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After you have spent hot & humid weeks at the beach, the dryness of Guanacaste is refresing, The dust is annoying though. The international airport there is a huge asset. It eliminates the need to enter the maze known as San Jose.
The southern Zone has a nice new hospital. I wouldn’t buy into the new international airport thing though. It’s one of the most biologically sensitive areas in the world. You need to be sensitive to the community.
Here are some questions you should ask yourself? Do you speak Spanish or intend to learn? If you don’t speak Spanish or do not intend to learn than you may find yourself socially isolated if you move to a community with few foreigners.
What do you like to do to stay busy and can you do it there? The central valley offers much more activities and opportunity to meet progressive people than the beach areas. Dominical has a very clickish group of gringos. Some have said that they are a hard nut to crack. However there are many opportunity to buy goods and food in San Isidro de El General. One of the best ferias (farmer’s market) I have ever been to is there. The restaurants are not comparable to the San Jose area though.
If you are buying property here, are you buying for lifestyle, investment or both? If buying for investment, think about the area’s wider appeal, not just what you like. The same goes for building. If you build, think about the resale potential. Don’t build anything to out-there (abnormal), if you know what I mean.
Is it the surf that you desire? Some beach areas have less availability to fresh quality vegetables and are boring. I find the Samara area to be like this: great place to visit but wouldn’t want to live there.
How far do you wish to travel to shop? The Jaco area has some decent shopping because of the Auto Mercado, etc, and likewise the Tamarindo area. However, these are higher end more costly stores. The beach areas are hard to compete with San Jose area for cost of living issues. Also you will want AC there and that can get expensive.
One issues with the beach areas is lack of modern facilities and the lack of medical professionals. The best doctors and dentists are in San Jose.
Be sure to visit the hub cities that you will be frequenting, such as San Isidro dE El General, Liberia, Nicoya, Santa Cruz, etc.
I think one of the best beach communities is Hacienda Piniella. Guarded, rural (its several planned communities within a cattle ranch), with two fantastic beaches to the north and south (Avellanas and Langosta). Great surf at your back door without ever having to leave the ranch. I own a lot there and have friends there. Let me know if you want to check it out.
Several new books about living and buying in Costa Rica are available. I would suggest buying them. Be sure to research the culture too.
I have a home in CR and travel there frequently. Drop me a line and lets meet. Am leaving to CR shortly. Great rates on flights right now out of LA.
You know you have made the point when someone’s only option is to pick apart your spelling! Ha! You got the drift without spell check. David, exactly what part of the post didn’t make sense. Adapt to folding toilet paper to toss in the wastebasket or adapt to the nuances of doing business here. Do you need a government manual to figure it out? Or maybe Google origami…
Yes David you more than most would know what the right wing looks like as I am sure you see it in the mirror evey day (LOL).
Bill nad Denise, I live in Encinitas and hang out at the pannicin in Leucadia. mail me and lets get together and talk Costa Rica. cr4me1234@yahoo.com. Let me know when you have mailed me and I’ll get right back to you and we can all meet up.
Maravilla that is on target, it is about the small pipes and for the life of me I cannot understand why I see houses built with overkill foundation and small plumbing pipes?? Kawhat?
“if you visit Tico’s home, you should respect their wishes.” Isn’t that interesting, advocating respecting tiolet customs but insisting one must not follow bussiness customs such as ansewering the phone and locking up yourself. My we have selective cultural assimilation patterns don’t we? Could it be that telling someone you cannot tend to the most basic bussiness chores or they are violating the law could be designed to disuade more gringos from working here? Just a thought: but, toilet paper oragami is perfectly acceptable so not to offend the host. Seems the dicatomy is a bit ethnocentric.
iceide, you should take some of the opinions here with a grain of salt. Many of the people on this forum are lerft wing, that is, they take the theory of the law to the inth degree. Law theory is important but you have to balance it with the customary practices here. For example: “Even to answer the phone and take reservations or lock up at night, is considered ‘work’.” Well theoretically, it may be, but practically this is total misinformation. Every foreign business owner I know answers their telephone and locks their doors. Total rubbish.
The residency thing is yet another can of warms where theory and practice again part ways. You should find yourself a consultant that knows the ins and outs of things to facilitate your needs. Consultants are a great liaison between attorneys and clients, and usually prevent attorneys from charging you for an unneeded course in the theory of Costa Rican law.
This forum has gone round and round regarding the two camps (follow the letter of the law and be different from the locals, because you are not one (which I totally disagree with); or do as they do in Costa Rica because you are in Costa Rica, and you have the same right as citizens except of course you can be deported (a worthwhile difference).
However, if you follow the social mores and take time to learn Spanish, you will get what you want and usually a lot easier that the by-the-book types. I am not suggesting bribing anyone or doing stupid or obviously illegal things that the locals do not do, just watch the locals and learn. You would be wise to go with the flow instead of disregarding customs because most ordinary Ticos (non-attorney types) think gringos who put the letter of the law before customary practices are foolish. A good attorney (I know that was probably an oxymoron) well tell you so too.
Scott – I feel for you having to put up with such blatant bull headed people who would never do what they do if they had to encounter people face to face. Only hiding behing their keyboard allows them to be so obnoxious. However, the anonminity is precisely what gives them the couage or gall that they never developed outside the cyber world.
This Ann Bing has nevr explained her intentions and I still can’t figure her motivation excepy to be obnoxious. BTW I still do not understand why people have it out for you … jealousy?
The only thing that bugs me about this site is the “I don’t personally sell real estae” statements which it is obvious that most find as a charade but for whatever reason you do it .. is your reason, and the my way or the highway attitude you have with some of the people that post here. Wouldn’t it be better just to interect less. You know the problem with the written word is it is actually less comunicative that speaking to someone in person. You have less variables to use when writing, such as context, intonation etc. Anyways you would be up for less scrutiney if your were less opinionated.
I still salute you for your consistentcy and hard work. I think you are a Costa Rica legend in the making.. I think the legend status deserves at least a 10 year run though… good luck
Where are you building in San Isidro? Conception or on the south side? Freddy Zamorra is great and lives locally. Just depends on what level of construction you want and your budget? What are you expecting to pay per square meter? Are you looking for granite counter tops etc etc?
The problem is those who tell lies often get the sale and those who tell the truth often do not. The liars appeal to people’s greed. Those who speak the truth appeal to peoples reasoning.
Now which do you think is more powerful – greed or reasonoing.
Geed is an emotional response and reason is a logical response. Being greedy only requires a feeling, a sensation to satify an emotional hunger.
Being resonable requires thinking. Sompeople are just too busy to think… and let their greed overwhelm their reasoning.
Dos Brasos area in the Osa is where to pan for gold. I am also ashamed to say that I knew this?!?!?!
BTW its a very long ways from Heredia…. 10 hours or so by car but you can fly to Puerto Jimenez (that is if the airport is open – I heard it was closed for repairs????)
