Costa Rica: A dream finally come true!

Yes, I made it. At the end of May 2013, I implemented my long-time dream to move to Costa Rica.

In February 2007, a client of mine, who eventually became a good friend, informed me that he had moved lock, stock and barrel to Costa Rica from Palmdale, California.

My immediatereaction was “What? Are you crazy?” I obviously did not know what I was talking about. I had
never visited Costa Rica, and I thought of it as a third class country with a high crime rate and a
very low standard of living.

I really do not know why I thought of it that way, maybe the
American way of thinking that everywhere else outside of the USA was third class. My friend
calmly retorted “No, I am not crazy, and if you want to know why I moved here, then I am
inviting you to come and spend a week with my wife and three dogs at my new home!”

|image2|}

I thought
about it for about one and a half minute and I accepted his invitation. A couple of months later, I
was on a plane bound for San Jose, Costa Rica.

From the air, the country appeared to be extremely green. My first thought “Wow, it must rain a
lot here!” Airport immigration and customs were quite painless, but my luggage took a bit
longer to pick up.

My friend and his wife were waiting for me outside the airport building with
my name on a sign. He thought he had changed so much I would not recognize him, and he was
right. He had lost quite a bit of weight in the little time he had been here.

My friend introduced me to his new country and that first week was absolutely amazing. It did
not take long for me to fall in love with Costa Rica. From then on, I came back twice a year
every year, and eventually bought a small farm in the southern Zone of Costa Rica in April 2010.

|image3|

By the beginning of 2013, the economy in California was certainly not getting any better and as a
practicing attorney in a small mountain town just 100 miles north of Los Angeles, I was
despairing to make ends meet.

The state court system was falling apart, with courts closing left
and right, consolidation taking hold and shrinking staff making it difficult to maintain and
manage a decent caseload.

Every time I appeared in Court, the cases I was on kept getting
continued. I simply could not, in all conscience, keep telling my clients that nothing was getting
done because the judges did not want to deal with any of the issues before them.

I had promised myself that if business did not increase in 2013, I would close my practice, retire
and move to Costa Rica. After renting my Costa Rica property for 3 years, my renters moved out
in February 2013 and my farm was just waiting for me to move in.

|image4|

After a series of mishaps and tribulations, I finally arrived in Costa Rica on May 30. My car and
belongings would arrive by boat a few weeks later, so I decided to rent a cabin to live in until my
things got here. It took a few days more for my dogs to be delivered to me due to the failure of
my pet travel agency to advise me of proper procedures ahead of time.

As a single woman, living with my two golden retrievers in San Pedro de Cajon, Perez Zeledon, I
have managed to get a lot done in the last 35 days. My days are filled with chores of all kinds,painting the inside of the house, emptying boxes, organizing and decorating my home.

|image5|

I get up
around 5:30 AM as bird songs wake me up. I let the dogs out and watch the surrounding valley
filled with wisps of fog clear up. I always take the time to make myself a large cup of delicious
Costa Rican coffee and watch the sun come up over the Talamanca mountains while laying in a
hammock.

Every so often, I stop what I am doing and look around me. I have a smile on my face. I am
thinking “Yes, you are here in Costa Rica. You have wanted to be here for so long. Yes, you
made it finally.”

It is so beautiful, and the climate is so perfect. It is never cold. It is never too
hot. I wear shorts or skorts and sleeveless tops every day around the house. I eat fruits and
vegetables that I buy at the Feria every week.

San Isidro holds the largest Feria in the country
every Thursday and Friday. I can fill a whole cart for $25. A few booths are manned by
Expats who sell fresh pastries, cheeses and yoghurt, nuts and organic drinks. I have lost weight
too, about 15 lbs so far.

I feel healthier because my food is not filled with GMOs, pesticides and
herbicides. I have been introduced to fruits and vegetables that I have never seen or tasted
before. Amazingly, the whole country is like a fruit basket. You put a stick in the ground, and it
will grow. This is why I bought enough land to grow my own fruit trees and vegetable garden.

|image6|

A neighbor keeps giving me avocados, bananas and plantains. He planted three platano trees and
three banana trees in my backyard a couple of days ago. A sweet little old man.

Yes, this is a dream come true. Costa Rica is now reality. The country and its people are now
my reality. When I hear about what is happening in the United States, it is nothing but bad news.
Murders, bankruptcies, Al Quaeda threats. I feel safe here. I am a world away from my former
life and I so enjoy my new life.

Written by VIP Member Maxine de Villefranche.

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.