The Grecia canton of the province of Alajuela is located in the northwestern edge of Costa Rica’s Central Valley. Although it is technically part of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM), this canton is removed from the chaos that the lovable city of San Jose is often derided for.

Over the past few years, a quiet expat community has been settling in Grecia and its surrounding environs. This small city once held the title of being the cleanest in Costa Rica and Latin America, and this has been a source of deep pride for locals. Savvy real estate agents in Costa Rica often take their clients on a tour of the small downtown area of Grecia to showcase its magnificent church and spotless central park as well as the light traffic and overall cleanliness.

In this neat video kindly shared by aerial photographer Saul Montes, you can appreciate the metallic red church, many tin and tile red roofs, quiet neighborhoods, coffee farms, public parks, manicured landscaping, sweeping vistas of mountain ranges and the Central Valley, and a general sense of peace. Grecia is still a great housing market for expats to explore, but demand is quickly picking up as you read this article. It may turn into a sellers’ market by the time you start looking at listings, but there’s always nearby Sarchi to consider.