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What Does it Mean to be a Costa Rica Expat?

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What Does it Mean to be a Costa Rica Expat?

I’ve been an expat in Costa Rica for a long time now, 20 years almost!

From a purely physical perspective being an expat means absence from one’s home country and long-term presence in some foreign country.

However, to be an expat has more than just physical connotations…

What does it mean to be a Costa Rica expat?

Well, let’s first discuss what it doesn’t mean…

To be an expat does not mean one is unpatriotic in any way. Some may feel that it does, but they’d be dead wrong. Of course, some folks may become expats out of a sense of betrayal by their home countries and therefore develop a desire to escape…

In short, there’s a myriad of motives for becoming an expat!

Personally, I feel that I’ve grown more patriotic as a result of living out of my birth country for so many years now. I believe that in large part stems from my being an observer, or someone on the outside looking in. I’ve been able to observe with a heightened sense of objectivity certain things about my country of birth that concern me deeply…

For example, I’ve been able to observe how U.S. interventionist or imperialistic polices have affected people negatively, especially latinos. I’ve been able to discern that if that has been the case in Latin America, perhaps our interventions in other areas of the world, such as the Middle East, have also been less than laudable.

I’ve been able to observe with a heightened sense of objectivity how the form of capitalism run amok that prevails in my country of birth has widened the inequality gap. It has also led to a reckless disregard for how the pursuit of money and material has taken a heavy toll on the well-being of people and planet. Sometimes those effects aren’t as readily apparent to those on the inside of a wealthy nation like the U.S. as they are to those in the so-called 3rd world, even expats like me, on the outside looking in.

These observations have not caused me to have contempt for my country, but rather to long for it to be the world leader for positive change that it historically has been.

The U.S. has in large part lost its way in that regard. And the entire world is suffering for it. The world needs the U.S. to lead in a positive direction, away from soaring income and wealth inequality, and away from dependence on fossil fuels. But at least for the last four years, the U.S. has steadfastly refused to lead at a time when the world has desperately needed its leadership.

To be an expat means to have one’s eyes opened to these realities…

To have the privilege to really see things from the perspective of others who are very different…

It provides ample opportunities to exercise the empathy muscle and to improve one’s capacity for altruism and impact…

I call that expat mindfulness.

To be an expat does not have to mean permanent physical removal from presence in one’s country of birth. The ability to go back is always an option and many do. Of course, one can be a part-time expat.

I believe time in a foreign country can truly heighten one’s ability to make an impact in one’s country of birth, even in the world at large. It sensitizes you to things you might otherwise be desensitized to. It heightens your sense of awareness…

In short, it can lead to a more open mind, which is an important tool for making an impact.

You might become a more well-rounded human being.

All those are very positive traits one can develop from undergoing the expat experience and increasing expat mindfulness.

I’ve written much in the past in my blogs and books about how being an expat in Costa Rica has changed me. It has made me a more humble and compassionate person. Granted, many of my former friends and family members back in the U.S. will say that it’s turned me into a left-wing loon!

Well, it has made me more progressive!

It has made me more inclusive.

It has allowed me to see the error of capitalism run amok in ways that I probably would’ve never detected without having had a very intense expat experience.

It has made me care more about my impact than about my economic self-interest.

It has allowed me to see things more from the perspective of the Big US than the small one.

It has removed many of the impact blinders that I came to Costa Rica wearing.

It has been responsible for implanting impact mindfulness as my current mindset and worldview.

In that sense, I guess it has turned me into what I like to call, a Revolutionary Misfit. However, I don’t view that transformation in any negative light.

If you’re thinking of taking the plunge and moving to a foreign country, perhaps motivated by recent political events, remember this…no matter where you go, you’ll still be an “American” by birth!

If you love your country it can actually make you love it more, albeit for different reasons. It will make you long for change and might even provide the motivation to be a catalyst for that change yourself.

To really immerse as an expat and thereby increase one’s expat mindfulness can actually be an intensely patriotic endeavor.

Costa Rica Escape from the Rat Race

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Costa Rica Escape from the Rat Race

I have lived a relatively fast-pace life and now I live a slow one. I prefer the slow one.

A Costa Rica escape from the rat race may not have been the intended result on my first visit back in 2001, but ultimately it did become a “fringe benefit.”

In Costa Rica we have a name for the fact that time just kind of slows down, especially outside of San Jose (which has become increasingly infected with the North American minute-counting mindset).

We call it “tico time.”

Technically it means that being “on time” is to be obnoxiously early. Here 30 minutes late is considered “on time” and only if you are at least 30 minutes (to an hour) behind schedule are you officially “late.”

And it’s those nuances of punctuality here in Costa Rica that can really get us gringo expats steamed to the gills. But on a deeper level it means that ticos just refuse, on general principles, to be in a hurry.

Why be in a hurry? Are we actually trying to race time? The sad fact is that time will always win.

We liken this fast-pace style of living to a “rat race.”

Well, do we really want to be rats….in a race? And a race to where?

Where is this illusive destination that we all run to every day of our lives? And fly into rages when anyone gets in our way. I guess that’s where the concept of road rage originates, doesn’t it?

Hey, you cut me off…on my way to a very unnecessary meeting on customer service with a smile. So, BANG you’re dead!

Here in the southern zone of Costa Rica things are a bit different, to put it mildly. People here just amble about slowly, taking it all in. Heck, it took them about a 100 years to pave the 30 kilometer stretch of Costanera (coastal highway) from Quepos to Dominical.

I can’t imagine myself in a place like New York City, where my daughter lives. When I visit her “they” trample over me….the rats….on their race out of subways, cars, buses and trains, down the streets and escalators, up the elevators and down again, only to repeat the process over and over.

My god, my hands are moving faster and faster just writing about it!!! Holy shit…slow down! Breath deep. Relax…it will all be okay.

Well, I guess I should thank god that those people need a Costa Rica escape from the rat race every once in a while to maintain some semblance of sanity. So, they come to Costa Rica and for a brief moment in time, slow down and take it easy.

And some, like me…stay forever!

Do we really want the only time that we ever slow down and actually enjoy life to be when we’re “on vacation?”

Take the Costa Rica Expat Tour and experience what a Costa Rica escape from the rat race is all about.

Costa Rica Expat Living – the 4 C’s Framework

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The 4 C's of Costa Rica Expat Living

The decision to leave a “comfortable” life in your country of birth for a strange and exotic land is a daunting, perhaps even scary, one.

How exactly does one even go about making such a momentous life-changing decision?

Well, here’s a suggested framework. I’ll call it the 4 C’s of Costa Rica Expat Living…

1. Climate

People who make the decision to become Costa Rica expats are often motivated by the idea of living in a warmer climate. Of course, you could just move to a southern, or southwestern, state and accomplish that. So, I hope there is more to your motivation than climate alone.

Nevertheless, climate does seem to play a significant role for most.

Costa Rica is a warm climate, no doubt about it. But it is also a land of diverse climates. And that is true despite the fact of little temperature change throughout the year.

There are only two seasons: winter and summer. Winter is around 7 months, from May through November. Summer is 5 months in duration, from December through April, with December actually being a somewhat volatile “transition month.”

The thing that separates one season from the other is not temperature, but precipitation…meaning rain. During the winter, in most parts of the country you will get rain and lots of it. Now, that doesn’t mean zero sunlight. Mornings can be delightful, as well as clear nights. But every day around 3:00 PM, or so, the clouds roll in, the thunder might boom, and down it comes.

That is just a fact of Costa Rica life and there’s really no escape from it.

Now, having said all that, here’s the cool thing…Costa Rica is a land of “micro-climates.” And the reason for that is simple…altitude. The Costa Rica landscape is an extremely mountainous one.

If you are near sea level in Costa Rica, it’s going to be hot. All beach areas of Costa Rica are hot…in fact, the hottest of the hot. If you like the idea of being in a warmer climate, but perhaps simmering heat doesn’t really have that much appeal, I have good news. You can easily escape the heat by simply moving up the mountain a few hundred meters.

The higher altitudes of Costa Rica offer almost perfect weather. And what’s great is that you can live in the mountains and still not be very far from the beach. I live at the foot of the tallest mountains in Costa Rica, but still less than an hour from the gorgeous southern Pacific coast.

Yes, climate is an important and somewhat complicated factor in deciding where you want to live in Costa Rica.

2. Culture

The Costa Ricans are known as “ticos.” As an aside, the reason for the name is because in their day-to-day speech, they tend towards the diminutive by using the spanish suffix, tito, or tico. For instance, my name is Scott, but my wife, a tica, often refers to me as “Scottito”…or, little Scott.

The tico culture is a delightful one. There are, however, aspects of it that drive hard-driving gringos, who come from a culture enslaved to the time-clock (since time is money, right?), nuts. The tico culture is one that is never, ever, in a hurry to do anything!

For that and other reasons, gringo expats tend to congregate in enclaves. The closest beach to my home, Playa Dominical, is a great example. There seems to be more gringos down there than ticos. This creates what I refer to as a bubble culture. The gringos seem to occupy a culture of there own that’s somewhat separate and apart from Costa Rica.

For some, that’s a good thing. For others, not so much. It all depends on you and what you want. If you want to immerse yourself in real Costa Rican culture, then I would suggest not opting for a “gringo enclave.” On the other hand, if you’d prefer to be surrounded by people and a culture more familiar to the one you left, then perhaps a gringo enclave would be perfect for you.

Of course, language plays an important role in this decision. How motivated are you to learn the local language, spanish? If the answer is not much, you might be more comfortable surrounded by english speakers. On the other hand, if you really want to learn spanish and be able to communicate with ticos on their level, then immersing yourself in their culture is a very good way to accomplish that.

This can be an important element in making sure your new life in Costa Rica is as enjoyable as you might be envisioning.

3. Convenience

Costa Rica basically has one “huge” city and, apart from that, smaller towns. The huge city is the San Jose metropolitan area, also know as the Gran Area Metropolitana, or GAM. It’s actually the hub of 4 provinces. The main cities of each province are situated so close together that seems like it’s all one huge city in which almost half the entire population of the country lives. So, if you want to escape big city life, then you probably don’t want to live inside the GAM.

On the other hand, if the conveniences of a big city, such as huge shopping malls, American style big-box stores, excellent medical care, the best possible communications infrastructure, etc., are very important to you, then the GAM might be exactly where you need to be.

Like I said, outside of the GAM, you will find mostly small towns and tiny pueblos. There are a few secondary cities of notable size where you can find most conveniences of life in civilization. A couple noteworthy ones are Ciudad Quesada near the Arenal Volcano area and, in the southern Zone, San Isidro de El General.

San Isidro is where I live, so it’s somewhat near and dear to my heart. It is larger enough to have a lot of the conveniences that one would find in the GAM, even a mall with a cinema, but it still retains a small town feel. It’s also surrounded by incredible natural wonders, including Chirripo, Costa Rica’s tallest peak, and it is less than an hour’s drive to the coast.

In terms of convenience, you can opt for the GAM, you could go with one of Costa Rica’s secondary “cities”, such as San Isidro, or you can really live “out there.” Being out there means you better be prepared to live with inconvenience, meaning you need to be the kind of person who can be self-sustaining. Some are looking for exactly that style of expat life and that’s great.

But it’s best to know what you’re getting yourself into as you choose the optimum setting for your new life in Costa Rica.

4. Context

The word context means the circumstances that form the setting for an event. For purposes of this blog post, that “event” is your life.

It’s important that you take into account the overall context for your expat life in Costa Rica. And that depends a lot on the type of person you are, or would like to become…

Are you a rugged mountain person, a bohemian beach-going type, or a city dweller?

Can you catch my drift?

Being happy in Costa Rica means first stepping back and really doing some vision casting. What do you want the picture of your life in Costa Rica to look like? Due to the great diversity that exists here, there are many different forms that picture can take.

I hope that the 4 C’s of Costa Rica Expat Living offers a useful framework for evaluating the type of life you want to live in Costa Rica.

A good place to start in making this evaluation is to take one of my Costa Rica Expat Tours.

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