So you made the decision to move to Costa Rica. Maybe you got a job teaching English, or maybe you are on a gap year adventure.
Whatever the case may be, you are on a budget and you need a place to live. You need to find an affordable home for rent in Costa Rica, but how?
I recently moved to the mountains above Heredia. It’s awesome – very relaxing and peaceful. My neighbors have farms with bulls, chickens, goats, and horses and they even use the colorful painted ox carts.
Step 1.
Pick an area of the country to live in.
First, you need to figure out where your job is, or if you do not have one, figure out where it is most likely to be. For example, most English teaching jobs in Costa Rica are in the Central Valley, so you would need to pick a town in the Central Valley to start your search in.
If a location-dependent job does not apply to you while you live in Costa Rica, do some research and narrow down your list of desired places to live to just a few towns.
Towns in Costa Rica might look very close together on a map, but they can be very far apart when traveling in a car or on a bus due to congested, meandering roads and heavy traffic.
They can also be very different aesthetically. Two towns might be right next to each other, but feel completely different to you. This is why I say pick an area and try not to narrow it down to only one town because it’s likely that you might find something better once you are actually in Costa Rica.
This neighborhood is somewhere between San José and Cartago. It’s a good example of a neighborhood with extremely affordable housing and good access to public transportation, but there are no bakeries or fruit and vegetable stands. Plus, there was a lot of trash on the ground and a bunch of drug addicts wandering around, so I doubt it’s very safe.
Step 2.
Set up a temporary residence in Costa Rica.
After you have established the general location that you need or want to live in, set up a temporary residence (pay day to day or week to week) while you search for something more permanent.
This will cost you more upfront, but save in the long run because you really need to have your feet on the ground to find the perfect place to live in Costa Rica.
Finding a temporary residence is as easy as looking on Craigslist, AirBnB, Couchsurfing.org, VRBO, or negotiating a deal through your employer. (Use my special link to get $42 off your first AirBnB stay) If you are staying a week or longer, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a discount on the nightly price – some landlords and hosts offer that.
If you do a temporary homestay with a Tico family, you will also enjoy the benefits of building connections in the community, learning about the culture, and having someone cook and clean for you as if you were their own child. 🙂
After you have decided on a general area and are in your temporary residence, the real search begins.
Good, inexpensive rentals are only on the market for a day or two before they are snatched up. You have to be quick and decisive, but don’t settle in fear of not being able to find something because there is a high turnover rate in rentals and there is always something new and exciting opening up.
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Here is the 2nd part of this article in which I discuss the last two steps in finding a place to live in Costa Rica, including some great tips and advice. Subscribe by email, find me on facebook, or just come back to the website.
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I have recently started hosting people through couchsurfing, out of the 5 or 6 ’rounds’ one of them was a young couple from the US that were doing precisely this, trying to get their bearings. Its a good /free option but of course a long stay is not encouraged (unless your host is ok with this)
Excellent point – don’t overstay if you’re couchsurfing! It might be ok to bounce to a couple different couches or couchsurf a couple days while you search for other temporary housing.
House sitting is an option for long-term temporary lodging.
I have friends that couch surf and they explained it was good for a couple of days. But I wanted to stay longer, so after doing some research I discovered house sitting. Right now, I’m sitting outside Tilaran Costa Rica for at least three months, rent free. This is the fifth house I sat since August 2011, two (including this one) in Costa Rica, one in Panama, and two in the US (my country of origin).
Mike
Travel Thru My Eyes
Housesitting is a great option. Tilaran is near Arenal Lake, right? Do you know if there are many opportunities for housesitting in the Central Valley?
Yes Erin, Tilaran is new Lake Arenal.
I just checked the three sites I use for house sitting (Mind My House, Trusted House Sitters, and House Carers) and the only listing right now is in Tilaran starting in Feb 2013. Although I haven’t sat at this location I know the lady that just finished a 6 month gig there. The place is a 6 room B&B that is closed as the owners are selling it.Nice place right in the middle of town.
Mike
Have fun, Travel Safe
http://www.travelthrumyeyes.com
Cool, thanks for the tips!
Erin,
This is great info for new-comers especially the tip on how things may look out of scale on a map.
Thanks Kim 🙂
Do you know how much harder it makes it to find place by coming with a dog? Couchsurfing is probably out of the question I’m guessing.
Great question. I came with a dog and had a really hard time because of it. One thing I’ve learned along the way, though, is that just because it says “no dogs” doesn’t mean they won’t accept dogs. If you have a dog that is trained and well-behaved and can convince someone of this, they most likely will give you a chance. My dog is older, trained, she can go to the bathroom on command, doesn’t like to pee or poop in her living area (including the yard), and only barks when strangers come knocking. This is rare in Costa Rica. Usually people get dogs here and more or less allow them to remain a little wild, so landlords will say “no dogs” in anticipation of a wild callejero (street dog). Plus, once landlords find out you have a well-trained dog, they might warm up to the idea of added security. You might even ask a potential couchsurfing host if they will allow it since this is a huge dog-loving country.
The other thing that made it hard to find somewhere to live with my dog is living space. There are tons of apartments available without yards. I tried that before, it sucks having to walk the dog every single time she wants to pee. Even though she would rather walk, it’s really nice to just open a door and let her go pee in the yard if I’m running low on time or just not up to walking her. Places with yards generally cost more money unless you go further up into the mountains.
Which part of the country are you moving to? How big is your dog?
Better to sell or give away the dog.
I suppose that is an option if you are not attached or if you don’t care about your dog. So far, I have not been confronted with any experience that has made me regret or even consider not bringing my dog. She’s a great companion and a good protector.
Thanks for the advice! Now I’m debating it again and am completely 50/50 on this. I have a 10 year old jack Russell who still acts like a puppy, but like your dog, only barks when someone is intruding or at the door (not much even). He’s extremely well trained and is basically a little person. He also goes “potty” on command. People who don’t like dogs love him. The only thing bad about him is his obsession with me and the fact that he doesn’t jive with other dogs. Cats yes, but dogs no.
We have been on countless adventures, but never out of the country and never on a plane. Hes good in cars and is overall a happy dog that loves life. If I leave him here, he would not get the adequate attention and playtime that he needs, and it will be a really shitty 3 months for him here while I’m gone. Plus I want to stay an additional 3 plus months, and if I leave him in California, I won’t be staying anywhere longer.
I’m working on finding him a great sitter. Without one, I might chance bringing him. He’d love it. He doesn’t mind staying home when I go out.
So I’m done typing on this iPhone, and no, I would never sell him nor give him away. Couldn’t do it. To him or to me.
It’s a tough call seeing as how you are only going to be here a short period of time. If you do end up bringing your dog, you are not going to be allowed into many hostels, so keep that in mind in case you plan on traveling in Costa Rica a lot. You’ll need to fork out that extra cash for a cabina or hotel room, like $15+ a night. There are dog sitters here, too, so if you brought him and got into a jam, you could always drop him off at a local dog sitting farm or maybe even a neighbor’s house. Good luck with your decision!
Hello Erin, I am 24 and plan on moving to Costa Rica with a friend to find English teaching jobs around January 1, 2013 since we cannot find teaching jobs here in the U.S. I have been doing a lot of research about Heredia and some outlying suburbs of San Jose. Many blogs and secondhand sources I come upon say that each town and community is unique but what we are looking for is a safe community mixed with expats and Ticos. Do you have any suggestions of locations for a couple of first time expats trying to make the move less stressful? Also what can you say about the ESL job market at this time in the suburbs around San Jose?
Thanks, Corey
There are always job opportunities around the Central Valley for English teachers. Working full time here is not easy, though. Good places to live: towns around Heredia centro (San Pablo, Santo Domingo, San Isidro, San Rafael, Barva, Mercedes Norte y Sud), San Pedro, Escazú, Pavas, Rhomoser, La Sabana. Note that during rush hour it can take 1.5 hours to get from Escazú to Heredia centro – look at it on the map and that will give you a really good idea of how hellish traffic can be. But if you follow my advice, come here, set up a temporary residence while you look for something permanent, then your transition will be a lot easier. For the temp residence, something in Heredia centro, Pavas, Rhomoser, or La Sabana would be perfect.
I totally agree with Erin Morris. Very good post.
Hi Erin,
Thanks for all the great info on Costa Rica. I am planning on moving there in November to do…(wait for it…) teach English!
I am interested in finding a homestay and wondering if you could shed some light on how to go about setting one up?
Thank you for any info you can give me!
🙂
I think most of the homestays are set up through schools, especially language schools. You might have luck contacting some and asking if you can just set up a homestay through them even though you don’t plan on being a student.
Very good post Erin, thank you. I would just like to confirm your point about how two little towns close to each other can be totally different. We lived in San Antonio de Escazu beneath the large cross for two years. We were on a small road that made turns and twists to the valley down below and finally into San Jose. But traveling this road everyday was like taking a time machine. Up by our house many houses around us had one light bulb, maybe three rooms and dirt floors. Btw, saw the little ladies sweeping the dirt floors everyday. Head down a few feet and you saw the colorful ox carts and small farms. Down another 100 yards or so and little stores or pulperias would pop up. Then suddenly into a small neighborhood with a few homes until you finally made it to the out skirts of San Jose. It was a journey seemingly that took you from the late 1800’s to San Jose and it’s modern iniquities. Yet in real time, 25 minutes. It was fascinating, humbling and a journey I grew to love every day. Although after a day in the capitol, we were always happy to return to the house on the mountain in a more rural section. So your point is correct, scenery, population, services change dramatically from village to village.