The city of San Isidro del General is located about 45 minutes inland from Dominical and is very convenient for shopping, hardware stores, doctors, dentists, lawyers, and more. San Isidro I have heard called “the fastest growing city in Central America”, but do not know if there is any truth to that. The area around San Isidro is known as Perez Zeledon and includes towns such as; La Palma, Cajon, Rivas, San Rafael, Palmares, San Gerardo, and more.
San Isidro has everything you need without making a trip to San Jose. Large department stores of appliances and televisions, tons of clothing stores, lots of shoe stores for some reason, cell phone and electronic stores, plenty of pharmacies, big hardware store for construction supplies, and anything else you may be looking for. There are many professional services as well such as; mechanics, lawyers, doctors, dentists, architects, topographers, insurance offices, car rentals, and more. Every Thursday and Friday there is a Farmer’s Market where locally grown fruits and produce are sold by vendors. San Isidro is a place you end up going every couple weeks once you live here full time for supplies, services, or just fun shopping.
The national park of Chirripo is nearby and Mount Chirripo is the highest point in Costa Rica at 12,000 feet above sea level. Tourists can hike to the top and stay in a rustic cabin over night before reaching the summit in the morning.
Property and homes around the Perez Zeledon area are more affordable than that near the beaches and coast. The surrounding mountain towns offer a cooler climate, close proximity to amenities of the city, and are still usually an hour to hour and a half from the beach. Many retirees like the San Isidro area if living on the coast is not as important as climate and services nearby. Also many families chose to be close to San Isidro for school for their kids.
