Best Places for Expats To Live in Costa Rica

50 Comments

1. Good presentation thank you.

2. Great video and information. I’m in Jaco now and loving life.

3. Thank you for the video. I really want to go to Costa Ri Ricay. I’m more interested in Panama now.

4. A major consideration for those expats who are seniors is access to quapity medical care and hospitals which limits you to San Jose area. Most of you suggestions are great for vacations but very expensive and not close to any major hospitals or high quality medical care. Jaco is a horrible beach town and very expensive. The beach and water are filthy! Many fine restaurants though. Don’t forget that Costa Rica has or soon will change the mandatory contribution for medical insurance which will be very expensive even by USA standards as well as their tax structure for resident aliens. You left out Monteverde which has awesome climate but is too far from San Jose but it is very typical old time Costa Rica but very expensive too. Very scenic too and safe. Just my opinions but you really do know Costa Rica and suggested some nice places except for Jaco (my opinion again).

5. Well done! Dominical sounds very attractive!

6. Hola saludos te faltó San Ramón de Alajuela,es un lugar muy bonito y tranquilo para vivir,bueno hasta ahorita no hemos tenido problemas🇨🇷

7. Don’t go to Jaco.

8. Really Kalamazu?

9. I would have Atenas ranked much higher. It’s gorgeous there. Jaco is nice for a couple day vacation, not so much for actually living there. Too much tourism, drugs and prostitution. The Ticos call Montezuma "Mota fuma" because of all the backpackers there smoking weed. 😆

10. Hey Kristin, hope life is treating you well. Always enjoy a video from you on Costa Rica. Have you heard of the "Bitcoin Jungle" project that is taking place in Dominical, Uvita, and Ojochal? I am considering a future visit to that region in my next trip back to Costa Rica, just to see for myself. From what I understand, many of the local businesses there are now accepting bitcoin.

11. What I want to know is how you make $$$$ while you’re abroad. How can someone with no money pick up and live comfortably in another country without having to save for years

12. Costa Rica is moving further and further up my list. I hope to visit Escazú soon and then decide it I’m going to start working on residency in Costa Rica. I interviewed a woman on my channel who lives there, and I was sold on it. But you’ve given me more place to check out. Thanks!

13. New Living in Costa Rica Guide! https://bit.ly/livingincrguide 🌴

14. I thought you gave up on the videos 😉 The Costa Rica video you did went pretty good I guess 😉

15. I’ve seen reviews that said coasts rica wifi is average uploads of 10mbs. Is it true that Wi-Fi is slow there? Bad for video large chats

16. Why are Puntarenas and Tinamaste, not included? Just wondering if these areas are less safe or if they just didn’t make your top 10 list. Thank you 🙂

17. We stayed near Brasilito and loved the access to everything. Some of the Europeans we encountered didn’t think it was nice enough, but we found the people there to be so friendly.

18. Blessings Kristin

19. Nice and sweet video

20. thinking about moving there

21. Glad to see you happy !! And smiling again!!

22. Great summary of best places to live. Every region of CR has its perks. It’s what makes CR so special to me. You will find a community that fits your needs. 👌🏼🙌🏼

23. Hola Kristin, not a fan of the Caribbean side I see! The beach towns of Puerto Viejo, Playa Cocles, Punta Uva have plenty to offer! Please visit, Gracias! Love your content!

24. I am starting to grow Lilikoi by fencing the yard
    started with 5 plants and watch the Lilikoi vines reach
    up and eventually spread for my fresh fruit intake…!

25. 3:04 in that part of the video the restaurant is pangas beach club located in Tamarindo beach not in Jaco beach

26. So great to see a new video from you Kristin. I hope you feel on the inside as wonderful as you appear to be on the outside ! I am going to research these places immediately and pick the area with the best internet, because I have to be "always on" 8 hours a day

27. I will looking at rentals in Costa Rica 🇨🇷 in June.

28. Hi buddy..
    Are you currently living in Costa Rica?

29. Where are you living now? would you consider living somewhere else in Latin America?

30. I missed your content. Take care.

31. Coming soon, "Why you shouldn’t move to Costa Rica "

32. Hey Kristin, love your videos on Central America in particular. Great insight from all of your years there. Thank you

33. "[San Isidro de El General] is located at one of the highest altitudes of Costa Rica" => Not to nitpick, but apparently San Isidro de El General is at the same altitude of Atenas, and much lower than San José, Escazú, etc… My nitpick notwithstanding, this is a great, informative video Kristin. Thanks!

34. Nice little video milady. As always your well spoken and eloquent execution leave me a bit in awe of your abilities. Coupled as always with your soft voice, it makes for a nice way to wake up with a fresh cuppa.

    I hope you and yours are safe and well in your part of our wide world, and May the 4th be with you!;)

    Oh and ofcourse thank you as ever and always for sharing your bright energy with we lucky enough to find you.

35. I’ve lived here in CR of 21 years, I’m 75. I always like to view these videos and see what they say. She’s pretty much spot on. But remember, when you go to the beach areas, your access to police, fire and medical dwindle. If you’re young, no worries. If your on the downside of the hill, medical is a concern. Remember, CR is still a 3rd world country. And the further away from San Jose, the more you will realize this. Also, the further from SJ, roads start to deteriorate. She mentioned Atenas, yes it’s beautiful little town, great weather, but if enjoy watching grass grow, that’s the place for you. There’s literally nothing to do. Santa Ana, this is to the west of SJ by about 20 minutes, road is great and I like Santa Ana, I play golf every week there. It’s expensive, houses in the $250,000 range and up. It’s high end. Good restaurants. Jaco, I don’t go to Jaco, it’s dirty, drug infested and basically lawless. The ocean is sewage pit. You can actually see a sewer pipe that empties into the ocean. Now, I haven’t been to Jaco in a long time and maybe things have cleaned up. When the Hotel del Rey and Morazon closed up, ( they were the center of the brothels in SJ) all the prostitutes went to Jaco because that’s where all the "gringos" are and the gringos’ equals money. Prostitutes’ and drugs seem to go hand in hand. Quepos, I like Quepos. Great restaurants, lots to see and do and Manuel Antonio State Beach is only about 20 minutes away. This is where I go when I go to the beach. Tamarindo, I like Tamarino, great golf course but it’s getting really commercialized and expensive. Now, I live in a community called Rohrmoser, it’s where the American embassy is located. 10 minutes from SJ, lot’s to do, 10 minutes from great shopping. I have lived here for 10 years of the 21yrs in CR. I have been to practically everywhere in CR. I wouldn’t live anywhere else. It’s not that expensive and I have all the conveniences. I pay $375 for a 2 bdrm apt that I enjoy, includes cable and water.
    Any questions, please feel free to ask. … And all you guys from Jaco that read this, don’t get your feathers ruffled, you know what I’m talking about.

36. Looking to move abroad and your content is by far the best I have come across on YouTube. Great work.

37. Would love to find a beach town with old buildings and lots of nightlife

38. Hey honey, you’re dreaming if you think you and go from tamarindo to Liberia airport in 30 minutes, more like one hour fifteen minutes! To many drugs and surfer dudes in tamarindo, try Coco and Hermosa north of tamarindo…

39. Your videos are generally more informative than other travel videos. Have you been to the other Blue Zones?

40. All of those places in Costa Rica look amazing! I still need to go to Costa Rica one of these days! I really like this idea for a video series! It help shows the different areas of the country!

41. Great video as always. I spent 80 days in Costa Rica in last 2 years, travelling and visited most of the places you mentioned. Absolutely agree with everything you said👍.

42. When you say "expats" do you mean econmic migrant or just immigrant, as im not sure which you mean

43. Wow, this video makes me feel like an old man because all I can think about is what those locations were like in the mid 80s when I was there. Happy for the ticos that they’re more wealthy now but sorry that they’re overrun with tourists. Progress is messy.

44. What they should have in Costa Rica is footsteps showing great places where you went throughout Costa Rica–beaches, restaurants, mountains, jungles, clubs etc., so we could just get on the trail and go somewhere good, no problem. Traveling with Kristin footsteps!☺ Naturally, not all the footsteps, just two outside a good eatery, or at the entrance to a beach, so everybody who is traveling will know it’s got the good housekeeping seal of approval. That way, if you come across the "footprints" at a place, you won’t hesitate to visit it. I should have been in marketing!

45. Insightful information! Thank you.

    One additional question: Which of these places tends to have the best internet reputation?

46. Heya: I started coming to CR in 1976-after a Peace Corp stint I mover here permanently in 1982.I have lived in Arenal Lake area (not Fortuna) all this time.I have seen many.many people move from all those areas to this area in those years and only one couple move out.
    People relocate here because most of the areas you mentioned are HOT,HOT,HOT- …
    with 6 month dry and dusty hot seasons, and 6 months of continual rainy weather and flooding on the flat areas.Soil is usually bad around the beach areas- good luck growing anything.
    Weather in the Arenal and Arenal lake area is constantly changing year round.Three days of something – then one week on another type of weather.Oftentimes- rain in the night or in the AM.Most soils around the Arenal have a good depth of volcanic soils- plants and veggies love it.
    So Kristin- I’m happy you lived in C R all those years- but you missed the mark on most of your recommendations. People that have lived here long term would not want to live in the areas you recommend.

47. Kristin, ‘Stillness is the Key’ – Great video for anyone experiencing burnout from doing too much and saying ‘yes’ too often: https://youtu.be/IWL3kHOYkWQ

48. Lovely Kristin ❤️ Lots of love from Ram(its me)

49. Have always wanted to see more of Costa Rick. If I were 50 years younger I would go right now. Maybe I will go anyway for a couple of weeks but I don’t want to stay in only one area. Can you recommend a tour company to travel through the country ?

50. Wow my father is from here in Santa Ana & i frequently visit a lot of these places & im looking to move so I’m glad i got the right experience ! Still have to visit Jaco tho haha