Today I read some of an electronic Moon book on Living in Costa Rica and double-checked it with Chris Howard’s New Golden Door book and they both say about the same.
- It will be cheaper and easier to buy a car in Costa Rica, even though they cost about 30% more there. If you drive or ship your car from the states you pay an even higher excise tax, like 50%+ of the retail value AND the paperwork will require a lawyer.
- I could drive my old car which from Brownsville, TX would be over 2,200 miles through five countries, lots of red tape, complications, possible dangers, and the high excise tax mentioned above. But would sure be a neat adventure!
- Most people buy used cars which are well cared for there because of the high cost of cars. If I plan to frequent national parks and other wilderness areas I will need four-wheel drive on a high-riding car.
- One writer recommends the Toyota RAV4 and another said Suzukis do well there because they ride high. Most cars in Costa are Japanese or Korean.
IF I make the move this is the one area of life that will cost me more than in the states and needs to be carefully considered in my budget. One living in the city could easily get by without a car with good, low-priced bus, train and taxi service compared to the states. But of course my adventures will probably require a car.
One important area of living there is now fairly clear in my mind.