Where to live in CR ?

I posted this same reply on another thread recently.

I hesitate to recommend any towns, it is a highly personal choice. We first thought that we wanted a view of the ocean on the west coast. We spent three hours freeing our rental SUV from property just above Dominical. It was in the cooler month of November and it was three hours in a climate that was too hot and humid for us. We had a list of priorities which we amended after the above excursion. Our new priority list read something like;

An elevation of 2500 to 3000 feet above sea level

An acceptable distance to good medical care

An hour to an hour and a half from an International airport

An established community with good rain water management

Decent grocery shopping nearby

A small acreage for some privacy

We went to Costa Rica in November of 2010 for three weeks; there were three of us, my wife, a co-worker from work, and myself. We started out by renting a 4x4 SUV equipped with a GPS, now WAZE, (a must!!!). We started out by looking in the Lake Arenal area then moved to the central valley (Alejuela, Heredia, Atenas, Grecia, Sarchi, etc.) Next we moved to the Santiago de Puriscal area and from there we looked all down the pacific coast as far south as Palmar Norte. We had no interest in the Nicoya peninsula or the Caribbean coast. I don’t know if you have been to Costa Rica yet but there are numerous micro climates and they change drastically within a thirty minute drive. Finding the right climate was high on our list and it took some time. Just a couple of examples:

Monteverde - yearly mean temperature is a low of 61 and a high of 64 degrees Fahrenheit (16-18 Celsius)

Samara - January mean temperature is a low of 65 and a high of 83 degrees Fahrenheit (18-28) Celsius. These are two extremes but it gives you an idea considering there are twelve micro climates in Costa Rica. We found the Puriscal area best suited for us, it is about 3000 feet above sea level and is in the type of climate that we won’t need air conditioning or heating.

Thank you Terrynvin,

We are thinking something like a Jan feb scouting trip and thinking to land at Liberia LIR and then heading to the lake Arenal area and the Central Valley, then head west.  Why did you not care for the Nicoya Peninsula  ?

Thanks for the vehicle recommendation.  Any stay over recommendations.

Mike

@slausonbeanco

Very smart.  Come here first... no strings attached.  I like your plan.

What TerrnViv wrote is really good information.  Only you know you... and since you haven't been here yet, you will be surprised!!   The microclimates are sudden and can happen even during a 'hike' up into the local hills... the 'land' and the 'clouds' are a lot closer here than in other parts of the world.  You can walk in a cloud forest.

I too thought I'd be near a beach.  Barefoot, sleeping in a hammock, dozing half naked with a sweaty bottle of beer and my pet monkey under the roof of our open-air, tiki hut with 'Gilligans's Island' written all over it...  I was dead wrong.  The coast was expensive, hot, and many places were not a good, 'comfortable' distance from hospitals.  The 'emergency' travel time would most certainly be death for me in some of those places.  Remember... the ambulance has to travel TO YOU first; and then find you (we don't have addresses in much of CR) and then get back to the hospital before you are dead.  Most ambulances do not have medics.  ???

I live 45 minutes south of La Fortuna (town) and go there for the occasional aimless afternoon of shopping and drinks or to the natural hot waters.  The lake is very pretty and I would love to live in the hills overlooking it... but the 'for sale' signs up there were all in English... thus, it was going to be all Gringo Pricing and I didn't want that for me.  I opted for a tiny village south of Fortuna, near the main highway; I can take a bus (I don't drive) and go to Fortuna, Quesada (city with everything) and San Ramon...where there is also everything you need and easy access to airport (SJ).  The area is full of rivers, both big and small, so finding a swimming hole is easy... there are even thermals nearby that are far cheaper than anything in Fortuna.  Wildlife is abundant... I ran into a pack of Capuchin monkeys on my morning walk this past week... not normal, but they were fun to see and watch.  Such Acrobats!!!  Bird life is amazing.  This is western San Carlos (canton) and can get from 12-18 feet of rain per year ...  so it is wet.  But wet means Green and plant life here is jaw droppingly lush and beautiful.

Completely not what I expected to be living in or near... but interesting, and I love it and the people.  Once you get away from areas that attract foreigners and even, tourists, the prices DROP significantly.  My area has a scattering of expats from all over the world... even Iran; but we are not concentrated nor even organized... we simply 'bump' into each other on a bus, or in the hardware store.  Funny... Walmart draws expats like flies... so you can use your old tongue to have a real conversation... and then never see each other again.  I sort of like that.

Perhaps make a 'needs' list before you come and see if you can't make some of your stops adhere to that list... you don't want to get seduced into a place that will end up being a struggle with unpaved roads, no hospital, crappy shopping, and hot.  That doesn't sound like retirement. 

But we are all different.

Best of luck.

Thank you..

You must like the cool weather to go to 3,000 feet.

looking at landing in Liberia and driving to lake Arenal and visit some communities in route. Like possibley San Mateo, Orotina, Escape, Garecia and La Fortunas,  Do you have any thoughts on these locations ?  Then head west to the coast to Tambor, Cobano, Motezuma, Tamarindo, Paquera and Playa de Carmen.  Do you have any opinions or comments on these locations ?

Short list of likes.. Water, nature, culture, no monsune to deal with, and a great local vibe.

Mike

3000 feet .... cool weather?????

Depends on your definition of cool.  The top of our development is at 3000 feet and the lower half at 2500.  Year round, the normal morning low is 21 deg C.  It is 7:15am now and the temp is 24 deg C.  Normal highs range from 28 (in the cooler months) to the lower 30's in the dry season.

We looked at the west coast but it was too hot and humid for us!

We looked at both coasts but the year 'round temperatures were too hot for us. And then there's the humidity.

We live at about 4,200 feet above sea level and find our temperatures almost ideal. Three thousand feet would be too hot for us.

Rub it in 'dave'...

I'm just under 1000... but I've adjusted. 

I may need to have my head examined.

@daveandmarcia

IMO: Campo weather is the best!  Example Arco Iris de Cajon, Perez Zeledon San Isidro

1 hour away from beaches/panama border.

I will have to check that area out.  When is the best time to visit ?

    I will have to check that area out.  When is the best time to visit ?
    -@slausonbeanco

The best time to visit any place in Costa Rica is in the middle of the rainy season, to see it at its worst, and  during the dry season, to see it at its best.

@daveandmarcia

'dave' ...  by far, the best single sentence response I've ever read here.   

I too think that coming to CR during 'el invierno' (wet season) is important; and I intentionally came here, for the first time, during August.   I learned that it didn't always rain every day... but it can!!,  and that most times, it rained late afternoon/early evening; which incidentally, cooled things off nicely.

Nice or 'good' weather is relative and depends on where one comes from.

Peace