Where exactly is happiness located?

Our Declaration of Independence speaks of the “pursuit” of happiness, which is an expression that lends credence to its elusiveness. Happiness must be pursued because it is indeed an elusive and ephemeral emotional state.

A deeply religious person will tell you that happiness is found in God, in your faith and in conforming all your actions to be consistent with what you believe from a religious standpoint. That we stumble onto happiness on the road of religious obedience.

Our secular and highly commercialized society conveys the idea that happiness is found in things, that it resides “out there” in the world and it is your responsibility to go out and accumulate as much of it as you can.

Much of the literature that we read, great novels and poems that move us emotionally, express that happiness is found in romantic love.

But I can tell you from my own experience that true and lasting happiness isn’t really located in any of these places, as I have visited each and experienced just as much misery there as anywhere else.

Happiness is an emotion and in that sense it occupies the small amount of space located squarely between the ears. But if happiness is found in such an obvious and easily accessible location, why does it remain so elusive? Moreover, why are we told in our founding document that it is a thing to be “pursued” when all along we have the capacity to conjure it up simply by applying focused thought?

We talk about happiness being fleeting…that as soon as we have it, it tends to dissipate, dissolve or just disappear.

Why is that?

I submit to you it’s because our general ideas about happiness are all wrong.

If you think about it, the happiest among us are those who tend to be more concerned about the happiness of others than of their own, wouldn’t you agree?

The bottom line is that happiness promoters tend to be happier than happiness pursuers. And I have seen firsthand that this principle also applies to Costa Rica expat happiness promoters. Those who come and immediately get involved in things that promote the health and welfare of others, or of nature, or of the planet always seem to wear a smile on their faces that brightens the day of everyone they meet. Those are the expats you want to be around.

The reason is because the quality, or state, of happiness has a lot to do with our feelings about ourselves. If a person is focused solely on him or herself, it’s very easy to become discouraged and disillusioned. The more laser-like we direct our focus on ourselves, i.e., the more self-interested we are, the more apparent our imperfections, or those related to our circumstances, become.

We begin to realize that we aren’t the perfect specimens of humanity that we may have deluded ourselves into believing that we are. We realize the hard truth that we, or perhaps things, are sort of screwed up.

However, just as soon as we direct that focus to helping others find happiness, all those imperfections disappear, or at least cease to matter all that much. Instead we discover that despite them we do have the capacity to make a difference…to have a positive impact and influence on others.

This chapter offers the suggestion of being a Costa Rica expat happiness promoter by living each day with the goal of enhancing the experience of someone else.

In so doing, you just might find happiness, or a deeper sense of it, yourself.

This is an old blog post that I couldn’t resist but including in the book. It might give you a hint about what your Costa Rica expat life could look like…

I’ve not been “riled up” about anything lately, so my writing has slowed a bit. I used to watch Fox News (back when Costa Rica cable TV carried it) and that always provided fodder for my rants against the establishment quo (one of my favorite themes…railing against “the man”). But no more Fox these days. Actually I’ve been on a news watching hiatus, just enjoying my life here in PZ (Perez Zeledon) without really getting too riled up about anything, except Lily’s complaints about the heat.

That brings me to the subject of this morning’s post…you guessed it…raising chickens in Perez Zeledon.

You see, Lily really wanted a gallinero, or chicken house, in the back yard. And being the dutiful, and sustainably- minded, spouse that I am, I accommodated the request.

We gather four per day and with a household of four people, that equates, wait, let me do the math, to one per person per day. Of course, lately I’ve been on the “slow-carb” diet, so my breakfasts generally consist of three scrambled eggs. But, then again, I am “the man” of this house.

I’ve never had chickens before. Dogs yes, a cat once, and a few rodents here and there (I believe I once had a turtle), but never chickens.

They’re curious creatures.

After they pay the daily rent, we lock up “el asesino” (Dokie, our little “zaguate”…who’s a cross between a dachshund and a doberman…seriously), and let the chickens roam the backyard, giving full meaning to the term “yard-bird.”

We’ve only named too of them. Lily named one Dorothy (no idea why) and the other I named Dora (as in Dora la Exploradora) because, while the other three tend to stay together, Dora is always off somewhere pecking at everything, trying to figure out the general meaning of life as a gallus domesticus.

They really do seem to crave human interaction. Someone told me that chickens only have a memory of 15 minutes. I tend to disagree based on the fond looks I get every morning when I enter to feed them.

One thing’s for sure, having chickens has given me new-found respect (or repulsion) for eating them. It’s like those celebrities that claim they only eat the meat they kill themselves (didn’t Zuckerberg recently make that vow?).

Eating KFC will never be the same again. And raising chickens in Perez Zeledon means that I’ll never have to eat a store-bought egg again, if I can avoid it.

I’ll have to admit that sometimes life in Costa Rica gets under my gringo skin. You see, we gringos don’t live very contemplative lives for the most part. We don’t have time to, or at least we don’t take the time to.

There’s simply too much to do, too much money to make, too much pressure to bear, and too little time to stop and smell the roses.

That go go until your gone attitude is what built our country into the economic power it still is, right?

I think one of the greatest culture shocks for a gringo trying to adapt to Costa Rica life is that here things are just different. Here the saying goes that “hay mas tiempo que vida”…or, that there is more time than life.

Here things get done not “on time”, but when they, well, get done. It can be, to put it mildly, frustrating for the gringo with that go go attitude. The tico’s response to that frustration would be, well then, grin-go-home.

Gradually I’ve begun to adapt. To walk (and drive) slower, be friendlier, notice things, take my time, learn how to be patient, and to enjoy the present moment rather than always “time-traveling” into the future. Believe me, old gringo habits are hard to break, but I’m coming around more and more these days.

Getting the heck out of San Jose, like I did some 8 years ago, and moving to San Isidro de El General (or Perez Zeledon), in the southern zone, a place where the “pura-vida” culture is as alive and well as anywhere, has certainly helped.

Some time ago we fixed up an apartment we rented adjacent to our house to be used for my wife’s salon (or, “peluquería”, as they are generally called here). We hired my good tico friend, David Picado, to paint a mural on a wall where Lily intended to install a small garden.

Now David is the quintessential tico. He’s never in a hurry to do anything. Slow and deliberate is his manner. When will it get done? Well, when it’s done. And the end result is always very nice.

If you think about art in general, the artist performs his work slowly and deliberately, with great focus on the present moment. It’d be downright impossible to perform a great work of art, a masterpiece, by rushing to the end, wouldn’t it?

Of course, we all adore the accolades that reaching the end can bring. But those delightful end results might just never arrive if we focus too much on them, and ignore the process that gets us there.

In that sense, their way is a more artful way to live life.

I’ve gradually come around to accepting that fact. And to realize the importance of focusing more on the art of Costa Rica expat living.

Here’s a little more tico artistry from my friend David “Chino” Picado…un muchacho muy talentoso…

One morning I read a tragic story about a young woman in her 50’s who made the Costa Rica expat choice to start her life anew here.

However, instead, she ended her life.

I felt compelled to write something in response to this. Oh for sure, I could write a cliché-filled diatribe about how “Costa Rica is not for everyone.”

That you can’t escape yourself, nor your problems, here.

No shit!

However, the truth is that life can be viewed as either being filled with problems, or with potential…anywhere you might find yourself.

The answer never lies “out there,” but rather “in here.”

Okay, so much for avoiding clichés, but it is true, isn’t it?

If you are looking for answers to problems in a place, a relationship, a belief system, political viewpoint, drug, or by pointing a loaded gun at your head, what you will find is simply more problems.

This fabulously fleshy computer that God installed between our ears is quite adept at finding and magnifying problems…if that is where you choose to direct its processing power.

Have I been able to escape my problems in Costa Rica (and believe me I have and have had many)? The very notion of that question makes me chuckle to myself.

It all really comes down to a decision that we’re all empowered to make. Costa Rica provides a beautiful backdrop in which to make that decision. And it’s a place that can enrich that decision in many ways.

What “decision” am I talking about?

The decision to embrace life no matter what it throws at you.

To see the silver lining in every dark cloud.

To pass the countless tests of your integrity.

To love even when you feel unloved.

To sacrifice yourself even when you feel completely spent.

To be at peace when you’re alone with yourself and no one else desires to share their precious time with you.

To remain fond of yourself despite all the stupid and fucked-up shit you’ve done.

And to gaze upon the beauty that surrounds you, here in Costa Rica, or wherever you might find yourself, and know that there is a purpose to it all.

You wouldn’t be here in the first place if it weren’t meant for you to L-I-V-E your life in every sense of what that word means.

Anyone who has suffered in life, really suffered, has experienced the electrically impulsed image of ending it all slicing through the synapses. There is nothing weird, or even particularly alarming, about that. It’s quite natural.

After all, it’s a choice we always have, just like all the other choices the gift of free will grants us.

But it’s never ever the best choice.

Life beats it, hands down, every time.

So, instead…make the choice to L-I-V-E…

…Live to Love
…Live to Laugh
…Live to Learn
…Live to Leave a Legacy

That’s the proper Costa Rica expat choice that I hope this book encourages you to make.

Pura Vida!

For many years I couldn’t get enough of “self-help” from writers and speakers such as Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, Jack Canfield and so on. However, my focus, often based on their advice, was on succeeding so I could have more…a nicer car, more expensive clothes, a bigger house, vacations to anywhere I wanted, etc.

There was always that glimmer of encouragement to “be more” rather than just to “have more” as exemplified by Zig’s famous saying, “you can have everything in life you want, if you just help enough other people get what they want.”

But even in that laudable phrase, there’s an underlying motivation of “having more.”

Much of what I’m advocating in this book is for a Costa Rica expat paradigm shift, especially concerning the drive for material accumulation. This occurred for me, gradually, as I was exposed to a new way of living here in Costa Rica…a way much less focused on things.

Of course the average per capita income of a household in the U.S. is more than twice that of Costa Rica and that difference is much more pronounced if you are talking about “campesinos,” or country-folk. So obviously there is going to be less consumption of material things in a country like Costa Rica, as compared to the U.S.

Now, I’m not saying that we should necessarily all live like campesinos…well, maybe I am a little bit saying that.

Truth is, in Costa Rica campesinos live pretty well. For the most part they have decent homes, but without many of the luxuries that are taken for granted in the U.S. They enjoy simple pleasures and live a simple life. In general, they care for and respect the land and find great joy in the natural beauty of Costa Rica. In short, they get along just fine without the vulgar material wealth that many folks in the U.S. consider a birthright of the American dream.

So what I am advocating is a Costa Rica expat paradigm shift. One that takes us away from the idea that happiness can only be measured by how big a house (or houses) we live in. One that awakens a desire to give back rather than take. And yes it can start by changing your personal goals. By changing our goals in life from having more to being more…that is, making choices that make a difference.

I am not saying in the least bit to stop striving to succeed. I believe we should maximize to the fullest extent our ability to do that, but it is what we then do with our “success” that makes the difference. Do we invest it in stuff that only provides personal comfort for ourselves, or in creating a better world?

For instance, investing in some form of renewable energy to supply electrical power to your home could perhaps be a better idea than installing that swimming pool. If the kids want to swim, take the family for a nature hike to a nearby creek or “swimming hole” (hopefully non-polluted) and enjoy both the water and the natural surroundings. Take advantage of the opportunity to teach your kids the importance of keeping nature clean and beautiful.

These days many folks in the U.S. are being forced to get by with less as the result of a rapidly changing economy. Many reacted to this by electing Donald Trump. But is he really the solution?

An emphasis on that is what “expat mindfulness” is all about.

Hey, my book The Definitive Guide to Costa Rica Expat Living is live on Amazon. If you’re thinking about making an escape from the rat-race, whether for political or mental and physical health reasons, or all of the above, The Definitive Guide to Costa Rica Expat Living was written just for you!

Get the Book!

Despite the obvious fact that my blood runneth 100% gringo, often I feel that there’s a “latent latino” inside of me just waiting to burst out.

Even so, I am frequently reminded of the differences, especially by those closest to me.

We gringos just aren’t as warm and fuzzy as latinos. We are more prone to give the cold shoulder. We are not as familiar, or family oriented. We are not as open and inviting. We are impatient. And on and on the list goes.

But if I had to boil it all down to a single trait that distinguishes the gringo from the latino, I would describe it like this…we gringos are infinitely more “hung-up” than latinos.

What exactly does that mean?

It just seems that we have these ideas about the way things ought to be. And if they aren’t that way, well, it makes our blood boil. I’ll call these “Costa Rica expat hangups.”

Case in point is the way latinos, specifically Costa Ricans, view “risk” compared to gringos. For instance, a Costa Rican would not think twice about riding down a busy road on a motorbike with a kid sitting in his lap, perhaps with a helmet, but just as likely not.

You see things like this all the time here. Sometimes if I am transporting a group of gringo tourists and they bear witness to such horror, all will express in unison their outrage, scorn and derision about the “bad parent” risking the life of that poor child. But to the tico, it’s just a way to get from point A to point B.

What’s the big deal?

There are countless other areas I could mention where we gringos tend to be hung-up about things, whereas the ticos will take a more relaxed live and let live attitude.

Does that make “us” right and “them” wrong, or vice-versa?

No, not at all.

It’s just not right for women to dress like that.

It’s just not right for children to behave that way.

It’s just not right for people to hold those view points.

And our airwaves are inundated with Rush Limbaughs, who are more than ready to express outrage about how “those people” are so off-track. You know, the all too prevalent attitude of, this is “America” and we don’t do it that way.

As a by-product of growing up in a hung-up society, I’m sometimes too quick to judge someone as being in the wrong when they take a different approach than what I might deem appropriate to a given situation. That happens a lot here in the business context, as well as in the area of personal relationships.

It’s that notion of “I just can’t get over how they __________”

Well, get over it. Being “right” or being “wrong” just isn’t as big a deal here in Costa Rica as just, well, “being.”

If you want to get truly “latino-ized” (which is a good idea if you plan to live here) you really need to let loose of the Costa Rica expat hangups and take a more relaxed approach to life.

Hey, my book The Definitive Guide to Costa Rica Expat Living is live on Amazon. If you’re thinking about making an escape from the rat-race, whether for political or mental and physical health reasons, or all of the above, The Definitive Guide to Costa Rica Expat Living was written just for you!

Get the Book!

In the famous book by Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, the author spreads 30 key principles of influence over its 4 parts. But the one principle that is perhaps most applicable to this Costa Rica expat guide to winning friends and influencing natives is…

Become genuinely interested in other people.

You might think, well that sounds easy. After all, what could be more interesting than immersing in a culture foreign to your own?

If that’s your attitude, then great. Perhaps it will indeed be “easy.”

However, over the many years I’ve lived in Costa Rica, I’ve noticed that many expats, while they might talk of being interested, don’t really live their lives here showing much of it. They patronize the ticos, as if they’re poor souls who need “our help.” They become quite adept at using the ticos, since many services can be obtained at a fraction of the cost for the same ones back home.

But are they really interested? Do they really show any interest? And do the ticos even notice one way or the other?

There are, of course, plenty of reasons we gringos should be interested in the ticos. After all, they consistently are rated as being the happiest group of humans on earth. Moreover, Costa Rica has these so-called “blue zones” where some of the greatest examples of human longevity can be found.

Granted, the tico culture is in some ways similar to any other. Wherever you end up calling home, you will find cliques of locals that are hard to break into. It will take some effort. The ticos will welcome you, that’s for sure, but perhaps not so much with “open arms.” First you will have to endear yourself to them. And that requires that you be interested in them. In that regard, Dale Carnegie offers valuable advice for expat immersion success.

How does one go about doing this? Well, you need to do it in ways that you feel comfortable with, even though initially doing it might make you a bit uncomfortable.

Learning to enjoy their sport, soccer, is vital. More importantly, learning to call it by its proper name, fútbol, can be a great start. Take care not to jump on any one team’s side too quickly. That’s a great way to become endearing to some, while alienating yourself from many others. It’s OK to answer the common question of whether you are for La Liga, or Saprissa (the two historic national rivalry teams) with one or the other, but just don’t be too overly vehement about it.

And, of course, always voice and display rousing support for Costa Rica’s national team, La Selección. You can do this by showing up for the games at popular viewing places, wearing national team colors. And be as vocal in your support as they are. That will win you a lot of respect…believe me!

It goes without saying that learning to be conversational with the Spanish language will go a long way in helping you immerse, win friends, and influence the natives. If you need to take a course, take one. But more than anything else, talk with them. The best way to learn how to actually speak a foreign language is to, well, speak it and speak it often.

I could ramble on in this brief Costa Rica expat guide to winning friends with countless other tips, but they’d all amount basically to just good common sense. The major things to remember are that the ticos deserve your respect, their culture indeed merits your interest, and yes they certainly do notice your indifference.

We’re living in a strange world. Consider it…

You have the phenomenon of mass exodus…refugees of war and human conflict and, soon-to-be, climate, seeking haven on safer, drier and higher ground abroad…

You have nativists at home clamoring for their governments to slam the door in the face of all comers, especially the neediest of them…

You have leaders, like Trump, as well as others, claiming that we must stick up for and protect our own in the midst of this movement of the masses…

What gets lost in all this is a simple truth. And that simple truth is that we’re all in this together. We have one and only one planetary ship on which to enjoy this one life and we’d better protect it and preserve the life that’s still left on it, or all this talk about “blank first” will go by the wayside and we into the dustheap of human history.

In my blog, Revolutionary Misfit, I talk a lot about the Big US. I like to use the metaphor of the Titanic. You know, that invincible ship that got deep-six’ed by a relatively small floating ice cube. And in that moment, when all was going to hell in a hand-basket, the ordered societal division that had ruled the decks turned into a chaotic quest for survival.

We don’t want to see our planet turn into that…now do we?

But that just might be where it’s headed.

So, what’s the answer and what does it have to do with “expat mindfulness.”

From the perspective of an expat, or those who’ve taken up residence in a host country, that concept does not seem so far-fetched, or it certainly shouldn’t. One thing being an expat for all these years has taught me is an endearing respect for immigrants, since I have voluntarily become one myself.

A couple years ago my wife and I decided that maybe we should move back to the U.S. for a while. We were having a hard time economically and we hallucinated that perhaps things could be better.

She’s a Colombian born citizen, but a Costa Rican nationalized one. Through our marriage she was able to obtain a U.S. visa. So, off we went. Little did we realize how hard it would be for her to move from the status of a tourist to that of resident, or even citizen. Let me tell you folks, it ain’t easy and certainly not cheap. And do you think for a minute that the majority of those poor Central Americans and Mexicans crossing the Rio Grande in search of a better existence, that Trump wants to block with his great wall, have the slightest chance of doing it the “right way?” The answer is no, they really don’t.

And the above doesn’t even begin to touch the plight of Syrian, and other, refugees. Those fleeing, not only from economic misery, but for their very lives. They also have little chance to make it to any semblance of safety unless countries like the U.S. help them. We can do it, but these days we refuse to. We refuse to because of a small us mentality. And that mentality is not the direction this world needs to head in. As Donald Trump likes to say…believe me!

The concept of World Citizenship is not meant to imply open borders. Countries have borders and they should be protected. That’s just the way it is. What it does imply is a different mindset held by those legally within those borders vis-à-vis “outsiders.” They are your brothers and sisters. It doesn’t matter what color they are, what language they speak, or what god they worship…we are all part of the same species living together on this revolving rock called planet earth.

And that, again hopefully, can create a better existence for us now and a better world for the future.

I’ve noticed over the years that there are two types of expats, or would-be expats, that arrive to Costa Rica, both with big dreams and high expectations…

The first type consists of those expats who are looking for a different style of life than what they left behind. They are often seeking a greener, less cluttered, less materialistic, and more sustainable existence.

The second type is basically looking to transfer the same level of materialism that he or she enjoyed back home to Costa Rica, but to experience it with a more tropical/exotic flare…and with better weather, of course.

You can probably guess the ones I prefer to work with. Although, truth be told, the second set usually arrives with more money in tow. That can make a Costa Rica real estate agent’s eyes turn green!…especially those with PHDs…you know, the poor, hungry and driven ones.

Truth is that I like working with any wanna-be expat because I get a kick out of showing off this great country, with its multitude of marvels and mysteries. I do get pissed off sometimes, however, when folks try to create their own personal version of it.

Costa Rica is what it is and despite the valiant efforts of a handful of materialistic-minded gringo expats, it ain’t gonna change any time soon.

I have written before about my view that “American-style” consumerism is at the root of many problems the world faces.

Often I’ve contrasted that high consumption lifestyle with what prevails here in Costa Rica. Comparatively speaking, the Costa Rica lifestyle is marked by low consumption, although the influx of North Americans in the last couple decades threatens to change all that.

Granted, low consumption isn’t for everybody. I understand that. But I can imagine that if enough people live this way, the earth might become a better place, or at least we’d have a more sustainable planet that might remain an enjoyable place for future generations.

What exactly am I getting at with this idea of a Costa Rica lifestyle of low consumption?

Let me provide some examples. As always, there are exceptions! But exceptions don’t make the rules.

Costa Ricans don’t, for the most part, use appliances, such as dishwashers and clothes dryers, that consume inordinate amounts of electricity.

In the higher altitudes of Costa Rica, like the Central Valley, no one uses air condition, nor heat.

Down on the coast that may be a different story, at least for a/c. But not really if you live high enough to cool things down a bit with an ocean breeze, as well as a spectacular view. Yes, there are places where you can “have your cake and eat it too” in Costa Rica!

In Costa Rica, we often grow our own food, or it could just be growing wild on its own, right in your backyard. We don’t need to buy our produce from industrialized farms that are depleting the soil and poisoning it, and us, with pesticides.

We often buy from local farmer’s markets. Again, food here is usually grown locally rather than on industrialized farms located far away, which then has to shipped to a grocer near you. There has been a recent push for organic or hydroponic home gardening. Many expats are growing or buying exclusively organic.

We buy used cars and then drive them to the last kilometer. This is in large part due to the ridiculously high cost of new imports, but it helps keep our consumption rate low compared to other “more developed” societies where consumers buy new cars every few years. We also like taking the bus and don’t view the act as having any negative socio-economic class implications.

In Costa Rica we are into protecting the environment because we realize it’s the main reason we get up every morning with a smile on our face. Not to mention the dollars it brings from others who like to visit frequently and enjoy a similar experience.

I could go on, but you’ve probably already caught my drift.

For those of you who are intrigued by the idea of becoming a less materialistic human who embraces the Costa Rican lifestyle of lower consumption, come on down, the water is very nice.

For those of you who aren’t, but would like to give the expat life a try anyway, we welcome you as well. Just please try to keep an open mind. Costa Rica might just teach you a thing or two!

There are downsides of Costa Rica expat living. I mean, it’s not all a bed of roses.

Here are just a few inconveniences you will experience on a regular basis in your new home…

Frequent power outages – due to storms, rationing, or perhaps just because the system had a hiccup.

Rain, Rain, and more Rain – Rain will become part of your life in Costa Rica. In fact, if it weren’t for rain, there’d be no Costa Rica, or at least not the lush green one that drew you to consider the Costa Rica expat life.

Bad Roads – I watched a 1947 documentary on Costa Rica the other day. It claimed that Costa Rica has some of the best roads in the world. Really? Not the ones I drive on. Costa Rica’s roads are notoriously bad. Like bad enough to loosen your tooth filings, or induce labor. But that’s just part of the adventure.

The Language Barrier – If you don’t arrive moderately fluent, and most don’t, you’ll soon discover that routine things like going to the bank become exercises in humility, patience and empathy for those poor non-English-speaking Mexicans in the U.S. that Donald Trump wants to deport.

Intermittent Internet – If you’re like me and do about 95% of your work online, well, having a secure internet connection becomes a very necessary convenience. That’s hard to find in Costa Rica. In fact, it’s downright impossible to find in most places in Costa Rica, especially those remote jungly and beachy places where expats love to congregate.

Bugs – I get a kick out of gringos who complain about insects. What do you expect, moron, you made a decision to live in one of the most tropical and bio-diverse locations on earth and you didn’t think that there might be bugs? By the way bio-diversity doesn’t just signify a plethora of those fuzzy and colorful creatures we like to snap photos of…it also means insects…and Costa Rica has about a gazillion different species of them!

The Slow Pace of Life – wait a minute, isn’t that supposed to be a positive thing? Well sure, but for most gringos who’re used to that fast track, rat-race sort of lifestyle, adjusting to the slowness of Costa Rica is quite a challenge. In fact, it can be quite a stressful challenge as all that gringo impatience is slowly squeezed out of your system.

Waiting in Line – the ticos have perfected the art of waiting in line, perhaps because they get so much practice doing it. Bank lines are a notorious example. I’ve little seen people pass out in a Costa Rica bank line. The line waiting skills of gringos are not quite so developed, but for the expat, you’ll learn them, soon enough.

Easy Access to Stuff – as gringos, we’re used to being able to find pretty much anything we want fairly quickly. That ain’t happening in most places in Costa Rica. If you live in an urban area like San Jose, perhaps it becomes an easier task, but still just not the same.

Easy Access to Cheap Stuff – and even if you do live in a big city like San Jose and can easily find most anything, you’ll still find that it costs a hell of a lot more than back in the U.S.

The Metric System – for those of us who’ve spent most of our life in the U.S., the metric system is, well, just plain weird. Who cares if the rest of the world uses it, we gringos are different, and we don’t. Of course, Costa Rica is on the metric system and they don’t give a hoot how different you are…adapt or suffer the consequences.

Now, none of the above downsides of Costa Rica expat living are insurmountable and neither should the fact that you will experience all of them dissuade you from moving forward with your expat plans. But it pays to know what you’re getting into.

One of the ways you can plan for them is to think about which ones are most important for you to avoid and try to choose a living arrangement where those particular downsides of Costa Rica expat living are less likely to be routinely experienced at excruciating levels of patience testing.

For instance, if having good reliable high speed internet and access to shopping on a level that you’re used to having back in the states is important to you, then you probably don’t want to opt for a life in some remote jungle, as alluring and adventurous as that might sound.

Costa Rica has a lot of options, from the remote life in some bio-diverse location to highly cosmopolitan city living in a place where new state-of-the-art malls seem to pop out of the ground like the ever-present lush vegetation. In my book, The Definitive Guide to Costa Rica Expat Living, I explore these options in more detail. The intent of that book is to help you choose among them.

What’s most important, however, is your attitude. It’s up to you to deal with the downsides of Costa Rica expat living in positive ways. Believe me, it’ll be easy to develop a bad attitude about these downsides, or about Costa Rica in general. Many come here and make that mistake.

Don’t be one of them.

Hey, my new book The Definitive Guide to Costa Rica Expat Living is live on Amazon. If you’re thinking about making an escape from the rat-race, whether for political or mental and physical health reasons, or all of the above, The Definitive Guide to Costa Rica Expat Living was written just for you!

Get the Book!