Costa Rica-Real Estate Condos for sale in Guanacaste

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.

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.

Since last week another great advance in the film industry for Costa Rica has hit the movie theatres: El Camino is another film that depicts the struggle two young immigrants go through trying to find their parents who migrated to Costa Rica in search of a better life.

The lead actress herself, 14-year-old Sherling Velásquez strongly identified the plight of her character: She never got to know the mother who left her and her younger brother with their grandmothers more than a decade ago to come to Costa Rica in search of a better life for herself and her children.

Every year, hundreds of Nicaraguans trespass the Northern border of Costa Rica due to the high level of poverty they have to live with in their country: once they arrive they get low paid jobs as security guards, construction workers and house maids in the best case scenario; some end up selling goods on the streets illegally. Although in Costa Rica education is free, these immigrants cannot complete their studies since the low salary they receive is hardly enough to get by and send back to their relatives in Nicaragua, so very few of them find better jobs than those, not to mention some might be staying illegally in the country.

In Guanacaste, Costa Rica has the biggest immigration rate of Nicaraguans, being the proximity to that country. Just like in the United States immigrants not always get to taste that so called better life they searched for and end up hanging out with the wrong crowd in some cases; you could say that the issues created are very similar to the ones we North Americans are used to living with Mexican immigrants in our country: some are real honest hard workers, some may be blinded by frustration and end up being a burden to society.

It is not good to assume that all immigrants will create problems or become criminals, the way Costa Rica handles the immigration problem is actually helping those who care staying here legally granting them the same benefits a regular Costa Rica citizen has so they can succeed, of course not everyone is willing to go through all that paper work and working illegally in any country is of course a problem.

Most of you are probably at home relaxing, spending time with your families or doing stuff you usually can’t find time to do, and some of you, I have learned took advantage of the long weekend and enjoyed a nice weekend getaway: Costa Rica beaches were quite crowded this weekend, at least in Guanacaste. The bad thing is that because of Hurricane Gustav, effective time at the beach was only in the morning time on this side of the world.

Me and family decided to go for ride and noticed how incredible some residential developments are turning out in Liberia: Big homes, nice details on the garden areas, well watched, I have to say Liberia is really turning into a big city, with all these facilities and access to everything. Costa Rica has the advantage of being able to build a city and not mess up with the natural environment and that is definitely a plus.

                                                                          Small farm in Guanacaste, Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, Liberia and San Jose are basically the most important towns when it comes to technologic adjustments and development. The main reason for this is obviously that these are the two towns where most of the visitors use to visit Costa Rica and because most of the companies and economic activities take place. This doesn’t mean that the rest of the towns and provinces are not well developed; some people come to Costa Rica thinking they will be arriving into a secluded jungle and that could not be further from the truth; the main difference between a regular town in the US and Liberia, Costa Rica is that we north Americans managed to erase all natural resources to develop a city, while they treasure the idea of combining both.

So far, I have become an expert when it comes to Costa Rica real estate, properties in Guanacaste and what to check on when purchasing a home near the beaches and mountains. Costa Rica has changed me from the boring business man I was for so many years, into a relaxed man, willing to learn about anything and everything. I could not be happier.

Un Techo Para Mi Pais (A roof for my country) is an organization that should be admired. They have helped giving a real home to those who cannot even afford a small room to sleep with the help of Costa Rica companies and people’s donations. Costa Rica is in fact a very rich country, unfortunately there is an ugly side to all the beauties this country has: Poverty in Costa Rica has increased over the years and more and more families suddenly find themselves without a place to live.

Another big issue that contributes to these people’s dramatic lives are the natural disasters caused by earthquakes and storms, the poor planning on some housing developments in marginal areas of Costa Rica have left hundreds of families on the street. 

Little kid in Los Guido, Costa Rica and volunteers building Un Techo Para mi Pais

The organization was created in Chile and has grown over the years by including more and more countries with a successful rate. Costa Rica is now part of the organization and this week, hundreds of volunteers will be conducting a massive collection of money with a campaign called “Un rojo por un techo” (a red for my country: 1000 colones bill is red). A lot of Costa Rica university students and middles youngsters have enrolled as volunteers and will asking passers by to donate 1000 colones to help built homes for all those people who need it. They set up a display in downtown San Jose of small room-like structures made or zinc, carton boards and old wood that resemble very accurately the type of homes these people are forced to live in.

Costa Rica properties in these neighborhoods are usually donated by the government to help families, but although they receive a small piece of land; they have no resources to build a home. Some other families just arrived on the area put together a wood and steel structure and hoped not to be removed from the area. In Costa Rica it is very common to find non-lucrative organizations to help those in need and the success rate of these campaigns is quite promising.

When I finally made the decision of relocating to a environment my main goal was to find peace, although I was never looking to get away from learning new exciting things. Costa Rica caught my attention when I friend of my brought pictures of his last vacation: there peaceful sceneries as well as great variety of fun things to do, so I began my research about all the possible locations I might like in Costa Rica. Guanacaste was of course the winner.

I fell in love with the views: Guanacaste Mountains seemed like another dimension to me, being so close to the ocean, the way the colors looked and that calm sensation was priceless. I first came to Costa Rica to get an idea of what it may feel like to live in such place and it was exactly what I wanted. Then I visited possible areas in Guanacaste: Flamingo beach was nice, but the nightlife was a bit overwhelming for an old guy like me; I liked the marina, so I knew I did not want to be too far away from it. Next stop was Tamarindo: great for youngsters and surfers, my children would enjoy it and it was a pretty neat town, although I was not a fan of the tourists (ironic, isn’t it). Playa Panama was so beautiful I honestly thought it was the place, until I realized I was going to be too far away from commercial places like supermarkets and drugstores. One of the most impressive beaches in Costa Rica is Carrillo it has one of the top ten sunsets in the world but again, not so close to urban areas.

Yes, this could be your everyday sunset for the rest of your life…

It was a hard search and it took a lot of work to finally come to the conclusion that if I was going to enjoy Costa Rica, Liberia was the best choice: every single place I loved was close driving wouldn’t take me more than an hour in most cases and it had every single service and facility necessary to live comfortable. Costa Rica was exactly what I was looking for.

In Costa Rica, luxury villas a lot cheaper than they would be in the US, and a lot more luxurious if I may add: a four bedroom, 2 bathroom villa with air conditioning, nice size swimming pool and a very decent piece of land could cost from $225000 to maybe $900.000 and that doesn’t even count the incredible views, weather and variety of activities. Guanacaste also has many residential projects and a condo can be purchase a very fair price anywhere in Costa Rica. Schools are available anywhere and the most prestigious private schools have branches in Guanacaste as well, so if you have children, no matter if they are in elementary school or college, education is nearby and accessible.

As you can see, there was really no reason to hesitate on my decision. My only recommendation is to be completely sure of what kind of property in Costa Rica will work best for you and you half way there.

To some people Costa Rica is a just a huge rainforest in the middle of the continent where it would be nice to take a nice long vacation. To some other people, it is an island with pristine beaches where surfers go to hide (It is not an island by the way) and to some of us Costa Rica has become our home and we are happy to embrace everything that comes along with becoming a Tico.

I am fool for culture and arts, so I take my time to indulge myself with local crafts and let me tell you, Costa Rica arts are quite impressive, it actually amazes me that they don’t get more spotlight around the world: paintings, photography, music and believe it or not, film making. There have been a few films made in Costa Rica, yet there was no school for film production up until a couple of years ago. This month there are three different film productions from Costa Rica featured: El Cielo Rojo (100% Tico Pop Corn movie), El Camino (several countries from Central America and mainly Nicaragua and Costa Rica were part of the production) and Ta Tau (a documentary on psychological views on tattooing). Most of these films were made with very little budget but the talent has given great critics to the pieces.

I have checked newspapers and seen interviews on television and Costa Rica artists are very proud to showcase their work, according to reviews I have read the audience is very amazed and thankful. Although there have been some difficulties young people have raised their voice claiming to be taken seriously in the industry, which I must admit: I admire. Costa Rica has shown potential and the carriers of that potential are here to stay.

It is definitely worth to check that cosmopolitan side of Costa Rica treasures, the insight of the culture itself and how technology is becoming a huge part of the evolution of the arts industry in Costa Rica. Soon Costa Rica real estate will not be one of the most important markets in the country and arts such as photography, film making and music will take its place. I strongly recommend you try to get a glimpse of these pieces of work; they are definitely amazing pieces of art.

This information really makes proud about choosing to move to Costa Rica. Reading the news yesterday I found a little piece of history that supports my idea of how wonderful a world without an army (like Costa Rica has lived in for over 50 years) could be better.

Since 1980, Costa Rica, the first country in the modern world to abolish its army, was chosen to become head quarters of a very important institution: Established by the United Nations, University of Peace is an independent university for postgraduate studies. From Costa Rica, University collaborators have been establishing programs in Africa, Central Asia, the Asia Pacific region, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and North America where they aimed to teach inhabitants to do things based on the UN Charter, the Declaration of Human Rights.

One of the main reason why Costa Rica has become a top destination for both vacationing or relocation is the fact that the way of life in this country is based under a “peace comes first” ideal and this view of the world has catapulted Costa Rica destinations to be part of the most important in the world.

The University of Peace was established in Costa Rica because of that view and because that view is exactly what they want to portray and teach the world. From Costa Rica, they have managed to expand missions defending peace and human right all over the world. At this moment, John J. Maresca, the Rector of UPeace is beginning the expansion of the University to take detailed care on Human Rights issues that may have been neglected in the past. Graduates of the University of Peace are now leaving Costa Rica to become spokes persons for peace and the respect of human rights all over the world.

Now, this reassures me that relocating to Costa Rica was a great idea. Sometimes, real estate in Costa Rica focuses too much in the cold areas of property selling and forgets that buying a property in Costa Rica not only includes a piece of land, but also includes learning to live a place where guns or fights have never had the last word.