Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties

Here are some exciting infrastructural changes occurring here in the Southern Zone that make it the perfect place to invest right now and will drive growth for years to come:

• Still some of the most affordable real estate in the country, with beautiful ocean views, where the mountains come to the edge of the sea.
• The highway from Dominical to the south (to the Panamanian border) is the best in Cost Rica; equal to those in the US.
• One of the highest English-speaking populations in Costa Rica.
• A new International Airport, located just 1 hour South of Dominical, is nearing construction; in addition to the already-existing regional airport in Palmar Sur.
• A large (86,000 sq. ft.) hospital is being constructed just south of Ojochal (near km 194 on the Costanera Sur) and is due to be completed in 2008.
• A newly-paved road connecting Quepos and Dominical, which, when completed, will reduce the journey from 2-2.5 hours to 45 minutes. This road will eventually become the Pan-American Highway.
• There is a proposal to improve the road between Dominical and San Isidro (30 kms from Dominical).
• A brand new road that will eventually connect the Central Valley ( San José area) with the Central Pacific (Jaco/Parrita/Quepos). This will reduce the trip by 1 hour.
• The largest marina in Central America is planned for Quepos called Marina Pez Vela, includes 250-300 slips, restaurants, hotels and shops (expected completion in 2008).
• A Cruise Ship port and marina in Golfito (to the south of Uvita and the Osa Peninsula ) will soon be under construction.

The Southern Zone is the next logical growth area - not just due the above mentioned points, but the massive land areas. It is green all year ’round and contains three percent of the world’s land mass and 6% of the world’s biodiversity.

The proximity to San José (3-4hrs), Panama (1.5 hrs), Golfito (1 hr), Quepos (1.5 to 2 hrs on a bumpy road) and San Isidro (the fastest growing city in Central America) is 45 minutes away. Quepos/Manuel Antonio, which is also nearby, is the biggest tourist destination in Costa Rica.

When I first moved to Costa Rica in 1996, the Costanera Sur was just one grade above a cow trail. In 1999, I bought a home in Playa Tortuga, but worked in Dominical. While the road had improved some and was partially paved, the 20 mile drive took over 1.5 hours and involved crossing rivers and fording some potholes that small children were using as swimming pools. Now, we can proudly call this stretch one of the best roads in Costa Rica, as good as most roads in North America.

Other changes have occurred, too. The town of Uvita where our office is located had only 4 buildings along the Coastal Hwy. , the service station, a hardware store, and 2 restaurants, Viajeros and Naranjito. Now, just to name a few of the new businesses, we have a butcher shop, gift store, veterinarian, labratory, dentist, construction office, legal firm, auto parts supply, pharmacy, furniture designer, internet cafe, beauty salon, mechanic, tire store, hotels, paint and home supply, Mexican tile supplier, supermarket, 3 banks, 2 convenient stores, 4 wheeler rental and many more. That is just along the main highway. Many more additions lie along the side streets.

As far as restaurants go, the Viajeros is being replaced with one of the new office parks, but has been relocated next door to the police station. We now call it Viajeros South or Andy Burger after the great burgers that it’s owner Tug Boat Andy prepares. There is a wonderful Thai/Malaysian/Indonesian place called Marakuya. Maria’s is comida tipico, but has a huge chef salad. The Marina Ballena is the bar meeting place with a conference center. Brent’s is a fast-food healthy drive through. Kem-Vari has quesodia’s packed with chicken or shrimp. There is also a brand new Argentinian cafe and a roasted chicken eatery. Naranjito\s is still there, but has a larger menu. Again, this is on the main road, not including all of the tasty places on the side streets.

There are plans for many more businesses to come, and 4 office parks and a sports complex with an indoor soccer court are under construction. If you have not been here lately, come and see for yourself.  Write me, Annie Drake and I will be happy to answer and questions you may have.

In my personal notes, I moved here in 1996 and lived in San Jose. My job required me to travel Costa Rica extensively. During that 3 yr period, I continually looked for the perfect coastal community. Finally, I decided on Ojochal of Playa Tortuga. The greenery was overwhelming. Here, animals were everywhere and the seaside meeting the mts was incredible. I bought a home after searching for months. At the time the Coastal Hwy or the Costanera Sur was not completed. It took me 1.5 hrs to drive from my village 20 miles north to Dominical where I had opened and office. Now, 9 yrs later the whole area has opened up. The drive takes me ½ hr. Many towns, hotels, office centers and restaurants have opened all along the way. My town of approx 900 people has grown to an estimated 4000. The property I bought has tripled in value.

There are 3 larger villages in this area. Dominical, a great surfing destination with many hotels, restaurants and people. Uvita, a larger more typical village at the start of the National Whale Park that has 3 luxury hotels in the area. Ojochal, a mixture of Ticos, Europeans and North Americans, with 16 smaller hotels and 19 restaurants, 12 or more of them gourmet. The beaches are not crowded and each one has a different feature. Playa Tortuga has the nesting turtles. Ventanas has seacaves accessable by land. Bahia Uvita hosts a large sandbar in the perfect shape of a whale´s tale. That´s ironic since it is the start of Costa Rica´s largest underwater reserve, Ballena Natl Park or Whale national park where humpback and sperm whales can be seen migrating.

There are many reasons why this area is the best for investmenting

-The new International Airport under construction is located 28 miles to the south.

-Still some of the most affordable real estate in the country

-One of the highest English speaking Costa Rican populations

-Proximity to San Jose (3 to 4 hrs), Panama (1.5hrs), Golfito (1hr), Quepos (2 hrs on bad rds) and San Isidro (45 min) Quepos/Manu Antonio is the biggest tourist destination in _-CR. And San Isidro is the fastest growing city in Central America.

-Proposed new road to San Isidro

-Improvement of the road to Quepos that would open a new Pan American Hwy rt.

-The Cruise Ship port and marina in Golfito soon to start construction.

-A New hospital under construction in Cuidad Cortez that will be larger and more modernized that the existing one.

-The coastal road that runs from Dominical to Panama is currently the best road in the country, equal to those in the US.

-Also closeby are C Amer largest botanical gardens and Corcorvado Natl Park, which Natl Geographic calls the most biologically intense place on earth, La Amistad Park that is one of the largest stands of primary rainforest left, producing some of the freshest air on the planet. The air seems to heal everybody.

While there is more greenery and animals on the Osa Penn., It has become more convenient to build with many new hardware stores and suppliers opening all of the time. High speed internet lines are available and will soon cover the whole area.For people who are ready to move, but not ready to retire, there are still many businesses and services needed to open a new successful venture. Needed are dry storage, DVD rentals, bookstores, health clubs, etc. It is the “New Frontier”.

I have been working in Real Estate/Travel for a long time now. We bring people in small and large groups to buy properties and invest. There is a great need for condos and turnkey homes. So many people don´t want to bother with construction. Planned communities with info structure sell quickly. We worry that soon our options for sales will be limited. 11 times in a 2 month period, we had clients make offers, only to find out that it had been sold within days before. All of these were lots and homes. Long term rentals are hard to find ,too.,

I have run a survey with the locals and ex/pats here for the last 6 years. It is conducted to find out there opinions on what type of businesses are most needed here. While so much is now available, we still lack some services. Please contact me if you have any interest in this.