Retirement in Costa Rica – Time to kill.

I took Silvia to work this morning. She needed a copy of a certificate at the Colegia de Auditors and we needed to purchase a membership to Pricemart, this country’s version of Costco of Sam’s Place.

The traffic plan in San Jose is really working. It has cut traffic by 20%. In Pricemart I had time to kill before meeting Silvia for lunch.

As the principle shopper in Yakima I used my experience to make comparisons. Some things are considerably cheaper while other imported items are more expensive. Cat food is ridiculous in a regular store. Friskies is .90 cents per can (equal to Safeway) but Science Diet Dry Food is $20 for 5lbs!

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When I put in front of Katy she turned her nose up! On the other hand good bread is $1.10, basil is .50 cents compare to 4 or more times in Yakima, chicken and pork is considerably less as is fish. Corvina is an excellent fish that costs only $2.06 lb.

The pots and pans that we hope to one day replace are $100 cheaper than the U.S. Appliances are much more expensive. A new clothes washer cost $495. A new apartment size refrigerator is going to cost $900.

At the same time, we paid property taxes on the house. They were less than $100. Car insurance on the Toyota is $800 per year. I document these things simply because we have been asked about what it costs to live here.

Silvia was telling me about the benefits she will have at her new job. Besides four weeks of vacation and one month bonus at the end of the year, her department works on team building by doing things like white water rafting, going on one-day trips where they have picnics and they even have the equivalent of a 401K. For a government job the benefits are pretty good.

I have not ventured out with the camera. I want to capture a little bit of the rainy season here. The temperature has been a consistent 74F with nights in the low 60s. The mornings are generally sunny with puffy white clouds. To the west there are always menacing clouds that forecast the afternoon weather. In some ways I miss the hot dry summers and cool nights of Yakima.

Here the humidity is high but my skin is no longer dry and flaky. Even though we live at 1,600 meters the sense of height is not immediately realized until I easily see the television tower on Irazu Volcano.

It is over 10,000 feet!

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When I returned from San Jose today the clouds were draped over the mountains like dripping paint. If you do not like rain this is not the place for you. This is a country of eternal spring. Right now it is raining heavily with the sounds amplified by our tin roof. It is cool and a sweater feels comfortable.

When I walked through the yard looking at yesterday’s work it felt like a well-soaked sponge. The red Vincas I had placed there to indicate where future flower beds where to be dug were enjoying the rain. The depth of green here has always amazed me.

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Written by Ken Beedle who is a landscape photographer and retired Television Sales/Marketing Executive. Ken first visited Costa Rica in 1998 and later lived here for a few years, married a Tica and returned to the USA to take advantage of a business opportunity however, he promised to come back to Costa Rica and now he and his wife live in Cartago.

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.