San Ramon area...

[DaveT]

Russ or anyone else,

Any opinions good, bad, or ugly on the San Ramon area?

I've been told by several people that the year-round weather conditions are very favorable (especially compared to the Guanacaste/NW Pacific which has a long dry season and can feel like an oven), that the area may be attractive to baby boomer types because of its proximity to San Jose and the resources (i.e. healthcare, nightlife/entertainment, airport, etc.) a major city provides, has high elevation views, and that land is still pretty affordable.

As you can probably tell, I am potentially  targeting this area and I'm going down to Costa Rica next week and would love to hear from anyone who has already visited or has opinions on San Ramon as a viable place to invest in real estate/land?

Thanks in advance, Dave (daveterry73@juno.com)

[presentmoment]

It's a very nice area with a great year round climate and there real estate is pretty affordable. If you check out www.welovecostarica.com there is a person who posts under the screen name maravilla who is just finishing a home there and has a wealth of info on the area.

[Russ]

San Ramon isn't a bad area, the only drawback could be more rainfall than most people would like in certain locations.  As you drive from San Jose to the Central Pacific beaches you drop in elevation as you pass the airport and through Naranjo more or less, then you start climbing.  The highest peak after that is close to San Ramon, and it is practically always cloudy or raining as you drive through that pass.   San Ramon center is below this point though, so it's just a matter of picking your spot well.

This is a great example of the microclimates in Costa Rica.  Conditions change rapidly from one place to the next, even if it is only a few kilometers away. 

[jimsocal]

Russ or anyone else,

Any opinions good, bad, or ugly on the San Ramon area?

I've been told by several people that the year-round weather conditions are very favorable (especially compared to the Guanacaste/NW Pacific which has a long dry season and can feel like an oven), that the area may be attractive to baby boomer types because of its proximity to San Jose and the resources (i.e. healthcare, nightlife/entertainment, airport, etc.) a major city provides, has high elevation views, and that land is still pretty affordable.

As you can probably tell, I am potentially  targeting this area and I'm going down to Costa Rica next week and would love to hear from anyone who has already visited or has opinions on San Ramon as a viable place to invest in real estate/land?

Thanks in advance, Dave (daveterry73@juno.com)

Dave, while I have not lived there, I went there to look at property myself and I think San Ramon seems like a great town, and some of the outlying areas are great. I looked at a place there with a distant ocean view that was really nice and a good price, too. Many gringos are moving in to the area. The weather is rainier than some but not as rainy as others. As someone else said, choose your micro-climate well. That one area going up towards Fortuna/Arenal is horribly foggy,  and rainy; avoid that area!

[DaveT]

All,
Thanks for the input!

Jim - do you mind if I contact you offline...you can reach me at daveterry73@juno.com...I would like to hear more about your real estate experiences in Costa Rica.  I'm trying to minimize the learning curve as much as I can before I go down to San Ramon next week.
Thanks