Costa Rica-Real Estate Condos for sale in Guanacaste

Yesterday I was admiring the view I get from my house and got the idea of sharing with you some of the very peaceful sightings you get in Costa Rica, especially in Guanacaste. I am not so talented on the photography field but, fortunately we have the World Wide Web and it is full with amazing photographers that have capture Costa Rica sightings the way they are and feel like, so here it is:

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Yesterday I was talking some friends I have made since I move to Costa Rica and they let me in into a very interested subject: What are people in Costa Rica afraid of? I don’t even remember how we got to that subject, yet it is quite impressive to see what troubles the minds of my neighbors.

The main thing as always is money. In Costa Rica economy decreases each and every day and with the raise on the price of the US currency their own currency goes way down, making their salary worth much less. Also, they seemed to be afraid having the utilities services prices go up because of this, so they are now taking extreme measures to be affected a little as possible: walking more, turning off lights and changing light bulbs to fluorescent ones, changing their diet and so on.

It is quite impressive to see how much Costa Rica struggles to continue having the peaceful life they know and to see they are willing to do so much about it. In Costa Rica, properties are not always linked to the same companies for utilities: while some people get their power from the ICE, others have contracts with different companies, especially in rural areas. I bring this up because these small companies are actually doing more to encourage saving that the ICE itself and it surprises me a lot.

Another thing they take very seriously is education. Costa Rica has one of the highest rates of education level in Latin America. Young people often work and study at the same time and it seems to be part of the traditions. Costa Rica does not accept mediocrity on this matter which something lots of countries could benefit from. Just the fact that every where I go I can easily find someone who speaks English fluently is remarkable.  

Last but not least is real estate: Costa Rica has amazing architectures and lots of homes are works of art. They like to take advantage of the area, the sightings and location and often buildings are thought out to comply with nature and the surroundings, which is always a plus.

This morning the price of the dollar in Costa Rica was extremely high and although my first thought was: Good! I can go shopping for household items today and spend less! I also thought about how this issue affects the Costa Rica people; either it is in a positive or negative way, even if my money is in dollars most of the time, whatever changes are made, will be affecting me too as a citizen.

As I said it before, my first thought was the fact that I could save lots of money by going to the market today, but that is because all I have in cash right now is dollars, if I had only colones I would be in trouble. In Costa Rica, housing is often charged in dollars, meaning that if you are renting and your salary is in colones, you will be paying more for your rent today, those are really bad news.

Now, on the other hand, for us “gringos” this is a real good chance to take advantage on getting real deals in Costa Rica real estate since prices will be cheaper to those paying in dollars or getting prices in dollars. Getting a home in Guanacaste will be cheaper now for those earning money in dollars and trust me, getting any type of Guanacaste properties is an amazing deal, either it is for moving to Costa Rica as it is for business.

The bad thing for Costa Rica is that their currency becomes an issue for those who have loans in dollars since their debt increases and their income lowers, this is something very disturbing for middle class and low class citizens. The only good thing is that their tourism business increased a lot this year, meaning that their economy may be less affected if more dollars come into the country.

My advice to US citizens still hesitant about purchasing real estate in Costa Rica is to take advantage of this currency changes and go ahead with it, this is the opportunity you were waiting for.

If you have decided to move to Costa Rica as I did there are a few things you should get as a must. The first thing I noticed was that the warm weather in Guanacaste gets a bit too hot at night, so make sure you get an air conditioner or plenty of fans for your home, you will be needing them.

Be aware that in Costa Rica, weather does change a lot and because of this bugs tend to move around depending on the hour of the day and the season. Around 4:00 pm you need to make sure you have a repellent near by because mosquitos come out hungry and unfortunately we are all new meat to them.

If you are moving to a rural area, you will find cheaper vegetables and legumes but some other items might be a little hard to get or a bit expensive. It is better if you go to the market as little as possible and get everything you need on one trip, that way you won’t have to spend gas every time you need something; this rule also applies if you move down town, not so much for the distances but because of the traffic. Remember that Costa Rica has more cars that people.

Costa Rica living is quite peaceful, you can get all services everywhere including water, electricity and even satellite TV, so If you are one of those people that think they will be living on a Tipi in the middle of the jungle, maybe you need to reconsider. Costa Rica is not a forest, nor an island, it has many forests and natural reservations but it is a city like any other.

Another thing you need to get as soon as possible is a cell phone line, this you will need to get from someone who is leaving or selling one on the side, cell phone lines are very few and the ICE which is the company that handles telecommunications only releases a few lines every so often. Costa Rica telecommunications will be changing in the next couple of years and there will be a lot more choices, not only for cell phone lines but also, internet connections, in the meantime, all we can do in the meantime is wait until the negotiations are finalized.

At the moment, most of the real estate Costa Rica has to offer will include utilities already yet, it never hurts to ask. If you are getting a car, get a 4X4, might be a little more money but in the long run you will be thank me. Costa Rica roads are not always in the best condition and you will save money.

One of the nicest perks you get from living in Guanacaste is the fact that you can be surrounded by the most characteristic Costa Rica traditions and experience each one of them at their best. Since Guanacaste is still a rural area in spite of the fast development that has been going through for the past years, people still keep their values and traditional activities, which something very admirable.

Among my favorite traditions I can mention the typical dances: Costa Rica dance is actually very colorful and joyful, they have a designated outfit to dance with which resembles the outfits used by agricultures of the yester years, I got so impressed with this that even bought myself a “chonete” which is some sort of hat they used to work under the sun. The main they dance is called “Punto Guanacasteco” and is very delightful and funny, the song has many bridges where the music stops and people say some sort of rhymes they call “bombas”, I can’t really understand them much but after they finish the rhyme everyone laughs and continues dancing. Costa Rica is a very artistic country, so all of these performances are very well thought and practiced; also they are a very big part of Costa Rica culture.

Necessary items to dance “El Punto Guanacasteco”

Now, my second favorite thing is of course food. Costa Rica has one of the richest soils in America, so they grow many different types of legumes and vegetables. One of the most incredible dishes I have tasted is the “picadillo”, the picadillo is a dish made with chopped vegetables, three types tops, ground beef and local spices: just delicious! Specially with a very refreshing “agua dulce”, trust me you cannot top that.

Another good thing is watching the cattle pass by, Guanacaste has many cattle farms and to be honest, I never thought that watching cattle pass by could be so relaxing. Costa Rica has many different things worth to experience; so far I am happy that I have taken my time to get to know everything slowly. 

These past few days I have not been able to keep up with the weather changes we have been having: one minute the sun is shinning like we are in the middle of summer and the next we are having a rainstorm.

Because of its location, Costa Rica weather changes drastically and constantly.  This is due to the location it has on the earth. Although it is a geographically small country, Costa Rica has many different weather types: from cold windy places up in the Alajuela mountains to extremely humid and hot in the Caribbean Coast, Costa Rica has what I like to call “wild weather swings”.

Atenas is a town in Alajuela, Costa Rica’s best weather can be experience there, although I have also heard that, that weather is the best in the world and not only in Costa Rica: very sunny and a fresh breeze blows all day long.

Limon, located in the Caribbean coast holds wonderful rainforests, Costa Rica’s most precious jungles. The weather is of course very humid due to the raining and very hot, I would compare it with Miami’s weather if ask me.

Puntarenas, is located in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and there is something very intriguing about this province: it is a long land strip full of coasts and beaches, yet a gorgeous place called Monteverde is located there and is one of the most wonderful rainforests I have ever seen; how can it be so close to the coast and be so incredibly windy and cold? I am actually doing research on that one, I will show you my findings later.

San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital is not so humid, it does rain a lot during the rainy season but the sun shines brightly during the summer time which is nice.

Now, my home, Guanacaste: Costa Rica has amazing California like weather here: sunny, dry, breeze, perfect for vacationing. Random rain may come along sometimes and makes everything fresher. I just love it here.

As a follow up from yesterday’s article I would like to bring a certain issue to your attention, just for commenting or considering. Although the car plates restriction was implemented in Costa Rica as one of the solutions to save gasoline, the owners of different companies are stating that they are actually spending more money on it.

Small companies that own only one or two cars are actually losing money since they cannot complete routes or make them anyways and get tickets for not complying with the restriction. In Costa Rica, economy is some sort of conjunction between a lot of different factors and small companies are a huge part of it, since there are so many. Big companies, such as Florida Ice and Farm (Coca Cola Co.) are also stating that although they have many trucks, arranging routes to follow the restrictions has become a very expensive issue.

Come to think about it, Costa Rica is in fact a small country, meaning that although the restrictions considers only the “Casco Metropolitano”, the majority of the people need to drive by this area no matter what to get to their jobs, schools, etc; there is no way to go around it and those who can o want to adventure themselves trying, end up spending twice o thrice as much money in gas, not to mention the condition the Costa Rica roads are in. At this moment and after reading about all these issues I cannot help but think that maybe, the restriction solution has worked for other countries, bigger countries and Costa Rica may be too small for this. As I have explained before, in Costa Rica, transportation is not well settled, neighbor towns cannot be connected by any bus route in some cases and people are obligated to go all the way to San Jose downtown only to come back to get to the next town. In Guanacaste, most people drive, yet there isn’t as much traffic as there is in San Jose.

Another big issue, has been the public transportation: bus drivers are demanding a raise on their prices to pay for gas, yet more and more people need to use buses to get to work and public transportation in Costa Rica was never set up for the increase of users: people are left behind I bus stops because they can’t get into the bus. The train could be the most reasonable solution yet the schedules set up can’t cover the high demand. I wonder how the Costa Rica government is dealing with this matter. If you ask me, instead of trying to convince people to move downtown, they should be encouraging people to move outside of San Jose. I live in Guanacaste and have the exact same facilities that people have in San Jose; Costa Rica is just not arranged properly in my opinion.

Real estate in Costa Rica is big and if the government would only provide more opportunities and chances for people to relocate outside of the capital, maybe a driving restriction that makes companies lose money won’t be necessary.

A few weeks ago the Costa Rica government approved a restriction that stated that depending on last number of your car plate, your car was not allowed to be driven on certain areas of San Jose during rush hour. On the first date, the traffic police wrote over 750 tickets to drivers not complying with the restriction. As the weeks went by, more and more people started to follow the law and right now fewer tickets are written everyday.

This restriction was approved as a solution for the excessive amount of cars driving on the main highways and roads as well as an opportunity to save money and gas. In Costa Rica, almost everyone owns a car and the roads are old, therefore thy were not built to hold the huge amount of vehicles that pass by everyday, causing extremely annoying traffic, road holes and accidents all over the place. Costa Rica transportation has become a circus in the last few weeks due to this restriction.

In Costa Rica, buses have established routes that have not been changed properly over the years; therefore, moving across town is still an adventure for many. For example, if you live on the East side of San Jose and your workplace is on the West side, it can take up to 3 hours to get there by bus, not to mention that you will need to take one bus, then walk about 10 blocks to the next bus stop or take another bus to that bust stop and then go West. Same thing if you need to travel the other way around.

A good solution is to take the train. The Tren Urbano, as I mentioned in previous posts is a lovely ride that goes from West to East and backwards during rush hours on weekdays. This ride cuts traveling time from one side to the other at least for an hour and 30 minutes.

Starting this Thursday, the restriction will be increased from rush hour only to the full 24 hours. If you are in Costa Rica, areas of restriction are what they call the “Casco Metropolitano” and it includes all the main roads of downtown San Jose. Regarding the rest of the provinces, there is no restriction for the moment. Make sure you keep in mind all this information if you are going to drive while you are in Costa Rica and also, make sure you carry all your documentation correctly.

To continue with more ideas and tips about moving to Costa Rica I would like to introduce to you the Pros and Cons of living on the “big cities” of Costa Rica with a very detailed explanation.

Just like in any other country of the world, Costa Rica real estate listings found online are mainly focused on retreats or getaways on paradise like places; not that this is bad, lots of us are actually looking for those kinds of deals, yet some people just want a change of scenery without losing the advantages of living in the city.

PRO: Costa Rica has a very well developed industry, meaning that, by living in areas such as San Jose or Heredia downtown gives you access to everything you would have in the US: malls, movie theatres, museums, every kind of shopping imaginable and much more.

CON: Every big city is hectic, noisy and full of people, and Costa Rica is no exception, so peace might be something easier to find elsewhere.

PRO: By living on a downtown location, you have easier access to visit Costa Rica in all its glory. From San Jose, you can get to every single place. If you need to get to any of the beautiful places to visit, Costa Rica downtown cities are the best bet to open up your traveling choices.

CON: Downtown areas are very insane traffic wise: people just don’t respect traffic signs. In Costa Rica, roads are like a war zone, especially during rush hour. If you are planning on driving anywhere in Costa Rica, my advice is to be very patient and extra careful.

PRO: Houses downtown may be much less expensive than properties in far away areas. In real estate, Costa Rica is advertised as a place to go hide out and lots of lovely properties are lost because they are never advertised. Make sure you know exactly what kind of property you need; in Costa Rica, real estate listings are not your only choice to find a nice place.

CON: You need to make very detailed researches about the location where the properties are located. In Costa Rica, you can find an awesome luxury home located in the worst neighborhood around. Ask questions, be a perfectionist.

So far, this is what I have, as always, feel free to comment or ask questions.

And yet again I come with my quick guides to help you make your relocation to Costa Rica easier. Today I bring you some information on how to actually get the house you need in Costa Rica without going through too much hassle., so without further ado, here it is:

• The most important thing is of course, housing. Think about how many of you will be moving, the ages of the people in the family and if any special requirement has to be included in the search of a home such as handicap access or special children’s schools.
• Location: In Costa Rica there are many different types of areas, not like the US. If you want to keep a similar live than what you had back home, your best bet is to get a home in the Escazu or Santa Ana area, which are very similar to any suburban place in the US. Some Ticos even make jokes saying that Escazu is a different country and that they need passports to get in (which is not true, but the differences are remarkable). A lot of north Americans that have moved to Costa Rica live in those areas, so the commerce has actually become a little too USA like, you should not have such a cultural shock there, yet it is just as nice and cheaper to find a home elsewhere.

• Schools: There are many different types of schools in Costa Rica. Education in this country is very important and very good, in some cases even better than many other countries. You can find good public schools as well as private schools focused in different values: arts, languages, religion, etc.  
• Services: All residential areas in Costa Rica, regardless the location, have all services available: water, electricity, phone, garbage pick up and such they only thing you will not be able to find are gas companies, so if you were planning on using a gas stove or some related item you need to purchase your gas in a container.
• Costa Rica Real Estate: As I have explained before, you need to make sure you are dealing with a serious company. Don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you need. Be clear and precise about your needs and requirements. When they show you a place you are interested in and show a price, investigate about the location, just to make sure you are not overpaying. The most pricy areas of Costa Rica real estate are usually anywhere near the coast, the mountain side and the Escazu and Santa Ana, make sure you are aware of it.

This will be it for right now, in a few weeks I will come up with more advice about moving to Costa Rica and how to become a real tico.