The year is two different climates
From roughly December to April it does not rain. The landscape goes from green to gold to brown, the Papagayo winds blow hard through January and February, and by March the wind drops and the heat sits on you. March and April are the hard months. Everyone here does their outdoor business before ten in the morning and after four in the afternoon, and nobody argues about it.
From May to November it rains, usually in the afternoon, and the province turns spectacularly green. It is warmer at night and more humid, but the edge is off the heat.
The coast is not the inland
This matters more than people expect. The coast gets an onshore sea breeze that takes the top off the temperature almost every day. Ten minutes inland, that breeze is gone, and March and April inland are hot in a way that surprises people who tested the climate at the beach.
If you are considering somewhere inland for the lower prices, and there are real reasons to, test it in April, not in January.
What acclimatising actually looks like
It is real, and it takes about a year. Your tolerance shifts, your schedule shifts, your clothing changes and your idea of what counts as cold changes with it. People who have been here five years put on a jacket at temperatures they would once have called warm.
What does not change is April. You do not stop noticing April, you just plan around it.
The cost you may not have budgeted
Air conditioning. Electricity is one of the line items where Costa Rica is more expensive than the United States, and running AC through the hot months is what turns a modest bill into a memorable one. Houses built for the climate, with cross breeze, shade and high ceilings, cost far less to live in than modern boxes with big glass.
The test
Come in March or April, and come in September or October. Anyone can love this place in January. The two hard seasons are what tell you whether you want to live here, and seeing both is the cheapest diligence available to you.
