According to the Global Property Guide, average listing prices for properties in Costa Rica have increased just over 6% year-on-year. In the last three years, about 80% of home sales have exceeded $200,000.
I was born and raised in Michigan and lived in Chicago as an adult. Harsh winters have been the name of the game most of my life. When my husband and I decided to make a move abroad, warm weather and sunshine year-round were at the top of our list of criteria.
From the balcony of her two-bedroom condo in Tamarindo, Kathy Bowen enjoys a panoramic view of the palm-lined Pacific coast. “This is where I spend most of my mornings, right here, reading or doing puzzles, or just listening to music and enjoying the view.”
New Jersey retirees David and Cathy Weed say they have found the perfect combination of slower paced, tropical life and convenience in Playa Langosta, the close neighbor of the popular beach town of Tamarindo on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.
Tourists and expats alike typically spend a lot of time researching Costa Rica’s weather patterns prior to arrival. While it’s a tropical paradise with no winter, or drastic temperature changes in general for that matter, the country does have two distinct seasons.
Graham Cooper first became an expat when he moved from his native England to Toronto, Canada in 1972, to pursue what would be a long and prosperous career in mechanical engineering. When he became eligible for retirement after 30 years with the same employer at the age of 55, he didn’t hesitate. “I figured, why would I work any longer if I can retire now,” Graham reflects. “My company offered me a nice retirement package including my pension and health benefits until I die, so I took it and planned to pursue my passion for travel.”
Daily sightings of howler monkeys and a variety of lizards never gets old. Between the monkeys and the tropical birds found here, chances are you'll be waking to the tune of a different type of alarm clock. Arguably the most developed town in the Guanacaste region along the northern Pacific coast, Tamarindo offers the convenience of a bustling little town and also the tranquility of nature, with its nearly two miles of sandy beach, surrounded by mountains and tropical dry forest.
Town is quiet in the morning; a few local vendors set up roadside shops where they sell wood carvings, tapestries, and the like. A few people gather for a generous breakfast and fresh-brewed, local coffee for about $8 at the cafes. “Downtown” is small, really just one street that wraps around the western shoreline…walk through from the road and you’ll be in awe of the three-mile stretch of lush, palm-lined coast and blue water. An old fisherman’s boat is always washed up during low tide.
Long walks along the gently curving beach. Beers beneath brilliant sunsets, as music radiates from energetic beach bars. It’s easy to see the appeal of Tamarindo, on Costa Rica’s Gold Coast. I mean, that’s why I chose it as my home. And this vibrant beach town continues to attract growing number of expats and tourists in search of great waves and a laidback beach lifestyle.
Costa Rica is a relatively small country, but it boasts one of the most diverse varieties of landscapes and climate in the world. It’s got the perfect harmony between the lush, green jungle teeming with wildlife and unadulterated beaches.