Living in Costa Rica

I have been living in Costa Rica since 2008.  There were some hoops that I had to jump through before making it possible to live here full time, and I’ll give you my advice on what you can do in order to make that a reality for you.  I want to tell you my story as to why I came to Costa Rica, then explain what I did to live here full time and go into some options what you can do to make that transition. 

My first international trip was at the age of 16.  I went to Peru with my church on a mission trip to help the abandoned street boys ministry, but I quickly learned that I couldn’t communicate with them, because I didn’t speak Spanish.  I traveled to Peru each summer for eight years and decided that I wanted to learn Spanish.  I tried learning it in the past, but taking classes at the university just weren’t cutting it.  My friend, who went with me to Peru, wanted to learn Spanish as well, so we started to look for Spanish schools in Central and South America to study.  Out of all the countries, we chose to study Spanish in Orosi,Costa Rica in January, 2008.  

It’s a big leap to leave everything you have behind in your home country just to study a foreign language in another.  The entry requirements were different in 2008, but the 90 day tourist visa still remains the same.  It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the country.  The locals were nice and spoke a lot of English compared to other Latin countries that I had been to.   The gorgeous, lush, green landscapes were something my eyes hadn’t seen before and the relaxed way of life was completely different than the States.  I lived in Costa Rica for 6 months and then I returned to the states to work every year.  It got to the point where I wanted to live in Costa Rica full time, but I thought to myself, “How can I live in a foreign country?  I’m not fluent in the language and I’m on a tourist visa.”  In 2011, I made the transition of living in Costa Rica full time.  I had no debt or anything financially holding me back in the States.  Here’s what I did to make that transition:

1. TEFL certified – I had my dreams of becoming a rock star and touring the world playing drums, but once I had a reality check and knew that wasn’t going to happen, I had to think of a way to get a job and provide for myself.  I got TEFL certified and lived at one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, Samara.  I only lived there for a little more than a month, but the five full day classes and teaching at night taught me everything I needed to know.  Teaching English online, as well as in schools will open up lots of doors for you to live and work in another country.  I’ve been teaching English online for 7 years and I love it!
2. Visa runs – A visa run is when you’re required by law to leave the country to renew your visa for another 90 days in Costa Rica.  This is what I did for 4 years before applying for temporary residency.  I would buy a bus ticket and travel to Nicaragua for 3 days and stay at the beach, then travel back to my town and continue to work.  There is a 3 day requirement to stay out of Costa Rica after you leave it.  These visa runs by bus don’t cost a lot in comparison to flying roundtrip somewhere.  I always looked at it as a forced vacation.  This is another option if you’d like to stay in Costa Rica for a long period without breaking the rules.  Just leave before your 90 tourist visa expires.
3. Get Married – I know that’s a strong statement but it’s quite possible that you might find someone that you’d like to settle down with in Costa Rica.  If that’s the case, you can get married civilly and from there start your temporary residence process.  After receiving the temporary residence, you can apply for either permanent residency or Costa Rican citizenship after 3 years of successfully renewing your temporary residency .  

These are the things that I did in order to become a Costa Rican citizen.  People from migration told me that the process is quicker to complete by marriage, even though it took a little over a year for them to complete my citizenship, so if over a year is quick, then be prepared to wait while they finish your request.  There is a lot of red tape in Costa Rica with all the hoops you have to jump through, but when you have your cedula (ID card) in your hand it’ll be worth it!

There are other options for living in Costa Rica.  Check out our applying for residency page, which goes in more detail about the steps that need to be completed in order to live in Costa Rica.