I recently had a prospective consulting client tell me something interesting. He said he had access to "military-grade AI" and could do all the research himself.My response? "You're probably right."The truth is that artificial intelligence has become an extraordinary research tool. In seconds, it can answer questions that would have taken hours or days to research just a few ye...
When most people think about relocating to Costa Rica, they focus on the climate, the cost of living, the beaches, or the country's reputation for peace and stability.Few people think about water.Yet as droughts, water restrictions, declining aquifers, and growing populations place increasing pressure on water supplies around the world, access to abundant, reliable water may be...
One of the most common mistakes I see people make when moving to Costa Rica is focusing too much on the house and not enough on the life they hope to create.When I first begin working with prospective buyers, I often hear the same things. They tell me they want a cooler climate, a slower pace of life, more connection with local culture, opportunities to learn Spanish, a sustain...
Costa Rica has a way of turning Murphy’s Law into something closer to a governing principle. Whatever can go wrong probably will, usually at the exact moment you’re trying hardest to avoid it.That reality becomes especially apparent on the road. The tighter your schedule, the more determined the country seems to complicate it — which is why we joke down here that if you arrive...
I arrived in Costa Rica at the ripe old midlife age of 40 (now pushing 66).Looking back now, after more than two decades here, I thought I’d share a few reflections for those of you considering a similar transition later in life.Looking for Love? Be Careful.First… if you’re a middle-aged man coming to Costa Rica looking for love, be careful.I say that without judgment and from...
If you spend enough time researching Costa Rica real estate or relocation, you’ll eventually start hearing a confusing stream of acronyms and government entities thrown around in conversations:INVUSINACMINAESETENACFIAHaciendaRegistro NacionalCatastro NacionalSNITMuniFor many buyers and expats, it can start to feel like alphabet soup.The good news?You do not need to become an ex...
One thing I hear all the time from buyers in Costa Rica is this:“We’ll never sell this place.”And every time I hear it, I think the same thing:Never say never.Because after living here for many years and working with countless buyers in the Costa Rica Southern Zone, I can tell you something with certainty:A surprising number of people who swore they’d never sell eventually call...
One of the questions I get asked constantly by foreign buyers considering a move to Costa Rica is:“How high are the property taxes?”The answer usually comes as a pleasant surprise.Compared to the United States, Canada, and many parts of Europe, property taxes in Costa Rica are generally very low. In fact, many buyers are shocked by how inexpensive annual carrying costs can be —...
For years, many buyers coming to Costa Rica assumed that purchasing land and building a custom home was automatically the smarter financial decision.And in some cases, it still is.But today’s market is different than it was five or ten years ago.Construction costs have risen substantially in recent years due to increases in labor, materials, transportation, and permitting expen...
For decades, most long-term expats in Costa Rica got used to thinking about the exchange rate in one direction only: the colón slowly losing value against the U.S. dollar.That was simply the reality for many years. If you earned dollars and lived in Costa Rica, things generally got cheaper over time from your perspective.But over the past few years, something unusual has happen...
If you spend any amount of time researching Costa Rica, eventually you’ll run into endless articles about residency.Most of them dive deep into legal procedures, document requirements, and bureaucratic details.But before you get lost in all of that, there are really just a handful of practical questions most people actually care about.Questions like:Do I need residency to buy p...
Most people come to Costa Rica the same way.They take a vacation.They fall in love.And then they start thinking…“Could I actually live here?”That’s where things start to go sideways.The Biggest Mistake People MakeThey treat a vacation like research.They stay in one area. Maybe two.They get a feel for the place… and assume that’s what Costa Rica is.It’s not.Costa Rica is a count...
Most foreign buyers don’t randomly land on Costa Rica. They visit first. They fall in love. Then they start looking at property — and almost always in the same coastal areas where they spent their vacation.That’s where the demand concentrates. And that’s exactly why prices have moved the way they have.What $500K Used to BuyTen years ago, a half-million dollars could get you an...
One of the most common reactions I see when a property hits the market in Costa Rica is immediate judgment on price. “Overpriced!” “Too expensive!” “No way it’s worth that!” The reality is, most of these reactions are based on gut feeling—not actual analysis. If you’re serious about buying property here, there are three practical ways to evaluate whether an asking price is j...
This is a companion piece to earlier thoughts on expat life here in Costa Rica, and one topic that always comes up—learning Spanish. I’ve been here over 26 years. I’m still learning. That alone should tell you something. Now, I do have one unfair advantage—I’m married to a non-English speaker. That definitely accelerates things. I’m not...
