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What Region of Costa Rica Is Best For Me?

"where you decide to settle depends entirely on your desired lifestyle"

Though small, Costa Rica has a multitude of towns and regions that are wide and varied. Some are tiny farming communities, some are remote mountain towns, some are bustling beach towns or even urban sprawl. But only a handful of these areas are best suited for those wanting to retire, relocate or purchase vacation property. Where YOU decide to settle depends entirely on your present lifestyle as compared to your desired lifestyle, your budget and activities you wish to peruse. And there’s also specific needs you may have such as proximity to health care, schools, shopping, activities and transportation. Try answering the questions below to help clearly define your own lifestyle needs when it comes to relocating to Costa Rica.

The Lifestyle Checklist:

- What activities do you enjoy? (surfing, beach, fitness, nature hiking, nightlife)
- What is your budget? (consider initial investment and monthly/annual budget)
- Proximity to work (are you relocating, semi-retiring or retiring?)
- Health Care considerations (proximity to hospitals, clinics, doctors and emergency care)
- Proximity to education (pre-school, elementary, college - public & private)
- Transportation (proximity to highway, airports, public transportation)
- Worship facilities (proximity to facilities and others in your faith)
- Lifestyle preference (urban, rural, beach, mountain, jungle)
- Do I know (or will I need to learn) Spanish?=

Which Lifestyle Appeals To You?

Listed below are the property features that most buyers gravitate toward in Costa Rica. Each property type notes the region, or regions they can be found in with a map above to see where it is in the country. Popular towns in these specific regions are also included with basic information to give you a good idea as whether it’s right for your consideration.

Close to Culture, Shopping, Dining & Night Life:

There is really only 1 metropolitan area in Costa Rica that can offer all 3 of those things, and that’s San Jose proper in the Central Valley. The city of San Jose is huge and quite populated and there’s really not much of anything by way of the aforementioned that you can’t find there. There are plenty of secure, high rise condominiums and gated condo developments you can live in around the greater San Jose area, but you don’t have to live IN the city to enjoy it. Settling in any one of the surrounding towns in the Central Valley offers quick access to the big city and all it has to offer.

Beach Town Lifestyle:

There are miles and miles of coastline in Costa Rica which offers a variety of lifestyles and virtually NO over-saturation. One could visit a popular beach on a Sunday morning in the most popular area of the most popular region in Costa Rica, Esterillos in the Central Pacific for example, and be hard pressed to see more than a dozen people. But if you want more action, good restaurants, clubs, and night-life can be found in many of the North Pacific beach towns like Tamarindo, Flamingo, Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Dominical, and on the Caribbean Coast, Limon. Though these towns tend to get active as the sun goes down, they’re still sleepy little beach towns, and it’s rare to see them open until the wee hours of the morning as is common in San Jose and most major cities. My experience is that’s exactly how the residents of these areas like it.

Golf Communities:

There’s several golf communities in Costa Rica, but the most popular are Los Suenos Golf Community and Maria in Herradrua in the Central Pacific Region, Cariari Country Club in Cariari in the The Central Valley, and Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed, 18-hole championship golf course in Flamingo or the Four Seasons Papagayo Hotel and Resort with their 18-hole, Arnold Palmer golf course in Liberia in the North Pacific Region. All of these communities offer a wide range of homes to purchase, from upscale luxury estates to more affordable condos and every point in between. These places offer a slice of American style resort lifestyle while in Costa Rican paradise.

For The Nature Enthusiast:

Seriously? This is Costa Rica… nature is EVERYWHERE in this country. One of my favorite things to say is "everywhere you look in Costa Rica, there’s something to look AT". I couldn’t possible name all of the places that might appeal to nature enthusiasts, but I will name a notable few. In the South Pacific Region, where the jungle and mountains meet the sea, you can consider Dominical, the Osa Peninsula where you can explore the fantastic national parks, estuaries and mangroves. On the Caribbean Coastal Region, you’ll find the only pink sandy beaches in Costa Rica (not black volcanic sand or the brown/gold sand of the northern region), and abundant Caribbean coral reefs, and the Tortuguero Canal system, which is an amazing eco-system all unto itself. In the The Central Valley Region you can scale any of the 3 prominent volcanoes, in and around the areas of Heredia or Alajuela, and in doing so, experience several temperate zones and pass through a few different eco-systems in the process. But if it were me, the one place I’d seriously consider is The Lake Arenal Region. Never have I seen such a place with incredible growth, abundant wild life and a plethora of activities. It’s only 90 minutes from the North Pacific coast, under an hour to the international airport in Liberia, and 3 hours to San Jose and the Central Valley. There are fantastic real estate opportunities of all kinds in these areas. Here are a few that I feel put you right in the thick of Costa Rica Nature.