REAL life in Costa Rica???

I originally started a thread here that got lost in the big crash after only 1 or 2 replies.

A friend of mine is going to Costa Rica to take a countrywide tour and look at property while he is there. The lure of cheaper tropical beachfront land and the supposedly good life in Costa Rica has got him very interested. Does the image of the tropical paradise actually ring true? Any good or bad things to think about regarding an attempt to purchase land in Costa Rica? We've checked the usual internet information. Any native tips for a successful move to Costa Rica? And what about the down side? Can anybody "dig the dirt" and mention some of the bad things to watch out for?

 

When I was there there were several ex pat land owners and they seemed to be fine. It's a beautiful place with very friendly people. That said these are interesting times and as we've seen things change quickly.

Best

 

my coworker (canadian national) is currently getting a very nice house built just outside of san jose for a whopping $34,000!

 

+1

i was there over the summer, it can't be much of a better place. the coffee is great, the beaches were nice, people were awesome. we were on a lake in one of the smaller communities, with these two gigantic houses, both were listed for around 100k, i would say the same house here in st. louis would go easily for 1m +

 

My thoughts are that if you wish to watch the sun set on your own tropical paradise, it would be best to have a place on the Pacific coast with a westerly view. I've also heard that it is cooler on the Pacific coast. Are the real estate prices higher on the Pacific side?

 

Costa Rica is beautiful. Your real estate prices do however seem extremely low in my experience

 

To add...the St. Regis resort on the Pacific coast is selling 800 square feet condos for more than $1 million

 

We have a friend here moving down for retirement, the dollar still goes a long way...

Good surf and beaches, sure..there have been some incidents with college aged tourists and such...can happen anywhere...IMO.

It's one of the more peaceful countries of the region, but ?????.....

 

about the dollar going a long way, we bought a six pack (of root beer, of course) for the equivalence of about 2 dollars american.

 

Look, i live here and i deal with foreigners all the time so i know what they like and what they complain about.

Life is nice and easy going here. you have to be carefull who you by land from cause sometimes just becuase you are not tico(COSTARICAN) you get ripped off.

email me and i can help you wit whatever you want,

[email protected]


ROLO

 

I've heard from my father that it is a beautiful place down there, he just bought some land about a year ago in cocoa beach and is planning on soon building a house. I will be going there this Spring break to see how it's like for myself and to try some scuba diving. I hope to take lots of pictures.

 

I just got back and my dad is now starting to build a house on the land he bought. From what I see it looks like a great place to invest now.

 

i just spent holly week on hermosa beach, which is right next to PLAYAS DEL COCO ( Coco beach) , we got good weather thispast week over there!

 

we were planning to retire there . we made several month long trips there at different seasons. it is a beautiful place; for the young. things are little different when you don't get around so good any more. the infrastructure is still a liitle underdeveloped. health care, while excellent, is a long drive away. most retirees live around san jose, which kinda defeats the purpose of being there. it's a long drive to the beach. actually everything is a long drive. driving at nite is an experience unto it's self. then there's the language thing. if you habla, no problemo. if no se habla, problemo. if you stay around the other ex pats you get this insulated feeling because everyone talks about home. it's a wonderful place to visit. check out tico times online. it's the english newspaper. it has local news and want ads. if your serious get a subscription to it. when you get there the info is invaluable.

 

I especially like the interior on this one. Its also overlooking the Pacific. $1.7M.

http://www.architectureforsale.com/address.php?property_ID=486