Jaco Costa Rica - Apartments, Jobs, moving from the US to Jaco...looking for suggestions, advice..?

Question

A friend of mine who lives in the US is thinking about moving to Jaco, Costa Rica after a recent vacation there. I am trying to find out information on how it works to be a US Citizen but live and work in Jaco. Also, I'm having a hard time find apartments for rent there as well as jobs. I do not think there is a CarreerBuilder or Monster type of website for jobs in Jaco. I am trying to do as much research for him as possible. He is very excited about his and any suggestions, advice, and/or help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks to all!

Answer 1

Jaco is a beautiful place to live! I went there last year and found it to be very exciting. There are lots of places for rent or even sale. If you have the chance check on http://www.cerrofresco.com if you are planning on investing in real estate. Also, tourism area is growing fast on the area so it will come easy for you to live and work there.

Answer 2

For jobs try this

http://www.jobsabroad.com/CostaRica.cfm

for rentals this

http://directory.classifieds1000.com/Cos...

Answer 3

Well go to Google and search for ticotimes.net for some reason you cant see the site when you go directly to the page but if you click on it from Google search engine you can see it. Its a cosa rican newspaper that is in English and of course all the ads are on the web site too. You can find a lot of places for rent or for sale there. You can also try looking in craigslist costa rica. You can also find jobs on those sites, especialy if you have a college degree, look up english teaching jobs if you want.

Answer 4

Ahhh he's lucky :D

About obtaining Costa Rican recidency:

All residency applications are governed by the Costa Rican Department of Immigration (Direccion General de Migracion y Extranjeria) which in turn is overseen by the Ministry of Public Security and Police (Ministerio de Gobernacion, Policia y Seguridad Publica).  Generally all applications for residency must be filed in your country of origin through the Costa Rican Consular Office in your area.  The only current exceptions are Immediate Relative Residency Petitions.  For list of Consular Offices in your area see the list on the Ministry of Foreign Relations site: Consular List.  

Be advised that the residency procedures change from time to time.   In recent years Costa Rica has become an attractive destination for many and local officials have not been prepared to handle the influx.  As such,  due to internal changes in the Department of Immigration and severe under staffing there  are considerable delays in processing new applications.  Also, the approval of residency is a discretionary matter of the Department of Immigration.  The Department of Immigration favors applicants that can demonstrate that they will provide a financial benefit and contribute to create employment for Costa Rica citizens either in the form of direct investment (investors, enterpreneurs) or indirect investment (Rentista and Pensionados) .  

The Residency options available for you in Costa Rica are discussed below:

Apartments for rent in Jaco:

You might want to google it in Spanish... :)

Heres a good deal I found for an apartment on the beach..only 500 bucks a month :) I think it's a one bedroom because only 2 people are allowed per unit .

As for jobs:

I think there are alot of options....hotels,call centers,tourist guide...very convenient because most require people to be fluent in english.They hire alot of Americans in Costa Rica!

Costa Ricans love Americans and are very friendly.They never look down upon Americans living there,the complete opposite..most appreciate foreigners loving  their little country!

Good luck!