Costa Rica-Real Estate Condos for sale in Guanacaste

Doing some checking on this blog, I noticed I haven’ made a post on one of the most important things to know about Costa Rica: banks. I feel it is very important for everyone to know how banking works in this country not only for common knowledge, Costa Rica economy tends to work different than what we are used to so all we foreigners need to be on our toes.

There are two types of banking entities in Costa Rica: estate banks and private banks. The main bank is Banco Central de Costa Rica and they handle everything related with economy neutrally: nothing goes by unless it is approved by Banco Central first. This bank is located in San Jose. Costa Rica does not have any branch of this bank anywhere else in the country.

Banco Central de Costa Rica, San Jose. 

The other estate banks are Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (BNCR), Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), Banco Popular and Banco Credito Agricola de Cartago. The BNCR is one of the oldest estate banks, their main offices are located right next to Banco Central in down town San Jose and they own the tallest building in Costa Rica; these two are the most trusted banks when it comes to personal use and business negotiations. Banco Popular was created to help middle low class and low class citizens achieve their goals providing them with helpful loans and helping them with their businesses. Last but not least Banco Credito Agrícola de Cartago is also an estate entity focused on helping agriculture expand, especially in the Cartago area.

Private banking is also very common in Costa Rica. BAC San Jose could be considered the biggest one and they handled one of the most important credit card companies in Costa Rica: Credomatic (as well as American Express). Scotia Bank has branches all over the world and in Costa Rica they are well known because they provide financing choices for middle class to high class citizens for business, housing and even car purchases. Other very important private banking entities are HSBC, Banco Cuscatlan, Banca Promerica and Grupo Uno, which provide regular banking services such as savings accounts, loans, credit cards and investment opportunities, yet they don’t handle businesses as big as the other private banks.

Today Costa Rica celebrates one of the most important holidays they have: Independence Day. Costa Rica was officially declared an independent country on September 15^th, 1821 and although they received the news on September 14^th, they celebrate receiving the news with a parade of paper lanterns at 6:00 pm sharp. Costa Rica Independence Day is celebrated on the date the news was officially received however, the independence document was not signed and official until October 29^th, 1821.

Since that date Costa Rica became a Republic and began living under their own laws and duties, no longer under the jurisdiction of the Capitania General de Guatemala which was actually ruled by Spain. Costa Rica wanted to have this opportunity since as we all know their beliefs are very different from the rest of Latin America and besides being the “odd man out” Costa Rica is, in some areas, a role model, starting with the fact that they are the only country in America without an army since 1948. Also they based all their laws with the principle of peace. Costa Rica also tries to prove that knowledge can be the best weapon making education mandatory and free for everyone up to high school and including 3 public universities to support their very high rate on literacy.

Costa Rica may be hated by their closes neighbors, mostly because Ticos do tend to appear clueless and as if they couldn’t care less about the rest of America, yet their efforts and assistance provided to other countries is not always taken into account mostly because they don’t make fuzz about it. Also other countries think that since they are not willing to fight in a battle or war, they just don’t care. They do oversee the fact that Costa Rica provides asylum to thousands of immigrants and gives them everything from social security to education for free, so in a way they help by doing tasks other countries won’t do.

Costa Rica land is rich not only soils but in people and I am very proud to be a part of these country. Its people have opened up to me as if I was a Tico myself and I am also celebrating Costa Rica Independence Day since they helped me with my own search for peace and good living.

If you have ever lived in New York or know someone who does you are probably familiar with the apartment rental problem and how rent controlled apartments work. People go crazy whenever someone is leaving one of these apartments; they wait years for someone to actually die to get one. Costa Rica rentals, at least permanent rentals, are becoming just as hard to get.

Young ticos, all they can do is dream…

Young people in Costa Rica who are starting their independent lives, are going through quite a ride trying to get a place to move in near their schools and work places: rent is way high for a person that studies and works, so they have to figure out a way to be able to afford rent and avoid wasting money on gas (if they are luck y to own a car), transportation and food. Costa Rica has very low salaries compared to the costs of food every necessities, affordable apartments or homes that work for them are very few and hard to get, normally those apartments tend to cost as much as their salaries or more, so whenever normal priced apartment shows up they will do anything to get it. As I have explained before, real estate in Costa Rica has taken a very bad turn for Ticos: prices on the real estate listings have become affordable only to foreigners, especially “gringos”.

Young professionals do try to make ends meet by having 2 jobs or freelancing while having a regular 9 to 5 job. Costa Rica has one of the highest literacy rates in the world, meaning that young professionals are actually a majority and affordable apartments are not. Costa Rica business panorama is more and more focus on getting international businesses interested, which is great for us, yet the locals are the ones that have to pay for it.

Before I found out about the peace and quite of Costa Rica, Guanacaste, and started this very well deserved retirement, seven years ago, I was getting ready to go to work and the kids were running around the house and although the TV was on, I was not able to hear it, I was not paying attention to the screen anyways yet for some reason at look up at the TV: The World Trade Center buildings were on fire and I had only been there 7 seven days ago doing business.

The image on the TV just unbelievable, I though for a minute that it was maybe one of those TV movies when I realized the news logo was at the bottom of the screen. The 9/11 events marked us all very deep and it was only the beginning. Between 15 minutes both towers were hit:

8.46 - Flight 11 crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

9.03 - Flight 175 crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center.

By 9:30 am that morning people in desperation were throwing themselves out of the windows of what was left of the Twin Towers at that moment. The desperation in the voices of the families, the horror on the images on TV was just indescribable and it marked us all forever.

I had to make a stop and ponder about that moment today and pay respects to the families of the people who died in this terrible attack. Here in Costa Rica lands all those awful feelings don’t seem to be so close to me anymore, but I know that some people still feel it like it is happening right now.

Costa Rica newspapers did dedicated a few words on their issues today, nothing too particular, but I guess you had to live it to actually know how it feels, I don’t blame them. Life is much better now and we can sit and rest. The attacks of 9/11 will be part of our everyday life as North Americans and 9/11 itself will always mark a different way of living forever.

Today I am very happy to announce that I have compelling prove that al the beauties I speak about Costa Rica have, in some part been validated by a world known entity: The Punta Islita Hotel in Nicoya, Guanacaste has been chosen 9^th among the most beautiful hotels in Latin America and number 94^th in the world by the travel magazine “Travel+Leisure”.

Punta Islita is located in a tropical dry forest and is one of many beaches you can find in Guanacaste, it is located right on the Peninsula de Nicoya and it is one of the most peaceful and pristine beaches of Costa Rica: seclude peaceful areas, wonderful forest trails and long beaches all around can be easily compared to heaven. Guanacaste is of course known for its paradisiacal views, mountains, beaches and natural reserves, as well as volcanoes and a variety of activities and Punta Islita is of course part of this wonderful place.

Also the Punta Islita Hotel is one of the few hotels in Latin America that practices “responsible tourism” meaning that they have compromised to do business without compromising any of the natural resources in the area and actually taking care of the environmental treasures that surround it, helping the Guanacaste, Costa Rica community and even holding an Art museum in their premises.

It is very important for Costa Rica tourism that all these wonderful places are recognize worldwide, since actually tourism is one of the most important economic activities of the country. Also, it is important that people interested in Costa Rica real estate opportunities are aware that most of the developments in the area do care for the ecological resources and that no harm is being made to Costa Rica treasures at all.

Living in Costa Rica is my dream come true, it is really funny how you imagine your retirement to be peaceful and fun; the places where you see yourself resting, the views everything, you never know there is actually a place like the one you imagine until you set foot in Costa Rica.

Guanacaste is my home, it is the place I worked so hard to enjoy and I love it, but I have to admit that there are so many wonderful places here, I might move around a little more and I have learned so much about Costa Rica real estate, I know now exactly what to look for in most of the places I am interested in: construction, architecture, services, location, prices and little details that a year ago I would have missed.

This town is guarded by a powerful volcano in Costa Rica

Guanacaste properties for example are usually quite big: one of the perks of living on the pacific side is that big properties can be taken advantage of with nice fruity trees or big pools, so that is a plus right there. Another good thing is that the weather during the summer time is not humid at all, but very dry instead, so cruising around from beach to beach is one of the most fun activities. Costa Rica has also the advantage of having both: great rainforests and beaches and either one is accessible through Guanacaste.

Now the San Jose area is well known, greatly developed and although traffic can be torture, Costa Rica shows a very cosmopolitan side on this area: theaters, shows, art galleries, awesome restaurants, beautiful buildings and access to every other province is a lot easier from San Jose. Costa Rica can be an awesome destination and the Capital can be a nice place to start getting to know the culture and prepare your schedule during your vacation.

Alajuela, Cartago and Heredia are very peaceful: amazing volcanoes, impressive sightseeing and fun activities can take you on a trip through out Costa Rica history and ecological treasures, if you don’t really like to live by the ocean per se; these are good choices since these towns still keep the peace of the Costa Rica yesteryears.

After an entire week of storming rains and flood, Guanacaste is finally feeling a little bit of peace this morning when the sun finally shone over us. Tropical storm Hannah did not go through Costa Rica with all its strength, yet the little that crossed by put 1039 people in shelters after their homes were flooded and rivers overflowed over 1.30 meters above ground these past days.

Some families may have lost most of their valuables, however there were no human loses or even hurt people through out the storm. Most of the properties that suffer damage were small wooden homes, old constructions that were located in areas in Guanacaste that were known to be dangerous in case of bad weather. Costa Rica is now clear and the sunny weather is back, meaning that all that is left to do is start with damage control.

Some kids seemed to have fun with the water after all…

Some development projects had to be put aside during the past week due to the weather but everything appears to be good to continue for now. Although Costa Rica did not expect to go through any emergencies or damage caused by Tropical Storm Hannah, it is impressive how quickly they all reacted to the problem.

This week, the affected locations in Guanacaste will go through extensive check ups to see exactly what needs to be fixed first so most of the families living in shelters can go back to their homes. In Costa Rica, beaches and riverside residencies are built to endure any issues that overflowing rivers o bad weather can cause, yet some constructions are a little bit old and low budget houses are sometimes located in alert zones. Most of the luxury villas are located in high level properties in Guanacaste, yet if you are planning on purchasing land, make sure to verify if there are any alerts at all in the area.

Stripper Cow and “Bistek Encebollado” : Cow Parade Costa Rica

(Pictures by GGC)

This year Costa Rica joined many other countries around with the very much expected Cow Parade, which is the world’s largest public art event: Artist from the selected country will create original designs on cow statues provided by the organization and for a few months all these original art pieces will be exposed to the public on the main cities of each country; at the end of the show, the cows are auction and the money collected will be donated to an specific cause. While the cow sculptures remain the same each artist is supposed to bring it to life with inspiration and creativity.

Costa Rica was picked to hold the Cow Parade this year and did and excellent job just like previous cities have such as France, United States, South Africa and England. During the first week of the exposition a lot of confused locals looked at the cows shocked and at the police had to intervene to make sure the pieces of art were not vandalized. Costa Rica is well known for having very talented artists and it was definitely shown during the Cow Parade: ecological themed cows, ordinary portrays of the life in Costa Rica, social themed and even some were made tributes to well known characters of San Jose.

The auction for the Costa Rica Cow Parade auction took place last Wednesday at the Museo de los Niños and although not all the cows were sold, they managed to raise a good $108 000, which will be all donated to charities in Costa Rica such as the Hospital the Niños, Hogares CREA (drug addiction rehab center) and the Fundacion Obras del Espiritu Santo which is a charity organization created and managed by just one priest and a whole bunch of volunteers that take care of underprivileged children of San Jose, Costa Rica. The rest of the cows will now go on a tour through rural cities in Costa Rica so they can also participate and enjoy the fun and beauty of the Cow Parade.

Today I am afraid I have bad news: yesterday Tropical Storm Hannah left over 45 homes flooded in Guanacaste. Costa Rica has in fact been suffering a little with the rains and strong winds caused by Hannah passing by the near islands in the pacific. So far it there were only storming rains during the afternoon hours and a yellow alert, but yesterday, Hannah pulled her strongest pours on the north side of Costa Rica.

Apparently the storming rains will continue during today and tomorrow and the road between Malpais and Montezuma has been closed, so plan ahead if you were thinking of riding through that area. Costa Rica was not supposed to be so affected by the Tropical Storm Hannah so much, actually Gustav and Ike don’t seem to be close to the Costa Rica area at all yet, and yellow and green alerts have been set to prevent further problems.

Emergency in Guanacaste (picture by Periódico Al Día)

The main problem that caused the flood was that several rivers of the Guanacaste area, especially in Santa Cruz where locals experienced drastic overflowing of the nearby rivers which caused gutters to rise above the streets. The Comision Nacional de Emergencias is currently taken care of the damage situation and helping the affected families, thankfully, no human loses are reported so far. Costa Rica is so aware if natural disasters, their emergency teams are clear on how to proceed and the entire situation should be handled in the next 24 hours. Guanacaste beaches will continue experiencing rains and strong winds during the weekend.

I am trying to find out is any of the local help associations is receiving canned good for the affected families or clothing since they are located in temporary shelters right now. Although Costa Rica is always prepared for these types of issues, a little extra help is always needed. I will make sure I post any updates that may come.

While reading newspaper and random articles online I can see how people have different ideas and preconceptions about Costa Rica. Articles in some blogs are mostly written by temporary visitors and their views are completely subjected to the experiences they had on their trip, mostly I must say; news are always in search for stuff to amaze and get people’s attention meaning that they are focused on causing an impression whether it is good or bad. Costa Rica lifestyle is rather calmed and although some crime does happen or problems appear it is just like any other country, actually better than some.

Although I reside in a peaceful rural area, I have access to all the facilities and services I was accustomed to in the United States; I am not going to say that all rural areas in Costa Rica are this advanced, but at least the choice to have a peaceful home is available in a lot of areas. Real estate listings in Costa Rica don’t really specify what type of area a property located in, yet all the realtors have good knowledge of the benefits or lack of benefits of each location.

In my neighborhood things are calmed, sometimes maybe a little too calmed, but I believe it is because Costa Rica is a calmed place, not too mention that the coasts lifestyle seems slow and detailed. The most dangerous thing I have seen here since I moved was when some tourist got mugged at the beach in Tamarindo, they didn’t really got mugged, they just went into the ocean for a swim and left all their stuff unattended so it was bound to happen; overall Guanacaste is a nice place to call home.