For many families who have successfully made the move to Costa Rica it is often the first few years that are the hardest.

Missing your creature comforts from home can often lead to you raking up extortionate grocery bills at the local supermarket. So what’s a family to do?

It’s time to start embracing the Costa Rican culture and stop seeking out those overpriced imported goods.

After a certain degree of trial and error I can happily tell you that my family shopping bill is no more than $600 a month. So how’s this possible?

Let me make a quick confession – in the first few years of my new life in Costa Rica I continued to seek out groceries from home. From the peanut butter, chocolate treats and a range of other goods, I bought these pricey items on a weekly basis and am the first to admit these tendencies stemmed from a little homesickness.

Of course, Dominical, Costa Rica is now my home and it’s hard to believe that I insisted on buying imported goods for so long and especially considering what I know now. With such an abundance of home grown produce available at much cheaper prices I can now gladly say that there are very few things I yearn for.

From shopping at the local farmers’ markets, buying fresh fish and meat from local butchers and fisherman and buying locally produced goods – this is healthy living at its best.

We hardly ever eat fast food anymore and we’ve traded up and created a much healthier lifestyle for ourselves where we eat plenty of vegetables and mouthwatering tropical fruits.

A typical breakfast in the Hollander household consists of fresh fruit smoothies, homemade tortillas and fresh eggs from the nine healthy chickens we have running around our verdant back yard.

We still buy a select few U.S products that include cheese, Italian Faro Grain or gluten free products. The cheapest items in our basket are fresh vegetables, seafood, fruits, beans and bread which are often the most overpriced articles in a U.S grocery store.

And the main advantages of family life in Costa Rica? That we have one!

I’m happy to say that our family spends quality time together, we shop, and we cook and have fun on a regular basis.

To put it simply living in Costa Rica gives my family the opportunity to enjoy a better lifestyle, a country where healthy living is so abundant it literally grows on trees.

[custom_script adID=191]

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.