Costa Ricans Working To Live Rather Than Living To Work…

The majority of Costa Ricans work to live, they do not live to work!

And although that may not sound radical, when you’ve been here for a while you can feel the difference and you can see the difference in the face of the average Tico.

The Costa Rican family absolutely does come first and it’s not that easy to find a Costa Rican workaholic.

Now in running a business in Costa Rica one could consider that a negative but what we have to ask ourselves is what are we living for anyway? What exactly is our definition of a successful life?

If you’re looking to start a business in Costa Rica thinking you’ll find a boatload of hardworking, money-hungry New York yuppy types in Costa Rica then you will definitely have to adjust your plans…

The Wall Street Journal recently spoke of continued sprawl as the people move who have moved further and further away from their jobs to find affordable housing now suffer the consequences of much higher gasoline prices.

In reading it, I was reminded of the amount of time spent commuting to my job on Wall Street 20+years ago and honestly cannot believe the things I put up with in years gone by …

Perhaps your commute is even more time consuming but I used to drive from my home in Westchester County to the Ossining train station, catch the Metro-North train into Grand Central Station in New York City and then take the subway downtown to the Wall Street area.

Surrounded by millions of my fellows – highly-stressed, bagel-chomping, Starbucks slurping New York yuppies who were also rushing to get to their jobs.

Total time travelled? A minimum of 90 minutes each way or fifteen hours per week! That’s 60 hours per month! That’s 30 full days per year spent going to and from work…

Was I working to live or more likely living to work? Or was I simply insane? Or just a slave to the almighty dollar? I am really not sure anymore…

I am very sure that I don’t want to do that ever again!

We get so tied up and involved with making a living that we forget what enjoying living is all about..

Did I make money? Yup! Not that there’s any left. I make about as much money now every year as I used to every month and I am ten times happier, more free and content than ever before.

I love living in Costa Rica and I love what living in Costa Rica has done for me.

Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1: How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, 2: Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore and 3. ¿Cómo Comprar Bienes Raíces en Costa Rica, Sin Perder Su Camisa?

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.