Can I work from home in Costa Rica? Well the answer is yes and no. I will explain it further on in this article. Now that more and more companies, due to the COVID-19 situation, are telling their employees to work from home, Costa Rica is a great location to do it from.
Personally, I have clients that have purchased properties in Costa Rica, and they love it so much they decided to live here full time and made the move – but they continue to work for the same company back in North America via the internet. Internet service in Costa Rica is very good. They have broadband service up to 100 megabytes. Not fast enough? Then there is a screaming fast fiber optic option with 500-megabytes of service. The service is only available in select areas at this time but the footprint is growing quickly.
So how do others successfully work from home in Costa Rica? Well, after they found the right property in paradise and moved here full time, these folks started the residency process. You cannot legally stay in Costa Rica past the 90-day stamp in your passport, hence, starting the process to become a legal resident is important. For assistance with this contact me and I will help guide you to the right people to obtain your Costa Rican residency.
Now, because of COVID-19 the world is changing. We all see it. Social distancing, wearing masks, and the list goes on. Many companies started work from home programs a few years ago, as there is no real need for a worker to come in and sit in a cubical all day or behind a computer all day in an office environment when in reality the employee does not really need to be there. Companies that do value their employees are making it easier now by having more work from home.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) took a flash poll of its members worldwide, of which I am proud to be a member, to find out what members are seeing with their clients and local markets relating to real estate.
From the National Association of Realtors:
On May 10th and 11th, NAR conducted a flash survey of members on the impact of the coronavirus on their market. 61% of members have donated to or volunteered with non-profits helping with COVID-19. 75% of members overall said that none of their past clients have asked them about mortgage forbearance. Half (49%) of members expect that, when state and local economies reopen, employers will continue to allow workers to work from home for the near future, or beyond reducing the need for office space.
As you just read above, “reducing the need for office space” basically means more people will be working from home. Why not work from your Costa Rican home? I do. I have a home office with everything – printer, laptop, etc. Heck, it is where I am writing this blog from! There is no better place to be right now during this COVID-19 pandemic. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I made the move over 12 years ago to live here.
Would you like information on how you can work from your own Costa Rica home? Just drop me an email at JosephEmanuelli@remax.net
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