🇨🇷 Buy Property in Santa Cruz, Costa Rica
102 properties from $55K to $250K
Median Price
$160K
Avg Size
141,438 sq ft
Listings
102
102 Listings in Santa Cruz
Living in Santa Cruz
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
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.
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
Explore more property markets across Costa Rica