A Traveler Special Feature by By Kat Sunlove and Layne Winklebleck
Costa Rica, a land of verdant rain forests and pristine beaches, enjoys a well-deserved reputation as a prime retirement option for the tired-of-the-rat-race crowd. But as its popularity has soared so has its real estate, especially in those areas most favored by retirees, primarily the Guanacaste province in the northwestern prong of the country. Because of its notably drier climate, many ex-pats began buying land and building homes there some years back, when property was quite affordable, even bargain by U.S. standards. Now, a decade or more into the migration, it is hard to find a well-built 3-bedroom, 2-bath house in the Guanacaste region for under $400K. These days you can buy a mansion in California for that kind of money!
But if you head the other direction out of the capital of San Jose, east and south across the busy central plateau, past historical Cartago and Paraiso, only an hour and a half from the airport, you will find the Orosi Valley, an emerald jewel of hillside coffee plantations, traditional pueblos graced with historical churches, rushing rivers and vistas of banana trees and friendly Ticos (as locals call themselves), largely undiscovered by visitors or investors. My husband Layne and I have spent some time exploring Costa Rica in our search for the perfect retirement locale. We’ve decided the Orosi Valley may just be it!
As you head downhill on the well-paved highway from Paraiso, the view suddenly opens onto a lush tropical basin with the wild Aguacaliente River rushing through it, surrounded by slopes of deep green coffee fields, punctuated with an occasional brightly painted cinderblock house halfway up the slope. Located only 25 miles southeast of the capital of San Jose, the village of Orosi and other small towns perched on the rise of the fertile mountainsides all around beckon recession-weary Americans with affordable and unspoiled land, incredible views, abundant willing local workers and all the services required for a comfortable retirement or just a frugal tropical holiday. With year-round temperatures in the 70’s, Orosi Valley makes an attractive alternative to the humidity and heat of the tourist-weary beach towns.
Here in the eastern end of the central highland, land is still priced to suit a budget and local construction resources are top-notch. On a recent visit to Costa Rica, my husband and I befriended a tall, transplanted Texan contractor-cum-realtor who can sell you a quarter acre of view land for $25K and build you a gorgeous, seriously engineered 1600 sq. ft. home for about $70K. Gregarious Stephen Riley and his charming wife Nancy own Paradise Peak Realty in Orosi and after 15 years, the pair knows the area like locals. In an all-day real estate outing with Steve and our buyer’s agent Jean-Pierre Pfleger, we visited properties from the river-frontage parcels near Steve’s own 50-acre garden paradise through Sanchiri with it’s magnificent mirador, or lookout point, along the length of Lake Cachi, where sacks of crawfish can be had during the season for a pittance and on through the town of Cachi, one of many small communities that border the lake. We finished our tour in downtown Orosi where we viewed several Tico houses, including an attractive handicapped accessible home on the main street, featuring a central patio bursting with fruit trees. The whole town of Orosi, in fact, seems unusually wheelchair-friendly for a Central American nation, offering periodic metal crossing points over the mandatory rain gutter running between street and sidewalk.
We wondered how the deteriorating economic climate had affected property and construction costs in Orosi so we recently contacted Steve with those questions. According to him, the Valley economy is booming with new migrants from the U.S. and elsewhere coming at the rate of about two a month. He said construction costs had dropped slightly but so far, Orosi continues to enjoy a strong real estate market. Surrounded by tourist attractions such as Lankaster Gardens, home to hundreds of the orchid varieties native to Costa Rica and Tapanti National Park where hikers trek to visit 300-foot high Salto Falls and watch the abundant wildlife, Orosi is positioned for strong growth in coming years. Layne and I hope to be among those contented ex-pats nibbling on Steve’s fantastic Strawberry Cake and homemade brew at the monthly party he hosts for locals and transplants alike!
