A slight correction. Los Yoses is close in to downtown BEFORE you get to UCR-San Pedro. You pass along the north edge of it on your way out to the San Pedro Mall or you could also pass along the south edge of it on your way out to Cartago. However, the more usual route is to head down Calle 9 past Pantera Rosa, around Gonzalez Viquez Park and along the main diagonal thoroughfare that takes you out by way of Zapote.
Regardless, other than the drive-through, I wouldn't spend any time on Los Yoses or any of the other places so close in to downtown, not because they wouldn't possibly worth relocating to but because you can organize your own "tour" of them by simply taking the local public bus and/or walking around. I'd save my time with the private driver for the places you can not so easily get to on your own.
Also, IMHO, trying to do the full circuit around SJ in one day is good for little more than getting an overview. The so-called autopista or expressway around SJ is anything but express. It gets heavily backed up with traffic and the regularly spaced auto-rotundas (traffic-circles) certainly don't help. Get off the main autopista and it doesn't get much better. I know some people that advocate doing this by taking the bus that circumnavigate the city as a day trip (more like half-day). You can simply get off one and on another if you want to stop and look around or even drive it straight through. Again, checking out neighborhoods that close to SJ is somethinrg anybody can easily do on their own taking their time. I think OSG has the right idea. Don't try to cover everything in 1 day. Split it into at least 2. I'd go further and state the obvious. You're probably going to want to do areas to the east of SJ one day and the areas to the west of SJ on a seperate day so that you'll have at least sometime to get out and look around and not spend all your time in traffic trying to get from one place to the next.
DAY ONE (or 2) - EAST AND SOUTH OF SJ - I've heard a lot of guys like Jester and Archie talk about Cartago and the Orosi Valley. Personally. I don't see it. Don't get me wrong. Those areas are nice but IMHO are not "all that". Still different strokes for different folks and you never know which area will strike each person as the best place to be. That said, here are my thoughts on the area:
Tres Rios - Start by checking out this area on the way to Cartago(~11kms from SJ). This has been an "up and coming" area ever since they put in the new big shiny mall a couple of years ago. Also being on the main transportation route between Cartago and SJ there is regular and frequent bus service which could be an especially big factor if you won't have a car and want to be able to easily pop into SJ whenever you want.
Cartago - This is the one "big" city in this area (~22kms from SJ). At ~230K, it has well over half that province's population. It has some major sights such as the Basilica and the original church ruins in the center of town, but other than that IMHO has the typical grungy "charm" of most CR cities. Still if you want to stay close to some amenities (stores of all types, restaurants, bars and, who knows, maybe a local MP hidden away somewhere) and also want regular bus connections with SJ (which run every 10 minutes from 5AM-midnight) than Cartago is "the end of the line" so to speak. Personally, I'd rather be a little bit more removed in a more tranquil setting if it were me, perhaps more on the outskirts of town or elsewhere in the province. If you want a slightly cooler climate consider the Tierra Blanca area just north of downtown going up the slopes of the Irazu Volcano. You could go higher still for cooler climes and greater isolation but that is up to you.
Paraiso - is next going east (~30km from SJ). They have buses passing through hourly from SJ on their way to Turrialba or other points east. But for more regular service you'll probably have to change buses in Cartago (buses between Paraiso and Cartago run every 5 minutes until 11PM). Lankester Gardens are in Paraiso and depending on exactly where you locate you can have views of the Orosi valley without actually having to go down in it.
Orosi, Cachi, Ujarras - its your call if you want to go this far (~40km from SJ). I don't believe there are any direct buses to SJ from down in the valley but there are at least hourly ones to Cartago until 6:30 in the evening. Personally, this area would not be at the top of my list, but as you've seen a lot of people really like it. If nothing else, if you haven't seen it before, it is worth a drive through for sight-seeing purposes. I'd figure at least a couple of hours for the full loop from Cartago and back.
Turrialba - At ~65km from SJ Turrialba is Cartago's largest canton and its 2nd biggest "city". There are hourly buses to Cartago which also TAKE an hour as well as hourly buses to even more distant SJ. This is also a pretty area, formerly known as CR's whitewater rafting HQ although lately that claim seems to be shifting more towards Siquirres in the Limon province. It is also home to the Guayabo archeological ruins which are a very interesting site that I recommend others check out although probably not on a day dedicated to far ranging exploration and resettlement research. If you head out this way at all, more likely you won't want to go any further than San Rafael (or MAYBE Cervantes or Juan Vinas) along the southern "Paraiso" route to Turrialba or Cot or Pacayas along the slightly cooler northern route (along the base of the Irazu and Turrialba volcanos). Alternatively you could cover this as aloop from Cartago going by way of Pacayas one way and Juan Vinas on the wayback (or v.v.)(figure at least a couple of hours for that)
Tejar, Tobosi, San Cristobal - One last loop that again will take at least a couple of hours if not much longer depending on the way you go. The first part sets out south of Cartago along the same route you'd take to San Isidro (ie with hourly buses to/from SJ at least duing the day). You can follow this route as far as San Cristobal Norte or Sur and then loop back to Cartago by way of Frailes and Tobosi (or else skip Tobosi and continue the loop to return to SJ by way of Aserri) or you can just skip either San Cristobal or Tobosi and return to SJ by Aserri. Which ever way you go you'll find beautiful mountain scenery. Geographically closer to SJ than the Turrialba area, this area is nonetheless remote transportation wise and I probably wouldn't consider it unless I was also planning on owning a car unless possibly I was more on the SJ side of the loop.
Last but not least Aserri, Tabarca - I know this area is high on my pal GringoTim's list (sorry Pete if I'm letting the cat out of the bag) as well as another good friend who is no longer a member here. Some of you may know this area better as the place where Ram Luna is located (ie with some truly awe inspiring views of the Central Valley at night). Most gringos haven't explored this area during the day (I confess I really haven't). It is just one of those areas that seem to get overlooked, but the scenery is supposed to be great, day or night, and there is a good road and regular public transportation (only~15kms to SJ), as far as Aserri at least.
DAY TWO (or one) - WEST AND NORTH OF SJ - IMHO, this area could even be easily split up into a third day, although with a driver you certainly get a decent overview in one day. If you do split it up, the first day you could go the Escazu, Santa Ana, Colon, San Antonio de Belen route (also returning by way of Alajuela and/or Heredia if you have time). The next day you could hit up Heredia and Alajuela on the way out (or finish up whatever you might have missed the day before) and then check areas further afield such as Grecia and Atenas. IMHO, if you try to do this in just one day, you'll either have to breeze through some of these places or be more selective which ones you really want to see. But that might be just fine for an initial overview trip. Apart from having what seems to me to be more candidate sites on this side of SJ, this area is also puts you that much closer to the Pacific beaches if you ever want to go down there for a day or weekend trip.
Escazu - Escazu really started out as 3 seperate towns, San Antonio, San Miguel and San Rafael, but they have grown together and function more as neighborhoods of Escazu. It has gotten hard to see where one ends and the other begins. San Rafael is closest to SJ only 7km away and connected by a major highway. Not much needs to be said about this area as it is pretty familiar to most gringos. A ritzy commercial center (the Beverly Hills or Rodeo Drive of CR), expensive homes, lots of gringo expats and wealthy ticos. Aside from its close location to SJ, it offers more than enough upscale shopping and dining that one wouldn't even need to go downtown (Multiplaza, CR's largest mall, is only minutes away). For many this is the ideal if not only place in CR that they'd consider living. For me, it does not seem that much different from living in some places in the US. Obviously YMMV. San Miguel, 1km further up the road, has managed to retain at least a little bit of colonial character. And San Antonio even further up the mountain side offers the most rural feel and, because of its higher elevation, cooler temperatures and more awesome views of the valley, but it is also a much longer trip to get into SJ.
Santa Ana - 13kms from SJ, but an easy drive being at the end of the Gen. Canas Hwy, Santa Ana is a little lower elevation than Escazu and thus tends to be a little warmer. Also, unlike Escazu, which lends a sense of suburban sprawl, Santa Ana has much more of a distinct village center. Santa Ana used to be billed as the lower priced alternative to Escazu. I'm not so sure how true that is any more since so many gringos have found out about it and driven up prices there.
Colon - 8kms beyond Santa Ana, Colon used to seem way out there. Still it has buses to/from SJ every 30 minutes (taking 40) that run until 11:30 at night (assuming you want to be on a bus that late at night) or about 20-25 minutes by car IF there is no traffic. Prices have gone way up here too, but it is still much cheaper then Escazu, which might offset the slightly longer distance for you. BTW, alternatively or inaddition to ccking out Colon you could also head higher into the mountains from Santa Ana towards Puriscal, for a beautiful but much further removed experience.
San Antonio de Belen - heading north from Santa Ana and just off of the main PanAm Hwy that runs through CR and between SJ and the airport, I don't know much about this area except that it is near the airport and the Cariari Golf Course (if golf is important to you that by itself might be the deciding factor). For that matter, there is also the area around Cariari itself (is that a town or just an area?
). If nothing else it makes sense to come back this way rather than recover the ground you've already seen.
Atenas - I don't know how far out you want to go. I suppose we could also talk about such places as San Ramon and Palmares or even beyond that. The reason I mention Atenas is because it is one of the hot places to relocate in CR. The main thing driving that is the new road to the coast which will cut driving time to the Pacific beaches way down when its ever finished. However Atenas also has a lot else going for it. Being at a much lower elevation than anyplace else I've mentioned so far it is also the warmest, which could either be a big plus or minus depending on your tastes. I believe National Geographic labeled it as having the best year round climate in the world a few years back. It is also a very scenic area with small valleys and pastoral scenes of dark green coffee fields, and lighter greens of various other crops. Unfortunately, Atenas is not the secret it once was, prices are way up (though still cheaper than Escazu) and new home development is rampant, possibly losing its character (or enhancing its attractiveness depending on your view of development). Oh yeah, Atenas has hourly buses taking an hour to make the ~45km trip running until ~10PM.
Grecia, Saarchi, Naranjo - I don't know if you also want to cover these areas since they're also pretty far out, however Grecia in particular is a village that is increasingly popular with many gringos. Grecia is about 45km from SJ (but only half that to the airport) with buses running every 30 minutes until 10PM and taking a hour. Grecia has the funky metal church and been billed as the "world's cleanest town" (something SJ could never claim). Saarchi has its colorful crafts markets. that tourist strip itself between the 2 Sarrrchis is pretty tacky but the town's themselves are pretty nice. I find the colorful church in Saarchi to be even more appealing than the more famous one in Grecia. Grecia has more shopping and services. but Grecia is just minutes away and has fewer gringos (and thus prehaps more reasonable pries). I'm not sure what Naranjo has that is special, but we might as well throw that town in here as well since it is in the same area. These are all nice little villages that would be worth a drive through even if you weren't house hunting. Overall it is a pretty rural area with lots of coffee farms and sugarcane.
Alajuela - 20km outside of SJ with buses running every 10minutes taking ~30 until 11PM. While not as low as Atenas it is still lower than SJ and so usually a degree or two warmer (unless you locate higher up on the slopes of Poas). It has a nice central park with big mango trees, lots of locals hanging out, a wonderful Saturday morning farmers market and even occasional outdoor concerts. It is also very convenient to the airport, a decent sized hospital and still reasonably close to SJ. However, I'd rank the town itself probably the least charming of the 4 provincial capitals in the central valley. Again YMMV. BTW, I suppose you could throw in the communities of La Garita and Gaucima just on the other side of the airport as long as you are out in this area.
Heredia - 12km from downtown SJ with buses running as frequently here as to/from Alajuela while taking just a little more than half the time. Also being partway up on the slopes of Barva volcano, depending on what side of town you are on it can be a degree or 2 cooler than SJ or Alajuela. Of the 4 provincial capitals this is the one that I feel has retained the most colonial charm. It has a very nice tree shaded central park (nicknamed "parque de las palomas muertas" or park of the dead doves referring to a certain part of the anatomy of the old coots that hang out there to scope out the young senoritas). And lets not forget the National University campuscampus on the eastern fringe of town. Second only in size to UCR-San Pedro, it adds 12K students to an overall city pop of only 80K thereby giving the community more than its share of youthfull energy (not to mention pretty coeds who go to NUCR for its teacher education programs). You might have guessed this is my personal favorite. It gets its share of gringos but a most of them seemto be located outside of town in one of the nearby communities. Somewhat more upscale San Joaquin is on the main road between Heredia and Alajuela. If you hit that the day before or are making a loop back, you should take the alternative route that swings further north up the slopes of Barva and returns to Heredia by way of Santa Barbara and Barva (home of Cafe Britt). If you still have time after all of this, rather than returning to SJ by way of the PAH, you could return by way of bougainvillea filled Santo Domingo, which is halfway about between Heredia and SJ and thus very convenient to SJ. Or you could take an even wider loop back by heading through San Rafael and San Isidro, returning late to SJ by way of the Tibas highway. BTW, that is San Rafael de Heredia not to be confused with the San Rafael de Escazu I mentioned earlier. There are many San Isidros, San Domingos etc. in CR. I omitted the usual suffixes that follow for the sake of brevity here (:roll:).
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WHAT A POST!I'll conclude witha few general observations and recommendations here.
1) You should have noticed that I mentioned the aspect of bus connections prominently here. Obviously this is not a factor right now if you have a driver-guide taking you around. It also still may not be an issue if you plan to have a car after you get here. However, owning a car in CR is usually one of the big budget busters for many gringos. Depending on where you choose to live (or how), owning a car might not be really necessary. For example, VB seems quite content taking cabs from Escazu for his daily visits to SJ. If you really want to save money or don't need to go into town that often, buses might be a more reasonable and economical alternative. At other places, bus coverage may not be adequate for your needs and even if you own a car the difference between a 15 minute drive into town and a hour one might be the difference between bothering to make the trip every day.
2) Weather. Notice I discussed elevations. Overall, at these latitudes and elevations weather tends to be fairly even and consistent, but the elevation can make the difference between weather that averages around 68° and 72°. Many places don't have A/C or, if they do, you don't use it. So ask yourself what temperature would you feel most comfortable at before you focus on mountainside communities or valley floor ones. Also keep in mind that while weather may not fluctuate as widely as it does up north it still varies. Check back on the areas you've narrowed your selection down to later on in the year so you can get an idea of what it is like in those places over time.
3) Like I said before, some guys couldn't see themselves living outside of a safe well-to-do heavily gringoized (ie familiar) community like Escazu. Other guys say they want to live like the ticos. In truth, I think very very few gringos could really live COMPLETELY like a tico. Ask yourself how "tico" do you really want to go. Maybe you don't want to be surrounded by gringos, but having a familiar gringo face to converse in english with occasionally or commiserate about such things as missed tico service appointments, weird banking or bill payment requirements and such, can be the difference between managing to cope with tico life and going completely crazy. There is a whole range of places from heavily gringo Escazu to places where you'll be the only gringo (or one of a very small handful) for miles.
4) Doing pre-research on-line has its definite limitations, but it does have its merits. Being on an english language site geared to gringos, prices listed will tend to be a lot higher than what ticos typically play. However, some sites can be good places of initial information about different communities. For example, check out
http://www.1-costaricalink.com/costa_rica_provinces/heredia_costa_rica.htm for some basic info (click on the links at the top for info on other towns, cantons and provinces). This link at the same website has a lot of other info you might find useful
http://www.1costaricalink.com/goldendoor/home.htm. Most websites are pure marketing, but there is another website I've seen which provided a great overview (even better than the above). Unfortunately, I lost the link but will see if I can refind it. Finally, check out the ARCR forum @
http://www.arcr.net or better yet attend their 2 day seminar. You won't be there for this upcoming trip but they have one every month on the last Thursday and Friday.
5) At this stage you will probably be doing well just to narrow your options down to a few areas. Unfortunately, that might not be so easy to do with out having a clearer idea of exactly how much it will cost you in different areas. If you are going to attempt to do this on-line, I suggest you check out the listings at a spanish language site like
http://www.supereconomicos.com. If that is to difficult for you, you can get at least some idea by knocking about 25% or the gringo prices listed on the english language sites.
6) Perhaps the best way to real estate shop in CR is to get out and walk around. Look for "Se Vende" (or "Para Alquiler") signs and knock on doors, or better yet have your driver call on his cell to get the "Tico" price. Even if you're not ready to buy, it will help focus you in on realistic expectations. Get out and walk around. Does the neighborhood feel safe? Are the residents warm and friendly? How far is the walk from the property you might be interested to the nearest pulperia, mercado or bus stop? It may be too soon for this stage, until you have a better idea of the few areas you're really the most interested in. After all, you can't walk everywhere in just 2 days. But you will want to do it eventually and you might want to do it in at least a few places even on this trip if you find an area that really sparks your interest.
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(That's in southern Nicaragua for those of you who missed that joke)
