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Now if only I could see to type!!! LOL I’m sure somewhere in CR they ARE selling feet from something or other.
David, You beat me to it! After looking at my husband’s feet from wearing flip-flops and going bare foot in Florida for 12 years,somehow I think that processed foot may be a much better option! Just teasing you Maravilla! Typists we’re NOT!
Debbiewell, Next time Im down, I’ll bring youall a big jar of those pickled pigs feet. It seems like you all are subtly asking for them. Seriously, I believe theres a huge market void for gringo products in rural areas. Doritos is another good example.
Moving down within 6 months. Is organic soya milk, almond milk and ‘or bown rice basmati milk available there. Also cold milled organic flax seeds, etcetera…
Completing pensionado status next trip with Robertos assistance. Great lawyer. Great human being. No this is not an illusion nor oxymoron you are reading, in Roberto Umanas’ case. George L. turned me onto Roberto. Love them both.
I love cooking, and milk? What’s that stuff? Gimme my clean water and fresh lemons, oooppsss limes no organic lemons in Costa Rica, and I am about as happy as a you know what in a feedlot, called Life!
PS: I am a Canuck. Hopefully soon a full fledged Costa Rican in five years or so… Goodbye Bbrrr factor, Hola the Rich Coast, Costa Rica.
I did see soymilk in of all places Mas x Menos in Jaco along with veggie burgers, tofu etc… I was in a pretty well stocked vitamin shop in San Jose but can not remember the location. I think you should be able to find what you need. I also love the full spectrum flax meal on my cereal in the morning with almond milk. If you don’t do it already making nut milks is fairly easy, soak some almonds overnight then put them in a blender with spring water and strain out through cheese cloth.
GOOD RESTAURANTS in general (though I’d already learned to live with so-so food prior to moving to CR when I was living near Sarasota, Florida [I’d lived in San Francisco for 17 years & my biz is in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – both places WELL KNOWN for great dining!!]).
Natural, Organic &/or Health oriented products – especially things like soy mayonaise & products like deodarants (it’s VERY LIMITED here BUT getting better!! If you’re into those things – ask friends to bring them with them when they come to visit)
Home Goods, Ross & the likes (oh my Goddess – I’m already forgetting their names!!! Hey – at least it’s saving me HUNDREDS of $$s a month not having much of my style here)!
Ethnic Restaurants like Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Sushi (ESPECIALLY the all-you-can-eat sushi places!!).
Being able to get packaged ethnic foods (for those days you don’t want to go out).
REALLY GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE (though again – I’d already started winding down from that living in Sarasota)
Good roads (NO WAY can I see myself driving in CR!! I drive like Mario Andretti & looking all around [NEVER had an accident!!] which you really can’t here as you’re busy watching for potholes & cars & people appearing out of no where running in front of you [in the past 1 1/2 I’ve directly known 2 people that have killed people that jumped out in front of them & though it was clear there was NO WAY to avoid the people, at first the gringos were blamed / $$$]).
Peace, quiet & calm (especially from dogs & roosters & noisy neighbors [but I’m learning to live with it slowly but surely. The Florida house was the MOST tranquil place I’d ever lived. San Francisco was worse – 24/7 noise so this is a good balance!!]).
Lines opening up at banks/stores when a few people backed up.
Don’t get me started on what all I DON’T miss about living in the U.S.!!!!!!!!
I’ve been in CR less than a year & slowly but surely I’m learning more to go with the flow & work with what I have (I’m even learning to cook more!! BIG GIRL!!).
If you asked me what I love about living in CR – you’d need to give me about a week to write the novel!!
Bottom line – I LOVE COSTA RICA & living here (& I’m a solo female!!)
Greatest things about living in Tiquicia:
1. Unbeatable climate pick your own personal best altitude
2. WONDERFUL people, generous, warm, giving, unpretentious, happy, well-educated&
3. A government which promotes peace
4. NATURE, NATURE, NATURE
5. Visiting volcanoes & hot springs
6. BEAUTIFUL BEACHES
7. Childhoods (they actually still exist there)
8. Fake road rage (they fake it the 1st time around the rotunda, then smile & wave the 2nd time ’round)
9. Much less stressful way of living
10. The farmer’s markets and all the delicious, fresh, varied & exotic fruits & vegetables
11. Live your same lifestyle for 2/3’s less dollars
12. Casados & Gallo Pinto (if you don’t know, you must go&)
13. El Barco de los Mariscos in Santa Barbara de Heredia (best seafood at the best price)
14. Café con leche
15. Mangos falling from the sky
16. Witnessing an entire national population of s turn into kids again during the biggest soccer matches
17. Aguinaldo (if you’re employed there, you get paid twice in December)
18. Free medical care (even if you have to wait in line a while)
19. Monteverde, Manuel Antonio & Flamingo
20. Drinking guaro Casique with fresh lime with my Tico friends & family at any bar/restaurant with a view of the central valley at night.
21. Asking people directions. You make their day.
22. Not having to shovel the snow
23. Not having to charge double for your products & services to pay all the lawyers you need to defend you from all the people just itching to sue you for every little thing
Things I miss about the US when I’m in CR:
1. Being able to leave my house alone.
2. Driving my motorcycle down smooth roads with shoulders
3. Needing only one afternoon to instead of an entire month to complete a to-do list
4. Twinkies, HoHos and Hostess cupcakes
5. Fast & reliable internet connections
6. Not spending 1/10th of my life waiting in line
7. Driving in a straight line
8. Driving on freeways
9. Driving 25 miles in less than an hour.
10. Not having to change out by brakes, clutch & shock absorbers every year
11. Being able to maintain anything not made of plastic or concrete for more than a year (everything else deteriorates quickly unless you keep it in a humidity-controlled environment)
12. Addresses that don’t involve where Matute Gomez used to live 80 years ago, where the Coca Cola billboard used to be, or where the barking dog still is. (On the other hand, this is also one of my favorite parts of living in CR)
13. Roads with names
14. Good customer service
15. Streamlined government beaurocracy
16. Don’t have to buy stamps to pay taxes.
17. Family & friends
18. Mexican food (haven’t found a good one there yet)
19. Decent pizza
20. Clean bathrooms with toilet paper and toilet seats when traveling
21. General conveniences
22. The change of seasons
23. Long summer days
Bravo! Love your list; I agree all around.
Here’s a funny story though. You know how kids always HATE to take a bath and fight you and try to wheedle their way out of it, etc. etc. every single night? Well, after 3 months in Costa Rica in our rather rustic Caribbean home, all my little daughter wanted for her 9th birthday was to take a bath, imagine that. So we found a nice hotel in town equipped with a bubbly tub and she received a bath for her birthday.
Saltwater, I must address one thing you mention…..your choice of beer. Now if you were really a good ole boy, you’d drink REAL beer not that lite crap. lol
Also, if you do like beer, there are some micro-breweries popping up across the country. Volcano Brewery, about 8 km north of Tilaran on Lake Arenal, has some excellent brews. I also understand,and will find out myself in a few months, that Cartago Brewery has some good ones as well. I think they are moving location (can’t remember where) this summer.
Now I’m still looking for some good, inexpensive wines. In the meantime, I’ll have to do with a box of Clos when I visit and move.
What do I miss? Those April days when the wind is just right and you catch that first scent of spring. The anticipation of it. Especially when that first breeze from the south came over ground still dusted with snow. I miss that.
I miss the salmon fishing in the streams of western Michigan in the fall and winter after the water turns cold and the fish move upstream from Lake Michigan to spawn.
Oh! And good Thai food.
I just don’t understand why anyone would move someplace that they know beforhand that they will miss enough goodies and conveniences to make them unhappy. “I just can’t live with out my grits” LOL
quote=”angela456″]I was just wondering. What is your favorite part of living in Costa Rica and what if anything do you miss about living in the United States (or anywhere else)?
[/quote]Sweikert:
I don’t have just a ton of experience for you to rely on, but you have a pretty heady manifesto of things you might miss and you may indeed miss them….but then again, if you concentrate on what you can do in Costa Rica vs. what you might be missing, the solutions may become apparent.
Would sitting on your deck, surrounded by flowers of unimaginable beauty, sipping a nice cup of Costa Rican Tarrazu be a fair trade-off for 1.5 hours on the Dan Ryan?Best bet is to take the advice from a whole lot of people on this site and take the country out for an extended test ride first.
You might be surprised; I certainly was on my first tour and my wife and I are coming back for more.
Best of luck and I hope it all works out for you!
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