It just occurred to me that my 1-year anniversary of living in Costa Rica is right around the corner. Amazing!

Sometimes, though, it feels as if I’ve been here forever.

That’s because for more than a decade, just the idea of being here enchanted me.  I knew it’s where I wanted to end up, even though I had never set foot on its soil.  Twelve years of research into its culture, people and climate paid off.  I knew where I was going and what to look for in a microclimate that would satisfy and protect me.

My First Impressions of Costa Rica After Arriving

…included the immediate, side-by-side visions of  income inequality, but without the stigma that is so much of U.S. culture when it comes to rich and poor (class/caste warfare).

The typical tico home is super basic and frequently in disrepair. The tin roofs are rusted and some are held in place by boulders and rocks. There are no walls or gates around their properties.  I noticed these first because they are seemingly everywhere, not just in “poor” neighborhoods.

In sharp contrast, there are magnificent homes with gates, walls (sometimes with razor wire atop them) right next door to poverty-level residences in many instances. These mansions cost a fraction of what they would in the U.S., and property taxes are almost nonexistent here.

Rentals can be found for anywhere between $350/month and thousands/month, but for upward of two thousand/month, you’re often looking into a three and four bedroom home with all amenities (depending on the area).

Was I frightened by the poor people? Not at all!

It never even occurred to me to feel frightened.  Similar wealth inequality exists in the U.S., but usually the two are separated into distinct “neighborhoods” so you may have to drive pretty far to see where one ends and the other begins.

I was never afraid of the poor in the States, so I didn’t have that fear to bring here.

And because everyone lives side by side, there is no “stigma” to being less well-off than a neighbor.  Everyone is working hard. Everyone is finding ways to get by, usually without ripping other people off.

So, the fear of “the other” simply doesn’t exist in the way it does in much of the U.S.  In fact, in Costa Rica, there is an endearing Ubuntu vibe (I’m putting an African ideology to work here):

Ubuntu is an ancient African word from the Zulu and Xhosa

languages meaning “humanity,”

“humanity to others,” or “I am because we are.”

There is no “us” and “them.”  There is just “we the people” plus the animals, plus the environment.  This ethos is all-encompassing, not just for human beings.

No wonder I felt like I was coming home

to a place I’d never been before!

When I go into Grecia, I see scores of ticos and Nicaraguan families eking out a few extra colones by offering passersby lollipops, rugs, sewing needles, handwoven grasshoppers, free music and acrobatic demonstrations, and other things to help carry them from today to tomorrow.  And everyone who can help them, does so.

I’ve bought a lollipop for 50 or 100 colones, a grasshopper for a couple thousand (which some say is twice as much as most people offer), and sewing needles.

Sometimes I just give 50 colones in exchange for a fist  bump from one of the children who are standing with their mother offering lollipops.

These are all lovely human beings doing whatever they can to earn what they require to stay alive. You can’t gaze into their faces and eyes without seeing someone wonderful and worthy looking back at you.

I absolutely love it here. 

But you might hate it.

If you’re wondering if Costa Rica is right for you, here are a few things to consider…

Don’t Move Here

… if you lack (and cannot develop, or refuse to develop) patience.

“Patience is a virtue.” Here in Costa Rica, patience is a prerequisite!

You will be absolutely miserable without it.  Everything takes longer than you will think it should:  bank lines will drive you batshit crazy. Riding or driving on congested, narrow roads and streets will make you crazy. The list goes on and on!

But the only people making it harder than it has to be are the few, but in-your-face, impatient (usually) expat gringos who honk, swear, sigh heavily, and roll their eyes.

Because in this culture, being a jerk is frowned upon.

Kids learn patience at their parents’ knees.

They sit quietly in line with their parents, happy as larks.  Waiting is the norm.  It can actually be fun because the folks waiting with you are almost always fun, fine people. Instead of looking at your phone or watch, look at them.  Meet a new friend, another kindred soul!

Don’t Move Here

…if you’re arrogant or bigoted. Just don’t.  You will hate it here; I promise you!

The natives here are modest, humble, and they embrace diversity and kindness. (See UBUNTU above.) The only impression you’ll make on them if you’re snooty, arrogant or bigoted is one you probably don’t want to make: they will consider you rude and uncouth and will not befriend you. You will feel very much alone in your misery.

Twelve Microclimates

There are twelve microclimates in Costa Rica.  You will fry on the beaches and you can freeze to death on Costa’s Rica’s highest summit.  In between those extremes, you can find the climate that floats your boat.  I have.

P.S.

This was a much better, far longer post before I hit a wrong key and deleted it all, so I’m very mad at myself. But having to recreate it to the best of my recollection gave me another lesson in patience and self-forgiveness, so the best was NOT lost.

It’s just that my second draft of anything is always less good (far shorter and less detailed) than the first one, so I’m mourning the loss of what was here BEFORE I had to recreate it.

It was BETTER. Trust me on this!