Costa Rica Expat - I think not
Or I suppose I should say "Creo que no."
Here's the background story. For years I watched Costa Rica through International Living's magazine, as expats from the United States and other countries flooded there for the good weather and beautiful surroundings. For those who managed to get there a decade ago, they probably got some good deals on homes as well.
Nadine Pisani recounts many of her adventures moving to Costa Rica in her books and on her blog post. You get a feel for what moving to Costa Rica is like and some good laughs as well, since she is a talented and often comedic author. The stories of her husband Rob are always funny. Nadine and Rob are creating a fabulous life in this little area of tropical paradise.
The country is gorgeous and the people are friendly. I know a little Spanish, but enough to be polite, not enough to actually communicate. Speaking fluently in another language is a level of skill I just don't have. Still, a lot of people spoke English and I think they appreciated that we tried to speak the native tongue while we were there.
After years of trying we finally managed to get a booking at the Hotel El Tucano Resort through one of our timeshares. Nice place, though I have to question why our timeshare cost us USD $55 apiece per person each day. That was supposed to be all-inclusive, but it didn't include any drinks aside from the juices, water, tea and coffee. Even a coke cost extra. Enough of that.
Using AirBNB, I found a well-reviewed place to stay in Monteverde for our last three nights. I was concerned about traveling in Costa Rica. I contacted Anywhere Costa Rica and Katia Q. was good enough to help with all the travel. If we travel there again, I'll use them to book the entire trip. They were just that good, and I highly recommend them. They also manage your travel plans for a number of other countries in Latin America.
So this was a scouting mission for Darling and me. Would we like to consider moving to the paradise that is Costa Rica.
The bottom line is - we think not.
We have a lot of reasons for the decision, but the bottom line is it just didn't feel like the place we need to be.
We might try other areas of Costa Rica, but the area around Lake Arenal and the mountains around Monteverde are not going to work for us.
We're not done searching yet.
And I'll work on my Spanish.
Here's the background story. For years I watched Costa Rica through International Living's magazine, as expats from the United States and other countries flooded there for the good weather and beautiful surroundings. For those who managed to get there a decade ago, they probably got some good deals on homes as well.
Nadine Pisani recounts many of her adventures moving to Costa Rica in her books and on her blog post. You get a feel for what moving to Costa Rica is like and some good laughs as well, since she is a talented and often comedic author. The stories of her husband Rob are always funny. Nadine and Rob are creating a fabulous life in this little area of tropical paradise.
The country is gorgeous and the people are friendly. I know a little Spanish, but enough to be polite, not enough to actually communicate. Speaking fluently in another language is a level of skill I just don't have. Still, a lot of people spoke English and I think they appreciated that we tried to speak the native tongue while we were there.
After years of trying we finally managed to get a booking at the Hotel El Tucano Resort through one of our timeshares. Nice place, though I have to question why our timeshare cost us USD $55 apiece per person each day. That was supposed to be all-inclusive, but it didn't include any drinks aside from the juices, water, tea and coffee. Even a coke cost extra. Enough of that.
Using AirBNB, I found a well-reviewed place to stay in Monteverde for our last three nights. I was concerned about traveling in Costa Rica. I contacted Anywhere Costa Rica and Katia Q. was good enough to help with all the travel. If we travel there again, I'll use them to book the entire trip. They were just that good, and I highly recommend them. They also manage your travel plans for a number of other countries in Latin America.So this was a scouting mission for Darling and me. Would we like to consider moving to the paradise that is Costa Rica.
The bottom line is - we think not.
We have a lot of reasons for the decision, but the bottom line is it just didn't feel like the place we need to be.
We might try other areas of Costa Rica, but the area around Lake Arenal and the mountains around Monteverde are not going to work for us.
We're not done searching yet.
And I'll work on my Spanish.
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