Escazu

doustoi wrote:

My wife and I are planning a scouting trip to Costa Rica next year with an eye toward retiring there.  Who can give us the pros and cons of Escazu as a place to: a) use as a base of operations for our scouting trip, and b) consider for retiring to? Can anyone recommend hotels or B&Bs there?

Hola Doustoi,

Welcome to Expat.com!

Re Escazu, really depends what it is you're looking for.  There are many expats living in and around Escazu.  I would say many if not most are still working and that area is near to many employers.  It's squeezed in between San Jose and Santa Ana so for me, it's one big, crowded city.  It is centrally located so exploring from there would be convenient. 

During commute hours and lunchtime, the traffic in Escazu I would say is the worst that I've experienced other than downtown San Jose.  It's ugly. 

It's a relatively expensive area compared to many other parts of CR.  The upside, great restaurants and entertainment nearby.  Nice malls, large well stocked hardware stores, furniture stores, Gringo style hospitals, etc. 

For me, nice place to visit, and I do regularly, but you could not pay me to live there.  That is only my opinion.  I don't like living in or near any cities - no matter what country I live in.  That''s why I was saying it all depends on what YOU are looking for.

Best of luck on your search.

- Expat Dave
Expat.com Team Member

Dave, thanks! Where do you live?

I live about 8 km outside of San Ramon, Alajuela.   Hopefully in the near future we will be relocating to a very, very remote location near the Nicaraguan border.  I help my daughter with her parrot rescue center and we need to relocate where they can be released back into the wild.

I second what Dave said re Escazu. Some people like living in cities - I'm not one of them. So for me I would never live in Escazu. And I don't have personal experience but I hear the traffic is very bad there, as Dave said.

But if you like being in a city environment and want to be around quite a few other gringos, and near San Jose', then it may be a great place for you! The advantages would be (I imagine) easy bus lines, many restaurants, cinemas, easy access to more variety in shopping, and so on. The downside would be the traffic, crowds, noise, etc... Again I'm not all that familiar with it but I hear a lot of things about it and have  been through there a few times. I live down the road from Dave's current location in case you're wondering, even more remote.

ExpatDave, I thought about your new venture when I read this article today, "Zoos and Animal Rescue Centers in Costa Rica Have new Regulations to Abide by"

Hope it doesn't mess up your plans...

Hola Kohlerias,

Thank you for referencing the article.  Actually, we've been looking forward to the new law/rules coming into affect for sometime.  A friend of my daughters was actually involved with the wording of the Bill.

We already abide by the new rules.  In some areas we are even more strict.  One of the things that I like about the new law is that breeders who call themselves "sanctuaries" will no longer be able to sell birds.  They can no longer place a value on these vulnerable and endangered species.

The catch will be to see if MINAE and the police will have the manpower and courage to enforce these new rules.  I sincerely hope so.

- Expat Dave