Costa Rica-Real Estate Condos for sale in Guanacaste

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.

If you happened to live or plan to move to San Jose, Costa Rica and get a chance to use their buses there is a huge issue that cannot be miss: the poor planning on bus routes. In Costa Rica, public transportation has been going through several changes in the past few years, mostly because of the several efforts the government is making to safe gasoline and put an end to the very bad traffic jams in the metropolitan area. It is obvious that in Costa Rica there are more cars than the roads can manage, therefore traffic jams and huge ground holes are a common issue in down town areas.

One of the solutions was the addition of the Tren Urbano, Costa Rica’s old train back in business has become a great solution for people who need to travel from the east to the west and viceverse, cutting up traveling time by half and giving a choice for people who used their car on these route. They are actually considering including a route from San Jose to Heredia to help with traffic problems in the Prospero Fernandez highway, although it appears that including this route in Costa Rica transportation between provinces might cost more than expected.

Another awesome resort (still in the works) is the fist Interlinea buses in Costa Rica. This was offered a while ago and unfortunately there has been quite a lot of planning and several discussions about it, yet it appears that the issues preventing the route to begin operations are resolved and it might start running next month. Costa Rica business expectations with this new route is to avoid having people waste time going downtown to otherwise close neighborhoods.

This change will be very beneficial to properties in Costa Rica that are not so easy to access in the main cities and for sure will show a price difference in real estate. Costa Rica is now on great path with all these transportation improvements.

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.

Everyone has needed directions at one point of their lives, especially in foreign countries. We have stopped and ask for a location many times in our life and have probably gotten the correct information. In Costa Rica, addresses are not so easy to understand. There is a very unique issue in Costa Rica: locations such as streets and avenues are not named. According to some people they were named at some point, and some people will claim they now their street number and aware of which avenues go by where, but it may not be true.

There are specific ones that everyone knows, most of them in down town San Jose: avenida 10, avenida central and avenida segunda are the ones people know the best, not because they are named but because is common knowledge in Costa Rica to know this information. If you happened to need directions for a restaurant they will use key points to guide you: a sleeping dog, a famous building or store, a library that went out of business so you can no longer see the sign or a cut off tree, very weird things like that, Costa Rica directions are definitely priceless.

One tends to get used to it just because it comes with being a Costa Rica citizen and because people don’t really know any other way to give directions. But now, all of those freaky directions will be over! Grupo Corporativo M&M designed a project that will begin installing the first street signs in the municipalities of Tarrazú and Limón in the coming weeks; San José will follow as the next municipality to get street signs on its roads before the end of the year. Costa Rica was the only Latin-American country without street signs and people just got used to it somehow.

The iniciative and project will help postmen and regular citizens a lot; sometimes giving directions was a struggle, especially for people in rural areas where there are not so many key points. Other municipalities in Costa Rica that will get street signs will be Nicoya, Pococí, Siguirres, Alajuelita, Curridabat, Heredia, Alajuela and Cartago.

The old Costa Rica National Stadium is gone for good

Apparently not only the Costa Rica athletes are working hard back in Beijing Olympic Games: The National Olympic Committee of Costa Rica (CON) has confirmed that on Thursday they finished up negotiations to receive help from the Chinese government to create and developed sports medicine clinic plans to exchange efforts to train athletes and coaches.

The help was requested by the president of the CON Mr. Roberto Verdecia and the idea of a sports clinic in Costa Rica has been projected by the CON since this pat June. The project was supported by the National Counsel of Sports and the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS), entity in charge of health issues in Costa Rica. The idea was proposed on a meeting between Mr. Verdecia and the deputy head of the General Administration of Sports Mr. Feng Jianzhong, who agreed to provide all the requested help.

The government of China has been helping Costa Rica developments for a while now, including the reconstruction and remodeling of the Costa Rica National Stadium in San Jose. The sports clinic will be an addition to the current support the Chinese nation is providing to Costa Rica athletes, encouraging young people to practice sports and find better ways to live and  be successful.

The good thing about these projects is not only the wonderful upgrades made to the stadium and the very necessary addition to the clinic, but the fact that China is caring for the status of sports figures and athletes in Costa Rica. The country itself has been so grateful with the Chinese nation that plans of building a little “China town” in San Jose is being developed by San Jose’s mayor Johnny Araya to pay tribute to all the given help China has provided.

We have great news for the economy in Costa Rica. According to a very recent release, the very well online store Amazon.com will begin operations in Costa Rica by November of this year. In Costa Rica there are several North American and European companies established, providing employment to thousands of people every year. All these enterprises decided to established part of their business here because of the easy access to well develop locations, the technology and because in Costa Rica education is so good there is no finding well trained employees.

A lot of international companies have their call centers in Costa Rica, mostly in Heredia, San Jose and Cartago. Some of the most important companies such as HP, IBM and Alienware have provided services for all over the world from their Costa Rica offices for more than 10 years. This proves that Costa Rica is ready to be of the technological advantages of the first world and will increase the economic status of the country providing good jobs for young professionals.

Amazon will hire about 300 employees in Costa Rica to take care of their Amazon Support Services area by next November. Amazon.com is one of the most important and fastest growing online shops in the world; just this past trimester the website generated over $4 billion dollars in sales. The official name of their call center will actually Amazon Costa Rica Support Services and will begin operations at a Free Zone in Heredia. Job applications can send through their website right now.

Costa Rica economy has changed a lot in the past years, giving more opportunities for people providing well paid jobs and collaborating with the social necessities of development and education. This new opportunity arrives just in time when in Costa Rica cost of living has increased too much and good opportunities are necessary.

If you have heard about Costa Rica, you know that it is known no only because of the natural beauties, rainforests and beaches, but also because in Costa Rica peace is one of the most important treasures of the country. They constantly thrive to keep violence away and one of their methods is not having an army at all. The last time Costa Rica had an army was in 1948 when the last civil war took place, after that battle army was permanently removed until this date.

A few years ago the current president of Costa Rica won the Nobel Prize for Peace, because of his strong efforts to keep violence and fighting away from Central America. Children are often brought up to believe in peace and keep Costa Rica life as simple as possible. It may be harder nowadays, yet there are still many efforts being made to keep it as peaceful as possible.

At this moment, Costa Rica is joining Brazil signing into law a ban on child abuse by parents and guardians. This law is looking to eradicate violence as a punishment and clearly states that they want to change the “Rights of children and adolescents for discipline without corporal punishment and humiliation”. This law has been part of the U.S code of conduct for years now, yet in Latin America it has not been instated until now. With this law, the Costa Rica government plans to teach parents to discipline their children by setting up examples, getting to know them, negotiate and avoid using physical and humiliating punishment.

According to a study conducted by IDESPO 2003, in Costa Rica homes, 65.3% of parents beat, kick and pinch and 74.2% yell and verbally abuse their children. This comes from generations and generations and it is part of Latin American traditions. Also, these changes are part of the struggle people in Costa Rica are making to diminish violent behavior among youngsters, since it has been quite clear that crime rate and violence related issues have been increasing in the past few years and Costa Rica homes, families and mostly children deserve to have a society without violence.

Everyone is familiar with the phenomenon American Idol has been over the years and I am pretty sure that some of you have even follow at least one contestant at one point. In Latin America, they also have their own version of the show and at this moment Costa Rica has a very talented contestant participating. She is a very lovely 17 year old girl named Maria Jose Castillo from Heredia. Costa Rica has had two other contestants in previous editions of the show yet; it was not possible for the fans to vote since the telecommunications in Costa Rica were not compatible to the ones used for voting.

The girl is quite talented and I decided to make a small space here for her in case you are in Costa Rica lands next week. She will be featured on the show next Wednesday and voting will be enabled as soon as the show ends that same day. All of Costa Rica will be cheering for the teenager, if want to get a glimpse of her performance, be my guest, this was her audition:

YouTube - LATIN AMERICAN IDOL 2008: Maria Jose Castillo TOP 30

This is Costa Rica’s little idol

As you can see, there are even more Costa Rica treasures besides properties, beaches and rainforests. Although Maria Jose is the only Costa Rican participating she can definitely brighten a room with her voice. In Costa Rica, music has always been a big deal and you can actually feel it: lots of the most important compositors and musicians were born in Guanacaste; real estate wasn’t the most important thing after all.

If you liked Maria Jose’s audition, don’t miss her performance next Wednesday and if did like her and want to cheer for the little Costa Rica idol, voting will be enable after the show and you can access it sending the word MARIA to the number 43657.

A few years ago I decide that I was no longer going to put up with the crazy lifestyle of the U.S and decided to look for a place to rest and spend my golden years. After much research I found what I call now my home: a nice Costa Rica Villa in Guanacaste. I didn’t know being here was my dream until I actually came in the front door.  When I first heard of Guanacaste, Costa Rica seemed like a huge rain forest to me and I honestly thought I will not be able to find good real estate. Costa Rica seemed like a dark hole with lovely beaches, but not a place to actually live in, wasn’t I wrong.

At this moment I can tell you that there are many housing projects in all of Costa Rica: San Jose is being remodeled, sort of speak, and tall apartment buildings are being developed in La Sabana surroundings, providing lovely housing arrangements downtown. Also, if you take a quick look to real estate listings, Costa Rica is including more and more residential projects on the Alajuela and Heredia provinces. Cartago, especially Tres Rios, has been developing lovely residential areas for the past ten years and getting a big house near malls and offices is no longer a dream for anyone.

This could be your backyard….

But in Guanacaste, real estate choices are better, cheaper and so much nicer: A villa, like the one I live in, has beautiful sceneries surrounding the property, trees, palm trees, the ocean; fun loving animals of the area are part of your neighborhood and everyday life. The peaceful breeze and the fresh sea water smell cannot be compared to anything. Getting relocated can be quite stressful, but once you see that Costa Rica is in fact that dreamland you had always on your mind, you will see the effort paying up. Right now, there is a boom in Guanacaste, housing projects are all over the place and the prices are worth to look at. Most of these properties are built due to the fast development of the Liberia area, and since the industry is cleverly locating properties where the natural resources are not affected, you can be at peace and still enjoy Costa Rica nature close to your new home.

Today I have learned that the telecommunications in Costa Rica will be a lot more reliable. According to the Sun Herald, Global Crossing Limited, a company that provides computer networking services worldwide and legally domiciled in Bermuda, has joined forces with the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and Radiografica Costarricense (RACSA) to develop a fiber-optic submarine cable will facilitate the expansion of ICE’s international network to the rest of the world through Global Crossing’s network.

In Costa Rica, services for electricity and telecommunications are handled by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and in the past few years the entity has been struggling to upgrade their services and walk and in hand with the technology available in the rest of the world. Although the services they provided have had some minor difficulties through the years, the new cable connection, which is an extension of the Pan American Crossing (PAC), which connects the United States‘ west coast, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela and the Virgin Islands will make things easier for Costa Rica telecommunications and their connections world wide.

This change is great news since it would be possible to have faster and better internet connections, phone services and such everywhere in Costa Rica, properties will increase their value due to better services offered in every area. Costa Rica is now part of a bigger technological channel and can provide top notch connectivity for everyone. With this change, the new bandwidth will enable the transmission of approximately 185 million e-mails per second, assuming an average e-mail of 20KB; allows 2.5 million people to watch a video online, assuming 1.5M per connection; and can handle 60 million phone calls, which is way bigger than what we have been using.

This is a huge step for the country and I am glad to actually be a witness of the positive changes made in the country. Costa Rica is going far and that is just another excuse to move here.