We met many interesting people during our trip, and it seems that everyone has different reasons for moving to Costa Rica, with the two most common are cost of living and climate. Here are 5 reasons why moving to Costa Rica works for me.
1. Climate
I prefer hot weather over cold, by far. Costa Rica is in the tropics, where there are two seasons: Dry and Wet. The majority of the population lives in the Central Valley, around the capital of San Jose. San Jose is about 4000ft above sea level and has a mild climate, with temperatures ranging between 59 and 79. What’s really cool is that you can pick the exact climate you want. Go for a higher elevation for cooler temperatures, or go lower for warmer. Our first destination will probably be Atenas - an hour or so from San Jose and warmer. A better climate also has monetary benefits, leading to… Read more »
Last year, I vented a bit about Christmas giving. Trish and I revisited the issue and instead of my $10-15/person gift idea, she and her sisters decided on doing a ‘Secret Santa’ deal with a $50 budget. That would allow for one nice present rather than 5 books/cds/t-shirts/etc. And the gift has to be thoughtful, though some family members have still released lists of preferred gifts. (shame on thee, ye of so little faith ;-))
I’m really happy about the idea, though I’m still working on what to get for my intended recipient. Some family members have been trying to figure out who’s got who, but I don’t care. I had the joy of emailing my MIL that I’ll never tell who I have the other day. But I suppose old habits (buying stuff based on a list of what someone wants, and thus logically Not Wasting Time or Money) are hard to break. Read more »
We are already starting the cleaning out process in preparation for the move. Part of me is enjoying it. But then there is the other part.
Arp has this tendency to look around the room and zero in on piles of my crap that he thinks should go. Today’s target was my collection of Martha Stewart Living magazines.
Here is my response, verbatum:
“Arp, when we are living on the Carribean Coast of Costa Rica, far from everything that I know, what exactly do you think I will turn to so that I don’t go crazy?! (Long silence) Martha Stewart!”
Arp told me that I should go and post that on our blog right now, and that if I was willing to proclaim that to the world, he would stop bugging me about it.
There you go, Arp.
(I’m now thinking about which of Arp’s annoying collections I should target next…)
We joined a CSA at a local farm recently and have been enjoying our super-fresh, peak of season produce. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It’s basically a subscription to produce - just like paying a subscription fee and getting a magazine every month, we paid a subscription fee and get fresh produce every week for 6 months.
The farm is a family-owned farm and they were nice enough to invite us for a farm tour the other day. We got a look at where our food comes from, and it was a great learning experience for us and the kids. It was a beautiful day to be out in farmland too.
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It’s been almost a month (I think) since we ditched the TV signal. The point of no return was last week, when we returned the receiver, remote and some doohickey on the satellite dish (which freaked me out since I had to climb onto our roof). So far so good - really good, I’d say. Since mindless TV watching is no longer an option, I tend to read or research stuff on the internet instead. Since I’m getting in the habit of reading, I find myself wanting to read even more during down times. M has adjusted quite nicely as well, spending a lot more time playing with J and reading.
Speaking of reading, he read his first word the other day, Mat from book #1 in Bob Books Set 1 (Beginning Readers). He was so excited that the he insisted on reading books #2 & 3 and managed to read another couple of words in #2. By #3 he ran out of steam, but we’re thrilled with the results so far. I look forward to the day when he realizes that a great book can totally take you away.
This isn’t to say that I’m not watching anything - we’re getting ‘The Office’ from iTunes because the big laughs are well worth it. And I got my first dvd from the library - Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. I need to read the actual book because he is absolutely brilliant, using myth to explain people and cultures and even giving clues to the mindset of the modern human by illustrating the common mythological themes across cultures and time. What I find extremely refreshing is that when discussing religions, he seems to see a people as part of a culture whose mythology (which is what all religion is) expresses their views. What makes it so cool is that his knowledge is so vast that he can point out similarities for seemingly every tale out there, so instead of seeing differences, he always sees similarities.
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