A city of ox carts and Office
Depot, Escazu, Costa Rica
By Marla Dickerson, Los Angeles
Times Staff Writer
ESCAZU, COSTA RICA --
Californian Steve Venghaus was a
frequent visitor to Costa Rica
during his career with a freight
forwarding company.
He fell in love with its wild
beaches and rain forests. But
when he decided to retire to
this Central American country,
he purchased a condo in an urban
stretch of this suburb just a
few miles outside of the
capital, San Jose.
"Everything I need is here," the
63-year-old said of the
shopping, medical care and
services. "And you just can't
beat the weather."
Venghaus is one of thousands of
Americans who have settled in
Escazu, a suburb of 55,000 that
has become so popular with
expats it bears the nickname "Gringolandia."
That pejorative doesn't bother
its fans, who relish the area's
U.S.-style conveniences,
proximity to San Jose and
temperate climate with average
high temperatures in the 70s
most of the year.
Situated in Costa Rica's Central
Valley in the foothills just
west of the capital, Escazu is
both the name of a city and
county that comprises a
patchwork of districts. It's an
amalgam of old and new, urban
and rural, that offers residents
a variety of ways to live.
San Rafael de Escazu and
Guachipelin are upscale areas,
home to high-rise condos, fancy
housing developments and
American chains such as
McDonald's and Office Depot. A
number of foreign embassies are
located here, including the U.S.
Embassy. So is CIMA Hospital,
considered by many to be Costa
Rica's finest medical facility.
Higher up is the original
colonial town of San Miguel de
Escazu, also known as Escazu
Centro. The seat of the
municipal government, it is a
quiet community with a
traditional central square,
narrow streets and mom-and-pop
shops with a distinctly "Tico,"
or Costa Rican, flavor.
Perched above them all is San
Antonio de Escazu, a village
whose annual festival, Ox Cart
Driver's Day, features a parade
of oxen pulling brightly painted
carts. Expatriates are building
homes there with spectacular
views in a rural setting just a
few miles from all the commerce
down below.
The mix suits Americans such as
Vicki Skinner, who finds Costa
Rica's beach communities too hot
and boring. A travel promoter
and owner of a guest house in
San Rafael de Escazu, she relies
on the Internet to operate her
business. She's active in
charitable work, enjoys the
area's cultural events and gets
around in taxis and on public
transport. Some of her clients
are fellow Yanks searching for
property in Costa Rica's remote
corners, something the former
Orange County resident can't
fathom.
"Not everyone wants to live in
the mountains eating gallo
pinto," a ubiquitous Costa Rican
dish of rice and beans, said
Skinner, 50, who has lived in
Costa Rica for two years.
"Connections are important to
me. I like to have neighbors . .
. activities and restaurants."
Wherever they're headed in Costa
Rica, foreigners are flocking to
this nation of 4 million, whose
national parks have made it an
ecotourism center.
About 20,000 Americans,
Canadians and Europeans have
legal, long-term residency,
according to government figures.
Thousands more are believed to
live here on tourist visas that
can be renewed every 90 days by
leaving the country for 72
hours. It's a practice that the
government doesn't condone, but
it cracks down on it only
occasionally.
Peaceful and relatively
prosperous compared with its
Central American neighbors,
Costa Rica is a stable democracy
welcoming to foreigners. It
offers high-quality medical care
at a fraction of what U.S.
hospitals charge. Real estate
and property taxes are also a
bargain.
Venghaus paid $88,000 for his
two-bedroom condo in 2004. His
property taxes are $300 a year.
He pays $20 a month for
blood-pressure medicine that
cost him $280 monthly in the
U.S.
Still, Costa Rica isn't the deal
that it used to be. The
government no longer offers
lucrative tax breaks to retirees
such as those being dangled by
southern neighbor Panama. Costa
Rica's sales tax is 13%.
Gasoline costs about $4 a
gallon. Import taxes on vehicles
can run as high as 79%. Imported
foods are expensive. Venghaus
recently spotted a box of
Frosted Flakes for $6.50.
"You've got to eat like the
locals," he said. "If you eat
like an American, you're in
trouble."
Escazu is one of the priciest
communities in Costa Rica, and
it has other problems: Home
break-ins are common.
Infrastructure isn't keeping
pace with development. Traffic
is horrendous.
Some expats are looking to
smaller communities around the
Central Valley, which have
pleasant weather but lower
prices and less congestion.
Sally O'Boyle and her husband,
Hal, tried that route when they
moved to Costa Rica last year.
But they found Heredia, a
colonial town about seven miles
north of San Jose, too
provincial and remote. They
relocated to Escazu this year to
be closer to the Little Theatre
Group, an English-language
playhouse where she performs.
Their two teenage boys like the
occasional cheeseburger at TGI
Fridays. Hal is trying to get a
debt-restructuring business off
the ground.
A former real estate agent in
Key West, Fla., 52-year-old
O'Boyle said hurricanes and the
U.S. real estate meltdown
persuaded the family to give
Costa Rica a try. They're living
off savings while they decide
what to do next.
O'Boyle said the move had been
the adventure of their lives --
frustrating, funny and endlessly
fascinating. She is writing a
book about the experience and
blogs about it frequently on her
site, called A Broad in Costa
Rica.The family may eventually
put down roots in Costa Rica, or
some other place.
"Once you live outside the U.S.,
you realize that the world is
accessible," she said. "You feel
like you have a lot more
options." |
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