Feb 06 2008
My move to the Whale Coast
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.
