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Originally Posted by pornguy
Also. Before you just up and move, there are other things to consider. There is not a Sears or Walmart on every corner, and even if there is, they do not sell all of the things that you may want. Try getting books in English. Also, you may face higher prices for computers. Here in Mexico, a regular 600$ desktop, is close to 1k. A laptop is about 1800 to 2k here, and would only be 1100 to 1600 in the states.
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While we don't have Sears and Walmart, you can find just about any american product you need. We have Hipermas and Pricesmart. Hipermas is just like walking into a Walmart SuperCenter, with slightly higher prices. Pricesmart is owned by CostCo, and it's pretty much just like walking into CostCo in the states. Electronics are rather high. Some items are, at minimum, double the US cost. For instance, a 60" DLP TV that sells for 2500-3000 in the states will cost you around 5000-5500 here. If at all possible, do your shopping for electronics from the states. I bought my ipod here, and it cost $50 more than what it would've in the states, so that one wasn't that bad.
Getting books in English is rather easy. Costa Rica is becoming quite Americanized, in every possible way. Hooters and Wendy's are right around the corner from opening up. We have practically every single US fast-food restaurant, as well as several of the large US chain restuarants (tony romas, fridays, outback, etc). Unfortunately, the downside to this, is that prices are sky-rocketing, thanks largely in part to these foreign corporations wanting to charge american prices, to a relatively small american market.
The typical wage for an educated, english speaking costa rican is 500-600 a month. Doctors, lawyers, dentists, they can make 1500-2000 a month. Cops make around 350-400 a month, which is why it is incredibly easy to pay your way out of practically any traffic situation.
Traffic is horrible, and the majority of people drive rather defensively. You will quickly become used to 3-4 lanes of traffic crammed onto a 2 lane road with shoulders. Forget about road lines. If there's 3 inches of available space, the closest driver will strive to grab that extra 2 inches. They will scare you plenty, often times thinking they're going to nail your car. They come within mere inches. Reach out and write something in the dust on their car, that's how close it is. If they rolled down their window, you could reach out and slap em
The roads are equally horrible, except for a few. The highway (auto pista) has a decent road. The road to the closest beach (jaco) is good. Most of the roads in the heavily-trafficked foreigner cities are good (santa ana, escazu, etc)
as varius touched on earlier, high speed internet is widely available in the city areas. at the beach, different story. jaco beach has internet. the marriott los suenos resort near playa herradura has internet. im not sure if guanacaste has it or not. i would think so, due to the heavy american population, as well as the 4 seasons resort located close-by. however, even dialup at the beach is sufficient. you'll frequently login with a 26.4k connection, but its plenty for web browsing, email, etc. the compression level here on the dialup lines is rather nice. it would suck horribly for file tranfers. that being said, the costa rican government has advertised that they have the capability to light up anybody, anywhere, with highspeed internet in this country. the only deciding factor is, how much do you want to pay? if you're at a remote beach, chances are, forget about cable/dsl. satellite or wireless or a direct dedicated line are your options.
peace