We went back to Costa Rica this year after going last year for a week. This time was different. The purpose of the trip was to see what it would be like living there as a Plan B for retirement.
We stayed in an Airbnb in Núcleo Sábana in San Jose for six weeks.
It took us awhile to be “comfortable with being uncomfortable” with our limited Spanish.
One of the things I have been researching is the different ways to become a legal resident. Costa Rica’s public health care system is top notch and affordable under CAJA. But most expats also pay for private insurance or just pay out of pocket to see specialists.
The other reason we went was to become part of the expat community. We met a few nice people at a meetup and invited them out to dinner. They told us a lot about what motivated them to move and what it is really like living there.
I was surprised by how Americanized it was. We did most of our grocery shopping at Walmart and there were restaurants across the street that were part of the Núcleo Sábana complex.
One thing though, if you try to live like an American with the place you choose to live, going out to eat, and shopping at Walmart or the Walmart owned Más x Menos, you will pay more for food and only slightly less for living expenses in expat heavy areas.
I speak some Spanish, but not well. Everyone on both sides just uses their phones for translation when they are not understood.
We did a few touristy things while we were there. We went to the bar crawl twice, did the local market tour and listened to live music at a local jazz club.
www.jazzcafecostarica.com/website/e…
Overall, it was really nice to escape the craziness of the US for a while. We will be back next year.