QCOSTARICA – Costa Rica has become an ideal destination for foreigners who choose to work remotely, highlighting digital nomads from Chile, Portugal, and the United States who have lived and worked from here, some for periods of months and in other cases for a year
Places like Jacó, Manuel Antonio, Santa Teresa de Cóbano, Tamarindo, Samara, Montezuma, and Monteverde, are among the many destinations chosen by the digital nomads.
The country, they say, offers them adequate management of the pandemic and the possibility of combining the work from their countries of residence with surf lessons and trips to the mountains and more.
Viviana Gomes (Portuguese) working as financial and strategy director of a consulting firm in Mexico, said that if you like surfing and nature, Costa Rica is the ideal place.
“In the first instance, it is an incredible country. They have controlled the pandemic very well, one of the main reasons that made me stay and not go to Mexico City, my city of residence,” added the foreigner, who lived in Santa Teresa and arrived in the country in February of last year.
The pandemic, like most, took her by surprise on Costa Rican soil and she extended her stay in Santa Teresa de Cóbano, Puntarenas, to the point her legal permanence permit allowed.
From there she combined her professional work with surf lessons.
“The beaches are wonderful to surf, the affectionate treatment of the people in all the towns was outstanding, the climate enchanted me, as well as nature and the national parks. Costa Rica is ideal to come to work remotely,” commented Raúl Reeves, Chilean entrepreneur and digital nomad, who since January has taken advantage of his work staying in and enjoying destinations such as Jacó, Nosara, Tamarindo, Santa Teresa, and recently Monteverde.
Stephen Johnson, Amelia Sklaroff and Mujesira Dudic, all three from the United States, will also share the benefits of working remotely from Costa Rica, through the YouTube channel of the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT), the Costa Rica tourism board.
Currently, a project is being discussed in the Legislative Assembly to give special benefits to this type of tourist, so that they can stay up to a year and a half in the country working.
If the initiative is approved, remote workers, in addition to this benefit, would have the possibility of opening bank accounts and the use of the driver’s license of their country of origin, among other advantages, if they meet certain requirements that ensure wealth to the country.
According to the ICT, by staying for longer periods than a normal tourist, digital nomads make more purchases in the local market, which encourages the economy hit by the pandemic.
They go from acquiring traditional tourism services, such as car rental, to using additional services such as health centers, beauty salons, supermarkets, sodas, laundries and greengrocers, among many others.
A study by MBO Partners reveals that, in 2019, seven million Americans identified themselves as digital nomads, of which 59% were young professionals (millennials), who have a passion for travel and adventure.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that, as a result of the 2020 covid-19 crisis, 88% of companies worldwide promoted teleworking; Before the pandemic, it was only 4%.
