The Switzerland Of Central America



Your day starts with a strong coffee, and the delicate layers of a crisp pastry. The smooth surface of the lake beneath your terrace mirrors the blue sky overhead. Rich green mountain scenery surrounds you...revealing a tiny pointed church spire and a handful of chalets...
But you're not in Switzerland, or Austria. You're not even in Europe. You're in a little secret corner of Costa Rica, called Arenal.
And while the gorgeous lake landscape might remind you of Europe, the property prices certainly won't.
You can buy two and a half acres here, with fruit trees, your own private lake, a main house and a lake cottage, for $159,000...
Today's draw could win you a free tour of Arenal's hidden real estate gems...a boat ride on the lake...and a couple of nights accommodation and breakfast. It's an opportunity to scope out the area before the mainstream catches on. Click here to enter the draw...and read on below to find out more about Costa Rica's best-kept secret.
It was Costa Rica's best-kept secret. I first scouted here three years ago. I fell in love with the setting, and the scenery. I enjoyed good food, and good company. It reminded me of lake country in Europe...from the dramatic, rich green landscape, the warm bread and crisp pastries in the little Austrian bakery, to the mini Swiss village on one side of the lake.
I couldn't believe just how affordable property was here, either. Only a handful of expats had discovered this location, and they preferred to keep it to themselves. But word is starting to get out slowly about this hidden gem...
At International Living's conference in Costa Rica in August 2010, this place stole the show. Some attendees toured the area before the conference. They liked what they saw...and they couldn't keep it to themselves. We should have had two small tours of the area, one before the conference and one afterwards. That soon turned into four bigger tours...and a lot of excitement. There's something special about this location...

We're talking about Arenal, in north central Costa Rica. It's Costa Rica's lake country, and it ticks all the right boxes for a growing number of expats and retirees. The weather hovers in the high-70s year round. There's enough rain to keep the landscape fresh and green.
Arenal often reminds visitors of Lake Tahoe...without the crowds. If you love hiking, swimming, windsurfing, fishing, boating, bird watching, horse riding, or kayaking...this place is paradise. It's a secret part of Costa Rica, where you'll find gourmet food, good company, and property prices that seem to belong in a history book.
But the secret's slowly getting out...as more expats, retirees and property buyers uncover this hidden corner of Costa Rica.
Lakes, Rivers, Waterfalls, and Hot Springs
Let's start with the natural beauty. It's easy when you have the right ingredients: the country's largest lake (33 square miles), a lush landscape of soft rolling hills, lofty mountains, and a towering volcano. For much of the year, only fishermen and sailors break Lake Arenal's mirror-smooth surface; for a few months, stronger lake breezes bring in windsurfers.
The sharply pointed cone of the volcano reaches 5300 feet. It's live. That means a spectacular fiery display most evenings...and hot springs. Resorts offer a choice of outdoor pools, with different water temperatures, swim-up bars, and spa treatments--a perfect way to unwind at the end of a long day.

The volcano, the lake, and hot springs are major tourist attractions
The thermal water has reputed healing powers, and the volcanic mud is great for deep cleansing. There are a number of hotels that offer a variety of treatments...or you can simply soak contentedly outdoors in the heated water and relax.
Throw in crashing waterfalls, deep caverns, and misty cloud forests...and a total of 790 square miles of conservation area, parks and reserves...and "unspoiled paradise" sums this place up.
A Warm Welcome is Waiting...
The expat group in Arenal is small, but very active, and welcoming to newcomers. They meet regularly, often at the Gingerbread Hotel. Once you've dined here, you'll know why. The chef, Eyal, serves delicious, fresh, gourmet food. He prefers to use locally sourced products. On the taste front, his food ranks alongside the top restaurants in Europe or the US...and at much more wallet-friendly prices. It's by far the best food in Costa Rica.

The bargain-basement real estate is as mouth-watering as the food. Local-style three bed homes start at $55,000. For $179,000, you get fifteen acres of jungle, rivers, pasture, and a small house. A well-maintained 2-bed home in a private community is on the market for $89,000. A home with its own private lake set in two and a half acres is $159,000...
I could go on and on, but you get the idea. This overlooked area boasts a wide range of properties, from local "Tico" homes, to lake-view or volcano-view home sites, to US-style condos with a private marina overlooking the lake. They all have one thing in common: affordability.
If you want to check out Arenal for yourself...and see what's getting so many people buzzing about this place...then you

should enter today's prize draw.
Terry Moran is a real estate broker we work with in Arenal, and he's offering a free tour, two nights accommodation at the Gingerbread Hotel, including breakfast, and a boat ride on the lake.
He'll also show you a selection of properties in Arenal, based on your preferences...whether it's farmland, a second home, or a lake-view lot.
You'll meet other expats, who'll share why they chose this spot as their piece of paradise...
And you'll see just how far your real estate dollars will stretch here.
If you want to get a feel for Costa Rica's lake country, and immerse yourself in its charms for a few days, this is the easiest way to do it. Enter the prize draw today ...and discover this hidden corner of Costa Rica...before the mainstream catches on.
Margaret Summerfield
Pathfinder - International Living

http://internationalliving.com/ international Living - The greatest Name In World Real Estate Values

http://moranlakearenal.com/  Moran Real Estate Over 50 years of tropical real estate excellence

http://gingerbreadarenal.com/ Gingerbread The absolute finest restaurant and boutique hotel in Costa Rica


The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.
-- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

7000 New Hig Tech Jobs Created In Costa Rica

An investment of more than $434 million and the eventual creation of more than 7,000 new jobs will result from foreign direct investment in high-tech industries announced in 2010, according to the Ministerio de Ccomercio Exterior.

The new jobs are roughly split amongst three categories, services (call centers), tech manufacturing, and life sciences.

The latter is usually referred to as medical instruments because that’s what has been the bulk of investment in Costa Rica, but the export promotion agencies are hopeful of attracting biomedical research as well.

Call centers provide more than 30,000 jobs to mostly

young people with English skills, though much Spanish- language support for large telecom companies in the United States is moving here. About 100 call center operators are now in the country, mostly in tax exempt free zones in Heredia. New companies include Teleperformance and National Instruments.

Medical instruments like heart stents and catheters are the main products associated with new entrants. Abbott Vascular recently announced a large investment. General Microcircuits is joining giant Intel in moving production here.

In 2011 a joint effort between the ministry and the private sector export promotion agency CINDE will take effect, with plans to seek investment from North America, Europe, and Asia.

Moran Real Estate Over 50 Years of Tropical Real Estate Excellence



If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
-- Henry David Thoreau

Lazy Days On Lake Arenal Costa Rica

I envied Jeff in his sleek wooden kayak, carefully handcrafted from fine Costa Rican laurel. What a talent and luxury of time to be able to build such a thing! Jeff's wife, Beth, floated languorously ahead and my husband, Dan, slowly tailed along behind. It was my coercion (albeit slight) that had convinced Dan to come, and I was glad to see how much he was enjoying himself. Plus, he cut a handsome figure with the volcano looming behind him.

Volcán Arenal is a picture-perfectly shaped volcano that looms almost 5,500 feet high. One of the world's youngest volcanoes (less than 7,000 years old), it is also one of the world's most active. It is not uncommon to feel or hear its rumbling and see its glowing spectacle of lights as it shoots orange-hot boulders into the night.

Scientists have established a safety perimeter beyond which it is safe to explore. You'll find many hotels and lodges just at the volcano's base from which to set off on foot or by horseback. Afterward, you can soothe aching muscles with a peaceful soak in thermal water pools.

Perhaps it's this sense of adventure, combined with the otherworldly beauty of the area that draws so many tourists here. And why so many of them choose to stay.

A small, friendly group of expats is now settling happily on the periphery of nearby Lake Arenal, formed by damming the river that flows around the bottom of the volcano. Most choose to live high on the mountaintops that afford impressive views of the shimmering lake and the volcano, safely off in the distance.

The 33-square-mile Lake Arenal is about as pretty as a lake can be. The Lake Arenal expats we spoke with say they came to Costa Rica in search of beach living, but after dealing with the heat, humidity and corrosive salt air of the beach, they headed for the mountains. And once they got to Arenal, there was no going any farther.

"This place is special," says Eyal Ben-Menachem, a transplant from Israel, by way of Chicago, who runs the famous Hotel Gingerbread near the town of Arenal and is a top-notch chef beyond compare. "I never want to live anywhere else."

Indeed, some say that the area is a very potent spiritual energy site with "ghost spirit path roads" running through the mountains to an ancient burial mound. There have been many reported UFO sightings in the area, including one as recently as October 6, 2006. A famous photograph purportedly shows a UFO entering nearby Lake Cote. (Do an internet search for all the mysterious details.)

The expats we met at Lake Arenal don't put much stock in these kinds of things. The area is special, yes, they say. But that's because of the perfect weather, the glorious scenery, and the nice, "no frills" kind of people who live here.

After an idyllic Sunday morning spent under the volcano with Beth and Jeff, floating effortlessly on the still waters of Lake Arenal, we understand perfectly.

If you go: Check out Hotel Gingerbread for accommodation and the finest food in all Costa Rica (according to multiple travel guides and our expanding waistlines): http://gingerbreadarenal.com. And be sure to save some time for floating with Beth and Jeff: http://arenalkayaks.com

                                                    Moran Real Estate Over 50 years of tropical real estate excellence 

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