Moravia

About Moravia:

Moravia is one of the compact cantons of the Greater Metropolitan Area, 28.6 square kilometres split into three districts. San Vicente, the seat and a city since 1963, sits in the south against Goicoechea and Tibás. La Trinidad fills the middle, and San Jerónimo takes the whole north, with Vázquez de Coronado wrapping round its east side and its top end. To the west the canton meets the Heredia cantons of Santo Domingo and San Isidro, and the Río Virilla marks part of that line. Route 109 comes up from Guadalupe through Los Colegios into central San Vicente, Route 102 strings the three districts together, Route 220 crosses the Virilla towards Santo Domingo, and bus route 40 runs between San José and Moravia.

Coffee built the place. It became the dominant crop around 1850, at a time when the settlement still depended on San Juan del Murciélago, today’s Tibás, and Moravia only became a canton of its own in 1914, holding its first council session on 1 January 1915. Dairy farming left a mark too, and the centre of San Vicente is still known for the Calle de la Artesanía, a street of leather goods, handmade crafts and souvenir shops near the parish church of San Vicente Ferrer. Every 5 April the canton celebrates its patron with a procession, a dance in front of the church and fireworks. Daily life now runs on services: in 2011 more than eight in ten working residents were employed in that sector, and Lincoln Plaza, the Universidad Católica, Club La Guaria and a cluster of bilingual private schools set the rhythm of the south.

The canton lies at the foot of the Cordillera Volcánica Central, below the La Palma gap that lets the Caribbean trade winds through into the Central Valley. That is why Moravia has a name for wind and damp. For a buyer that matters more than any temperature figure, because it shows up as mould in rooms that do not get enough air. North of La Trinidad the ground climbs through pasture and patches of forest to Alto La Palma, where Braulio Carrillo National Park begins, and the zoning map there marks landslide, ecological-protection and park zones. Further south, rivers and ravines cut through the built-up barrios, and their banks carry protection strips where you cannot build.

Moravia had 2,778 people in 1927 and 56,919 at the 2011 census. Growth has slowed sharply since then, and the 2022 estimate is just under 60,000, a sign that the south is full and new homes now replace old ones or go into condominiums. The population is unevenly spread: San Vicente and La Trinidad hold the vast majority on about a third of the land, while San Jerónimo covers almost two-thirds of the canton with around 8,000 residents. Families with school-age children make up much of the demand, and close to nine percent of residents in 2011 had been born abroad. Land towards the mountains has tended to cost less than land near the commercial core, which is what brings people looking for a garden or a quinta without leaving the metro area.

Houses in Moravia:

Houses are the backbone of the market. In San Vicente the established barrios are Los Colegios, La Alondra and La Guaria, where two-storey family homes, many of them remodelled over the years, sit close to the private schools and the club. La Trinidad adds three-bedroom block houses in Los Sitios and newer homes in gated condominiums such as Altívar and Reserva Trinidad. In San Jerónimo houses stand on larger lots along the main roads, and some sit inside small condominiums with their own patch of forest. When you compare houses for sale in Moravia, start with the district, because the same budget buys something quite different in each.

Apartments in Moravia:

Apartments here are mostly condominium units and small income buildings rather than towers. Around La Guaria and Los Colegios you will find two- and three-bedroom units with private parking. In La Trinidad compact two-bedroom flats in low-rise complexes are the usual stock, and some owners sell a whole building of three or four units in one go. In an older complex, ask for the condominium budget and the reserve fund before you make an offer, since roofs, tanks and paint all come out of it.

Rentals in Moravia:

Rental demand comes from three directions: students at the Universidad Católica, families who want to live near the schools, and people who work in the canton’s shops and offices. One-bedroom units near Lincoln Plaza, two-bedroom flats in La Trinidad and family houses in Los Colegios all come up on monthly leases, mostly quoted in colones. Houses in San Jerónimo are let less often and suit tenants with a car. If you are weighing apartments for rent in Moravia, check whether water, parking and the condominium fee are included before you compare prices.

Land and Lots in Moravia:

Building land has all but run out in San Vicente, but not elsewhere. In La Trinidad lots of a few hundred square metres still come up on existing streets and inside Teruma, a lot condominium where each owner builds to their own design. San Jerónimo has the big parcels, from roadside lots to quintas of several thousand square metres and fincas of several hectares, some of them working dairy farms sold with the herd. Out there the plan regulador allows homes only within 30 metres of a public road and keeps the land behind for farming, so measure the frontage before you judge the price of land for sale in Moravia.

Commercial Property in Moravia:

Shops and offices follow the main roads. The busiest stretch is the road from Guadalupe into San Vicente, followed by the streets around the church and the Calle de la Artesanía, and parts of the main road through La Trinidad carry a mixed land use that allows a business alongside a home. Buildings with a shop at street level and rooms or apartments above come up for sale and for rent. Before you sign, confirm with the Municipalidad de Moravia that your activity is allowed at that address and that you can get the municipal patente for it.

FAQ:

• San Vicente, La Trinidad or San Jerónimo: how do Moravia’s districts differ?

  San Vicente is the town proper, with the church, the craft street, Lincoln Plaza, the private schools and settled barrios such as Los Colegios and La Guaria. La Trinidad is newer and denser, with Los Sitios, El Alto, gated condominiums and plenty of two-bedroom rentals. San Jerónimo is rural, with quintas, fincas and village centres running up to Braulio Carrillo. A property described only as “Moravia” could be in any of the three, and the plano catastrado settles which.

• What can go wrong with a lot in Moravia, and how do I check it?

  The usual traps are a river or ravine protection strip running through the plot, a steep parcel in a landslide zone near Braulio Carrillo, or a San Jerónimo finca with almost no frontage on a public road. Moravia’s plan regulador dates from 2000 and the municipality has been preparing a replacement, so ask for the certificado de uso de suelo on the exact parcel at the time you buy. Then pull the title and the cadastral plan from the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario), walk the boundaries, and get a written water-availability letter before you pay a deposit on land you plan to build on.

• Is the damp in Moravia a problem for houses?

  It can be. The trade winds coming through the La Palma gap make the canton windy and humid. Visit after a few days of rain, look behind furniture and inside cupboards, and favour houses with cross-ventilation and good eaves.

• Can a foreigner buy property in Moravia?

  Yes. Titled property in the Central Valley can be owned by foreigners on the same terms as Costa Ricans; the special restrictions on concession land only apply on the coast. The sale is done before a Costa Rican notary and registered with the Registro Nacional.

• How do I get from Moravia to downtown San José?

  By car, most people take Route 109 south to Guadalupe and carry on into the centre. Bus route 40 links San José with Moravia, and separate lines serve Los Sitios and El Alto in La Trinidad. Try the trip at rush hour before you commit to a house, because the road through Guadalupe carries heavy traffic at peak hours.