Hi Patrick,
We loved the Central Valley – the climate is perfect and the convenience to San Jose is awesome. In Grecia, we felt like we were in the real Costa Rica. We had great neighbors and it was a great town, with a great farmers’ market.
We moved to Tamarindo for a few reasons. One, they had a great, relatively low cost private school for my 6 year old son. Two, coming from south Florida, we missed living on the beach. And three, during our time in Costa Rica, our goal has always been to explore as many areas of the country as possible.