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From those in CR. How accurate is this article?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/08/11/costa.rica.escape/index.html?hpt=hp_bn12
This experience has taught us that happiness is completely inversely proportional to more things. You need to have less, I believe, to have a life filled with gratitude. And right now, I do, I have a life filled with gratitude. I’m happy for the small things.
Sweet!
He says:
“I’ve had a very, very good experience. I don’t know if I could go back to how I lived before.
I made a mistake by thinking I always had to have something new to make myself happy. I never considered that nature can make you happy, being outside can make you happy. I worked a 10-12 hour day. I was never outside.”
Eso es puravida!
Living in Costa Rica, for only four or five weeks a year, I have learned a valuable lesson. In Costa Rica I live life to the fullest, back in the U.S., I exist. I have adapted to a Costa Rican lifestyle and diet, however, I must confess, I still buy Miracle Whip; at double the U.S. cost. Fresh seafood everyday, clean air, wildlife all around my house, friendly Ticos and Ticas, that still ask permission to enter your Casa; and no stress; what more could one want!
This is a wonderful story about a couple who really did toss it all in and made a great choice in Costa Rica. I admire their ability to almost completely turn their lifestyle around. Of course, only time will tell if the magic endures.
In the meantime, I’m still of that school that embraces the philosophy that “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” Some things never change.
“Only time will tell if the magic endures?”
I look at this differently David…
What strikes me is that they have lived in Costa Rica for four years already and they are clearly still happy living in Costa Rica.
Four years!
Nearly 1,500 days!
Whatever happens in the future and wherever it happens, they’ve had four incredibly happy years in sunny Costa Rica.
Some people NEVER have four happy years…
Many NEVER have four happy months!
Some people wait their entire lives to be happy at some time in the future “when I retire” – which most often never happens – to hopefully feel that ‘magic’ in life for just a short while ‘if’ they’re healthy enough to enjoy it when that time arrives…
Nadine and Rob are happy ‘now’!
They’ve been happy now for four years.
How many people do we all know who would be thrilled to escape the rate race to have four incredibly happy years in what they consider to be a tropical paradise?
And as Nadine writes in her blog, it doesn’t have to be expensive: “The great thing about living here is that you can enjoy a wonderful lifestyle at a low income. My husband and I spend about fifteen thousand dollars a year. But we know other couples that spend a lot less.”
Now I’m not getting into the nitty-gritty details of what sort of residency category they have but that’s not the topic of this thread. I don’t know them, I’ve never met either of them – although I will try to arrange that – but I’m proud of them…
I’m also happy real ‘now’ living in Costa Rica!
Scott
All I meant, Scott, is that I still enjoy my toys.
We’ve been here six years. My only regret is that we didn’t come sooner.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]We’ve been here six years. My only regret is that we didn’t come sooner.[/quote]
Me too mate!
Had I arrived in Costa Rica in 1985 – at age 25 – instead of New York City, goodness knows what fun I would have had …
Of course the negative side of that fun would the increased number of responsibilities… I would probably have had enough children by now to start my own soccer team 😆
But all in all, I am one very happy man!
[quote=”Scott”]I would probably have had enough children by now to start my own soccer team. [/quote]
Ah, but think of all the fun you’da had along the way, Scott. Sometimes it isn’t the destination but the journey.
[quote=”Versatile”]From those in CR. How accurate is this article?[/quote]
I’d say it’s very accurate.
I think you can find any lifestyle you want somewhere in Costa Rica. As opposed to their choice, our choice was to live a rural farm type life like I had when I was a child in the 1950’s and I have it.We did come with most of our “stuff” which like the carpentry and metal working tools have come in very useful. Our direction is to get to 75% self-sufficiency for our meals with a garden, fruit trees and chickens. we’ve completed a pigsty and next year a pond to raise Tilapia for the table. We do have it all except the mayo which we must buy.
They say you can’t go back home again. Well maybe not in the same place but we found home here 3 1/2 years ago.
if you have chickens, you have plenty of eggs and can make your own mayo, which is about 1000% better thany anything you can buy and it’s really easy to make.
We don’t have chickens, maravilla, but we have access to lots of free eggs. How easy is it to make Miracle Whip?
personally, i could not eat something called “miracle whip!” but a basic recipe for mayonnaise is easy, and is esp good if you use an imported from France Dijon instead of powdered mustard.
1 egg + 1 yolk (give the white to the dog ;>)
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp powdered mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juicePut everything but the oil in the blender. Whizz it all up for a minute. Then add the oil in a continuous stream until you can see the blender’s not mixing anymore. now THAT is actually GOOD for you. miracle whip??? not so sure.
These are the listed ingredients for miracle whip:
Water, soybean oil, (bad omega 6 fat) vinegar, sugar, modified cornstarch, (?) eggs, salt, mustard flour (why not REAL mustard), paprika, spice, natural flavor (all buzzwords for msg), dried garlic, potassium sorbate as a perservative (ugh!) and enzyme modified egg yolk (what is THAT?).
You can have my share. i made mayonnaise last week with some eggs i got from my neighbor — not factory eggs — and it was so good, i ate it before i even had a chance to use it on anything!!
maravilla
Your receipe for mayonnaise, sounds great! However, a man has to have one vice, a Miracle Whip vice; is the lesser of all evils.I read the article and I would also agree that not only is it accurate, its right on the money! I’m a younger, not retired person (25 years old) and have been happily living in Costa Rica for over 5 years. I live in the same area as these folks do, I live on the same budget, and enjoy the same things they do (except coffee,and plus surfing :). I feel not only blessed to have ended up here, but I feel its the only way to live a life worth living. Pollution, traffic, huge supermarkets and mega-malls, cell phones that track your every move, contaminated water, pharmaceuticals, genetically modified food.. all those things that are ruining this planet and society are not found here like they are in the US (in Guanacaste, at least). Costa Rica provides a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable (and thus cheaper) standard of living. Its easy to be happy living in such a beautiful place, you just have to slow down, relax, and enjoy your surroundings..
i agree with the article as well. less is more; toys won’t necessarily make you happy if you’re not already happy, and a slower, closer-to-the-earth lifestyle will help you live longer. some of the US-societal problems are slowly creeping into the fabric of life here in costa rica. one in four has either diabetes or some other lifestyle related problem. psychiatric drugs are dispensed at the drop of a hat, but at least it’s not approaching 30% of the US pop being on mind-altering drugs. we’ll soon have GMOs if monsanto has its way, and if this country doesn’t clean up its act when it comes to the amount of pesticide use (more than any Latin American country), we won’t have pristine waters very much longer, so enjoy pura vida as long as you can because it won’t last forever.
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