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[quote=”costaricabill”][quote=”camby”]
all good info and insights, for me, A/C is pricey in states or in CR, likely. Dont mind some heat, its more about humidity, though hate cold more…Loraine, if you dont mind sharing some info, can you PM me your area, real estate agent if and when you get a moment….Bill, if I recall, you live on teh Nicoya Pen coastal area, correct? With normal breezes,etc, would think that it would not be as hot and sticky-correct? also, I read in the Valley, that it gets down at night to around 60-65 F, give/take, what is the normal lows for your area?[/quote]

Camby, yes I live in Playa Samara, also known as “ground zero” since the “big one”.

First I should disclose that I was born in Houston, lived there until the mid-80s, moved to Tampa and lived there until retiring and moving to Samara in 08 – – so I am used to humidity. I grew up with it, have lived it, have fished and sailed and boated in it all my life, so even though I am used to it, it does bother me more as I get older.

I am like a mushroom, I must have humidity. When we used to go skiing in Colorado I would get nose bleed after 2-3 days as my nasal passage dried up. Same thing happens when we go up to Arenal or Monteverde. The weather is pleasantly cool but it is just too dry for my body to assimilate!

So yes, there is humidity whenever you are near the Pacific Ocean in CR. I specifically say “Pacific Ocean in CR” because if I said “the ocean” then there would be all these posts about Africa and the Sahara Desert and Australia and whatever desert they may have…..

My impression is that the further south you go in CR the more humid it becomes, and conversely, the further north you go in CR the less humid it is.

By way of example, the rain forest comes all the way to the Pacific Ocean’s shore down in the Osa and even up as far “north” as Manuel Antonio area. Not so here in Samara and on the Nicoya Peninsula. We have a totally different type of vegetation. It is green and lush most of the year, but it is more hard wood and not your prototypical “rain forest”.

And I am in the Tamarindo area at least one day a week on “an assignment” and I can assure you it is less humid in that area than it is here. I have been traveling up that way for almost 2 years and I am amazed in the difference in our separate climates being only 60+/- km apart as the crow flies. That area has a shorter rainy season (hence, a longer dry season) and gets much more “dry and crunchy” during the prolonged dry season.

Could I live in either the Osa, the Manuel Antonio area, the Tamarindo or Playa Del Coco area? Absolutely! But again, I love living near salt water and I can tolerate the humidity.
As far as temperature, that depends on the time of year. Right now, the house is open and the digital thermometer reads 78 degrees F.

The lowest I have seen is was in February each of the last 3 years, and that was 68F. But I have friends that live 10-15 minutes away that are sitting outside right now in 72F looking at the Milky Way and the lightning far out in the Pacific. I live on the first ridge line back from the ocean at about 110m elevation. My friends live at 350-400m elevation, and I can see some of their houses from my neighborhood! They enjoy the lower humidity and cooler temps, I enjoy hearing the ocean crashing ashore and seeing the beach and reefs.

We do use AC at night for over half of the year (set at 77F) because it is more comfortable than not having it on. March – July are the warmest and most humid, and being honest I have to say that May can be miserable, especially at night. That is the only month that we don’t eat outside. Between the heat and humidity, it is too much like Houston, where the only difference between day and night is that it gets dark at night.

Actually, during Nov – Feb I fall asleep outside almost every night looking at the Southern Cross with my trusty 6kg guard dog at my side. We often wake up to walk into my bedroom where my wife has the AC on, and discover that it was cooler OUTSIDE than in the AC bedroom!
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Thanks Bill, very good info on the weather.I plan on another visit next spring (USA) to look for a possible rental to live in for a few months after I retire.

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