If the world is flat, Costa Rica is one heck of a nice place to call home. That is what a growing variety of North Americans are discovering as the ongoing proliferation of international telecommunication helps to shrink the significance of borders and eliminates age-old disadvantages of place. Long to live in the tropics? Has your dream of waking each day to the beauty and recreational promise of lush forests, dramatic mountain vistas and unspoiled beaches been stayed by concern over practicalities? It’s time to rethink your options. Nowadays you can have your cake and eat it too.
“People who are at different stages in their lives are deciding to make the move to Costa Rica,” says Daveed Hollander of Coldwell Banker Vesta Group Dominical (www.cb-dominical.com). Their motivation to do so varies. Value is an important factor in many people’s decision. One recent study by the housing industry’s Del Webb Corporation (http://www.pulte.com/PressRoom/BabyBoomer2003Summary.pdf) found that more than three-quarters of Baby Boomers are concerned that they might not have enough money to retire. Given the fact that 43% of Baby Boomers plan to continue working beyond retirement age, and more than half of all Boomers expect to relocate during this period, Costa Rica’s comparatively low-cost market and its proximity to North America have put it on the radar. “Here one can afford the kind of luxury property that has become too pricey in the United States,” says Daveed, “and at the same time be just three hours by air from the U.S. mainland.”
Be it a primary residence or second home, purchasing a property in Costa Rica is often very popular with the buyers’ adult children, who are themselves ever more globally oriented and yet more likely to spend some time living again with their parents. How cool is it to go visit mom and dad and also get some time in surfing, hiking to hidden waterfalls, and zip lining through the rainforest? Plus, it’s a great place to bring their own young families when the time comes. Some second-generation visitors even decide to find jobs and live here on a more permanent basis.
One example of a property perfect for just such a Costa Rican homestead is a spacious three-bedroom, two-bath estate with guesthouse on 2.5 acres of breeze-swept canyon canopy in Lagunas del Baru, Dominical. Newly built and tastefully furnished in bamboo, the main house features a great room with open kitchen, breathtaking views of the south Pacific coast from its three patio-decks, and a saltwater pool for refreshing dips. Priced at just $479,000, this property proves that the dollar still goes a long way in these southern climes.
Daveed Hollander notes that North Americans are also increasingly concerned about their own carbon footprint, that is, the impact their lifestyle has on the natural environment with regards to the amount of greenhouse gases they produce. With the Costa Rican government having announced the goal of becoming the first “carbon neutral” nation in time for its bicentennial celebration in 2021, living in Costa Rica becomes an opportunity to leave a more positive environmental legacy.
No property more completely illustrates this possibility than an exquisite 13.2-acre naturalist’s dream-come-true nestled between the shores of the Ballena National Marine Park and the recently completed Costanera Sur highway in Bahia Ballena, Uvita. A gently sloped mixture of open grassland forested zones, this parcel provides a variety of habitats to the area’s abundant flora and fauna. With nearly 1,000 feet each of beach and highway frontage, zoned for mixed commercial use, and priced at $4.5 million, this Ballena find would be an excellent site for any ecotourism endeavor, private reserve, or other long-held desire.
The variety of properties in the current market, from turnkey condominiums to undeveloped rural tracts, guarantees that whatever the motivation or dream, Costa Rica looms large as a convenient and natural alternative to a high-priced, high-stress lifestyle in northern zones.
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