Puriscal-is there an expat meeting place?

We have been to Puriscal many times and it is a large, mostly farming type community.  There are no hotels and only one or two bed and breakfasts in the area.  No real restaurants to speak of, but we have found it extremely friendly.  The Puriscal Timeshas just started publishing and there are two expat communities nearby. Altos los Cafelales is about 8 km out on the road to Orotina and Altos de Antigua is 17 km out on the road to Parrita.  I have also corresponded with other expats in the area via email.  I don't know of a common meeting area.  Good luck, it is a beautiful area!
Cheers .... Terry

i am an artist.  Is there an area in the mountains where there is a community of artists?  I like Spring like temperatures.

I'm sure there are other areas too but there are a lot of artists and such in Monteverdi.

We are on our way to live in Purscal from Arlington, TX Aug.1st
The subject on an ex pat meeting place really concerns me as well. So, once we arrive my plan is to establish a good meeting place, be it my gorgeous little casita with pool and land to gather and meet new expats like us!
My name is Robin and my husband is Bill. Our house contracted today and Bill is ready to throw in the towel at work and retire July 5th. We close July 19th and will be ready to fly out.
We are all in the same boat with learning the culture, language and questions like "what do I do now?" And Pura Vida, its time to slow down...right?
I hope we can meet soon. Keep us posted!
Adios Amigos!
Robinita

We'll be there a bit after you Robinita but count us in.  We start construction on our house after rainy season this year and will be down for good sometime after April 1st, 2014.

We are waiting for our farm in New Jersey to sell before we can move.  Please keep me posted about meeting.  Hope to meet you in person soon.  Laurie

Are you the two that were living in Atenas?  Hope to meet you after our farm in New Jersey sells.  Laurie

Hi Terry & Viv?
Looking forward to meeting you guys.
My goal is to keep a database of our fellow expats as we begin to meet everyone.
So you're building a home? Did you ever have the chance to meet George Lundquist by chance? He is a developer and tour guide. I really enjoyed meeting him and thankful for his tour. Learned so much about building in CR with plumbing, water, and structural projects he has working on gorgeous lots. We may consider buying pre-owned. But first we want to make sure this is the town best for us. Something about Purscal that melted our hearts.

Hi Laurie,
While on our last trip to CR in Feb, we stayed in San Jose and ventured to Atenas by bus for experience. We met a man from the states on that bus and he invited us to Kay's Gringo expat meeting place that day. There was a big meeting going on and not a lot of time to mingle.  We ate at a nice place in town and met some people there.
Now that was an experience. Very enjoyable. Tico's are helpful and very friendly to us. They seem very inquisitive about us.

Hey Robinita;
No we have not met George.  We came down for an extended time in 2010 and toured the country ourselves.  It took some time but we finally settled on the Puriscal area.  We bought our land in Altos de Antigua from the developer who also oversees building.  There are twelve houses in the development so far and we were able to look at them all inside and out as well as inspect previous building plans and blueprints.  We also have a spec sheet on what materials and finishings will be used.  We are quite happy with our decision.  The other benefit for us in our location is the back road that goes down to the beach town of Parrita.  It is being re-worked and straightened and will allow us Pacific Coast access for an easy day trip. We will be making a number of trips down as we build.  We have rented a house in the same development at this link which gave us some time to stay in the area itself to see if we liked it and we did.  We look forward to saying hello in person!
Cheers .... Terry (and Viv)

When you were staying in Puriscal, what sort of things did you find to do?  Restaurants?  Maybe a book club? Hiking?  Is it easy to hire a horse to ride?

For the most part we were working on landscaping our property (planting fruit trees, ornamentals, shrubs, etc.)  We also did quite a few day trips to different shopping areas to see what was available for groceries, furniture, electronics, and so on.  One of the ideas of renting the house was to do our own food shopping and cooking and that went superb.  We haven't really done many touristy things in the area and restaurant food in Puriscal itself is quite limited.  There was a little soda shoppe that we loved but it has been turned into a sort of discotheque.  I know there are quite a few horses in the vicinity but do not know if there are any for hire.  When we have been there (mostly January and February) there are quite a few people who have homes in our development that only come down in the winter so we tended to get to know them around the community pool and the common area.  A day trip to the coast is always a must for us and we have some favorite restaurants in the Dominical / Uvita area.  We also like to sight see and have made a point of visiting some of the national reserve areas and those trips take up a day at a time.  I am sure things will change when we get there permanent.

Is it possible to do without a car.  I would like to bicycle, take buses, walk, and take the occasional taxi.  If most come to your community only during Jan and Feb will there still be other expats to socialize with?

Right now there are six houses occupied permanently and the next two being built (our is one of them) will be permanent residents.  The local bus goes right by the top of the development but as far as biking it I would be leery as it is an EXTREMELY windy road and getting more traveled as the back way to the coast is improved.  Our development itself is very very steep from the top houses to the bottom houses.  I won't be walking to the gate !!!

Hi,Robinita -

We took George's tour in January, 2013, and are going back down to visit in mid-July.  We also loved the Puriscal area, and enjoyed the people we met on the tour.  The one concern in the back or our minds is the availability of social life with fellow expats, but we believe that we'll be able to get involved with some effort.  We too would love to know that there's a meeting place in the area, and heartily endorse your intention to establish one. We'd love to get/stay in touch with you and will eagerly watch this blog for further postings as your move commences. At this time, we're hoping to move down in Spring of 2014.  Probably will rent at first, but hope to build eventually. Hopefully, we'll soon be in your database. Pura Vida!  Steve and Jill

To Steve and Jill,
We noticed that you're from Fountain Hills, Az and wondered if you made the move yet.  We're from Mesa, Az and we're heading over to Puriscal in June for part of George's tour.  Would love to get together, as I'm sure we could learn a lot from each our experiences!  Hope to hear from you soon!
Mike and ileana

There is a group that meets weekly in the Puriscal area.  When we were there at the end of January they got together for a big football game.  There is also a group of women that meet.

Mike and Ileana -

Since that post we visited in July and again in August, bought a lot, and moved down permanently just this past May 2!  We'd be delighted to meet you and share our experiences.  We love the Pursical area, and have met lots of expats whom we get along with very well.  We are taking Spanish lessons from a local Tico, and are filling up our social calendar.  We will be attending tonight our first George tour party from the other end of the table, as residents.  We'll make sure to be at the one you'll be on if at all possible.
Email privately if you'd like [email protected]

Pura Vida!
Steve and Jill