The topogaphy is gentler, more sloping and much more agricultural. It is both drier, hotter and wetter. Yup, during the rainy season the south side gets more rain, however as it also gets more sun, it becomes hotter and drier. The villages are much more comfortable to live in as they are working towns with little in the way of estranjero residents or influences. There are far more scorpions, but this is off-set by the fact that there are thermal waters everywhere.
Many properties have thermal systems and pools.