Welcome to All New Members – What's Your Top Question about Moving to Costa Rica

[JASON HOLLAND]

This is Jason Holland, the IL Editor and your Insider for Costa Rica. I wanted to welcome all the new members who’ve joined the Costa Rica Insider…and invite you to ask your most important questions about Costa Rica. Residency…the different regions…the lifestyle…the best beach communities…this is your space for me to answer those questions. You can also send an email to costarica@internationalliving.com if you want to keep it private.

Jason

[KATHLEEN LIGHTBURN]

Is it wise to purchase a one way airline ticket to Costa Rica? We have gathered our paperwork for Pensionado Residency but not sure when we will want to return to USA. Need best advise please plan on being in Costa Rica for 6 to 9 months on our first trip.

[KATHLEEN LIGHTBURN]

Once we arrive in Costa Rica what is our best options for cell phone (currently we have Verizon Wireless) also how do we go about our change of address for mailing purposes?

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Kathleen,

Unless you are a legal resident or all your residency paperwork is in and immigration has given you a “comprobante” (basically a receipt showing your application is in process), you should not travel to Costa Rica on a one-way ticket. Even if you intend to apply once you arrive in Costa Rica the first time you will still be on a tourist visa and that requires a ticket out of Costa Rica to enter the country.

As far as cell phone, unfortunately your Verizon phone won’t work at all in Costa Rica. Verizon, Sprint and some other American carriers are on a system called CDMA that is not compatible with most cell networks outside the U.S. Costa Rica uses the GSM cell phone network (AT&T and T-Mobile use this standard). So what you can do is either buy a GSM phone in the U.S. or buy one in Costa Rica. If you bring a GSM phone from the U.S. you have to make sure it is “unlocked,” which means it is not tied to a particular carrier. Or you can buy a phone in Costa Rica. The cheapest models start at about $30. Then you buy a SIM card and buy minutes as part of prepaid plan. No need to sign a contract.

Once you have a home established in CR, even a rental, you will go to the nearest post office and either arrange for delivery to your home or sign up for a post office box. There are not street addresses in CR as in the U.S. So you really will have to go to see your postman and tell him your name and where exactly you live. Often a PO box is the best way to go. You can receive mail from overseas no problem. As far as mail going to your old U.S. address, you can get it sent to a mail forwarding service based in the U.S. like Earth Class Mail which will send it on to you in Costa Rica.

[JASON HOLLAND]

I should also add that your ticket out of the country should be within 90 days of your arrival.

If you plan to stay 6 to 9 months as you do, you don’t have to fly back to your home country. You can renew your tourist visa by crossing the land border into Nicaragua or Panama. There are top quality bus companies like Tica Bus that have stations in San Jose and also stop in other parts of Costa Rica and then head into those countries and you can get off in places like Granada or San Juan del Sur (both in Nica) for a little vacation. The company handles all the paperwork at the border for you.

Now when you go on this “border run” and re-enter Costa Rica you’ll have to have a ticket showing you’re leaving 90 days from your new arrival date. So what you can do is change your original plane ticket or, because you’re coming in through a land border, you can also buy a bus ticket showing you’re leaving Costa Rica within 90 days.

Of course, when you file for residency and your application is in you do not have to go through this process.

If all this sounds complicated…it is a bit at first. But it gets easier. If you have any further questions about this, feel free to ask.

[KATHLEEN LIGHTBURN]

Hi Jason,

Thank you for your information. My husband would like to know how many 90 day tourist visa’s Costa Rica will grant. If we buy a round trip airline ticket that will allow us to change our fly back date out an additional 90 day’s and a bus ticket for in-between to a neighboring Country how many times will the Costa Rica officials allow this??

Or can we buy a round trip airline ticket for 6 months and a bus ticket for the 90 days in between?
How many day’s or hours are we required to depart the Country? Thanks again for your help, we appreciate it!

[JASON HOLLAND]

Renewing a tourist visa is technically possible indefinitely. There are many expats who never sought residency who’ve been making border runs for years, even decades. There is a risk however with this practice. Policies could change. And, of course, as a tourist you don’t qualify to join the universal healthcare plan, Caja.

As far as the plan for purchasing plane and bus tickets, that should be okay as long as you have a plane ticket out within 90 days on your first arrival at the airport.

There is no set time you have to be out of the country on border runs. Some people walk out of Costa Rica, get stamped in Nicaragua or Panama, and walk straight back in Costa Rica. Some officials don’t like this and might make you wait a couple of hours. But most allow this practice. The most important thing is to have that ticket out of Costa Rica.

[BRIAN MOULTON]

Hi Jason,
I’m traveling to Costa Rica on 13 Oct 2013 for 10 days to look over the entire country for a location to retire. Do I have to request a tourist visa in advance of arrival in San Jose and if where do I apply? Also, is there a list or map of the most populated area that American expats are living and how do I obtain that info?

Thanks from Brian in Alaska

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Brian,

No need to request a tourist visa in advance. They give you one at the airport at immigration. And not a special document or anything. Just a stamp in your passport.

As far as areas most popular with expats, check out this list from the Costa Rica Insider site to get a good idea: https://internationalliving.com/country_clubs/costa-rica/where-to-live/

Jason

[IBPACMAN@COMCAST.NET]

Hello Jason, My wife and I are in Costa Rica now, in La Fortuna. We came here but the roads are wind around so much that my wife doesn’t feel well after we arrive wherever we are going. We originally came to scout Nuevo Arenal down the road to La Fortuna. The roads rule this out as a choice since I’m sure on a bus it’d be more difficult for her to get around. She doesn’t like it hot either so some of the flatlands are not a good choice either. Do you know of any place that has a moderate temperature, flat and straighter roads, and a low cost of living? Sorry to narrow the search results down so much but that is the reality of our situation. Thanks, Bill

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Bill,

I can certainly sympathize about the roads. Costa Rica is so mountainous that most roads tend to wind around a lot more than we’re used to in most of the U.S. The most mild climate (around 75 year-round) is the Central Valley. As far as cost of living, it really depends on your lifestyle. If you shop local anywhere in the country, you’ll do well. That said, the Central Valley gets barely any tourists, so that keeps costs down. Plus, you won’t have to use AC, so that keeps your electric bill down too.

But the Central Valley does have winding roads, except on the major highways. The only places I can think of where at least some of main roads might be straighter would be the northern, central, and southern Pacific coasts. Of course, a lot of the secondary roads – which you would use on a daily basis – would be winding. And the coast tends to be hotter and more humid.

[LINDA TAYLOR]

Hi Jason,
I am planning to retire in 2016….I want to be near the ocean…I lived in Santa Barbara, CA for 20 years and Santa Rosa, CA for 20+ years 16 miles from the ocean. I do not want to go to the east coast because of the weather and CA is getting to be too expensive, so I have been looking into Costa Rica. BUT, I do realize, I am not the “village” type and altho I don’t do alot of shopping etc, I do wantto be able to go to a mall or bigger grocery store. I have not been able to attend the chill weekends and 3 years is a long time, but I do want to have some plans (hopes, dreams) to work on between now and then. Can you help? I do get the magazine and as you can see I am a new member to Insider, so I do appreciate anything you can help me with. If this is not the right place to ask you about things or if you need to “talk” to me personally do you have my email or should I contact you directly on the “private email”?
I do appreciate anything you can help me with!!
Joedi

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Linda,

Thanks for posting. As far as asking questions here or emailing me… it’s up to you. By posting here, other people can read and learn from our discussion. But if you want to stay private just send an email to: costarica@internationalliving.com

As far as wanting to be near the ocean and still have access to shopping, there are two regions you should more into.

The Central Valley – this is the inland region surrounding the capital, San Jose. This is where you’ll find the best shopping in the country, including malls. And it’s only an hour to an hour and a half from the Pacific coast.

The Central Pacific coast – this is a well-established expat destination, so you have some large grocery stores, nice restaurants, boutiques, etc. Plus, you’re only a couple hours or less from the Central Valley – so you an enjoy the shopping there in day or weekend trip.

[MARY BURRY]

Hi,

We have sold our home and plan to spend the next year checking out Costa Rica and Panama etc by using some long term rentals. What do you do about paper mail. Even post boxes want a real residents address. If it is changing every few months, what do you do!

Mary

[MARY BURRY]

Hi,

We have sold our home and plan to spend the next year checking out Costa Rica and Panama etc by using some long term rentals. What do you do about paper mail. Even post boxes want a real residents address. If it is changing every few months, what do you do!

Mary

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