Surviving or Thriving in Costa Rica – What is the key?

As my family approaches our 4-year anniversary of living in Costa Rica, it seemed like a good time to assess what makes one survive or thrive in their expat experience in Costa Rica.

We have all read, heard, or know about people who come to Costa Rica, perhaps with unrealistic expectations, and end up leaving within a year or two.

Some have reported – without any facts to back up their statements – that as much as 50% are prone to leaving for a multitude of reasons. In my experience with the expat community in Atenas, I would guess the number is around 30% that end up departing. The most frequent reason they give for leaving is missing grandchildren, usually followed by being worn down by the cultural differences.

For myself and family (wife and three boys), this is home. When we travel, we miss and pine for our humble abode in Atenas when we are away. The kids miss their good friends, and our doggies and chickens. We have a terrific group of friends that we would dearly miss if they left or if we moved. But this wasn’t always the case.

We were always pretty laid back and accepting about the cultural differences, save for a few minor bitch sessions about some of the frustrations with other expats – which is actually somewhat therapeutic depending on the company. However, the first year was a major challenge for my wife to adjust to the difficult roads and language barrier. Furthermore, four years ago, we were the only young gringo family in Atenas which made life feel a bit isolated for a homeschooling mom who didn’t speak a lick of Spanish.

Although, Costa Rica began to feel much more like home during the second year, I was taking my lumps studying the local real estate market for my Real Estate Investing Guide to Costa Rica: Fundamentals for Profit in Paradise book, while my wife was tending to our new born son. Needless to say, we were quite busy which kept us from reflecting on our situation. The second year seemed to fly by just living our lives, but something was still missing for my wife as she still missed her friends something fierce.

With a certain level of perseverance, empowered by our philosophy on what made us move here, we pushed through the hard times, and are grateful we did. Everyone always asks WHY we moved here, so it’s worth regurgitating for the umpteenth time. Besides the obvious attraction and benefits of Costa Rica itself, we felt as though America was in decline; economically, politically, and socially. Simply put, the USA no longer provided the environment in which we wanted to raise our boys.

Additionally, we felt as though if we have one crack at life, we’d prefer to not spend it as a wage slave in the same place and experiencing the same things for the rest of our lives. When we go to visit our friends and family in the states, everyone is doing the exact same thing they were when we left. They’re still grinding it out in the rat race, arguing about the same topics, and playing the same trivial he-said-she-said gossip game as if we never left. It’s totally understandable to us, but given our new experiences, their monotony makes us feel slightly sad for them.

These days, we live a happy life in Atenas. Our business is relatively stable, providing an important consulting service to clients and comfortable but simple lifestyle for my family. We love that our boys can understand and speak Spanish. We love that we get raw milk and fresh fruit and veggies delivered to our house – all from local producers. We love the generosity, simplicity, and acceptance of the people and community. And lately, my 11-year-old LOVES daytrips to the beach for surfing lessons.

The biggest change has been my wife developing great friendships with many of the other young Gringa moms that have moved here over the last few years. She has found a new passion for Zumba (dance aerobics) and has even taught a few classes. She’s also engaged in forming a small homeschool Co-Op with some of the other moms. Sure, she still misses her friends back in America, but she’d suffer just the same leaving these new amigas behind.

So, the important lesson for us is this: you must have reasonable expectations before coming here if you expect to survive, and understand that the longer your experience lasts in a foreign country the higher level of more comfort you gain. And finally, with time comes the development of lasting relationships with like-minded friends that makes life so rich and enjoyable. This, I imagine, is what makes us thrive anywhere we live in the world.

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Considering The Atenas Area For Your New Home In Costa Rica?

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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.