Costa Rica Expat Forum

nycroberto
Joined 2016
Posts: 5

8 years ago

Sept '16 -Moving to Tamarindo Area w/ 3 & 1 year old

8 years ago

Hi, my name is Roberto and I am moving to the Tamarindo area this September, 2016 till July, 2017 and just had a few questions, if anyone could help just a little bit that would be great. (I am sure you are bombarded with similar posts so I just will give you a brief background of us and then ask a few specific questions to make it easier :D)

A bit about us, we are a late 30's - early 40's year old Spanish speaking couple with a 3 year old and a 1 1/2 year old. We would not be working but would love to volunteer as I work as a psychologist doing evaluations with special needs children, so would enjoy doing something in that area.

We are coming in April, 2016 for 9 days to look at place and figure out where we would live, etc.

I have looked online for approximate costs etc, but much of the info is dated. Just wanted to find out a few things: (all approximate prices)

Cost of ....
...3/4 bdrm condo approx 5 min walk to beach-rent for 10 months (playa longosta perhaps)
... average monthly bills - cable/internet/electric/air con - all combined
....school for my 3 year old (P/T or FT)
....having a nanny come 5-6 hours 3-5 days per week
....buying a car (ugly is fine, just that it runs/older model ok.... e.g. 2000/2001)
... car insurance
....health insurance for family of 4

What we are looking for is just a place to come, volunteer a bit, relax a bit, spend time with the kids, reconnect as a couple, and have down time. We would love to have a few decent places to eat (not needing super fancy), a hospital (or good clinic close by for the kids), and a laid back vibe but not be too remote. Since we all speak Spanish, we would love to live/volunteer near Tico's, as we love to learn about other cultures. (We are Colombian/American)

Lastly,... it seems to me from my reading about the area, ... that Tamarindo is more surf / party type of place, with some families thrown in there, ... while the other towns nearby such as Playa Flamingo is are more for retiree / expat crowd that would be without kids and a bit older then us. Is that a correct assumption? Any suggestions as to towns that might work as we are truly open to anyplace.

We have been to Costa Rica a few times, but never to this area. We would like to have the beach a relatively close walk to our place, but don't really like the Jaco area (vibe a bit off for us) and find the Esterillos Oeste and Montezuma a bit too remote,

Any and all help would be great.. thanks

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