House Hunters International: The Costa Rica Edition

After another breakfast feast we continued our quest to find a house to rent.  We met Martin, his daughter and grandson at their house for rent right in the middle of the town of Tilaran.  Turns out it is very spacious, open and airy but currently without stove, fridge or furniture and with bars surrounding the medium-sized yard.  3 bedrooms, an office, living/dining room and bonus room, "for workouts".  It is literally two blocks from the two schools and is in a neighborhood sprinkled with houses, small shops, a bank and even a hair salon right across the street.  We could easily walk to everything.  Very shiny tile floors throughout and cabinets in the kitchen made from local guanacaste wood.  We had some discussions about what kind of furniture we would need and will speak with them tomorrow about the price including the furniture.

Tilaran house from the curb

Neighborhood view

Light and airy kitchen with cool local wood cabinets

We went directly to meet Rene, an American realtor who located another house for us to see.  We followed her part of the way around Lake Arenal to a house near Neuvo Arenal, a smaller town with its own school, church and park.  The house and the grounds are beautiful.  2 bedrooms, office, 2.5 baths and open living room with views to Lake Arenal.  We were told that monkeys, toucans and various other critters frequent the trees in the back yard.  This is all the good news.  The bad news, in our opinion, is that most of the surrounding houses are owned by gringos and we would most likely have to drive to school and into town.

Approach to the "country house" in Las Flores, near Nuevo Arenal

Lovely front yard flora and Lake Arenal View

Living room

Comparing these two options is like comparing apples and oranges. The location of the Tilaran house is fantastic for easy access to everything, would facilitate easier assimilation into Tico culture and would offer the best opportunities to make local friends.  But it’s on a corner in town, not currently furnished and covered in bars, which is common in Central America but significantly less so in Tilaran.  The “country house” is easy on the eyes, would be quite comfortable but would require driving and come with gringo neighbors, making diving into the local culture more of an effort.  A tough decision for sure, as each has its benefits.  We have arranged to see one more house tomorrow.

Madeleine starts our list of pros and cons for each house over a glass of jugo de piña at lunch

Beautiful Lake Arenal and our rental Mitsubishi Zinger

We continued to drive around, exploring more new territory and soaking up the sun.  Finished off the day with some cooling off back at our temporary home, Hotel Cielo Azul.  The kids were thrilled that the pool had been cleaned this morning and the water slide was working well.  Will sleep on the housing choices and let time do some work for us.