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Koty: Three of us lived in Puerto Viejo for about $1,000 per month, but I chose a certain lifestyle, a very simple lifestyle, which involved renting an open-air Caribbean style home, not owning a car (utilizing bicycles and the public bus system), and eating mostly foods from the market, rather than packaged imported foods. It sounds like you are more suited to the ‘Pacific’ lifestyle, and even on that side of the country, some changes and flexibility will be necessary to integrate properly. Life in Costa Rica will never be just like life in the States, but then, that’s probably why you are considering a move.
Edited on Aug 13, 2006 17:51
Unfortunately, I am back here in the States. I only lived in Puerto Viejo for three months. In retrospect, that seems like a ridiculously short period of time, given the sacrifices I made to make that lifestyle change. But I have no regrets.
I moved to PV to work with a non-profit organization. I had been offered a ‘tentative’ position with this organization – pending funding. The funding never grew enough to allow for another paid position. I knew this when I left the States, but decided to take a chance. The main factor in my decision to leave Costa Rica was financial.
As for schools: While we lived in PV, my children attended the public school. The ideal situation would have been to enroll them in a private school, but I did not have the funds to do this. The public school setting was, admittedly, a bit trying. The children spoke and still speak, very little Spanish. Some of the private schools in the area are 1/2 English and 1/2 Spanish and I believe a year in that type setting would have helped them to gain enough of a grasp of the language to move to the entirely Spanish-speaking environment.
Anyway, my heart is still there. I believe that Costa Rica is an excellent environment to raise children, it’s much like the feel of small-town USA about 50 years ago. Go with a sense of adventure, and flexibility and you’ll be just fine. Your child is at a great age to make the move.
On the subject of pets, has anyone had experience with transporting small pets, such as hampsters, or rabbits to Costa Rica? I noticed there was a link posted above to a local vet, os I will make contact there, but I’m just looking for any personal experiences that you might be able to share. For some reason my household seems to constantly accumulate a menagerie of pets.
If you are visiting the Pacific side, I would say risk is minimal. If you are traveling to the Caribbean side, mosquitoes are more prevalent. Malaria is a concern, as is dengue as this area stays humid all the time. However, local officials take great pains to spread ‘dengue and malaria’ awareness, prompting people to get rid of standing water, etc. that attracts the mosquitoes that spread disease. What is life without a few risks; part of the adventure, I say.
Living in Puerto Viejo was the most incredible experience I have ever had. I sold my home and everything we owned, left a 17 year tenure with a very steady job (with municipal government) and moved to PV as a single mom with two small children. I chose Puerto Viejo for the eclectic mix of ideas and cultures and for the unbelievable natural beauty. I have never in my life met a community comprised of so many unique and caring individuals and wouldn’t trade the experience for the world. No, it’s not for everyone, but it is for those unique few who want a different experience, something out of the norm, those seeking a greater satisfaction in living, perhaps a deeper spiritual connection with themselves and those around them.
You can read La Nacion over the internet. Here is a link to the site. Cut and paste into your browser if it does not come through correctly.
I believe a common practice is to purchase a cheap bus ticket to Panama or Nicaragua to show as your means of ‘exit’. Then, you would not have much to lose if you later decide to change the date or means of travel. It allows you that flexibility without spending an arm and a leg on a return plane ticket. Or, you could just be sure your return ticket is flexible, one that can be easily exchanged or refunded if you decide to change your itinerary.
In the Caribbean town of Puerto Viejo, shorts are pretty much the norm, even for the Ticos. But mostly the Ticas, even middle age Ticas, typically wear skirts, usually short skirts in various bright colors, rather than shorts. I remember wondering how they managed to ride a bicycle in those skirts; as for me, I never dared give it a try.
I also like the zip-off pants. Try eBay for women’s sizes, that’s where I bought all of mine.
Edited on Aug 01, 2006 18:13
If you are traveling to the Caribbean side, I got some great shots of Playa Negra, just north of Puerto Viejo. Black sand beach, and a quaint ‘rusty’ old barge in the bay sets a nice old fashioned backdrop.
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.
You should consider visiting Barry and Nanci Stevens at El Puente if you are the Puerto Viejo area (Talamanca) on a Saturday. Very worthwhile cause, and the sweetest people you will ever meet. They are located just 200 meters north of Jeffrey’s store at Playa Negra. Going south, you will find their house on the right-hand side, near the sign pointing to the Jungle Nature Lodge.
Edited on Aug 13, 2006 17:55
There is a nice little Saturday morning market in Puerto Viejo, if you do travel down that far. My favorite was the sweet organic chocolate, also homemade breads and cakes, yogurt, you name it. Get there early though, as the best stuff is gone by 9:30 am. Its’ right off the main road, to your left as you travel through town (going south).
I had a neighbor who was unlucky enough to have them in his yard all the time; I believe he said they’ve spotted, I kid you not, thirty or so in the two years they have lived in the house. But then, he lived on the rainforest side of the highway backing up to dense forest; while I happily lived on the beach side. The snakes were generally found by the chapear underneath some leaves. One day, a little neighborhood child yelled out, ‘Nanci, Venga!’ She ran out to find a terciopelo curled up near the spicket the children used to wash up before school . . . Here’s another frightening story, and thank goodness this was not me because I truly would have had a heart attack or something, this same neighbor was showering one day, and accidentally knocked a terciopelo down with the loofah where it landed at his feet. Ughh.
As for me, the only snakes I saw while we lived in PV were in the jars kept upon the shelf near the entrance the local clinic in Hone Creek.
When I moved to Puerto Viejo, my children were 6 and 8. They adjusted fairly well, the language barrier being the most difficult for them. They attended public school, mainly to learn the language and to make friends. I would recommend supplementing with some homeschooling if you go the public school route. I am not familiar with the public school system in all of Costa Rica, but the schools in many of the rural areas are not up to US standards. They are typically one-room, overcrowded classrooms, and even the office frequently does not have a computer or copier. We were asked to go to the local ATEC office to make all necessary copies of the children’s exams, etc. at our own expense and also asked to make a monthly ‘contribution’ for other supplies the teacher needed in the classroom. Otherwise, this must come out of her pocket. On the flip side, all of the children were friendly, and since we are kind of in a mixed region, with many Caribbean as well as indigenous and Tico children, some of the children in school did speak English. The teachers were also bilingual, which helped, and they were very willing to extend that little extra to help integrate my children into the culture and to assist them with the language, which supplemented by teaching at home.
There are a few private schools in the Caribbean area, a Waldorf school grades K-4 south of Cocles, and another school which teaches ½ day in English and ½ day in Spanish somewhere in Cahuita (N of Puerto Viejo). I’m told this one is very good, close to US education, and not too costly, about $125 per month/per child. Again, the money issue. This was the downfall for us, as I moved to PV as a single parent, and the earning/money issue was exacerbated by the erratic school schedule and the lack of daycare facilities in the area.
Personally, I feel I gave up too soon, and am striving for a way to return to that little corner of the world. In a way, our subsequent return to the States gave me yet more resolve that there must be a way to make it in Costa Rica. The sociological problems inherent in the US, such as the violence in the school system, cliques and just plain spoiled kids were glaring as we attempted to reintegrate into life in Florida.
My youngest son was threatened at the point of a 6 bowie knife by one of his so-called neighborhood friends, and my 9-year old daughter returned teary eyed from school every single day because the other girls were teasing her incessantly your shoes are old, your backpack is ugly, etc., etc. We had none of that BS in Costa Rica. Children there were glad just to have a pair of shoes because some of the children were actually barefoot, and a backpack with ‘Barbie’ would be treasured and not made fun of.
The simplicity of life in PV fit us well as I was never one to allow my children an over-abundance of TV and my children are probably the only American’s who own no video games. In fact, when we lived in PV, we had no television at all; just the laptop on which we played children’s DVDs on in the evenings. I feel the lifestyle was beneficial to the children, allowing them, as you said, to remain ‘children’ rather than forcing societies ills on them at such a young age. If you have a sense of adventure, are willing to adapt, and oh, yes, a sense of humor, you’ll be just fine in Costa Rica and your children will be so much better off.
You all do raise some good questions regarding tropical diseases and how far to take your regime of prevention prior to leaving home.
When I lived on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, south of Limon, it was common for someone you knew at one time or another to have come down with a case of dengue. You are correct that there are two types of dengue, the more rare form being the hemmorhagic, which is of course, much more serious but less prevalent. The ‘normal’ dengue causes flu-like symptoms and a general malaise, but that’s all. No way to prevent either, except for bug repellant. I’m told the dengue-carrying mosquito is a day-biter, with a white tip at the end of it’s stinger. The malaria carrying mosquito attacks at dawn and dusk.
Because I lived in the region with my two small children, and ONLY because my children were with me, we erred on the safe side and took both the Typhoid and Hep A innoculations at the local health department before leaving the States. This was, again, an extreme precaution, something I never did before when traveling to southern Costa Rica alone. I also had my children regularly take the malaria prophalaxis, again, the result of an overprotective single mom moving to the fringes of the jungle . . . unless you plan to spend a lot of time deep in the rainforest, I would say take your chances and forego both the cost and the aggrevation of having the Rx filled.
I do know of an American man who contracted cutenous leishmaniasis, which is a potentially fatal (if non-treated) and very expensive (if treated) nasty little problem. Common, again, to the more humid tropical regions of Costa Rica and probably close to unheard of in the more touristy Pacific coast resort areas. This particular gentleman did spend some time hiking through the rainforest and I suspect that is where he contracted it.
As a ‘mom’ raising my children in the less-traveled region of southern Caribbean Costa Rica, sure, there were concerns. But it all needs to be put into perspective. A friend once told me (and this is a bit extreme) that she would much rather be bitten by a Terciopelo than to die in a fiery crash on the San Diego freeway.
