Moving to Costa Rica: What You Must Know Before You Step In
Costa Rica is small. On a map, you can cross it in a day. But its identidades (identities) are vast. From the campos(countryside) of Guanacaste, to the coffee fincas (farms) of Heredia, to the ciudades (cities) and barrios (neighborhoods) that pulse quietly under traffic lights, the stories are different, layered, and alive. It is a country built on immigration, indígenas (indigenous) resilience, and the labor of generations who shaped the land.
Before moving here, one truth must be accepted: you are not a local. Even if you have lived here for years, the locales(locals) arrived first. That can sting, but it is also the biggest gift you will ever receive in your life. To belong, truly, you must first understand that Costa Rican culture is not for sale. It cannot be purchased with a house, a car, or Instagram followers. It is stitched into familias (families), fiestas (festivals), and the slow work of the earth. It is in the sweat of coffee pickers, the folds of hojas de plátano (banana leaves) wrapping tamales, and the stories handed down quietly from abuelas (grandmothers) to children.
The pillars of this culture — respeto (respect), dignidad (dignity), comunidad (community), and igualdad (equality) — are everywhere if one observes closely. They are in the way neighbors greet each other, in the way a child is taught to share, and in the care taken for someone’s home or garden. These values are non-negotiable. To step into Costa Rica and ignore them is to misunderstand what makes the country endure.
For foreigners, the key to being accepted into the comunidad (community) is humility and participation. Volunteer opportunities — helping at a school, maintaining trails in a national park, or assisting in conservation projects — are direct pathways into real Tico life. And more than anything: learn Costa Rican Spanish. Not generic Spanish. Not the Spanish of textbooks or other countries. The Spanish of Costa Rica carries rhythm, humor, and subtlety. It signals that you are listening, that you want to belong, that you respect the culture enough to speak its tongue. As anthropologist Marta Bolaños (2018) notes, "Language is not just a tool. In Costa Rica, it is an entry into social life, community, and trust."
To live here is also to see the biodiversidad (biodiversity) with clear eyes. Costa Rica’s forests, rivers, and mares (seas) are not a postcard backdrop. Species are disappearing. Habitats are fragile. To live in harmony with nature here is not a cliché; it is a daily responsibility. Remove the rose-colored glasses. Join in conservation. Protect what is precious. You are not just a visitor — you are a caretaker of this place.
History shows it can be done. Foreigners have opened schools, helped establish national parks, and preserved endangered species. They became part of the story, not by occupying it, but by respecting it, by participating, and by speaking the language that is a living bridge into the community.
The reward is immense: life in the verdadero (real) Costa Rica, beyond the expat bubbles. It is slower, quieter, and more challenging than beachside Instagram posts suggest. But it is also more authentic, more fulfilling, and more human. Work, language, humility — these are the tickets to belonging.
And when you finally hear a child greet you with a polite ¿Cómo está usted? (How are you?), or are invited into a kitchen to fold a tamal in hojas de plátano (banana leaves), it hits home: you are part of something far larger than yourself. You are not just living in Costa Rica. You are learning to live como Tico (like a Costa Rican).
APA Citations (all Costa Rican authors):
Bolaños, M. (2018). Lengua y comunidad en Costa Rica: Un estudio sobre la integración cultural a través del idioma. Editorial Universitaria.
Vargas Dengo, C. A. (1974). El uso de los pronombres vos y usted en Costa Rica. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 8, 7–30.
Rojas Blanco, L. (2003). A propósito del voseo: Su historia, su morfología y su situación en Costa Rica. Revista Educación, 27(2), 143–163.