The best reasons to plan your retirement in Playas del Coco are affordable real estate, cost of living, and ultra-convenient shopping, healthcare, and airport proximity.
Intro
The lifestyle you can attain when living in this warm and inviting beach community is some of the best Costa Rica has to offer. Be sure to come for a visit first, and stay for a bit so you have time to take everything in.
Lifestyle
Besides very good condo prices, Playas del Coco welcomes you with a relaxed atmosphere all day long. You can enjoy a stable climate all year round, with warm weather and cozy water temperatures.
Coco is not only tranquil but also provides diverse outdoor activities. You can go hiking in the nearby forests or strolling on the beach, jog in nature, chill at one of the numerous beach bars and restaurants.
You also can spend your days practicing any water sport you desire. From sailing to diving and fishing, the turquoise Pacific waters are an endless source of fun. You also can include kayaking, paddle boarding, and jet skis that you can rent all over around the town.
Though the waves are not appropriate here for surfing, you have tours to the famous Witch’s Rock departing directly from Coco.
Within a couple of hours drive from Coco, you also visit Guanacaste’s most amazing attractions like Rio Celeste, Rincon de la Vieja, Palo Verde, and the Ostional Wildlife Refuge.
Affordability
Playas del Coco is still one of the cheaper beach communities in Costa Rica and might just be the one that best suits your financial needs. The available real estate here can easily accommodate empty-nesters searching for a small, comfortable condo, or people that need large homes to host their entire extended family.
Coco is a region that welcomes you to affordable prices. They drop to half of what the same type of property would cost in Tamarindo, for example. If you want something small and budget-friendly, you can try one of the over 1000 condos in Las Palmas Community, very close to the beach.
For those searching for more luxury and space, go check the amazing homes in Pacifico, Alto de Cacique, Coco Sunset Hills, or Coco Joya. Though more expensive than the condos, these communities allow you to enjoy exclusivity at an accessible price.
Safety
Safety is the common denominator of the Coco area. Otherwise, diversity is the best description for Costa Rican real estate. There are many gated communities here that provide interesting solutions for singles, families, and those looking for an ocean-view home.
Perfect Weather
The best overall weather system and one of the dryest in Costa Rica can be found in the Papagayo region with Coco at the center. There is a constant warm temperature of 29 – 35 here year around. During December through April, you most likely won’t see many clouds in the sky.
The high temperatures are often cooled off by the gentle ocean breeze. The overall comfort is ensured by the very constant temperatures over the night period also, varying between 25-28.
Reports say that people retiring in this part of Costa Rica are experiencing a considerable vitality improvement, especially on their joints and allergy reduction.
Convenience
When it comes to social life, Playas del Coco looks more like a city or a vivid resort. There are over 40 restaurants, bakeries, and ice-cream shops within very close distance of each other.
When it comes to shopping, Coco pretty much covers every need. Especially for daily life, you can find everything right next door. Then there is a Liberia at 40 minutes driving distance, where you find everything else you might need.
The atmosphere in Coco’s downtown is that of a relaxed, well-supplied little village. There are three big grocery stores close to one another that all sell fresh produce. You also have several pharmacies and banks at hand, when in need.
In the same area, you also get clothing shops, gift stores, a hardware store, several gyms, a casino, and a gas station. The area is not that large, less than a square mile, so shopping or simply going out, or all of them together, is super comfortable.
Healthcare Access
The healthcare system may be a major deciding factor whether or not you purchase a property in another country, especially if you plan on living there for long periods. Luckily, Playas del Coco is close to the biggest private hospital in the entire Guanacaste region, the San Rafael Arcangel Hospital. It takes only 30 minutes by car to reach there. Coco is again the closest to a hospital beach town in the region.
This is useful for major interventions and emergencies. However, when it comes to the usual and simple health situation, Playas del Coco also has an in-house community of medical practitioners and specialists in various niches, as well as pharmacists. Their private practices’ doors are opened for all Coco inhabitants. So, this is one more aspect that makes this location a great place for retirement.
Airport Access
The cherry on top of Playas del Coco is its proximity to the international airport. It’s only 30 minutes driving. Needless to say that Coco is the closest beach to an international airport in all of Costa Rica.
Even if you don’t own or rent a car, there are countless other services for commuters from the airport to downtown. So going back and forth between your native home and this new adoptive paradise is an easy task, whenever you miss it or just have other things to do back there.
Walker’s Paradise
Usually, people moving to Costa Rica are retired or working remotely, so there is plenty of time and interest for all types of outdoor activities. The town is spread along the beach, at a distance of 2.5 km, so the first thing you can do is strolling on the beach.
You can also walk around downtown, where you also have shops to visit, within a less than a square-mile area. There are also bars, restaurants, and three chain grocery stores. Some development communities like Pacifico and Las Palmas are so big , you can take walks without ever leaving them.
It is a walker’s paradise when it comes to nature’s beauty and distances, however when it comes to pedestrian facilities, you shouldn’t expect much, generally in the whole of Costa Rica. The roads and sidewalk outside of gated-communities are publically maintained, and government standards due not come close meeting private ones.