When we first moved to Costa Rica, I had not heard the buzz about the views. It can take a while being here before really appreciating the dramatic bowl of the Central Valley with volcanoes Poas and Barba sitting quietly on the other side. From Puriscal, I feel like I'm sitting in the sky, and here, there are views all around. Depending on what ridge you happen to be on, you can also see the coast. My favorite view is of the shy gulf of Nicoya with her islands and peninsula showing off as the curtains of clouds open up and let the sun have a turn. No matter which way I look, it's simply exquisite.
The buzz is coming with a price tag these days. When we arrived, land was valued by its usable attributes. Ticos wisely being fond of a piece of land for its water over what ever view it may have had. Now much of that has changed and the views are being sold with no regard to the ground beneath them. Vertical neighborhoods are being carved out of mountainsides and like stadium seating, great views await the spectators right along with the roof tops sitting below like gigantic ball caps. The craze over the views often ignores geological hazards or the reality that every drop of water has to be pumped up, rather than flowing down from the abundant springs and creeks sitting several meters down the hill. What is worse is that only a goat could manage most of the terrain for how steep it gets way up on the cool, cloudy hill tops. I guess that's just how trends go. It does not matter if they make sense one way or another, as long as the sales pitch makes everyone believe.
The buzz is coming with a price tag these days. When we arrived, land was valued by its usable attributes. Ticos wisely being fond of a piece of land for its water over what ever view it may have had. Now much of that has changed and the views are being sold with no regard to the ground beneath them. Vertical neighborhoods are being carved out of mountainsides and like stadium seating, great views await the spectators right along with the roof tops sitting below like gigantic ball caps. The craze over the views often ignores geological hazards or the reality that every drop of water has to be pumped up, rather than flowing down from the abundant springs and creeks sitting several meters down the hill. What is worse is that only a goat could manage most of the terrain for how steep it gets way up on the cool, cloudy hill tops. I guess that's just how trends go. It does not matter if they make sense one way or another, as long as the sales pitch makes everyone believe.
2 comments:
You would think no one has ever heard of a mud slide or earthquake here. The rainy season usually shakes out those not built on solid ground. We haven't had a real earthquake to test things in awhile.
Too many people thinking with their wallets instead of their heads. We saw plenty of evidence of mudslides while there - and had to take a roundabout way to visit someone due to ... a mudslide that wiped out several homes.
Let's see what happens as the worldwide real estate market cools off. Hopefully people will come to their senses. (though I'm not holding my breath...)
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