🇨🇷 Buy Property in Alajuela, Costa Rica
5 properties from $110K to $350K
Median Price
$280K
Avg Size
262 m²
Most Common
apartment
Listings
5
About Alajuela
Costa Rica's second-largest city sits in the Central Valley near the international airport, with spring-like weather year-round and easy access to both Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Cost of living is roughly 40-50% less than the US, and there's a well-established American retiree community. You'll want basic Spanish for daily errands, though English is common in expat-frequented areas.
5 Listings in Alajuela
Living in Alajuela
What American expats need to know about Costa Rica
Visa
Digital Nomad Visa — requires $3,000/mo income ($4,000 for families). Valid 1 year, renewable once. Tax-exempt on foreign income. Rentista Visa — for those with $2,500/mo passive income or $60,000 deposit. Pensionado Visa — for retirees with $1,000+/mo pension. Both lead to permanent residency after 3 years.
Cost of Living
30-50% less than US major cities, though it is the most expensive Central American country. Expect $1,800-2,800/mo in the Central Valley or beach towns.
Key Fact
Costa Rica has excellent universal healthcare (ranked above the US by WHO) and no military — the budget goes to education and environment instead. The "Pura Vida" lifestyle is real but imported goods and cars are expensive due to import taxes.
Life in Costa Rica
Howler monkeys as your morning alarm, surfing before breakfast, and a country that dissolved its army in 1948 so it could spend the money on rainforests and schools instead.
Other Cities in Costa Rica
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