Beryle S. Says:
As a single retiree, can I live around Quepos, Costa Rica, for less than $1,000 a month?
IL Contributor in Quepos Bob Normand Says:
Hi Beryle,
Happy to hear you are considering Quepos as your retirement destination. I’ve lived here since 2008 and couldn’t be happier.
Life in Quepos is easy and the people are friendly. It’s like living in that 1950s “Small Town America” that most people back home can now only dream about.
The simple answer to your question is: Yes, it’s possible to live here on under $1,000 a month, but you would be limited to a basic lifestyle.
The Quepos area offers a wide variety of low-cost rentals ranging from rooms in shared homes to apartments that can be rented for around $300 to $400 per month.
Food costs can be minimized if you stick to Costa Rican basics, such as rice, vegetables, beans, chicken, bread products. But you’ll pay more if you must have the imported items you enjoyed back home—my advice would be to eat what the locals eat. Plus, local food is healthy and delicious.
You can also save money here by not owning a car. When I first came to Quepos in 2008, I put off buying a car for three months until I got the lay of the land and situation—as it turned out, due to the bus situation here (free locally or over 65s like me and discounted 25% for longer hauls), I never did get a car.
Almost all of Costa Rica can be accessed using the low-cost bus system (160 km/100 miles from Quepos to San José costs about $8).
As part of my presentation to the 2022 IL FastTrack Costa Rica Conference, I showed my budget at that time (little has changed since). Absolute fixed costs (rent, national health system, cell, cable, food) came up to about $843; even with miscellaneous expenses included, it comes up to $1,243.
Read more about life here in Quepos on the IL website here.
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