How to Find a Rental when You Move to Costa Rica

If you are preparing on moving abroad to live and possibly work in Costa Rica you should be thinking about where you will be living once you arrive in Costa Rica. It is best not to buy property sight unseen and especially if you do not know how long you will be staying in the country. Some expats move overseas to Costa Rica and set up house in a hotel or other tourist accommodation. While this is a perfectly acceptable route to take it is also quite a bit more costly than finding an apartment or home rental and living in it like locals do.

When you are searching for an appropriate rental it is best to first consider your purpose of being in the country and where you want to live. You can live near the beach if you want or in the city or even up in the mountains. The type of place that you can rent for your stay can vary. You can find super luxurious apartments and condos or you can get a small apartment or even a quaint little mountain cottage. You may also be interested in finding a little enclave of other expatriates that you can live near and bond with. Most of the foreigners that live in Costa Rica are Americans and Canadians. If you want to look for a place near other expats you should restrict your search for rentals to the Central Valley area. Specifically you should look in Esczu, Rohrmoser, Jaco and Guanacaste.

When you begin your search you will note that the prices for rentals is based on two things - location of the rental and size of the rental. Properties in Costa Rica are measured in square meters instead of square feet. The main thing that determines the price of a rental is the infrastructure of the area. The lower priced rentals are located in more remote areas that offer less access to things such as healthcare, telecommunications, shopping, the beach and nightlife. The more expensive rentals are those that are in cities and near the beach. If you are basing your rental needs on temperatures you should know that the average temperatures are higher in the lowlands and the coastal areas. More moderate temperatures can be found at higher altitudes.

If you decide that you are interested in purchasing property instead of renting you should know that you will not have a hard time doing that. There are no resident restrictions imposed on property purchases. Both residents and non residents of Costa Rica can freely purchase property.