www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Just got back from my first trip to Costa Rica last week. Loved it so much that I'm going back the end of April. This time would like to stay for a month or two.

I'd like to find an apartment in downtown San Jose to rent. Is this a possibility? Can anyone give me some advise on how to go about finding one? It dosn't have to be in a nice or good area. Is there a better way than just walking around to bars and shops asking people if they know of anything for rent? Realators on the internet only seem to be interested in high priced rentals in gated communities outside of San Jose. Any replies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

fivemillplus1 (Bob)

If you speak Spanish, that's the way to go.

What's your budget?

Dildo Man

If you speak Spanish the best thing to do is pick an area you like and feel comfortable in. Then walk the streets in that area, look for signs, speak to the neighbors, stop in the local sodas and pulperias.

If you are not comfortable speaking Spanish hire a guide and do the drill with him. There are ads in the Tico Times or PM me for the name of a great guide.

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Ding Dong, I belive the ads in Tico Times are pricier than those in www.economicos.com and www.supereconomicos.com. (However, they are both in Spanish.)

Dildo Man

5mill - I agree there is no substitute for the hoof work. There is no such thing as multiple listing in CR so no one realtor has all of the available apts. I myself have spent a couple months this winter looking and can offer a little advice:

If you like a certain area like Ding Dong says - hang out there and make friends. The locals are the ones that will know what is what. An additional benefit is I have met some really cool Ticos this way.

Talk to the grrls especially the foreigners like colombianas, and expats. They rent apartments oftentimes and are thrifty with the selection. Sounds like you are not picky. They will usually know if any units in their building are available.

There is always the classifieds as well. Bear in mind once you find something you like the work has just begun. There is rental agreements, utilities, etc etc to deal with. All of this assumes you have a pretty good handle on espanish, if not – good luck. I’m sure in some cases it might be easy but I can tell you from experience it can be prohibitively difficult.

One last thing – if you get out of town and off the beaten path a little the prices drop dramatically. Many times a ten or twenty minute commute from downtown can save you about half the cost per month. Sounds like you don’t need to even bother with places like Escazu that are high rent. If you are on a tight budget look towered Curidibat and Tres Rios. After a couple of days of serious search you will get a feel for where you want to end up. In MHO you need to be there to select su casa.

This advice coming from a discriminating fellow that has spent nine weeks in CR so far this year, and ended up living the whole time at Hotel Presidente. It is not as easy as it sounds in my case. That would have paid a years rent at a lot of aparatementos, I hope you have better luck.

In any case, disfrute Costa Rica y tuanis

fivemillsplus1, Hotel La Gran Via (http://www.hgranvia.com/) has monthly rates and it's right in the downtown area (I always stay there).
You can also check Linda Vista Apartments (http://vistalinda.webcindario.com/frame.htm) It's not in downtown but the price is right, and according to those who stayed there, it's nice and safe!
Enjoy your stay, you lucky one!
Valentino

One thing you might run into that will limit your selection is in finding an apartment that is both a) furnished and b) doesn't require a long term contract beyond a month or two. Furnished apartments that can be rented on a month to month basis can certainly be found but many more places will be eliminated from your consideration. If you limit your selection further to the downtown commercial district your choices will probably be almost nil unless you choose a hotel with monthly rates. Some may have studio type apartments with kitchenettes and some may simply be regular hotel rooms with long term rates? Are cooking facilities a requirement or will you be eating out for every meal?

You'll certainly have much more options if you are willing to accept the usually short, cheap and frequent bus service (and only slightly more costly though still cheap taxi service) from surrounding areas. For example, I've walked on more than one occasion from Linda Vista to downtown, though it is probably longer than many would prefer to go (about 20-30 minutes). Of course, usually I opted for a bus or cab. The bus stops no more than 50 feet from Linda Vista's front gate and passes by every 10 minutes, cabs pass just as frequently or you can also phone for one. The bus costs only about 25 cents each way, takes about 10-15 minutes tops (because of stops and traffic) and lets you off at A5 C1/3 (or 5 blocks from the BM which is a bit of a pain). Cabs will take you door to door in 5 minutes for usually about less than a buck each way. Cab and bus service from the San Pedro/Los Yoses area east of downtown is even more regular, quick and cheap (and there are a lot of worthwhile places to go around there.

In addition to the places mentioned above, I believe the Hotel Castillo has monthly rates for their rooms as well and is located well within walking distance of the BM near the Sportsmans Lodge and New Fantasy. However, I also suspect that both Gran Via and Castillo only have their regular hotel rooms to offer for those longer term rates. If you want a real apartment with at least a kitchenette so you can cook at least some of your meals, you'll have to look elsewhere. Then again, that might not matter to you.

The Scotland Apartments have also been mentioned on this board. I didn't stay there but I did check them out. They are located east of downtown about halfway to San Pedro (C25 A3? in Barrio California). Their better apartments are much nicer than Linda Vista and they're closer to downtown but cost nearly as much as staying at a hotel. Personally, I didn't think they were worth it, YMMV.

I also checked out the Apartotel Los Yoses, which offer furnished short term rentals and was close to where I was going to school, but it was basically a hotel with a front desk and I wasn't sure how they would be about guests and so decided against it.

One last possibility that I have some direct knowledge about is the Casa Conde. Its a 5-10 minute cab ride south of downtown (not sure of the buses). They offer monthly rates on their apartments. I'm sure they will be higher end than the other places mentioned so far, but they are VERY nice, with full kitchen, washer/dryer, stereo, 27" color TV, jacuzzi-bath, nicely furnished, etc. etc. Your guests would be very impressed and personally, though it is smaller than what I'm currently used to, I could actually see living in such a place here in the US.

Thanks for all the information that was posted so quickly. I appreciate it

Last night I had an idea and since everyone at this forum has more experience in Costa Rica than I do, please feel free say this idea is totally wacked.

In San Jose I met more than one girl who was looking for an apartment. Has anyone ever split the rent with a tica and had a place to stay every time they came to Costa Rica? Seems that this would overcome the problem of short term leases and utilities.

Has anyone ever done this successfully? Off the top of my head the two problems that I could see arising are a girl who starts asking for more money on a regular basis or a girl who decided to get possessive whenever you were in town.

Hotels are Ok, but you always feel like you're staying in a hotel. I spent a few night in a really nasty one (Hotel Berlin). For the same price ($10) I stayed at what was really a very nice hotel (Hotel Remunda) in the Avienda 10/Calle 4 area. Well kept, decorated, clean, comfortable bed, television and hot water.

Thanks again for all the information.

fivemillplus1 Bob

Good info throughout especially including Sr. Prolijo's extended observations on particular venues.
One thing: the website Gypsy listed for Hotel La Gran Via now puts you through to Hotel Maragato ( a nice looking place but no rates I could find, nor tripadvisor.com listing).

jazzbocr the thread dumpster diver

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i sense this thread is about to take a sharp turn