Was wondering if there are any other pros in Costa Rica. I just booked an apartment in the city center (near the Sabanna) for somewhat cheap (~800/month), will be staying there at least 3 month starting in May. The flight was dirt cheap as well.

What should I know? How is cost of living (groceries, gyms, dinners etc.) apart from rent? Is there an expat culture or is Spanish heavily required (I am learning ). How is the culture towards foreigners and what should I expect in terms of live poker?

Since nobody answers I'll give my 2c although I never lived in CR, just visited a couple times. Very fun place IMO, very nice people, very open culture, and a lot of tropical paradise around. If I had no other obligations I'd totally live there. As far as COL is concerned it is not that low though, it's not called Switzerland of central america for no reason. Expect the same as low to medium COL places in the US. Some things are actually more expensive, mostly imported groceries, electronics, cars and a few others. Hookers and drugs are cheap lol.
For the live poker don't expect too much. It might have expanded a bit now, when I was last there, there were still some Covid restrictions. So there was a 1/2 game, couple of tables at the Casino in the Sheraton in Escazu on the outskirts. IME it was mediocre. I heard they reopened the poker room at the Taormina in the city center, last I was there it was still closed. There they play in colones, but also stakes were not very high. They have a lot of casinos, but mostly just crappy small ones with mostly slots and no poker.
You can get by with English and few words of Spanish almost everywhere, but the more Spanish the better will be your experience for sure.

Is online poker legal tho? Seems unclear from what I read online

im here in San Jose. Pretty chill overall, can play on stars, gg, acr etc. No partypoker. Live poker available in two casinos. Hotel Sheraton in Escazu and Casino Taormina near central San Jose.

hi greetings from colombia, can u share more info about the live games pls? stakes, rake, how many tables usually, overall feeilng, etc
thanks a lot

stakes are 500/1000 colones at Taormina and 1/2 I believe at Sheraton. Games are bigger on friday/satrudays. Two tables only at Taormina, 10+ at Sheraton, havent been there in a while. Rake is $8 max + $1 drop i think .

Thanks for the info, might check out the sheraton on a Saturday and report if I can get into some bigger games

yeah only 2-3 cash tables at the sheraton it seems. Really dry action too 1/2 mainly with lots of nits.

Wondering if anyone knows of any home games

There’s a good expat community, especially in places like Escazú and Santa Ana, so you’ll find people who speak English. But having some Spanish under your belt will definitely make things easier and more fun.

Live poker is around, but it's not super common. The Sheraton in Escazú and Casino Taormina in the city center are the main spots. The games aren't huge, but they’re there if you want to play. If you’re thinking of exploring a bit, you might want to check out costaelena.com. It’s a quiet and beautiful place on the northwest coast, perfect if you want to get out of the city for a while.