Hi Mike,
First, on the Caja payment. It’s not quite that simple. The payment is based on your reported income. I would recommend you contact this law firm, who specialize in expat matters like this, for more details: http://www.plawcr.com
As far as bringing your stuff… this is really a personal thing. Some people decide to start from scratch and simplify their life when they move to CR. Others bring a container full of stuff from home. Neither way is necessarily better.
When you ship items to Costa Rica, you pay a customs duty based on the value on top of whatever you paid to have the items physically shipped. That can be quite pricey. But if you really want your books, furniture, etc. … it might be worth it.
On the flip side, buying a whole household full of those same items can also be pretty pricey, especially considering that consumer electronics tend to be more expensive in CR than the U.S.
It boils down to this. You have to look seriously about what you really need, how much it will cost, and make your decision.
Personally, I brought down stuff on the airplane only and had some family and friends bring stuff too later when they visited. Then we’ve made do with what we’ve bought in CR. We definitely have less “stuff” and feel liberated by that.
By the way, you can find a bunch of info on shipping goods here: https://internationalliving.com/country_clubs/costa-rica/moving-to-costa-rica/
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