Southern Zone of Costa Rica

ExpatDave, I PM'ed you last week regarding San Vito.

Thank you.  I havent had internet... again.  Really don't like CRWifi!  Relying on Movistar now and it's intermittent.   

-Expat Dave

I know exactly how you feel!!
Our internet has been off & on the past few days, and when on...it is so s-l-o-w...

Dave,
Sorry to hear the place up north didn't work out after all the trips up there. Good luck finding another place!
Sent you a PM re internet.

Just returned from a four day trip to explore the Southern Zone.  Well, at least the area in and around San Vito.  Great trip!  It's like being in another country.  Very few houses have bars on the windows, maybe one in fifteen and the nicest thing was there's no trash.  Really, no trash along the roads in town or outside of town.  And to top it all off, people actually take care of their houses and yards - astonishing!   

We already found a property that would be suitable for our needs for the parrot rescue center.  Nine hectares of land with a Tico house on it.  They're asking $154,000 but that's overpriced for the area.  So time will tell on that one.  MINAE is asking my daughter to take in another fifty birds that need to be confiscated so we are going to move forward as quickly as possible.

For most expats this would however - NOT  be a desirable area to live.  It's almost six hours from the nearest major airport, no Walmart and no fast-food and no Gringo communities.     On the plus side for me, they had a great Chinese restaurant.     In the four days we were in the area we only saw one Gringo. Yet again, great for me but I know this would not suit many others.  Again, different wants and needs for all of us.   

We're taking another trip down in the coming weeks to confirm a few things on the property, but we're looking forward to moving forward with the new adventure.

- Expat Dave

Wow, 9 hectares for $154k sounds like a great deal!  That kind of price would make me want to look into that area!

I looked at property prices down around San Vito many years ago, and was interested, BUT it's so far from anything, that was my main problem. Also it seems to rain a lot more than in the San Ramon area. I was curious so looked it up but had trouble finding what would seem to be accurate information.

I found this map but its stats for rainfall etc say they are based on Limon's weather.

weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine-fahrenheit,san-vito-puntarenas-cr,Costa-Rica

Does San Vito have the same weather as Limon? Doesn't seem right to me...

Then I found this one and it doesn't show historical data but it does show the next 10 days as raining so that makes me think it probably rains more there than here in San Ramon area:

wunderground.com/forecast/cr/san-vito

San Vito is at an altitude of 3268 feet and is considered an Italian community of sorts.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Vito_(Costa_Rica)

It does allow you easy access to Panama for less expensive items...

Check out Ojochal and Uvita, pricier but lots of expats and no bars on windows or trash.

We took the tour of Pacific Lots in 2010 and there were so many "private" lots for sale that had been bought while on "the tour" that it was incomprehensible to buy a listed lot.  We have been here for three years in an area that we found ourselves. Please take your time and look around!

I have a lot of questions about the San Vito area, but will keep it to a few.
Background: I live in Corozal, Belize for over 5 years. I am a single male in my early 70's. I still mow the yard and stay fairly active. I own an 1800 sq ft house and nice size yard. My priorities have changes, so I am selling my house. San Vito looks like a place I would like to live.
Rain: I have seen pictures of blue sky. Does it rain any time during the day. Is one time more predominant?
I would like to rent a 2 bed 1 bath house or apartment in the area. Are these available?
I read it's cheaper to go to Panama, just across the border, to buy things. Any problem bringing items back? Produce? Furniture? Crafts? Anything else?
What is the name of the town in Panama people go too?
One last question. If things went bad for the US, does or can  Costa Rica stand alone?
That's enough for now.
Thanks,
John