Costa Rica-Real Estate Condos for sale in Guanacaste

The North American community in Costa Rica is so big that this year’s Thanksgiving dinner is going to be just like if I was in the US. In my neighborhood, there are even people who rented villas for their Costa Rica vacation buying all the ingredients and more for their thanksgiving dinner and a friend of mine who owns a catering service told me he was almost overbooked for today.

Here in Costa Rica thanksgiving is not celebrated, given the fact the Mayflower is only a North American tradition, yet the amazing increase in ex-pats has mixed the thanksgiving celebrations with the Costa Rica culture and more and more Ticos join their American friends into enjoying the wonderful feeling of thanking god for everything we receive. I think that is probably why Ticos receive this celebration with open arms, they feel that sitting and thanking for all the wonderful things we receive is worth to enjoy and celebrate.

In my case, I will thank this wonderful year I have spent in Costa Rica, a country that certainly feels like home and for the wonderful people I have met here. I will however pray for all the people who lost their homes at the terrible floods we had this year. To all the gringos around the world Happy thanksgiving and I hope you get to enjoy it with people you love and God bless every one of you.

According to a recent study conducted by the Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo among 40 000 people from Latin America and the Caribbean, the happiest and most satisfied people are the Costa Rica citizens. Their analysis took into consideration some of the most important facts in people’s everyday life such as quality of education (which in Costa Rica is probably the best in America), health services, home and work environment.

Costa Rica had the highest scores according to the study: Costa Rica had an average of 7,4 close came Panama at 6,8 and finally México con 6,6. I have to say that it doesn’t really surprises me, all you have to do is walk around for a couple of hours and see that those scores are definitely real, In Costa Rica people are plain happy. Costa Rica lifestyle is simple and laid back, people have gorgeous sceneries in Costa Rica so there is basically beauty to enjoy everywhere; development rates are almost the same as in the US and in Costa Rica education is at the top of the importance list, there is really a lot to be happy about.

Another thing that comes to mind is the fact that in Costa Rica, health services are available for everyone who needs them anytime and anywhere, both public and private practices, also, as an example, in Costa Rica, plastic surgery is one of the best in the world, not to mention way cheaper than in it is in the US.

Let’s not forget that Costa Rica doesn’t have or need an army either.

As you can see, it is definitely obvious why people in Costa Rica are happier than people in any other Latin American Country….

Although it is sad a lot of people do search Costa Rica looking for wild sexual adventures and either they don’t care or want minors on their itinerary. For some twisted reason there are people that have heard of a place I definitely don’t live at: Costa Rica sex industry. The saddest part is they are not only looking for regular prostitutes, they are in fact looking for under age girls in Costa Rica.

I one of those main stream Hollywood flicks “The Sweetest Thing” actually makes a terrible and awful remark when one of the supporting characters tells one of the main characters that what he needs is to come to Costa Rica and that for “5 pesos” a girl will give him the time of his life. Costa Rica sex industry is just as hated here as it is anywhere else in the world and trust me if they catch someone trying to engage into a sexual relation with a minor they will prosecute them. Another thing in Costa Rica, money is called “colones” not “pesos” and 5 colones are basically a penny you wouldn’t even care to bend down to pick up.

Just last week A 31-year-old Reno man was arrested for allegedly coercing a 16-year-old girl from England to fly to the United States for sex then he planned on have her move with him to Costa Rica. The man actually fell for that tolerance with sex with underage girls urban legend a lot of people fall for. Costa Rica girls may be gorgeous, but to be honest, most prostitutes here are not Ticas at all; most prostitutes in Costa Rica are actually from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Colombia.

As you can see, Costa Rica law is definitely serious about the zero tolerance for illegal sex. Costa Rica is a peaceful and well educated country; it will be very hard to expect less from their authorities once you see how things really work around here.

Just like very useful and fun Tren Urbano in San Jose, Costa Rica will now implement the use of a new train, this time from the Costa Rica Capital to Heredia city the entire re-instatement project ended up costing near to $1 074 000. This awesome news was released this past October 25^th by Incofer.

After all the hard, long work of the first step to get the Heredia train up and running, the first trips will take place during the third week of December as recreational trips, so people can get used to the route, check the official stops and see how long it will take the potential regular travelers to get to their destinations. Costa Rica government did manage to go around a long series of issues before being able to get train route working. The new Costa Rica train to Heredia will begin normal operations in January.

It is amazing how Costa Rica, a country that has so many transportation problems has managed to find solutions in methods that were already taken as obsolete and forgotten. This new route will make the trip to Heredia a los faster and easier for many people in Costa Rica, given the fact that the work force in Heredia is one of the largest in the country due to the several Free Trade Zones. Costa Rica has also opened up for business to new world renowned companies such as Amazon and Experian this year.

The implementation of this train route is expected to help with the collapsed traffic during rush hours along the highway between Heredia and San Jose. Costa Rica traffic problems are worse and worse everyday; a regular trip on this highway during rush hour can hold one up to 2-3 hours, therefore extreme measures had to be taken.

While doing my daily research yesterday, I came across a blog very similar to this one where a woman who has apparently traveled the world her whole life writes about Costa Rica. I often read those articles since the blog shows up every time I look for news about Costa Rica in Google but yesterday I was beyond surprised with her article.

 This woman, who claims to have lived here in Costa Rica for over 16 years claims that Ticos do not have artistic talent and that probably it is not part of the Costa Rica education to be artistic. I was talking to a Tica friend of mine and she felt insulted for the article, given the fact that she is a photographer and painter herself. Also, I may have only been living here for a few months but I have to admit: Costa Rica arts are quite impressive. Almost half the people I meet play at least one instrument, I have also read 2 books that were simply wonderful, written by Costa Rica writers and I have bought paintings made by locals as well.

There are a least 6 concerts advertised every week for local bands that play anything from Cumbia to Heavy Metal, all with original material, not to mention Maria Jose Castillo who got 2^nd place in the Latin American Idol competition just last week. So I wonder how is it that someone who has lived here for so long hasn’t been able to check how creative people are in Costa Rica. Tourism itself is also embraced on culture: ocarinas, glass figurines, accessories paintings and all sorts of hand made sculptures are displayed and on sale everywhere.

Actually every time I go to San Jose, I always notice a small fair with local artists on some park, where they paint; right on the street, circus shows are presented as well and musicians are always part of those little celebrations. I think this woman is definitely seeing a different side of Costa Rica; arts are everywhere, so I wonder where exactly she hasn’t seen creativity in the people for 16 years.

If you are planning on visiting the lovely Costa Rica during the holidays you better hurry up, there isn’t so much room and reservations are running out.

Costa Rica experiences its best weather from December through April and people (locals and visitors) do take advantage of this at its maximum. If you wish to spend a quality vacation in Costa Rica during December you will need to begin making your reservations now, otherwise it is going to be very difficult to find a place later, especially if you are planning on visiting Guanacaste. Costa Rica has many different choices: luxury villas, regular rental homes and hotels that vary from small cabins up to celebrity status accommodations.

Since I lived here for a while now, my recommendation is to get a rental villa, Guanacaste has too many beaches and they are all pretty close from each other so a villa in Guanacaste, no matter the location will give you different choices and you can use your time to its maximum: visiting natural reservoirs, volcanoes, beaches and getting into fun activities such as ATV, Canopy and snorkeling; also costs are lower, therefore you can also save some money to buy souvenirs and rent a car a for example.

Tourism in Costa Rica is one of the biggest products, sort of speak, it is one of the few countries in the world that haven’t compromise their natural resources to include technology and nowadays development. Vacation packages in Costa Rica are also not expensive at all and once you come here, you definitely fall in love with the place, I can’t begin to tell you how many people I have met that came here for a short vacation and decided to stay for good.

Another good thing about renting a Villa during you Costa Rica vacation is that you can get an actual taste of what living here is like and trust me, you cannot regret it. The peaceful ambience, the liberty of going wherever you want and the easy access to services, grocery stores and fun activities makes a huge difference, while staying at a hotel may not be so suitable for exploration of the area.

You might wonder what the main difference is between living an entire life in the big city where technology is everywhere and development is part of the day of everybody and what is like to leave all that behind and relocate to a completely different country, such as Costa Rica, the main difference is that actually there are a whole bunch of differences.

At the beginning all my friends thought I went senile: Relocating to Costa Rica? Moving the whole family? Yes, but not because I was senile, I just got tired of the stress and the insanity of the big city. Costa Rica offered me everything I secretly desired: peace, a normal life, less dependency to a whole bunch of gadgets that became expensive and unnecessary and most importantly: PEACE.

Finding my home in Costa Rica was not easy of course, but finding a home anywhere is hard nowadays. The first thing was learning about Costa Rica: people for example are very different than US people: They are happier, the care less about the stupid mundane things, yet they are proud and well educated. Women are the ones that impress me the most. Costa Rica women are very liberal, they don’t put up with anything at all and they don’t really need a man in their lives, they just happened to liked being married, but in many cases they even work harder or make more money than the husbands.

In the US people are not so close to their roots, properties in Costa Rica are not only investments but treasures: Soil is rich, the views are stunning and the entire ambiance is filled with a very peaceful feeling. Land in Costa Rica Is very well taken care of and it has many uses: cultivating and constructions are not the only two choices. If you take a chance to do some research in real estate, make sure you try and find everything there is about the place where you are moving in Costa Rica: mountain side, rain forest, beach side or event down town.

Picture by Periodico Al Dia

A couple of months ago I made an entry about a Costa Rica girl who manage to be part of the top 15 contestants for the Latin version of American Idol. You can find that entry on this link: http://buildingzoneconstruction.com/costa-rica-real-estate-blog/2008/07/24/latin-american-idol-costa-rica-needs-support/. Well the contest is almost over and that Costa Rica girl is now a full grown woman who is competing among the top four participants as one of the finalists.

This past weekend the production of Latin American Idol allowed her to visit her family and friends and make a small video of her life in Costa Rica as part of the final shows before the real Latin American Idol is chosen. This past Friday the Juan Santamaria Airport was a filled with fans since the early hours of the day who wanted to take greet and meet the Costa Rica singer. People collapse the streets between the airport and her house in Heredia, they held banners and gave her flowers and even a Cimarrona (group of local musicians that play typical songs) awaited her arrival in Barva de Heredia. The young Maria Jose Castillo did small performances for her fans and spent time with her family, friends and boyfriend and although she did not have much time to rest, she said that her batteries were charged and she was really to leave the name of Costa Rica up high.

The support given to the performer has shown that Costa Rica is proud of their contestant and even small activities took place to collect money for messages to vote this next Wednesday, when the Latin American Idol semifinals will take place in Argentina. Even big companies such as Neutrogena and TCBY ice creams have worked on promotions to make people vote: Neutrogena paid for huge banners place in big bus routes and TCBY has been giving away ice creams in exchange for votes.

The hopes are high and the faith is big, the Costa Rica people have been supporting Maria Jose very strong and proving that a small country can have idol material and that the power of pride can join countries, since a lot of the Central American people have supported her with the same power Costa Rica has. The next performance for the top for will be held this next Wednesday, voting will be enabled right after the show ends and to support Costa Rica’s performer all you need to do is sent a text message: Maria at 43657. I honestly wish the best of luck to her and Costa Rica.

Recently the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) has submitted a request to increase the electricity rate for residential customers by 30% to the ARESEP, if this request is approved a regular family in Costa Rica, that usually pays a bill of 10.000 colones (a little less than $20 ) a month will have to pay over 3.000 colones more each month. The ICE is actually pushing an increase of 46% and the 455 mil users of the Compañia Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL) will come to experience and increase of almost a 56%.

There have been several increases in utilities bills during the past few months, Costa Rica is experiencing one of the fastest increases in years and a recent study confirmed that regular consumption products like rice, beans, meat, toilet paper and cleaning products are over three times more expensive now than 3 or 4 years ago. Unfortunately in Costa Rica, cost of living is increasing unparallel to salaries and families are the ones getting more and more affected by this discrepancy.

As I have published before, Costa Rica is indeed a paradise for foreigners, where the dollar became king and Costa Rica citizens are hardly able to afford a middle class life. The very sad part of all these is that in Costa Rica most of the people have college education and all the hard work is not paying off enough. A College graduate minimum salary hardly covers rent rates in middle to low class neighborhoods and loans are hard to get with those salaries.

Oscar Arias, Costa Rica president second time around has claimed he feels “tired” of trying to please the people which has become frustrating to all the hard working Costa Ricans that can’t see any progress at all. While properties in Guanacaste are on the most wanted list for young professionals due to the fast development of the area, prices are high and it seems property owners rather inflate their pocket with US investment.

While everyone I know is getting ready for the daylight savings time change I sit here on a hammock and rejoice on my routine: there is no daylight savings in Costa Rica!

Usually by this time of the year I begin working on the schedule changes required on everyday life, in Costa Rica we don’t need to do that at all. Modern Daylight Savings time was proposed in 1907 by the English builder William Willett and many countries have used it since then; details vary by location and change occasionally, for example in Great Britain it is just called summer time. There are different views on this practice: Adding daylight to afternoons benefits retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours yet it causes problems for farming, entertainment and other occupations tied to the sun, therefore studies are still going on about how beneficial this change is for everyone.

Daylight savings time is practiced mostly in countries where that have the four seasons throughout the year, in Costa Rica there is only two seasons: dry and rainy therefore there are no really visible changes in the daylight, the main difference may be that it does gets darker about 20 minutes earlier than usual, but it is actually hardly noticeable.

Also, during the past few days Costa Rica weather has changed a lot and there are no more hurricane or storm threats, it has actually been very sunny and peaceful, usually September and October are the wettest months of the year so we should expect some more rain. Guanacaste beaches are receiving little more visitors than in the past three weeks and for what I experience last year the Costa Rica tourism rate drops after December for foreigners, but locals know that January and February are the best months to visit Guanacaste.