I do not claim to be an expert in all areas of Costa Rica real estate.

Those of you that have bought my book - How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa - will know that there were a lot of experts that helped make that book possible and I am very grateful to them.

Having said that, I know my own area intimately and location, location, location is what we've got. I do not believe that there is a better area for most foreigners to settle in to begin with, to get their Costa Rica feet wet, than the area west of San José which would include Escazú, Santa Ana and Ciudad Colon.

You will not find the most affordable real estate in these neighbourhoods after all, they do call this the 'Beverly Hills' of Costa Rica but you will find practically all the comforts of home...

My apartment in Escazú is about 5 minutes from the biggest and best shopping malls in Costa Rica - MultiPlaza, complete with multi-screen movie theatre (currently showing Bewitched, Flight Plan, Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire, Sky High, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Final Cut, Wedding Crashers), four minutes to the bowling lanes and the new state of the art World Gym and three minutes to the American Ambassador's residence - not that he would ever invite me to anything...

We are 8 minutes from the huge Office Depot, PriceSmart, Outback Steakhouse, Hooters (Uh! Oh!), the best hospital, not just in Costa Rica, but in all of Central America, about 20 minutes from the National Theatre in San José where you can enjoy some world-class concerts and operas and only 35 minutes from the international airport... Yup! Location! Location! Location!

Even though this is a terrific location, the 'Beverly Hills' of Costa Rica, in comparison with most places, even the real estate in this part of Costa Rica is still incredibly affordable.

Friends of mine from Copenhagen in Denmark just bought a brand new, very contemporary home in Escazú and they are just thrilled because their new, well equipped Escazú home is more than twice the size (2,044 square feet) and less than half the price (they paid US$160K) than the home they have in Denmark and the weather here is just a wee bit warmer.

To be blunt, Hooters, MacDonalds, KFC and the rest of them are definitely not my idea of what Costa Rica is all about and I honestly don't know if Beverly Hills is blessed with them or not, but many foreigners live here for a year or two to become accustomed to Costa Rica, the people, their customs and the language and if they want to get a little more adventurous and move further into the boonies at some stage in the future, great! They will be well prepared.

If you have a serious interest in buying real estate in and around Escazu, please contact us using the form below: