Do you think that PZ area is right for us?

Hi cjbohn,

Welcome to Expat.com

Please note that i have created a new topic on the Costa Rica forum for more visibility and for a better communication with the other members.

Thanks

Priscilla 

Hi, San Isidro de El General area is a great area and you will probably like it IF you don't require a lot of nightlife and restaurants and if you don't mind being 3 hours on a long winding road from San Jose' (i.e. the nearest big city).

That and real estate prices there is what kept me from buying there and choosing San Ramon instead. But I really like San Isidro area and especially the beaches down below (an hour + away).

Nobody, but yourselves, can determine what is right 'for you' both. Be aware of very noisy truck traffic on the hills.

Thank you.  That will help the newbies!

We live on a sleepy island now, so the quiet life is ok!  We want to be where we can enjoy the natural wildlife, have access to great fresh food,  cool weather,  not to far from the beach.   Not planning on bringing a car, so somewhere that has easy access.  Our impression is that San Isidro meets thatt criteria...... any thoughts?

cjbohn wrote:

We live on a sleepy island now, so the quiet life is ok!  We want to be where we can enjoy the natural wildlife, have access to great fresh food,  cool weather,  not to far from the beach.   Not planning on bringing a car, so somewhere that has easy access.  Our impression is that San Isidro meets thatt criteria...... any thoughts?

Okay so the nightlife is fine by you... Cool weather - good; an hour from the beach - good; No car.... Hmmmm.

This is the part where you may (?) have a problem.
My experience with San Isidro is from years ago so you will need to find people on a forum like this who live there now and can help you out re bus schedules and destinations. When I lived down at the beach and came to San Isidro I believe at that time the buses did not run often to the beach below. They do run back to San Jose fairly often though, but it's a 3 hour bus ride if I remember correctly.

Now, as to the part where you want to enjoy the natural wildlife: There is not a lot of that near San Isidro to my knowledge. There is Chirripo not too far but that's a hard uphill hike as I understand it. Again, maybe someone who lives in San Isidro can give a good answer as to this. But from what I know San Isidro is not the best area for enjoying natural wildlife.

Also do you plan to live outside of town or what? How will you get around in the rainy season - which is long and wet - without a car?

It sounds like San Isidro de El General area might work for you, but given what you've said, it wouldn't work for me. You may want to consider other options where there is more nearby nature and buses that run more often. But again my experience is from years ago so maybe now there are more buses running. I hope someone will answer this who lives there now.

Hola cjbohn,

The "right" place for you is something only you can determine.  As I and others have said in the past, what I like you may not.  You need to spend time in the areas that you think you'd like and then make that decision.

If you do choose to live in a smaller town, the first thing you will need if you don't already have it - Spanish.  The vast majority of people in the smaller towns speak Spanish only.  The exception of course being the expats.  I have lived here five years now and I believe the reason that most Gringos return to their home countries within the first year is their failure to assimilate.  Spanish is not easy for me but I do my best to learn more all the time and do enjoy speaking with Ticos.  (Personally prefer them over the constantly complaining Gringos.)

I live about 6 km. outside of San Ramon, Alajuela.  I live in the jungle, I hear only the sounds of wildlife and the creek running through the property.  There are many places like this.  You just need to find what is the perfect spot for you.  And there are many out there.

As to living here without a car - personally, I would not want to be here without a car or motorcycle.  The big disadvantage of "having" to take a bus is the time that it takes to get anywhere.  I'm normally not in a rush at all; however, by the time you walk to the bus stop, wait for the bus, stop 5 or more times before your destination, it just takes too much time to get where you're going.  Buses are cheap, the bus to San Ramon is 80 cents.  And what do you do if you have an emergency in the middle of the night?  Motorcycles aren't for most, but I like that I can explore all the back roads and visit the very small towns that many never see.  Plus with gas over $5 per gallon, it's nice on mileage.  I also have a gas guzzling car.

Good luck to you and I hope that you find your personal paradise.

- Dave

Hi,

I lived full time in San Isidro for five years, designed and built a nice house, and still spend quite a bit of time there (I'm sitting in my house in San Isidro as I write this). I now split my time between Seattle and San Isidro.

As a long term resident, here are my perceptions of San Isidro:

1. It is a very nice town, and the people are very friendly. It has about 50,000 inhabitants,which is a good size as you have access to good health care, banking, and a reasonable amount of shops and services.

2. In general, it is very inexpensive. Probably half as expensive as the beach communities, or living in the US. Some things (like luxury items or imported foods) are expensive, but the basics are cheap. This is one of the big advantages of San Isidro - not to be underestimated.

3. It's a great time to buy property in San Isidro right now. Prices crashed when the real estate bubble popped, and they have not recovered here. There are tons of houses for sale at great prices.

4. Driving to the beach in your own car is 45 minutes. Taking the bus will be considerably longer - probably two hours including waiting for the bus and getting on and off.

5. There is a lot of wildlife in San Isidro, depending where you are. The bird life is incredible. We see toucans, motmots, cusingas, hummingbirds, and lots of other birds on a daily basis at our house. To give you an idea how much bird life there is here, Alexander F. Skutch, the famous ornithologist who wrote Birds of Costa Rica, lived here until he passed away at the ripe old age of 99. You can still visit his house, which is part of a small nature reserve. The farther you are out of town, the more wildlife you will see. We don't seem to have many monkeys or scarlet macaws here, however - there are more of those down at lower elevations by the beach.

6. The climate is generally very good. You can grow anything here. If you are a gardener, you will enjoy gardening in PZ. We can grow huge heirloom tomatoes in about 2 months here - as opposed to 5 months in Seattle. I used to live down at the beach north of Dominical, but it was too hot for me and the leaf-cutter ants ate everything in my garden. There is a rainy season from September to Late November in San Isidro, when it rains a lot and is quite cloudy.

7. I don't know how you could live here without a car. If you want wildlife, you can't live in the middle of town, While there are buses, they can be erratic and would take up so much of your time waiting around that I don't know why you wouldn't get a small car or scooter. If you want to go to the beach on a regular basis, a car will make your life immeasurably better.

8. Food - the best of worlds, and the not-so-best of worlds. San Isidro has what is probably one of the best Farmer's Markets in all of Central America. Not at all tourist oriented, it is a real Farmer's Market for real people. The selection of fruits and vegetables is staggering. Even the fish selection is pretty good. Everybody loves the Farmer's Market, It's every Thursday and Friday. Nothing like it exists outside of San Jose. Unfortunately, the restaurant selection in San Isidro is limited. It seems odd with all this great produce, but there just isn't a big culinary tradition, especially in the rural parts of Costa Rica - probably because refrigeration didn't exist until relatively recently. There are only 3-5 decent restaurants in town. Not enough high income population or tourist traffic to support any real gourmet restaurants. For good restaurants, you have to go down to the tourist spots on the beach.

Hope that is helpful. BTW - I rent my house out for short term rentals when I am not here if you are going to visit San Isidro sometime soon. Might be a nice base to explore from.

Good luck with your search.

John

Thanks. Great info! Looking forward to our visit in November!

our due D tour will be in January.  we are most interested and plan to spend our entire tour in the San Vito/San Isidro area.  My only concern is,  being American-adjusting to the pace of living.  I have always been a "motor head" and enjoy the outdoors via 4x4-atv-motorcycle.  Hiking is lost on me(at least long hikes)!  Looking forward to having our own garden and fresh fruit.  I am aware the pace is almost non-existent from our lifestye, but we are both ready.  Any thoughts on motorized activity in this regon?  Living in the desert for so long, has also been a concern.  we both have enjoyed the lush green of Costa Rica, and find the thought of gardening without irrigation and sun protection a little unsettling.  real soil is also going to take time to get used too.  But we are reading and studying.  Spanish also.  Again our concern is activiys.

Many find the only way to garden here, is to add a cover over their garden, to protect from the heavy rain and in the dry season add an irrigation system but unfortunately this does not keep the bugs from eating them....
ATV's, motorbikes etc can easily be purchased and used on the roads legally, if they have passed the Riteve inspection.
Boredom is a problem for many...especially after the initial excitement wears off and day to day living begins so having a hobby is a very important.

I would think that riding ATV's is less likely to bother Ticos than retired Americans, that's just my guess based on knowing people like myself who bought mountain property basically to avoid a lot of noise like that.

If you buy a big enough land or live in a less populated area (like I think San Vito is) you are less likely to get complaints - that's my best guess. Personally I am trying to avoid selling to people who are into ATV's and such due to the noise.

To each their own!......I guess I am really glad not to live near you.

sounds like my kind of place, (perhaps except for the precise location.   I know how to garden even in those types of places,  and I am indeed a hobbyist  (and I  have a quadrunner too)