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Apartments for rent in San Isidro del General, Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica Retire in Costa Rica |
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Come Live the Good Life
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I believe that San Isidro has a lot to offer for anyone wanting to retire in this country. If it isn’t the ideal place for you to create your retirement home, it is still a great place to stay while you are familiarizing yourself with Costa Rica. It can take several months to understand the people and their culture. Learning to speak at least a minimum of Spanish can enhance your life here. Life here is not without frustrations and it takes some time to understand the causes of those frustrations. Your frustrations are caused by your unfulfilled expectations and, if coming from the western world, your expectations are based on your prior experiences in that world. You have to remember that Costa Rica is a poor country and classified as a developing nation and as such you can be faced with what you perceive as unnecessary bureaucracy and delays. I’ve met and heard of many extranjeros who rushed into finding a place to buy or rent before they became familiar with the country, the people, their way of life and the variety of choices available to them and as a result they are or were unhappy. The climate in San Isidro is almost ideal. At an elevation of 2300 feet it is certainly cooler than the low lying ocean areas and the dryer North West. During dry season midday temperatures and the humidity level can be high but a simple fan can keep you comfortable indoors. The evenings year round are always cool enough for a good nights sleep. Most locals do not use air-conditioning. Rainy season is not much different except almost every afternoon it rains for a short time and occasionally it rains several hours. It’s not depressing like the American Pacific Northwest as almost every morning the sun is shining. For those with a modest income it is quite reasonable to live here. Rents are reasonable and reasonably priced property is still available in and near the city. Basic services, water and electricity are available almost everywhere, even way up in the mountains where you wouldn’t think anyone would live and the cost of service is cheap. Electricity for a small home with a single occupant runs about $5 a month. Water is about the same price. Basic telephone service starts at about $5 and increases if you spend a lot of time on the phone. Fresh fruits and vegetable are available in abundance and at unbelievably low prices. Meats, fish and poultry are priced less than in the states but not by much. Processed foods and specialty items can be as much as or more than you pay in the states. If you eat like the locals, rice, beans, vegetables, fruits and not too much meat your food costs are much less than in the western world. It is almost as cheap to eat out. You can have a traditional breakfast, gallo pinto (rice and beans), eggs, fried platano, bread or corn tortillas, coffee or a fresh fruit drink for under $3 at virtually any Soda (simple restaurant). For lunch you can have a complete lunch plate (casado) with meat, chicken or fish, vegetables and salad with a drink for about $3. A single person can live here quite comfortably with cable television (about $20 a month), high speed internet connection (about $25 a month), rent and all utilities, for between $500 and $1000 a month depending on your vices. A retired friend, who receives about $1300 a month lives well, visits the states once or twice a year and saves enough to take a longer trip somewhere else in the world each year. Pura Vida. San Isidro is a much better place to live than the San Jose area. San Isidro and the close-by surrounding areas are populated by about 60,000 people and like most other places in the world, is growing rapidly. But even with that many people it still has a rural small town feel. Most residents grew up in or near the city and are quite friendly. There are no large manufacturing industrial plants located here. The major industry is agriculture. There is a quickly growing middle class, mostly comprised of locals who have sold large properties or long time local business owners who have benefited by the increased growth. There is poverty but not as apparent as in the metropolitan area. There are no shanty towns or ghettos. There are a few beggars and local drunks on the streets but nowhere near the amount you always encounter on the streets of San Jose. The location of San Isidro at the head of the Valle del General provides us with incredible vistas from the Talamanca Mountain range to the north and east and the coastal mountain range to the west. Sunsets are unbelievable. Watching the clouds creep down the mountains in the late afternoon as the sunset changes the western sky into a palate of enumerable colors is magical. Full moon summer nights are unforgettable. There are a variety of special places to visit a short distance from the city. Using your own or public transportation you can easily visit the village of San Gerardo de Rivas the entrance to the hiking trail to Mount Chirripo. If you are in good shape and adventurous, you can take the 2 day hike to the top of the mountain. For the less adventurous you can visit the hot springs located nearby. By taking local transportation or your own vehicle over the coastal mountain range you arrive at the Pacific Ocean at Dominical. Dominical is a well known surfer town and caters to a young crowd. Many locals still frequent the beach there as it is the closest to San Isidro. From Dominical heading south you have a choice of several lesser known beaches within a few kilometers of each other - Playa Dominicalito, Puerto Nuevo, Puertocito, Playa Hermosa, Playa Uvita/Bahia, Playa Ballena, Playa Arcos and Playa Ventanas. Most of these beaches are unspoiled by development and except during national holiday periods have few visitors. Many days can be spent just exploring the surrounding villages and rural areas. There are several waterfalls within an hour or two from the city. Just walking the mountains and rivers is breathtaking. The greatest benefit of living in this area is re-connecting with nature. Here you cannot escape nature as it always surrounds us. The beautiful mountains and all the flowers and greenery, the beautiful rivers, the birds and animals are all a delight. I recommend that anyone moving here create friendships with locals who can teach you about the rural lifestyle. Learning about the variety of fruits and vegetables that are grown and the variety of trees and wildlife is a real treat of great benefit to your understanding of the culture of the people. Re-learning how life is lived according to the seasons and the phases of the moon is life enhancing. Life in the competitive consumer oriented western world separates man from his connection to nature and the real beauty, pleasure and awe of living on this amazing planet. Move to Costa Rica and return to the magic of all of life before unbridled population growth, corporate greed and misguided politicians destroy it all.
For information on immigration and residency http://www.costarica.org/residency.htm http://usembassy.or.cr/proprigh.html
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