Expat Community > Costa Rica

PacificLots
Joined 2008
Posts: 209

Why so many are happy living in Costa Rica

11 years ago

Had to change the subject line of this discussion. What many people don't realize is how different even the beach area can be for temperature and humidity. I was just in Nicaragua this past weekend and on the southern Pacific coast of Nicaragua there were fires burning, everything was super dry and you could see that fires were plaguing the area. This also happens in the northern Pacific region of Costa Rica. That area is cattle country, like Texas, dry with many white sand beaches since the area lacks lots of organic soil matter. As you enter the central Pacific region, say Jaco or Playa Herradura, the area is a bit more temperate, there is more organic matter, more trees etc and the beaches are darker. Further south by Quepos, even more jungle, that's the end of the central Pacific region, the temperature seems less extreme since trees regulate heat. You also get less wind as you move from the northern Pacific to the central and to the south,. You get ocean breeze but not the strong winds you find in the north. You will rarely ever see a sailboat for example in the Costa Ballena area in the southern Pacific.

Further south as you reach the southern region, say around Dominical, you get darker sand since many rivers are flowing from the inland mountains and they carry a lot of silt and organic matter. The temperature is actually cooler than in the north though the humidity is higher. The "feels like" temperature will be hot midday but as the evening comes on, it is typically cooler than in the north.

Down where our developments are, in Ojochal, Tres Rios de Coronado and Chontales, the temperatures might hit 90 mid day on the hot day but will be in the 70's at night. As long as you are in the shade, it feels great except perhaps at the height of the afternoon. The majority of our clients don't even have AC in their homes and if they do, they typically install an undersized unit that is used more to remove the humidity rather than change the temperature much. Keep in mind we are in an area where the largest mountains are the closest to the coast in the entire country, making it easy to be at higher elevation even though still being right near the beach. We don't build any homes much below 400 feet elevation and many are over 1000 feet up even though only a mile or two from the beach. Hence our tag line, where the mountains meet the sea in Costa Rica. Personally I find many places in the central valley to be cold this time of year. I like always being able to wear shorts, even at night if I want to. I don't need sweaters or coats and no one in our area has or needs any form of heat.

Steve Linder
Pacific Lots of Costa Rica
www.PacificLots.com
305-295-0137 direct
877-481-0300 US only toll free
Read our blog: www.PacificLots.com/Costa-Rica-Blog/
Photos of our Developments http://picasaweb.google.com/pacificlots

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Why so many are happy living in Costa Rica

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