It’s a brand new morning in this brand new world (to me). The sun is out already (at 6:46, and has been for just over an hour) and shining brightly.
It’s supposed to reach 80 degrees today, so when I go into Grecia this morning to get a copy of the stamp inside my passport for tomorrow’s change of status appointment in SJ and to deposit funds into the BCR accounts for the government and my translation agent, I will be sure to wear light clothing, sunscreen, and carry a bottle of water, a wearable fan, and have a wet neckerchief on standby so I can stay comfortable. Be prepared is my motto!
UPDATED NOTE: The following has become my backup plan in case the new San Ramon option (see more recent blog post) doesn’t pan out. Both are the same price and unfurnished, and both have two bedrooms and one bath. I simply prefer the San Ramon location because eventually Mel and Laurie will be there, too, and they have become very dear to me, and I want to help with the property for as long as I am physically able to!
I think I’ve found my next rental. It’s in Upper El Cajon at an elevation considerably higher than Grecia, so it will be cooler there. It’s a small unfurnished two-bedroom affair, very clean, with a landlady who speaks only Spanish, so I will be forced more or less to immerse myself in the language sooner rather than later, which is good! The landlady is reputedly a sweetheart who brings plantains and other fruits that grow abundantly here to her renters for free. Plantains are banana-like fruits but they are so much better. They’re offered in a lot of dishes and I have been enjoying the heck out of them.
The rental is unfurnished, but there’s a FB Marketplace page here where folks offer appliances, beds, tables, chairs, microwaves and other household items, so it will be easy and inexpensive to furnish it. And Mel and Laurie say I can have one of their small fridges and stoves as my “starter kit” — they’ll even transport them for me. Those two are the most expensive appliances, but they’ll be free for me. I can probably get the rest of what I need for around $500 tops.
And get this! The rental is only $400 USD per month, plus utilities, which will add another $50 to $60 the price since I’ll be paying the landlady to share her Internet. Electricity won’t be much as air conditioning isn’t necessary at that elevation (any more than it is here in Grecia, where a single ceiling fan suffices). Totally within my budget for my very own sanctuary!
I’m planning to go see it in person tomorrow afternoon or Friday afternoon or Saturday, although I have already seen pictures of it thanks to Mel, who has been to it and told me about it as soon as she heard it’s available again. She says the Universal Mind is responding to my needs, and I believe it! Everything has come along at exactly the right time to keep me feeling very well supported every step of the way.
It sounds arrogant to say I’ve lived a charmed life, but I don’t know what else you’d call it. My neurodiversity and lust for a creative career set me on a path that is very different from most people, so I have taken my own route through life. At each step, I have received support, sometimes from the least likely of people: various encouraging teachers (Alpha Rossetti, Walter Dobbs), writers (Ted Crail, Pulitzer Prize nominee), Carolyn and DeForest Kelley, and now my immigration coaches and the wonderful folks here at Villas Escondidas I and II! There simply is no other word for it than a charmed existence!
Various folks asked me if I was nervous about moving from the U.S. Heck no! I was more nervous about staying any longer than I absolutely had to, given the current regime there these days!
But even sans that very serious concern, I would not have been nervous about leaving. Oh, jumping through all the hoops to make it happen (official documents, apostilles, getting rid of a lifetime of stuff, etc.) seemed daunting and were a wee bit nerve wracking, but with a great immigration coach who reminded me early and often that tranquilo is the way, I was able to get through each step without experiencing a coronary.
Other than the red tape, I have experienced zero nervousness, fear, or second guessing at all. My chief concern was getting Charli here without unduly upsetting her, because she had an anxiety-provoking start to her life, and I didn’t want to ever put her through any degree of stress again. Thanks to a wonderful mobile vet and a little pre-conditioning, her trip here was without incident. She’s settling in well. One more short jaunt across town and into the hills of El Cajon should be a breeze to her. I have calming treats for the journey…
I couldn’t be any happier if I died and was a candidate for heaven! I’m where I was destined to be, and apparently have been all my life, because each experience I’ve had helped lead me to this moment and this wonderful country.
Some folks say I might be in my “honeymoon phase” of relocation. I’m willing to concede that possibility. We’ll see! But a marriage can be just as fulfilling as the honeymoon phase if you pick the right partner. And in choosing Costa Rica, I believe I have done that. If we have a spat here and there, I’m willing to work my way through them and come out on the other side still deeply smitten with this place.
Pura vida, indeed!
I even bought a flag (bandera), so I can celebrate CR’s Independence Day on the 14th and 15th. It is my hope to Uber to a Sept 14th school to watch the festivities that happen there from 5 to 6 pm and then get to Grecia the next morning for the Independence Day parade, so I needed a flag to wave! If I get to these events, I will take pictures and share them with you! Promise!
Dani and Georgia Hicks and me today Sept 10 2025