10 Years in Costa Rica

This week we are celebrating 10 years of living in Costa Rica. Wow, how the time has flown! Back in 2013 when we first arrived, we thought we’d be able …

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Dekra: Costa Rica’s Annual Vehicle Inspection

Costa Rica’s annual vehicle inspection, known as Dekra (previously Riteve), can make even the most carefree person stressed out. Will the car pass easily or will you have to pay …

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Installing a Pool in Costa Rica: Our Experience

After purchasing our home in Costa Rica and doing some renovations to the interior, it was time to think about the yard. Even though we live near the beach, everyone …

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What It’s Like to Live in Costa Rica in Rainy Season

If you’re thinking of moving to Costa Rica, you probably picture your new life filled with endless sunshine and clear blue skies. Costa Rica definitely has that for a good …

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Private Schools in Costa Rica: Part 2, List of Options

In a recent post, we gave some background on private schools in Costa Rica. We explained about the different types of accreditations, options for types of schools, costs, and the …

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Private Schools in Costa Rica: Part 1, General Info

If you’re planning to move to Costa Rica with your kids or just visit for an extended stay, you’re no doubt trying to figure out where to send them to …

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Costa Rica’s Digital Nomad Visa

In the past couple of years, Costa Rica has seen a surge in digital nomads. More and more people are working remotely, making it the perfect time to try something …

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Home Decor and Furniture Stores in San Jose, Costa Rica

When moving to a foreign country, one of the biggest challenges can be where to buy the things you need. In Costa Rica, it can be especially hard if you …

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International Driving Permit in Costa Rica

Most tourists traveling to Costa Rica can use their license from their home country to drive. But visitors from some countries will need an international driving permit. Likewise, people who …

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Getting a SIM Card for Travel in Costa Rica

If you’re like most people, your phone is an important extension of your daily life. And while you may be able to turn off work emails during your vacation, you …

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Renewing Permanent Residency in Costa Rica

Those who have gone through the residency process in Costa Rica and received their DIMEX card (known locally as a cedula) know what a process it is. Once you hold …

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Patacones (Fried Plantains) Recipe

Patacones are a staple in Costa Rican cuisine. These fried green plantains are relatively simple to make and delicious. Making them always feels like a treat in our house. We …

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Renovating a House in Costa Rica

After recently buying a house in Costa Rica, we quickly got started on some renovation projects to make it our own. Our initial list of improvements was modest, but once …

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Buying a House in Costa Rica

The process of buying a house can be overwhelming, let alone trying to figure it out in a foreign country. We’ve lived in Costa Rica for eight years and have …

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Planning a Long-Term Visit to Costa Rica

Last Updated: August 17, 2022 In this new era of work from home, many people are interested in spending extended periods of time abroad. If you’re comfortable traveling, it’s certainly …

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Christmas and New Years in Costa Rica: A Festive Time

Each year we get many questions about what it is like during Christmas and New Years in Costa Rica. People want to know about the weather, local traditions, and which …

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Building a House in Costa Rica: Understanding the Basics

With its warm weather, beautiful landscapes, and welcoming locals, Costa Rica is a desirable location for those moving or retiring abroad. For many people, building a house in Costa Rica …

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Moving to Costa Rica: 7 Years Abroad

This past July marked our seven-year anniversary of moving to Costa Rica. It’s amazing to think how different life would be if we never took the chance. When we first …

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Covid-19 in Costa Rica: Living Here Through the Pandemic

For several months, we have been updating our readers on the coronavirus and how it has affected Costa Rica. That post has mostly formal details on the current number of …

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Moving to Costa Rica with Kids

Last Updated: August 17, 2022 Moving to Costa Rica with kids can be an exciting adventure. From the hidden beaches to exotic wildlife, Costa Rica definitely has a lot to …

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Starting a Business in Costa Rica as an Expat

More and more people seem to be deciding to give Costa Rica a try as their new home these days. And many are still of working age (not retired) and …

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Having a Baby at Hospital CIMA

We’ve done a series of posts in the past about having a baby in Costa Rica. These covered prenatal care, delivering at a small private hospital in San Isidro de …

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Making Costa Rica’s Famous Arroz Con Pollo

In a recent post, we shared how to make a staple of Costa Rican cuisine: homemade beans. In this post, we’ll teach you about another mainstay of traditional food, arroz …

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Virtual Field Trip to Costa Rica – Part 2

In Part 1 of our virtual field trip to Costa Rica, we had you discover wildlife through guidebooks and trail cameras, taught you how to make homemade beans (yum!), planted …

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Virtual Field Trip to Costa Rica – Part 1

At home wishing you were in Costa Rica? Even from afar, there are meaningful ways to connect with and learn about the country’s rich culture, abundant wildlife, and diverse ecosystems. …

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Making Homemade Costa Rican-Style Beans

When a lot of people cook using beans, they just open a can that is already prepared. But in other parts of the world like Costa Rica, making homemade beans …

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Living in Costa Rica: 5 Years Strong

A half decade (yes, five years!) has passed since we first boarded that plane to Costa Rica with our eight mismatched suitcases and twinkles of adventure in our eyes. When …

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4 Years in Costa Rica: Settling Into the Every Day

Another year update. It seems surreal. When we first moved to Costa Rica in 2013, we counted those first weeks, months, and even years with amazement. “Wow, I can’t believe …

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Living in Costa Rica: Three Year Update

It seems like it was only a few months ago that we were writing our two-year update on living in Costa Rica. But this past weekend, we just breezed by …

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Applying for Residency in Costa Rica Without a Lawyer

Last Updated: June 17, 2020 After spending almost three years in Costa Rica, coming and going on a tourist visa, we have decided to apply for residency. This is a …

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Having a Baby in Costa Rica: Part 3, the Paperwork

Last Updated: February 7, 2024 In our other posts on having a baby in Costa Rica, we discuss prenatal care (Part 1), delivery at a small private hospital (Part 2), …

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Where to Live in Costa Rica: Planning Your Research Trip

So you’re narrowing down different countries to retire or move to. Or maybe you’re already sure that Costa Rica will be your new home. Beautiful beaches, wildlife, rolling mountains, and …

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Having a Baby in Costa Rica: Part 2, Delivery

In our first post about having a baby in Costa Rica, we shared our experience with prenatal care. We covered public vs. private healthcare, and how we picked our doctor …

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Where to Buy Baby Stuff in Costa Rica

We’ve mentioned in the past about how it can be difficult to find certain items in Costa Rica. Up until this point, this has been fine. With just the two …

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Costa Rica Moving Checklist

Moving abroad can be very stressful. We remember what it was like getting ready for our big move to Costa Rica from Boston in 2013. Selling our stuff and condo, …

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Having a Baby in Costa Rica: Part 1, Prenatal Care

With only weeks until our new addition arrives, we thought it was time to start sharing our experience of having a baby in Costa Rica. Moving here, we knew that …

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Getting Your Home Ready for a House Sit: 12 Tips for Homeowners

Last Updated: May 10, 2023 When we first moved to Costa Rica, we did house sitting for several years and walked into all different kinds of situations. Sometimes homes and pets …

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Two Years in Costa Rica: How Life Has Changed

When we first announced our decision to move to Costa Rica in July 2013, we joked that we were saying goodbye to our typical two week vacations, and hello to …

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Books to Inspire Your Move to Costa Rica

  In July 2013, we stepped off the plane feeling fairly confident that we knew what our new lives in Costa Rica would be like. We had not only visited …

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House Sitting in Costa Rica

Last Updated: May 10, 2023 If you’ve read our other posts on this topic, you know what we think about house sitting. We think it’s awesome! When we first moved …

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FAQs About Moving to Costa Rica

Last Updated: August 17, 2022 We get emails all the time from people interested in moving to Costa Rica. They have been drawn in by the relaxed pace of life, …

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House Sitting: Build a Perfect House Sitter Profile

Last Updated: May 10, 2023 In another article, we shared about how to save money on accommodations through house sitting. We explained how the process works, the three best websites …

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House Sitting: How to Live in Costa Rica for $2,000 a Year

Last Updated: May 10, 2023 You’re probably reading this and saying to yourself, this can’t be true. How can you live somewhere exotic like Costa Rica and pay just a …

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Where We’ve Lived in Costa Rica

Over the past thirteen months, we’ve lived in eight towns across Costa Rica. From the Pacific to the Caribbean, we dragged our eight suitcases through booming resort towns, quaint mountain …

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365 Days in Costa Rica [VIDEO]

We took over 5,000 photos during our first year in Costa Rica and used them to create this video. We journeyed across the country, living in eight towns and visiting so many amazing beaches, …

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Our First Year in Costa Rica

Today marks our one-year anniversary of living in Costa Rica. It’s hard to believe that a year ago today we were arriving in San Jose with nothing but eight suitcases …

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The Cost of Owning a Car in Costa Rica

Since Buying a Car in Costa Rica about 10 months ago, we have gone through many of the motions of car ownership, including taxes, insurance, maintenance, and of course repairs. …

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Humidity and Your Camera: Making a Dry Box in the Tropics

We read an article a while back about how mold and fungus can start growing inside the lens or body of a camera, especially in high humidity environments like Costa …

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Packing for Your Move to Costa Rica: Advice from Expats

Right before we moved to Costa Rica, we did a post about what we were bringing. We itemized the contents of each of our eight suitcases (yup, that’s all we …

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Fun Facts From Our First Six Months in Costa Rica

Today marks our six-month anniversary of living in Costa Rica. There is a lot we could say about our time here so far but we’re going to lighten things up …

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Reflections on Christmas in Costa Rica

We’ve been in Costa Rica for five months now, through some big holidays, first Thanksgiving, and now, Christmas. Christmas is an important holiday for both of our families back home …

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Best Movies for Learning Spanish

In our last post, we told you about all of the traditional ways we’re trying to learn Spanish, like using books and online learning tools. Now we’re going to get …

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Update on Living in Costa Rica: Learning Spanish

We’ve been living in Costa Rica for about four months now and are really starting to adjust to daily life here. We have a routine for work, have figured out …

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Buying a Car in Costa Rica

Last Updated: December 19, 2020 When we moved to Costa Rica in July 2013, one of our first priorities was to buy a car. We couldn’t wait to be cruising …

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Living in Costa Rica: One Month Update

We’ve been living in Costa Rica for over a month now and are gradually adjusting to the changes we mentioned in our previous update. Even though we’ve been here for …

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First Impressions on Living in Costa Rica

Today marks our two-week anniversary of living in Costa Rica. We truly love it here so far—the people, the relaxed approach to life, not to mention the spectacular natural beauty. …

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Our Eight (or Ten) Suitcases

Our big move to Costa Rica is just a mere week away. As our pre-trip to-do list shortens and it gets closer to July 23, we are getting more and …

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Our Moving-to-Costa Rica Bucket List

With our move just two months away, the focus is shifting to what we’re leaving behind. Visits with friends and family are ending with sad looks and us saying, “Don’t …

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WE’RE MOVING TO COSTA RICA!

We have some big news: We quit our jobs and are moving to Costa Rica! After more than two years in the works, we’re making our dream happen and relocating …

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