Entirely subjective to how you want to live and what are your incomes and expenses.
You should be able to calculate that yourself w/o too much trouble. No one else could possibly try.
For me, Costa Rica is more expensive that living in the States (-60% housing, +50% car/gas, -50% medical, +70% computers/electronics, -30% utilities, +50% groceries, +50% entertainment, etc...) and negative on income (90% less taxes doesn't offset 50% less salary).
If medical and housing make up a substantial part of your expenses, and non-US-source passive income makes up a substantial part of your retirement income, you don't drive and don't spend your time in restaurants and casinos, you could fair very well.
BTW, I save 60% in housing by living in the mountains of Heredia instead of the mountains of Escazú (which would be equal or more expensive).
You should be able to calculate that yourself w/o too much trouble. No one else could possibly try.
For me, Costa Rica is more expensive that living in the States (-60% housing, +50% car/gas, -50% medical, +70% computers/electronics, -30% utilities, +50% groceries, +50% entertainment, etc...) and negative on income (90% less taxes doesn't offset 50% less salary).
If medical and housing make up a substantial part of your expenses, and non-US-source passive income makes up a substantial part of your retirement income, you don't drive and don't spend your time in restaurants and casinos, you could fair very well.
BTW, I save 60% in housing by living in the mountains of Heredia instead of the mountains of Escazú (which would be equal or more expensive).
"For me, Costa Rica is more expensive that living in the States (-60% housing, +50% car/gas, -50% medical, +70% computers/electronics, -30% utilities, +50% groceries, +50% entertainment, etc...) and negative on income (90% less taxes doesn't offset 50% less salary)."
As Adam said, it depends on YOUR lifestyle
In MY personal exprience groceries are about the same (with 300 USD I pretty much buy everything needed for a full month while in the States I have seen that 300 USD doesn't really go that far , of course it DEPENDS on what you buy)
Utilities (Excluding internet) most be like -70% of what it is in the US, 99.9% of houses here don't have heating equiptments so you don't spend money in heating oil. Water bill is about 6 dollars/month (in my case I have a bunch of computers running all the time and that makes my electric bill "high", that is I pay about 50 dollars /month), phones are cheaper also, I don't need "unlimited calls at 'x' time" , I barely go over the 60 minutes included in the minimum rate and that makes my phone bill around 8 dollars/month (don't think any cell phone provider has anything even CLOSE to that rate)
entertainment in my case is probably +80% , the other day I saw a dvd in Plaza del Sol, it was going for almost 35 dollars when I could get it at 10 dollars through amazon. If you like to watch dvds you better get a forwarding service that will send your mail down here from the states and buy them at amazon
Clothing is another thing that it can get REALLY expensive if you want quality clothes.
Medical can be (I supose) up to -80% if you need surgeries/medication....healthcare is cheap and good quality or affordable and high quality.
If I were single and owned my house I would say that making 900 USD/month would give me pretty much everything I need/want but being married ......well it requires quite a bunch more of $
As Adam said, it depends on YOUR lifestyle
In MY personal exprience groceries are about the same (with 300 USD I pretty much buy everything needed for a full month while in the States I have seen that 300 USD doesn't really go that far , of course it DEPENDS on what you buy)
Utilities (Excluding internet) most be like -70% of what it is in the US, 99.9% of houses here don't have heating equiptments so you don't spend money in heating oil. Water bill is about 6 dollars/month (in my case I have a bunch of computers running all the time and that makes my electric bill "high", that is I pay about 50 dollars /month), phones are cheaper also, I don't need "unlimited calls at 'x' time" , I barely go over the 60 minutes included in the minimum rate and that makes my phone bill around 8 dollars/month (don't think any cell phone provider has anything even CLOSE to that rate)
entertainment in my case is probably +80% , the other day I saw a dvd in Plaza del Sol, it was going for almost 35 dollars when I could get it at 10 dollars through amazon. If you like to watch dvds you better get a forwarding service that will send your mail down here from the states and buy them at amazon
Clothing is another thing that it can get REALLY expensive if you want quality clothes.
Medical can be (I supose) up to -80% if you need surgeries/medication....healthcare is cheap and good quality or affordable and high quality.
If I were single and owned my house I would say that making 900 USD/month would give me pretty much everything I need/want but being married ......well it requires quite a bunch more of $
BTW, Utilities can be good or bad. Electricity rates get higher per Kwh the more you use, not less. If you use more than some household threshold they have, the rates get astronomical.
For demonstration, ICE once read the meter wrong, and I get a bill of $2 one month, and then $200 the next month. If the meter had been read correctly, it would have been $50 and $50. My electricity runs between $50-75/mo, however at a house where I kept the jacuzi heated it run up to $200/mo.
Water can also vary significantly. Where I am at now it is 420 colones per month (< $1) unmetered. However they often turn the water off for the whole residencial in the early afternoon and don't turn it back on until the next morning. In Sabanilla my water bill varied from $10-$50/mo for no discernable reason.
For demonstration, ICE once read the meter wrong, and I get a bill of $2 one month, and then $200 the next month. If the meter had been read correctly, it would have been $50 and $50. My electricity runs between $50-75/mo, however at a house where I kept the jacuzi heated it run up to $200/mo.
Water can also vary significantly. Where I am at now it is 420 colones per month (< $1) unmetered. However they often turn the water off for the whole residencial in the early afternoon and don't turn it back on until the next morning. In Sabanilla my water bill varied from $10-$50/mo for no discernable reason.
If I were single and owned my house I would say that making 900 USD/month would give me pretty much everything I need/want but being married ......well it requires quite a bunch more of $
What do u mean by that?
should'nt it be less expensive, if u two pool your funds 2gether? unless she's a stay at home wife<!-- / message -->
What do u mean by that?
should'nt it be less expensive, if u two pool your funds 2gether? unless she's a stay at home wife<!-- / message -->
yes but a studio kind of a house is enough, I don't need furniture, a table etc, I can pretty much get by with a bed a huge tv a microwave and a huge fridge to hold the :drink: :toast: , she makes more money and has a better position than me btw (I MIGHT get a raise in a year or so if EVERYTHING works great.......she on the other hand will probably get one in 3 months), which for all reasons and purposes I say "WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
