Escazú Multiplaza

A few weeks ago, we took our first trip to the Multiplaza in Escazú. Some friends had some errands to do there, and so meeting them there was a good excuse for us to find out more about this shopping mecca :-).

When we go to the West side of San José from our apartment in San Pedro, we usually walk to the Outlet Mall and look for the Periférica - this bus takes us North through Guadalupe, then West along the outer edge of San José, then South across the Paséo Colón, past ARCR, and to the South-East end of La Sabana park. Our alternative (for instance, if we *just* miss the bus) is to take the San Pedro bus - across the street from the Outlet Mall - into downtown San José, then hop on the Sabana Cementerio bus. The SC (route # 2) goes just North of the pedestrian boulevard, then West through the Central market and Coca-Cola area, then follows the same route as the Periférica to La Sabana park. Both alternatives cost about c300, and both take about 45 minutes (depending *heavily* on traffic).

Either bus will do it; Before crossing Paséo Colón, when we got just past the Coca-Cola area, we passed a funeral parlor on our right, and got off. Then we walked back a couple of blocks to the posted "Santa Ana / Escazú" bus stop. Our plan was to ask the first bus to come along (Escazú or Santa Ana) whether they stopped at the Multiplaza (I think they almost all do). Our first bus did, so no problem! We weren't the only first-timers on this route - there were *several* other potential passengers who asked our driver this same question - he was nice about it *each* time :-).

Our approach to changing buses is that the earlier we can get on the "new" bus, the better - this gives us more opportunities to get a good seat :-). Also, whenever we ask the driver for help, we try to sit close to the front, and on the opposite side - this gives us a better shot at the driver remembering us and our question.

This worked again (it doesn't always tho, so be aware)! We saw the Multiplaza on our left, and started thinking we would have to cross the highway on foot (ugh!), but the driver held out his hand to all of us first-timers (nope, not there yet). A few minutes later, we pulled off the highway, wound around the Multiplaza parking lot, and stopped at an actual bus stop! This is a *popular* destination! And I don't think it took more than 10 or 15 minutes from where we got on the bus.

We also passed EPA, CIMA, and PriceSmart - good for future reference...

The Multiplaza is *huge!* And it has a *lot* of things that are difficult or impossible to find anywhere else. On the top of my list was to get some Biotin. Well, as we were sitting in the food court, planning our attack, I looked up and saw a store specializing in vitamins. Hmmm - sure enough, they had biotin...

Alajuela Living: Pros and Cons

I’ve been putting off posting a review of living in Alajuela, and I’ve finally figured out why. I didn’t want to write anything negative about it! Our rule for town reviews is to write pros *and* cons, and Alajuela has always felt good – I didn’t want to dig for bad.

Well, since our plan for Costa Rica is to live in several towns for several months each before deciding where to settle down, we have to try to stand back; we have to toss the rose-colored glasses. I struggled with the Orosí review as well.

During our visits, we have been trying to keep in mind that we are looking for the best place for us - this is difficult because it is so easy to focus on the positive and ignore or downplay any negatives. It is easy to say "Oh, we can live without that," etc.

We lived in Alajuela for 4 months, from the end of the rainy season until the end of the dry season. When we left, we kept it on our list as a possibility. We let our impressions settle for a while, then came up with this list of Pros and Cons.

Costa Rica update

• Affordable: While still affordable, CR has gotten more expensive.
• Safety: We believe CR is getting more violent.
• Year-round living: We have our residency (no change in outlook)
• Religion: We’ve seen many saints’ processionals, we’ve met more people who attend church, but are not fanatics. However, Alajuela central park often had yelling bible-thumpers. (no change in outlook)
• Interesting (culture, activities): There are many universities, museums, theaters, and a symphony (but mostly only in San José). Music is a big part of life. Cowboys (sabañeros) are alive and well, contributing fancy horse-back riding, topes, and rodeos to the scene. A question we still have is how easy is it to get involved?
• Dangerous diseases (few or none, please): Dengue fever is on the rise.
• Medical care (accessible and good): We bought into the state-run medical insurance ($61/month for both of us). There are several excellent private and public hospitals, but the best ones are in San José. I had surgery – so far, so good.
• Water – must be drinkable (bottled water is available, but too expensive and bothersome). Neither of us could drink the tap water without some degree of discomfort; we ended up using bottled or filtered water for drinking and for making soup and coffee. This has been true in every town so far, so we have decided that we will need a water filter for anywhere we live in Costa Rica. We found a faucet-mounted water filter at EPA in Escazú, and brought a large supply of the replacement filters from the states.

Alajuela Overview (see here - http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CS/index.html - for data**): Alajuela is a large city – it is the second largest city in Costa Rica, and has about 72,000 people. It is the city nearest the “San José” airport. It is about 17 km West of San José (560,000 people). It is in the central valley - a bit lower in elevation (918 m / 3015 ft) than San José (1146 m / 3763 ft).

Pro:

• Friendly people – Alajuela has some of the friendliest people! On our nearly daily walks, we exchange smiles and greetings with many people. We have met and become friends with many people there. Alajuela is on par with small towns in its friendliness. We felt much more welcomed than in Grecia (for example).
• We fit in (purely a feeling): We are comfortable walking around Alajuela. The neighbourhoods make us feel energized.
• Very few of the helpful people have ulterior motives (e.g., they genuinely want to help; they are not just trying to sell you something).
• Alajuela is not a tourist town, but we saw a lot of travellers.
• A Central Park – Alajuela has an excellent central park, as well as many others. We regularly walked through 3 on our short trip to the bus station; all are beautiful and relaxing.
• Excellent central market; a lot to chose from. However, we didn’t shop there often enough to develop a sense of what were fair prices. There is also a weekly farmers market, verdurerías, and super markets.
• Good doctors are available in town; there are both a clinic and a hospital. It is a decent bus ride (20-45 minutes) to San José for private hospitals and major public hospitals.
• Easy to find things – it is a large town, and the provincial capital, so most items are available (shoemakers, tailors, spices, appliances, furniture, bedding, “unusual” medications). Specialty items (CPAP) are available in San José.
• Many ethnic restaurants – Chinese, Columbian, Peruvian, Italian, Tex-Mex…
• (Pro for Julie) ¨Good¨ climate - not too humid, a little bit too hot. “Hot” was 84-87 inside. A fan helped, and Julie got used to the heat. At the peak-heat time of day, there was usually a nice breeze, so going outside (like to a park:)) helped. Our apartment got pretty cold at night – 67 was not uncommon (a thicker blanket would have been welcome).

Con:

• (Con for Rick) Climate – Rick needs a cooler elevation (perhaps 1200-1300 meters or higher); Alajuela’s elevation is about 900, and is on the hot side. Temperatures in the upper 80s were common. It was too hot for Rick.
• Somewhat difficult to have a horse nearby, but there is a stable. We didn’t see any riders.
• Not as affordable as smaller towns – rent was double; food was more expensive.
• Few opportunities for social interactions and meeting new people. There were few events for such a large town (although the soccer stadium had games and a few concerts). Limited to “hang-outs” such as Jalapeño’s, and private parties.
• Able to find housing within 10 blocks of the center of town – we found an apartment that was 5 blocks from the central park, but it is more expensive than in smaller towns. It was also hard to find!
• Feels safe (emphasis in addition to above list) – safe enough that a woman can walk around alone at night? I used to do this in Alajuela, but now I would think twice about going by myself after dark.
• Community – need to be part of an artist/music/movie community (how far away is too far?) – near UCR, or other center. Didn’t find this in Alajuela.
• Entertainment / Mental Stimulation – we need a town with more than churches and bars (of course, parks are very entertaining) – Difficult to find.

** use some caution when looking at populations – this site counts the population within a 7 km circle. So, large towns are under-represented and small towns get more population than actually live in town.

August 09, 2007 - Where Am I? 101

Where Am I? 101
Or, finding your way around a Costa Rican town.

First, REMAIN CALM! All will be well – don’t panic. Every time I panic, I get lost.
I finally feel confident stepping off the bus in a new town. OK, proud. Cocky even. I don’t expect to find everything on the first trip, and I know I will find plenty of interesting places that I didn’t plan on. Here’s what I do.

Do some planning ahead, but don’t get anal – this (the latter) was the difficult part for me, but I’m getting better. If the town is fair-sized, look it up in a guide book. If you are staying in a hotel, see if they have a hand-drawn map. If not, make your own. Get some grid paper (or just any paper), and lay out a basic pattern, with a central park and cathedral in the center. These are usually a full block each, and within a couple of blocks of the center of town. If the guide book has a map (this is important), COPY it onto your paper – guide books usually show no more than 10 square blocks. Add some of the landmarks, like banks and perhaps a hotel. Mark the bus stop (coming and going) if this information is available. Mark a couple of avenidas and calles, and mark the compass directions. If you have any specific destinations, mark them on the map. Of course, if you are starting from scratch, your map will start out with nothing but a street grid and a central park & cathedral. That’s OK, because you will add to it as you go! Also, if you start with another map, keep in mind that parts of it could be wrong (or changed since it was published). This is also OK, since you will be marking it up.

Bring your map, a pen/pencil, and a compass (not always needed, but nice to have). Leave the guide book at home. The guide book is conspicuous and distracting – you are exploring! If you don’t know “enough” Spanish (“enough” is individually defined), bring a small dictionary or phrase book – if it makes you feel like a newbie, guess what? You are! You’ve never been here before! Most important, bring a smile and a “buenas.”

Which brings us to a very important aspect of this excursion – Attitude! Be flexible. Don’t expect to find everything you look for. Treat this as an adventure. When in doubt, know that a taxi is always near; relax and enjoy yourself. Accept that you and your travel companion will have moments of stress and get snippy – let it go. Best of all, go with Rick – he’ll let it slide unless you go off the deep end, *and* he’ll let you apologize gracefully (I know, that *could* be sarcasm, but it’s not).

As your bus is coming into the town, look for landmarks – Tribunales, parks, churches, banks, taxi stands, etc. Have your compass out, and try to fix North in your head (if you can’t, that’s OK – it will come). The bus ride is where I still get anxious. I often end up getting off WAAAY too early (click on “bus” in the tag cloud, and you will see what I mean). Wait till you can see the central park and/or central market, then ring to stop. Many bus terminals are within a couple of blocks of the central park (bigger towns have multiple terminals, and many small towns don’t have terminals). Sometimes it is difficult to tell if you are even in the right town. I find that bus passengers are very friendly, and love to tell you that your town is still ahead (and they aren’t pulling you leg).

Stop, look, and listen. When you get off the bus, your first instinct is to walk - anywhere. Don’t! Find a place to sit, or stand out of the press of people. Pull out your map and compass. Be discreet but not paranoid. Notice which direction most of the people are going. Notice which compass direction is uphill (most towns have at least a slight incline), and mark it on your map. Look around for the park, market, church, or other landmark. Look for the bus stop sign – it usually has some (but not always all) interesting information, like where it continues, schedule, and whether the return is from the same place. Keeping up/down and North firmly in mind, put away your compass and map, and start walking. You are looking for the park. Turn a few corners. Look for trees and spires.

Stop and smell the orchids. When you find the park, have a seat! This is a good time to update your map. Mark the bus stop and any landmarks you noticed on the way. I like to do this several times in a visit, and add stores, restaurants, schools, whatever. Mostly I just like parks . Don’t worry if you can’t remember exactly how many blocks or turns. Just mark what you think is right, and check it on the return. I once added an entire block to Grecia’s downtown – it stayed that way for nearly a week (no one seemed to notice the longer walk).

Ask and ask again. I have rarely had trouble finding the park within a few blocks, but in larger towns, you may want to step into a shop and ask. Also, if you have any destination in mind, like a bookstore or a Chinese restaurant, but you don’t have an “address,” just ask around. I have had conversations in parks that turned towards recommendations for restaurants and stores, and I have asked bookstore owners for directions to a close Chinese restaurant. I’ve asked bank guards and bus drivers about which street we were on. Sometimes you get an answer that is wrong, because (as my Spanish teacher says) Ticos don’t like to say they don’t know something, but most of the time you get the right direction. If you don’t find what you are looking for, ask again (and remember, stay flexible).

Helpful information:

· Este (East) and Oeste (West) are the directions that start with vowels. Avenues (with a vowel) go East and West. Towns are a rough grid, with street numbers (rarely names). Calles are even (2,4,6) West of the center and odd East of the center. Avenidas are even South of the center and odd North of the center. The saw to use is “North-Easterners are Odd.” What do I know about Odd – I’m from California.

· You can usually see the tree-tops of the park and the spires of the church many blocks away.

· The central market is usually within a couple of blocks of the central park.

· Streets hardly ever have signs. Sometimes even bank-guards do not know which street their bank is on.

· Usually the wait between buses is half an hour or less.

· Banks usually have bathrooms available.

· Most of this will also work in San José, but there is so much more to deal with. I start with an actual city map here.

I’ll post some of my maps soon – you can see how messed up things can get :(

August 04, 2007 - Costa Rica, But Which Town?

So, we know more about what we are looking for (see my last post), now what? We made a list of towns to check out. We put together this list from word-of-mouth, maps, and driving through towns on our way elsewhere. It is not carved in stone; we can add towns at any point.

Next, we visit! That is possibly the best part. Some towns we go to for the day via the bus, some we stay in a hotel for a few days, some we homestay with a local family, and some we rent an apartment or house for a few months. I believe you get the best information and feel for a town by first doing a homestay (for at least 2 weeks), then renting your own place for a month or two. But, of course, some places just don’t grab you enough to make that kind of investment.

This is also difficult. The objective is essentially to find fault with the towns on your list, and determine whether they go on the “no, not for us” list or the “possibly us, check more” list. It is soooo easy at this point to “overlook” something, or downgrade the importance of a criterion – usually, we get overwhelmed by how nice the people are.

Also, I think the way you get to know the town colors your judgment. If you stayed at a hotel in Orosí, you would never know that the lady who lives across the street from the supermarket sews for a living. You wouldn’t know that there actually *is* a place to get your nails done, and a place to get a massage. If you take a day trip to Sarchí, you wouldn’t know that it has a botanical garden, but if you got off the bus too early , you would get a great introduction to the wood-working business.

It is a strange thing to blog about as well, since this is purely *our* list. I know that many of the towns that we will have on our “no, not for us” list are where others have put down roots – perfect for them. So, disclaimers apply – here are our lists.

Towns Currently Under Consideration

· Alajuela

· Atenas

· Barvas

· Cartago

· Heredia

· Naranjo

· Palmares

· Sarchí

· San Antonio Belén

· San Isidro del General

· San Pedro

· San Ramon

· Santa Bárbara de Heredia

· Tres Rios

· Zarcero

Towns that are “not for us”

· Grecia

· La Fortuna

· Monteverde / Santa Elena

· Nosara

· Orosí

· Paraíso

· Sámara

· San José

· San José de la Montaña

August 04, 2007 - Costa Rica Decision Details

When we first investigated how to retire early, and where we could do this, we made a list of “needs” and “wants” – we’ve both worked on trade studies in our technical careers, so this was nerdy second nature to us ;).

Our original list, and how Costa Rica scored (before our first trip, book & internet investigation only):

Needs

· Affordable (can we live there on less than $30,000 / year): Costa Rica has a good exchange rate, medical costs and medical insurance are reasonable, housing is reasonable (especially if you are not in a beach resort)

· Safety (laws, enforcement, history, stability, how does it feel): CR has been a stable democracy for over a century, with one 2-week civil war in 1948. It has no army; the government saw that the main purpose served by the neighboring armies was to control their countries, not to protect them. The people are welcoming and friendly. They are generally happy and caring. The country gets earthquakes, but they build for them (and we are used to this phenomenon, being from California).

· Able to live there year-round (weather, visas, residency): Costa Rica has good weather year-round, with the temperature dependent on the elevation. It is off the hurricane belt, and has many sunny days even in the rainy season. Tourist visas are easy to get, and last 90 days. A three-day trip out of the country is enough to get a new tourist visa for another 90 days. Residency is relatively easy to get.

· Religion (tolerant, doesn’t dominate life and laws, the people are not fanatical): Catholicism is Costa Rica’s official religion, but there are a multitude of other churches and temples. Many major Catholic holy days are also state holidays. Some church buildings (e.g., the basilica in Cartago) are state-funded. Costa Rica farmacias sell birth control; prostitution is legal, abortions are not.

Wants (weighted and scored)

· Language (English, or able to learn fairly easily): Weight = 9, Score = 7. Spanish is spoken in Costa Rica, and many people know some English and French. There are many language schools and tutors.

· Easy to travel “home”: Weight = 7, Score = 8. It is physically possible to drive to Costa Rica from USA, but there are several somewhat-unstable borders to cross. Flying is relatively easy. Cruises stop in Puntarenas and Limón.

· Easy to establish residency: Weight = 9, Score = 8. The Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR) is an organization that helps people immigrate. The information is easy to get, and the immigration laws are such that we could do it without too much risk.

· We fit in (purely feeling): Weight = 9, Score = 8. This is almost simple gut reaction. Are we comfortable walking around the towns? Do we feel energized or depressed? Is it likely we can adjust through all the phases of the culture shock we know is coming?

· Interesting (culture, activities): Weight = 8, Score = 8. Costa Rica is a small country (approximately one eighth the size of California, about as big as from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe). It has a huge diversity of environments (but no snow – boo hoo – when was the last time I actually sought out snow?). Tourism is a large part of the economy, so there are plenty of activities geared toward fun. There are many universities, and the “college culture” that goes with them. There are museums, theaters, and a symphony (but mostly only in San José). Music is a big part of life. Cowboys (sabañeros) are alive and well, contributing fancy horse-back riding, topes, and rodeos to the scene.

· Dangerous diseases (few or none, please): Weight = 7. Score = 7. I am including snakes and bug bites here. There are something like 20 different venomous snakes in Costa Rica, but they are rare in the cities, and only a couple are aggressive. I figure the less you know about something dangerous, the scarier it is. So I intend to learn a *lot* about snakes and bugs. Mosquitoes carry malaria in the wet lowlands (mainly in the far North and South boonies). Dengue fever is on the rise - it is usually not fatal, but gives you a week or two of hell instead (Hawaii has this mosquito-borne disease too). CDC recommends hepatitis shots (this is easy to do, and is a low-risk vaccine). Most of the water is drinkable (we found a few places where we had problems).

· Medical care (accessible and good): Weight = 8, Score = 9. Any resident may buy into the state-run medical insurance ($60/month for both of us. It is less if you are older – yes, *older* - the extra that younger people pay goes towards a pension.). There are several excellent private and public hospitals, but the best ones are in San José. Many of the hospitals in towns have the ability to stabilize you, but then they transfer you to San José. Costa Rica is sometimes known as “Beverly Hills South” because many people come to get cosmetic surgery done on “medical” vacations.

· Expatriate community (available, supportive): Weight = 8, Score = 8. There are many centers for ex-pat support. These include ARCR, internet groups, and local hang-outs in most towns (and they are amazingly easy to find).

Since visiting and living in different towns in Costa Rica, we have fine-tuned our list, and added some more specific things to help narrow the list of towns.

· A Central Park – there is just no substitute

· A Central Market – variety is the spice of life

· Friendly people, with few ulterior motives (this is difficult to determine, and even more difficult to agree on)

· Able to find housing within 10 blocks of the center of town (5 is even better, as we’re still trying to go car-less)

· Feels safe (emphasis in addition to above list) – not necessarily all places in a town (most towns of size anywhere will have *some* “bad” parts), but safe enough that a woman can walk around alone at night

· Climate – cooler elevations (1200-1300 meters or higher); beach is too hot for us

· Community – need to be part of an artist/music/movie community (how far away is too far?) – near UCR, or other center

· Entertainment / Mental Stimulation – we need a town with more than churches and bars (of course, parks are very entertaining)

· Water – must be drinkable (bottled water is available, but too expensive and bothersome)