🇨🇷 Buy Property in San Rafael, 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

Excluding rent, a single person needs ~$800 USD/mo; a family of four ~$2,850 USD/mo. Rent (1-bed, city center): Escazú ~$1,300, Tamarindo ~$1,100, San José ~$900, Atenas ~$700. Groceries run $7-11/day per person. Overall 30-45% below US major cities — the priciest Central American country, but imports are taxed heavily.

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.