San Isidro

About San Isidro:

San Isidro covers about 17 square kilometres directly above Grecia’s central district, with San Roque to the west, San José to the east and Toro Amarillo, in Sarchí canton, to the north. Near town the ground is rolling hills and open slopes; toward the north it turns mountainous and keeps rising up the side of Poás. National Routes 107, 120 and 711 cross the district. Without a car, the Grecia–Calle Rodríguez bus leaves the market terminal and works its way up through Primavera, El Mojón, the Río Rosales crossing and El Achiote in about twenty minutes, and a separate Grecia–San Isidro line runs into the evening. For the bank, the hospital or the farmers’ market, people go down to Grecia.

Work here has long meant cane and coffee. CoopeVictoria, a cooperative founded on 12 October 1943, runs its sugar mill and coffee beneficio on the side of the district closest to town. The mill can grind around 2,500 tonnes of cane a day, brought in from Grecia and from cantons as far off as San Carlos and Turrubares, and the plant also refines sugar and turns its own waste into organic fertiliser for member farmers. One of the district’s villages is simply called Coopevictoria. Further up, the other villages, Alfaro, Camejo, Corinto, Higuerones, Quizarrazal and Bajos de Rosales among them, are a mix of small coffee plots and family homes, and one coffee farm in San Francisco takes in overnight guests.

The district averages 1,290 metres above sea level, well above Grecia’s centre, and its northern edge climbs into the Reserva Forestal Grecia, whose highest ground reaches 2,550 metres. That height is why most newcomers come: fresher air than in town, open views over the valley and quiet coffee villages. It also means more rain, so on the upper slopes the drainage of a lot, its retaining walls and an access road that holds in the wet months deserve more of your attention than the finishes. The Bosque del Niño sector of the reserve, about 14 km north of Grecia and 4 km past the Calle Rodríguez school, opens every day for walks among pine, cypress and secondary forest.

San Isidro had 5,201 residents at the 2000 census and 5,949 at the 2011 census, the large majority of them Costa Rican families. Foreign retirees who picked Grecia for its climate tend to settle on the ridges that run up toward Poás, and San Isidro is one of five, along with San Luis, El Cajón, San Miguel and Carbonal. That mix shows in prices: modest lots are quoted in colones for local buyers, while the bigger view houses are often priced in dollars. Most of the forest reserve above is private land too, much of it old pasture that has grown back into forest, so the high ground is owned and farmed rather than closed off.

Houses in San Isidro:

A house in San Isidro nearly always comes with plenty of ground. You will find four-bedroom homes of around 165 m² on lots of 2,000 m², and larger houses of 350 to 450 m² on 1,000 to 3,600 m², with terraces, gardens and views over the mountains and the valley. Parking for several cars is common on the bigger plots. When you compare houses for sale in San Isidro de Grecia, drive the last stretch of the entrance yourself, because a short steep lane shapes daily life more than an extra bedroom does.

Rentals in San Isidro:

Long-term rentals are mostly family houses. Three bedrooms, a large kitchen, a proper laundry room and space for two or three cars is a typical layout, and furnished houses turn up as well. Renting first is a sound way to try the altitude, the bus timetable and the rainy-season roads before you commit. A house for rent in San Isidro de Grecia also lets you learn which village suits you, since life in El Mojón and life near the reserve are quite different.

Land and Lots in San Isidro:

Building lots are the most common offer. Residential parcels of 300 to 700 m² come with water, electricity, municipal taxes paid and land use approved, sometimes as a group of several lots split from one property, and some lots of around 575 m² carry land use for either a home or a business. The higher you go, the larger the plots and the more the view weighs on the price. Before you settle on one of the lots for sale in San Isidro, ask which aqueduct serves that parcel, because the district has more than one, and get water availability in writing.

FAQ:

• Is this San Isidro de Grecia, or another San Isidro?

  This page covers San Isidro de Grecia, postal code 20302, the district directly north of Grecia’s centre between San Roque and San José. Costa Rica has many places with the same name, including districts in the cantons of Alajuela, San Ramón and León Cortés, plus San Isidro de Heredia and San Isidro de El General. Add Grecia to every search and check the canton on the plano before going further.

• Can I live up here without a car?

  Yes, with some planning. The Grecia–Calle Rodríguez bus takes about twenty minutes from the market terminal, its first run leaves Calle Rodríguez just before five in the morning, and departures come roughly every two hours after that. A separate Grecia–San Isidro line keeps running into the evening. For Alajuela or the airport, change buses in Grecia.

• Can I visit the Bosque del Niño?

  Yes. The Bosque del Niño sector of the Reserva Forestal Grecia opens every day, holidays included, from 8:00 to 15:30, for a small entry fee. It started as a 40-hectare farm the state bought in 1979, and eight hectares of it were planted with pine, cypress and eucalyptus by children from nearby communities. The reserve protects water used in Grecia, Poás and Sarchí.

• What is it like to live on the upper ridge full time?

  Quiet, cool and green, with longer errands. Banks, the hospital and the large supermarkets are all down in Grecia, so every errand means a drive or a bus ride. The steep side lanes are the weak point in the rainy season, so go back to a property after a wet afternoon before you decide.

• Can I build on a finca inside the forest reserve?

  Start by finding out whether the finca lies inside the Reserva Forestal Grecia, which takes in the high ground at the north end of the district and is mostly private land. Inside it, forestry rules apply on top of the municipal ones, and forest cover cannot be cleared to make room for a house, so plan any building on ground that is already open. Ask SINAC what the parcel allows, check title and the plano catastrado in the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario), and then request the land-use certificate from the Municipalidad de Grecia.