Grecia

About Grecia:

Grecia sits at 999 metres, where the Central Valley begins to climb toward the Cordillera Central. Alajuela is 20 kilometres to the southeast, Juan Santamaría International Airport 27 kilometres away and San José 45 kilometres by road. National routes 107, 118, 154 and 711 cross the district and tie it to the villages around it, while the Route 1 highway crosses the canton through Tacares. Buses for San José and for the outlying districts leave from the station at the municipal market, so living here without a car is realistic.

The town was created by law in 1838, after settlers had pushed northwest across the valley in search of unclaimed farmland. Its first masonry church was badly damaged by earthquakes in the 1880s, and the parish replaced it with the iron building that stands today, put up between 1894 and 1897. That church weighed heavily in Grecia being granted the title of city in 1903, and its towers rise 45 metres over the park. Grecia was also named the cleanest city in Latin America in 1989, and the label still turns up whenever the town introduces itself.

Hospital San Francisco de Asís, on Avenida 2, is the canton’s public hospital; the present building opened in 1956, though the town has had a hospital of some kind since 1858. The Feria del Agricultor fills a covered market a few blocks from the park on Friday and on Saturday morning, and the banks, pharmacies and shops of the centre are all within a short walk. Jobs come from commerce and public services in town, from the free zones in Tacares and from the cane and coffee that CoopeVictoria processes in San Isidro. The University of Costa Rica’s Grecia campus is also in Tacares, a short drive from the park.

In 2011 the district had 14,859 residents, close to 2,000 per square kilometre, which makes it the most built-up part of a largely rural canton. Barrio Latino, Los Pinos and Urbanización Santa Teresa are typical of its residential side: streets of one- and two-storey family houses a few minutes from the centre. Most buyers are Costa Rican families and people who work in the canton, joined by foreign residents and retirees who want the hospital and the market within reach rather than a view at the end of a steep road. Gated condominiums with pools and round-the-clock security mostly sit outside the district, a few kilometres from the park.

Houses in Grecia:

Detached family houses are the core of the market. Lots in town are compact, commonly between 200 and 360 square metres, with 85 to 190 square metres built. Barrio Latino and the edges of the district offer more room, including houses with proper gardens and parking for several cars. If you are weighing houses for sale in Grecia against ones in the hill villages, set the walk to the hospital and the market against the extra land you would get further out.

Apartments in Grecia:

Apartments are a smaller slice of the stock and come mainly in low-rise buildings and small condominiums inside town. The usual layout is two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and some of the newer units stand a few hundred metres from the church. They suit people who want the centre without a garden to look after, or who plan to be away for part of the year. Anyone after a larger condominium with a shared pool and a guarded gate will usually end up looking in the districts around the centre.

Rentals in Grecia:

Long-term rental houses and apartments in town go both to local families and to foreign residents. Units aimed at the second group are often furnished, and some landlords fold internet and services into the monthly rent. Rent can be agreed in colones or in dollars, and the rental law handles yearly increases differently for each, so read that clause before you sign. Apartments for rent in Grecia close to the market station are the easiest way to live here without owning a car.

Commercial Property in Grecia:

Shops, offices and other business premises cluster around the central park and along the streets that lead to the municipal market. This is where the canton comes to shop, bank and catch a bus, and that footfall is what gives a ground-floor space here its value. Before buying a building to convert or to change its use, confirm with the municipality what the canton’s plan regulador allows on that block.

FAQ:

• Is “Grecia” the town or the whole canton?

  Both names are in use. Grecia district is the town centre and its barrios, district 1 of a canton that has seven districts and also goes by Grecia. A property described simply as “Grecia” can be in any of them, so ask which district it is in and check it on the cadastral plan.

• Can I live in central Grecia without a car?

  More easily than anywhere else in the canton. The hospital, the municipal market, the farmers market, banks and shops are within walking distance of one another, and buses to San José and to the outlying districts leave from the market station. A car becomes useful once you start visiting the free zones, the university campus or friends in the hills.

• What should I check before buying an older house in the centre?

  Compare what actually stands on the lot with what the cadastral plan and the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) show, because an extension or a second unit that was never registered becomes your problem after the sale. If you want to add a floor, rent out part of the house or open a business in it, ask the municipality for a uso de suelo certificate first. Confirm too that municipal taxes and service charges are paid up before closing.

• Are there apartments, or only houses?

  Houses dominate, but there are apartments in small condominiums and low-rise buildings in town, usually with two bedrooms. Larger gated condominiums with pools and security are mostly a few kilometres out, in the neighbouring districts.

• Should I rent in colones or in dollars?

  Landlords in town use both, especially for furnished lets. The currency decides how the rent can be raised each year under Costa Rica’s rental law, so fix it in the contract and make sure you understand the increase clause before you sign.