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greece may still be affordable, but forget italy. and france. italy would’ve been our first choice given that my husband’s family still lives there, but unless you have at least $3000 a month just to get by, life would be dismal there. all his family complain bitterly how expensive it is — maybe things will go back to normal when they ditch the euro. i would’ve chosen the south of france, personally, but again, way too expensive compared to how it used to be when i lived in france years ago. now most of those places are only for the very rich. there are still some parts of italy that are affordable, but those places would be way out in the countryside without all the things you say you miss. the intellectuals there are the truffle hunters with their beloved pigs!! jajaja
i don’t live in nicoya — the person who wrote the article i posted lives there. i live in the highlands outside of san ramon. i did not have a car for the first 7 years i lived here. just bought one two months ago, and i felt my stress levels increase dramatically. i’ve seen lamb at every auto mercado i’ve been to. but there is also a local butcher shop that sells it — you have to ask. considering the terrain of costa rica, with hills everywhere, i would imagine that getting around is difficult. basically, this is not the place you live if you have limitations unless you live in the middle of the city and can easily walk to whatever you need. i don’t think people factor in this info when choosing to come here. i know 80 year old ticos who are in better physical shape than gringos 20 years younger. that’s because they are moving constantly, don’t have cars, and walk everywhere. americans, by and large, are just plain unhealthy and out of condition from years of depending on an auto. half of each year i live alone with my two dogs. but even if i didn’t have a SO i would be happy being single here. bottomline is that this is not an easy place to live for most people.
helene is nothing if not choosy about who gets her dogs. even with 180 of them, she will not let one go unless everything is perfect. she told me her big concern was that your property was not fenced. on my facebook page, i get homeless dog updates all day long – there are so many rescue sites here in costa rica. if you and i were friends on facebook i could forward you the notices i get. somewhere, out there, is the perfect dog for you that needs a loving home. i look at all the notices i get but i have no way to send them to you.
i certainly can agree and sympathize with the negatives you enumerate. i suffer from some of those frustrations as well, but luckily i work with some very enlightened people who help stave off the boredom of what i imagine the typical life of a retiree must be. there are intellectuals here but they are not sitting at home; they are out doing things, working on projects, pursuing interests in things they didn’t have time for before. as for the food — i rarely eat rice and have found nearly every single cooking ingredient i need to make whatever type of cuisine i want. i’ve probably only ever made gallo pinto a half dozen times in nearly 8 years. too many other good things to eat. and yes, the dog problem is a favorite past-time mainly because the homeless dogs are right in your face every time you leave the house. i know a lot of expats who are into animal rescue. they feel that is their only way to give back to the community and improve the plight of the 1 million homeless animals here. the goal of attaining pura vida in costa rica is illusive to be sure. gringos haven’t even a concept of what that is really. someone just posted this to my facebook page and it seems apropos to repost it here.
Larry wrote: “After 15 years of visiting the pura vida of Costa Rica, we finally made the move from California to here 2 years ago. We wanted the perfect climate, the breathtaking natural environment, the tranquility—we wanted the pura vida; but we can’t have it, can’t get it and you probably can’t either.
You see, it’s another state of mind; maybe even another dimension, like a Twilight Zone place. Pura vida means pure life, but here it also means letting go, something very difficult for most of us. We’re so trained to ‘control’ our lives or ‘get control’ of ourselves that letting go often requires some form of bungee jumping, be it mental or physical.
Where is the pura vida?
First, you have to get out of the city because the breathtaking surroundings and tranquility don’t exist there, and even if they have the perfect climate, you’re too stuck in traffic to enjoy it. For some of us, “living the dream” here means being part of a caring, loving community—the ticos and ticas we fell in love with when we visited.
We’re blessed enough to live on the Nicoya Peninsula, ( Di that is where Playas del Coco is) yes, a Blue Zone, and we are surrounded by the pura vida, but we still can’t get it. We can only watch others have it. Why?
( this says what i feel) One of our precious locals says we have “muchas cosas”, and that may be one of the reasons—we have stuff…too much stuff…and with stuff comes problems and with problems come stress and with stress you get no pura vida.There it is in a nutshell. For example, those with the pura vida don’t have cars; therefore they don’t have riteve, marchamo, car payments or insurance; nor do they have worries about the prices of fuel, parts, labor and of course the stress of driving.
Have you ever had such a bad day with “Murphy’s Law” in full effect that when the last straw finally hits, you either cry or laugh or both? Well if you ever laughed, that’s it! Laughing in the face of adversity, right? That’s the pura vida, and that’s probably as close as you or I will ever get.
It’s a state where you either have no worries, you are too numb to recognize them, or you don’t let your worries have you. I was at my absolute wits’ end the other day, completely losing it—mad, crying, wanting to hit or kick something, when a tico neighbor showed up.
I explained in my best Spanglish my day of disasters, only to watch him go from a grin to complete knee slapping hysteria. I could not believe it; and I could not understand it. A few days later he experienced a minor disaster of his own, and again he laughed. That’s when it clicked. There it was—there was the pura vida!
Letting go of the disaster and turning to laughter to lighten his dismay.
My stressing was destroying my health while his prescription of laughter brought a peace and sense of acceptance that he experiences the bad, but good would return to his life, so why get upset. Wow. Seems pretty simple. What an eye (and heart) opening experience.
This spirit of contentment is a key to the pura vida. While I could recognize the peace he allowed himself by laughing with his tears rather than raging, as I had done, it was still elusive to me.
It reminded me of a quote by Billy Graham, “I’ve seen the effects of the wind, but I’ve never seen the wind. There’s a mystery to it.”
My problem is my mental state is still far too north of the equator; I want to go to the store or pharmacy and buy some pura vida. As I begin to understand and learn about this mystery, the transitioning is sure to be intense—so I’m in pura vida training, which could take awhile, but no doubt worth the time investment. Maybe I’ll go catch some wind while I’m waiting for the pura vida to take effect.
*This article graciously contributed to The Costa Rica Star by Susan Elliott”retirement homes, nursing homes, assisted living facilities or whatever you want to call those places where families dump their old loved ones in the States so the facility can milk medicare for their care is an anathema in costa rica. most people are cared for by family members,not dumped into some facility — some of which are pretty sterile in the States, too. they are little more than warehouses for people waiting to die and unless you have $12,000 – $20,000 a MONTH to pay for a really nice place, you will get a place that you described here in costa rica. if you want to see people begging for shoes, go to certain parts of the US where in the very next community there will be millionaires living the high life. there is a great disparity of wealth everywhere these days and costa rica is no exception. i am always amazed at the reasons people have for leaving here. makes me wonder where they thought they were really coming if they didn’t know about life in third world or developing countries. costa rica’s main industry is tourism. would anyone come here if they showed the pictures of the slums, the nica villages that exist in places where no one should even live, or show the polluted rivers that they are trying to clean up but an ignorant citizenry just keeps dumping their crap into the waterways with no thought whatsoever as to where that trash is going to wind up. there is wretched poverty here; there is also mind-boggling beauty. this juxtaposition is the nature of the world and costa rica is no exception.
you forgot to add, david, that the penalties will be retroactive and accruing interest at the rate of 18% p/a — jajajaja didn’t they just say they wouldn’t impose this heinous requirement until 2014? lots can happen between now and then. i don’t know anyone who has just rolled over and agreed to comply without some level of protest, and there are expat groups who are voicing very loud opinions against this.
to have any form of residency in costa rica (other than permanent) you have to spend at least 4 months in country. if you can’t do that, there is no point in even applying for residency. the months do not have to be consecutive either, just a total for the year. most of us applied for residency knowing we WOULD be here for long stretches of time and didn’t want to bother with that hassle of leaving every 90 days. i applied for residency before i even moved here becaause i knew i’d never get it together to go somewhere every 3 months for 3 days.
raw milk would be hard to find in the city, i would imagine, but here in the campo there are more cows than people. before i started getting my raw milk, raw butter, and raw milk cheese from the lecheria, i used to get my milk from a neighbor who had a cow. the food police will not kick in your door here for buying and selling raw milk, which we all know is so much better for you than that stuff they sell here that sits in a box on a shelf and has a lifespan of 3 years!!! jajaja
dengue was the first thing i thought of too. get thee and hubby to a doctor. it might not be, but if it is you should get some professional advice.
thanks for the input. i like the rain, but by october i am ready for a break and besides i need a vacation, and i have a friend coming from california who needs to stay in my house so it all works out. i will put out some feelers for a cabina that will take all 4 of us. i’ve only been down there once. wasn’t overly impressed with PV but then i used to live in the Bahamas but PV did have its charm and yes, the restaurants were certainly better than what i’ve been to in the CV. and yes, rosie, Ruta 32 is still a nightmare and recently had a 1600 ton landslide that closed the road. the road itself wasn’t bad but the other problems are worrisome.
hola, mark — i just sent her an email and told her to please help you find that perfect labrador. i know she has a couple of young ones there. also, i told her i would give you her phone number, which is 8371-3825. so just give her a call and tell her you got her number from Patricia. If that doesn’t work, let me know. I am in contact with a half dozen other rescue sites but i am sure she will help. good luck.
thanks, rosie — yes, we are considering the eastern side or wherever it doesn’t rain as MUCH!!!! if you have any suggestions about specific places, i’d love to hear. we’d really like someplace where we could cook because neither of us likes to eat in restaurants, and also we are taking the dos perros!
is this the email addy you used? pacifico@racsa.co.cr,
tell her i referred you. she’s a friend of mine.
