Curiosity about our new open air home persuaded my mom to catch the midnight flight out of Denver, direct to San Jose. She came five years ago, and even though she enjoyed her stay, Costa Rica was just too rough around the edges to tempt her back, until now. If my mom chose to, she could build her own home on our property and enjoy the moderate temperatures, and perhaps save a little on her cost of living. So, I asked my mom if she would ever consider living here. Without hesitation, she answered, "No." While she would never complain about the pretty views and not having to deal with snow and summer heat, she finds the towns here undesireable and the terrain too challenging.
Many people are introduced to Costa Rica through rose colored glasses. They are presented with the idea that Costa Rica is paradise. On this Utopian high, they make the drastic decision to sell everything, pack up their lives, kiss their kids goodbye and start a new life in the tropics. Some find that the change in lifestyle suits them perfectly, but many others quickly get bored and discouraged by all of the challenges they face both culturally and environmentally. Before long they are desperate so sell and often lose much of their nest egg in the cost of major relocation in both directions.
My advice to anyone contemplating making the plunge is to do it, for a few months. Find a comfortable house where the rent is manageable and experience the day to day in a developing, tropical nation. Come when the rain is at its peak and stay until the wind blows fiercely. Give yourself a budget, and see if you can live comfortably on it. It may very well be you will decide that you have found your future forever home, but if you are at all like my mom, you will go home, appreciating the experience, but happy to return to the ease, comfort and familiararty of your native land.
Many people are introduced to Costa Rica through rose colored glasses. They are presented with the idea that Costa Rica is paradise. On this Utopian high, they make the drastic decision to sell everything, pack up their lives, kiss their kids goodbye and start a new life in the tropics. Some find that the change in lifestyle suits them perfectly, but many others quickly get bored and discouraged by all of the challenges they face both culturally and environmentally. Before long they are desperate so sell and often lose much of their nest egg in the cost of major relocation in both directions.
My advice to anyone contemplating making the plunge is to do it, for a few months. Find a comfortable house where the rent is manageable and experience the day to day in a developing, tropical nation. Come when the rain is at its peak and stay until the wind blows fiercely. Give yourself a budget, and see if you can live comfortably on it. It may very well be you will decide that you have found your future forever home, but if you are at all like my mom, you will go home, appreciating the experience, but happy to return to the ease, comfort and familiararty of your native land.
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