I’m narrowing my Costa Rica rental search to within 40 miles of San Jose and away from active volcanoes. The temperature range must be between 60 degrees F and 85 degrees F, the upper temps especially.
So, this means the following barrios (neighborhoods, communities) are within those parameters:
South of San Jose:
San Ignacio (66-82 degrees year-’round)
Pacayas (60-75)
Aserri (60-77)
Guadalupe (64-80)
San Miguel (62-79)
San Rafael Arriba (64-80)
Desamparados (72-94)
San Felipe (65-81)
Alajuelita (63-81)
North of San Jose:
Santo Domingo (62-79)
Mercedes (70-86)
San Isidro (71-85)
Heredia (pretty close to Poas volcano, perhaps too close) (63-82)
San Francisco (65-82)
San Pablo (62-81)
San Juan (65-81)
San Josecito (63-80)
East of San Jose:
Paraiso (62-78)
Cartago (pretty close to an active volcano) (60-77)
Ipis (62-78)
San Diego (62-74)
Purral (61-79)
Sabanilla (64-80)
San Vicente (62-80)
Curridabat (62-80)
Tres Rios (60-77)
Calle Blancos (64-81)
San Pedro (64-80)
I already known CR people in the bolded barrios listed above and below, so they’re my most-compelling areas. It wouold be nice to have a CR “mentor” nearby to show mw some of the ropes (where the various buses go,where the ferias and best sodas (tico owned eateries) are, etc.
I’m also interested in San Ramon, even though it’s located between two active volcanoes, Arenal to the west and the very active Poas volcano (40 miles) to the east than I’d like. At the moment, I’m just 63 miles (as the crow flies) from Mr. Rainier, so I’ve lived quite near a dormant volcano plus Mt St Helens, 134 miles away, for a lot of my lifetime. So, San Ramon remains on my list.
Even at 37 miles from San Jose, it takes almost an hour and a half to get to the big city from San Ramon because CR country roads aren’t superhighways: they’re curvy and narrow with pot holes in a lot of places. But the scenery and critters probably make the journey more memorable than speeding along a freeway — at least for me!
The reason I’m staying relatively close to San Jose is because the internatinal airport is there, and I want the people who come visit me to be able to get to my home within 90 minutes (ideally) of landing. It’ll be a long day just to get to the airport from where they’ll be flying in from. I won’t have a vehicle so I won’t be able to meet them at the airport unless I hire a Uber or a taxi round trip — which I can do, if necessary, if the visitor doesn’t plan to rent a car so they can get around to other sites when they visit.
There are a great many wonderful sites to see in Costa Rica, both historical, cultural, and natural.
I’m eager to experience as much of it as I can when people come to stay and visit with me!
