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Rule of Thumb: The lower the elevation, the hotter it will be; the higher, the cooler. At any particular location, the temperature doesn't change much from one "season" to the next.

At about 4,200 feet above sea level, we have neither heat nor air conditioning and leave our windows open 24/365. Your mileage may vary.

@bpwald

I'll throw a location out there that isn't really in the central valley... but further west ...  but is still considered 'close' to the airport which is actually 5 minutes outh of Alajuela City.

The town is big, if you still want some of that DC access to amenities... and isn't a long ride from the rest of the Central Valley's western burbs and mountain towns.

It's called San Ramon. PLENTY of food shopping, restaurants, bakeries, hardware stores, furniture, shoes, clothing, Municiple office, Hospital, dentists, CCSS office (Caja admin.) etc.  It is walkable and generally has good climate.  It can get quite warm in the afternoons during the dry, sunny season... but it's not HOT, like the lower elevations or coastal areas can be/are. 

There is a young 'vibe' there as there area lot of schools and a university; etc.  The drive to the cheesy coastal town of Puntarenas is around 90 minutes??  Jaco Beach is probably another 90 minutes south of that.  San Ramon has good public transportation... One Bus Terminal is strictly for busses going to and from San Jose (direct or local... with stops at the airport for some) almost every 30-40 minutes during the day... and direct busses to Puntarenas.  You can take the bus to the beach for a day trip!  Also, five busses a day from SR up to La Fortuna... and five return buses; and there are also many buses each day to neighboring towns; like Palmares, Naranjo, etc.  There are communities that include Expats on the hills just west of San Ramon... around 20 minute west???   and some of those communities sit high enough to have views of the Pacific (Golf of Nicoya) in the distance.

San Ramon is a busy small 'city' with small town vibes.   Pretty central park too.   If I move from where I am now, it's most likely near the top of my list of options.

Happy Hunting