The Central Valley is the place for me, and maybe it’s the place for you. When I was still living in Florida, I researched online a place to settle in Costa Rica.

I wanted to be near the cultural center of San Jose with its symphony, museums, movie theatres, fine restaurants and the only English-language theatre, but I didn’t want to live IN the capital because I needed security, tranquility and green space between houses.

As a single woman, my priority was to make friends quickly. I read about the Women’s Club, which met west of San Jose, and I hoped to befriend women in this group. I wanted to be near people who spoke English while I became bilingual in Spanish. I applied more criteria until I found what fit me best.

Everyone has different needs and priorities when they search for a home. Yours may be like or different from mine. If you start with a cultural need or a need to be around English-speaking people at least at the beginning, the Central Valley is the place to investigate. And west of San Jose is sizzling.

This series of articles focuses on three contiguous towns that are located west of San Jose. Escazu (closest to San Jose), Santa Ana and Ciudad Colon (furthest from San Jose) are all connected by the autopista (highway) and by the Calle Vieja (old road).

Escazu is the focus of this first article. As in any geographical area, development is densest closest to the capital, and that is true of Escazu. Popular with both Ticos and expatriates, this town consists of three villages: San Raphael at the lowest level; San Miguel, also called Escazu Central, further up the mountain; and San Antonio at the top.

Each village has a distinctive character, yet each maintains a flavor of quaint Costa Rica by celebrating the saint’s day for which the village was named with carnivals of food, rides and trinkets for sale.

The road leading into San Raphael de Escazu from San Jose is lined with hundreds of commercial establishments. Familiar restaurant chains, such as Tony Roma’s, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s, can help ease your entry into a foreign country, but you won’t be disappointed with most of the excellent independent businesses.

This is the mecca for personal care services (hair and nail salons, personal fitness and yoga centers, massage therapists), chic furniture stores and elegant car dealerships.

Because of its close location to San Jose, shopping, and excellent private schools, real estate in San Raphael de Escazu is in great demand. Many condos are located just off the Calle Vieja in the neighborhoods of Bello Horizonte, Paco and Guachepelin.

Within walking distance of Scotiabank, the cornerstone of San Raphael, are two gourmet meat markets (Don Fernando’s and Lamm’s) and three supermarkets, one of which, Saretto’s, carries a large selection of goods imported from the United States and Europe.

Just about any bank that exists in Costa Rica has a branch in San Raphael de Escazu…

Many fine doctors have offices in Guachipelin near or at Hospital CIMA, the Costa Rica’s private hospital that is affiliated with the Baylor University Medical Center in Houston. This state-of-the-art medical facility provides top-notch medical care. Many foreigners come to Costa Rica to have dental surgery at a fraction of the cost that’s charged in the United States or Europe, and high-quality dentists can be found in Escazu.

Near CIMA on the autopista there is a multi-level shopping mall called Multiplaza featuring stylish and upscale clothing, jewelry, home goods, and other products that you would find in any desirable mall in the States. Eight movie theatres with stadium seating show first-run movies at Multiplaza.

Nearby on the autopista are Office Depot and PriceSmart, a membership department store where you can buy discount pharmaceuticals, tires and goods in bulk.

Higher in elevation than San Raphael is San Miguel, also called Escazu Central, where you experience a less commercial, more communal atmosphere. The village is laid out in a grid, with many small shops and restaurants. This is a working-class neighborhood with down-to-earth people.

You’ll find modest real estate at reasonable prices here. For a beer, a meal and the sound of English being spoken, drop by The Pub. And two doors down, you can take Latin dance lessons at Merecumbé.

At the top of the mountain is San Antonio de Escazu. Large lots with majestic views of the Central Valley put a premium on much of the real estate here. You can experience a traditional campesino (farming) feel in this area.

Step outside your door and you’ll see horses parading by or colorful oxcarts carrying sugar cane to the mills or coffee to sell at the recibos (barns where coffee is measured and sold). Three sugar mills still exist where sugar cane is melted in large vats, poured into molds and sold as tapa, which can be used as a syrup for pancakes or diluted to make sugar drinks called tapa dulce. Tapa is known as the flavorful brown sugar of Central America.

Of the three western San Jose jewels, Escazu offers the most variety in lifestyle and real estate options, from the American-flavored San Raphael, to the working-class Escazu Central, to the pastoral San Antonio.

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Written by Margie Davis in Costa Rica, with help from Amy Stivers and Pat Bliss

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.