but is been gone for many years. Was an empty space for a while but now has a warehouse type looking market called PALI.

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"cuz I'm a back-door man" Jim Morrison-1969

That is great info. Thanks. Walmart and Maxiplax looks like the way to go if you do not know a local dairy. And the fruit stands I sure are better for fruit and veg,

In Jaco I shop at this market across from Hotel Jaco owned by Chinese. Excellent prices especially for booze compared to the Mas por Menos.

If you want a decent chinese grocery store there is a decent one down by monicas. Comida Asiática Súper Fresca they do have prepared food in there too and the Korean Chicken was actually pretty good. If you like to cook asian food it is by far the best place to go shopping but you will either need to know how to read chinese or know by sight what you need. Its been about 2 years since I have been there though but next trip i need to get some more dried shitake mushrooms so will be paying them a visit. Avenida 10, calle 9 y 11, San José, Barrio Chino, Costa Rica

The restaurant inside Super Fresh is called Tékio. Around the corner on calle 11 is the main Ancyfer location which has a bit more of a selection but no restaurant. Across the street from Ancyfer is Coconut Bar and Restaurant a nice sit down place. A little north of Super Fresh at calle 9 and av 8 is Restaurante Bai Ji which has great roast duck and quail.

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive

Holy shit on the find Boynton, I will definitely have to check that out as roast duck is one of my favorites when done correctly.

It's all YOU Gringos fault. You guys have been coming to CR in hordes in recent year (thank you social media...) and driving up the price of Everything.

Pretty much anything is more than back at home. Except rent. Rice I'm not sure, I think it is more here. Meat, poultry, fish for sure more. Potatoes a lot more, vegetables more, rice I think is more as well. Anyway, groceries are not the biggest part of most people's cost of living. Living here costs a lot if you want to party and have a chica 3 or 4 times a week. Most of the guys I know that live here spend a lot more on beer than they probably do on food.

On a related note, the current exchange rate is 488. Worst I’ve ever seen it.

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" Omit no happy hour that may give furtherance to our expedition."

There was a recent article in Tico Times comparing the cost of living to U.S.

Some items more, some less, overall about the same now.