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We were pretty convinced that we wanted to buy property in Atenas, but have several friends who are pushing us to check out Grecia. Pretty familiar with Atenas as we are renting there, but don’t know much about Grecia. Can anyone give us an idea regarding how Grecia compares to Atenas in the areas of: Land and housing costs / climate / medical resources / anything else you feel may be of interest.
Thanks,
Bogus1I am also curious about these two places. I have visited both and do not know much about them except they both supposedly have higher concentrations of north americans in residence. Other than that dubious distinction, (which probably guarantees higher land prices) I haven;t yet seen much difference between those places and many other Central Valley towns such as Palmares, Naranjo and San Ramon. So why so many americans in Grecia and atenas? It cannot be any small perceived advantage in more english speakers because, let’s face it, eventually expats are going to have to learn a good bit of spanish no matter where they live.
Edited on Jan 21, 2008 08:10
Regarding Grecia, I have visited about ten times, and really enjoy the cool climate, good people, the Saturday farmers market, restaurants, and within a few kms, you can find most everything you need. In my opinion, the upper roads still need to get better, downtown stop signs are faded to white, but overall a very well maintained place. If you need a car, Grecia is the Motor Mile of Costa Rica, with more than 70 used car dealers. However the bus goes everywhere. There seems to be no real advantage in lower land price, but you can easily find an older home, inexpensive to buy or rent.
It is hard to compare to Atenas, as I have only been there twice, however each time it was hotter than Grecia. Atenas looked like it had everything one would need as well, closer to the beaches, more central location. From what I have seen, San Ramon seems to have a lower price land, with some areas giving a view of the Gulf of Nicoya.We live outside Grecia and are very pleased with our choice. As compared to Atenas, I think Grecia has a better-developed downtown with more amenities. What’s more, it’s much higher in elevation which means that it’s cooler.
It’s very difficult to get a sense of property prices. I think the best approach is to decide what you can afford to spend and see what’s available in the area that looks the best to you. There certainly are attractions to San Ramon, Palmares, Naranjo and other towns as well.
We have just finished renovating a Tico house a couple of kilometers outside of Grecia and we absolutely love Grecia and San Roque and the whole community feeling. There’s everything we need in Grecia, even a movie theater! The square is the happening place, and it’s the people that make the town the bright, delightful spot we are making our second home.
I’ve lived in San Ramon 5 years, and I probably would have been as happy in Grecia. The downtown area of Grecia is very busy with narrow streets, while San Ramon is a bit more spread out and wider streets. Grecia has also become somewhat of a bedroom community for Ticos wanting to get out of San Jose, while San Ramon is a bit farther so less attractive for commuters.
Jose
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