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“you need to start worring about garbage we all eating and drinking in USA. Our elected officials could care less about quality of main source of life and health – good food!
All foods are full of chemicals, hormones, antibiotics… irradiated, genetically altered, water is horrible, stinks… Bad health – we have drugs for you and your kids!!”oh, don’t worry, there is plenty of processed and awful food in costa rica, where margarine is called butter, and packaged food and junk food restaurants abound. i asked my gardener to get some food items for my neighbors and butter was on the list. he asked me if i meant NuMar. i said no, butter. he didn’t know where to get butter because he buys NuMar on the grocery shelves. they use bad fats to cook in, consume way too much soda and sugar ladened drinks, and MSG is in everything down here. you can buy it in big packages in the spice section, and they don’t hesitate to use it in restaurants and packaged food. my husband and i are into slow food, or rather sloth food because that is every slower, so we were quite disappointed that there was so much “junk” to be consumed here, not by us, but by most people. and you can see the effects — obesity is on the rise in cr, as well as type 2 diabetes. it’s no surprise either given what they’ve been propagandized to eat and drink. sad.
David,
Understood and agree, I usually do not spend more than a short period of time in San Jose. If the air does not kill you, the drivers will. It is no different in any city in the world. In terms of clean air, nature’s air purifier is the ocean and plants; that is why I purchased a home in Guancaste. In terms of food, fresh fruits, and seafood from unpolluted waters.Vonder, being a single parent is always going to be a problem.
Some things to consider about kids in Costa Rica. Most of the schools are Catholic and uniforms are the rule. Most kids actually WALK to school in the small towns. The culture in general is like living in the 1950’s in the US. I don’t think you are old enough to have experianced that but the world was a LOT different. People let their kids walk to school because it was safe and it was good for them. People in general were more respectful to each other (as they are today in Costa Rica).
You would probably need to home school your children in the things you would expect to learn in your country’s school. That would include their language, history and so on. But their experience in Costa Rican schools would be to learn Spanish very well which is something that is increasingly important in the entire Western Hemisphere. And they might be considered an asset to the school depending on their age and how well they speak English.
From what I see of my little granddaughter of 2-1/2 years she could benefit from a much less materialistic slower life such as in Costa Rica. The expectation (and realization by doting parents) of a truck load of toys under the Christmas tree was a bit much.
You cannot get completely away from the U.S influence. Many homes have satellite dishes and the same crummy TV we have in the U.S. You can get Internet almost everywhere in Costa Rica and cell phones are easier to get than a land line.
But the life is really different, slower, more family oriented. I think kids raised there would be better people.
The hard question is what future you want for your children or do they expect. Wages are low and life harder in Costa Rica. Eventually they may want or need to go home for school or for work. But seeing how other people live may also be an incentive to do better. You never know. Children can be our joys as well as biggest disappointments. But an international life experience cannot hurt.
Actually I do remember those days of walking to school. I used to walk a mile one way to school, home for lunch, and back again. When my parents moved they had just closed down the one-room school house and i went to the “new” school. (I had my children late in life). i’ll think on the things you mentioned, perhaps do a month in a rental alone, and see how it goes. Any suggestions on the best places for me and my family?
Vonder:
My deepest sympathy to you and your children on the loss of your husband. My husband and I are realizing our mutual dreams and are moving to Costa Rica this summer. I nearly lost him last year and your post really hit home.
I wish you well.
what i get from reading these posts is that so many people are gripped by fear — fear of not being close to a hospital, fear of being robbed, fear of not liking it, fear of this or that. holy cow. where i live in colorado i am more than 35 miles from the nearest hospital, and it would take 15 minutes in driving time just for the ambulance in our town to get to me. here in costa rica, i am only 6 km away from a very good hospital, so i guess i am better off here than there. i’ve done all manner of crazy things in my lifetime that had i had an ounce of fear i never would’ve done, but society in american breeds fear — you only have to watch fox news to get a good dose. when i hear the news in denver, i am always grateful i don’t live there because of all the home invasions, car jackings, kidnapping, random acts of violence, theft, vandalism, rapes, assaults. yes, there is crime everywhere, and the more tv you watch, the more you hear about it and get fearful. turn off your television and enjoy life. a meteor may strike you dead tomorrow. and if you’re worried about the quality of medical care in costa rica, remember that over 200,000 people a year die JUST from getting medical treatment in the States, either from doctor error, drug reactions, bad drugs, negligence, bacterial infections contracted in the hospital, etc etc etc.
i just saw this link to an ebook written by a woman who chucked it all and moved to costa rica with her two small children. maybe this will give some of you the courage to follow your bliss.
Well… I guess I won’t be showing this particular post to my wife, as a logical reason to allay her thoughts or “fears” about healthcare in CR!!!
The topic of the post was: ‘Whats holding you back’
I am only concerned with providing my wife and I with a decent way of life, a rational expectation of healthcare, and to enjoy the lifestyle, and outlook of ‘pura vida’ that I seem to enjoy while in CR.
The post thought ( I thought ) was to elicit comments and ideas from others about why CR IS a great place to live, grow and retire in. Or why others were reluctant to come/go to CR.
Personal critiques of our reasons or thoughts are not helpful or useful to determine the original answer to the question of: ‘Whats holding you back.’
This answer is what many are looking for, and the reason why so many are even thinking about this idea!
I’ve been to CR and many other places in the world working and just sightseeing. I even found a property I wanted to buy when I was there. I met many new friends and even took George Lunquist’s and others tours and traveled the country side with a driver for a month or so. The weather, the people, the health care and varying climates attract me. As a single women, I’ve especially spent time checking out where I might feel comfortable. So – why aren’t I there? My “concerns” really boil down to one that I can’t really get good answers or data on and that is – earthquakes and if there is any safe area there. Especially after seeing Haiti’s unfortunate situations and being in other third world countries myself – that is a real “concern” or “fear”. When I lived in Japan – the earthquake and tremors were mild but frequent and the feelings of uncertainty were horrible. I really like the micro climates, the people, the landscaping mountains, valleys, oceans, rivers, streams, waterfalls, wildlife and the food especially.
Until I can get enough concrete information regarding “safe” areas to live (concerning the earthquakes) I am not comfortable proceeding. You would think it would be easy to obtain this information; to date it has not been.earthquake data is available, did you try the USGS? earthquakes were a big concern for me too after going through the alaska quake and another big one in california in the 70;s. where i live in CR there are no faultlines, so i feel pretty safe here. when there are quakes in CR we usually don’t feel a thing here, or if we do, it is barely noticeable. of course you don’t want to move to the base of turrialba or poas, but my area north of san ramon showed no faultlines and that was why i bought here.
my point about the concerns over healthcare was that the system in the US isn’t all that great either with more than 200,000 people dying a year just from getting healthcare. the doctors here are not shaking rattles over your head. they are often educated in the States, most speak some english even if they weren’t, and the ones who weren’t educated in the States often have degrees from european universities, or the UCR, which is supposed to be a very good medical school. so i personally don’t get the big health reasons for NOT moving here. Cima is a great private hospital for those who don’t want to go through the CAJA system. i meet so many gringos here who come from the States carrying their big bag of pills, most of which they wouldn’t need if they got out and exercised, lost some weight, and stopped eating junk food. the approach to healthcare here is more down to earth. if the doctors thing your health problems are caused by poor nutrition or bad eating habits they send you to a nutrionist. in the States they would just give you another blockbuster pill.
TY Maravilla for your comments. I have checked nearly all sources on the earthquake issues and the fault lines, etc. The data that I have collected still hasn’t been specific enough (like collecting data on past quakes and site specific areas). Where did you say you lives exactly? How long have you been in CR? Thanks again
What’s holding me back? That’s easy…fear. Pick one – fear of the unknown…fear of failure…fear that I’m crazy, yea, now there’s a good one…crazy!
It has been said the act of moving away from one’s family and heritage is [u]essential[/u] to a hero’s journey…now listen here, don’t put that pressure on me, I’m not trying to be a hero, but I am most definitely trying to figure out why all these damn signs are pointing to Costa Rica (kinda like all roads lead to San Jose…LOL…been doing my research I’ll have you know!). Let’s see…where was I? Oh, fear of new culture, fear of not fitting in, fear of loneliness, fear of being a non-retiree doing a retiree thing (hey, I’m only 35…still a baby you know!),fear of no hot water, no water pressure, no money, oh, and only rice and beans…ok, ok, so I get carried away, but you catch my drift.
I do realize submerging myself into another culture will strip me of everything I know, and that’s the most fearful feeling of all my fears. But for some reason, I have this game plan that keeps evolving in that crazy noggin’ of mine, and if I can keep my fears at bay, I expect Costa Rica shall have a new Expat about 10 months from now…
PS – geez-ba-leez, don’t worry, I will rent!
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