I saw a reference to an article in the AARP magazine about great places to retire. Atenas, a nearby town here in Costa Rica, was included so I decided to check out the article online. Here’s the link in case you’d like to read it yourself.
http://www.aarp.org/home-garden/livable-communities/info-07-2010/best-places-retire-costa-rica-central-valley.html
(Sorry I can't give you an active link. I'm sure it's a user error deficiency and not the fault of Blogger.)
I, for one, came away with mixed feelings.
Atenas is, indeed, a lovely little town. And I know a number of expats who love living there. What bothered me about the article was the implication that life in Costa Rica is a walk in the park. All sunshine, great hospitals, shopping and unparalleled biodiversity.
Anyone who has read more than one of my blog posts knows by now how much we love Costa Rica. But life here takes effort – which, if we are to be perfectly honest, is one of its attractions for us.
To paraphrase what another expat said recently, even the well-heeled gringos who come to live here eventually have to drive on pot-hole pocked roads – or in our case, negotiate sidewalks that are so seriously undermined by erosion that they promise to break into pieces without warning – and sometimes do! And whether you drive or walk you have to deal with some of the worst drivers on the planet!
I could go on, but previous posts have covered many of the challenges expats and Tico nationals, alike, face living in a developing country.
My point here is that, for the sake of making a buck, the media often portrays retirement life, whether it’s in a U.S. “active retirement community” or in a foreign country, as easy, glamorous, and idyllic by telling only half the story.
It truly is a shame, in my opinion, because Costa Rica is a rich, complex nation, as measured in ways that matter far more than the great deal you can get on real estate (not so great as a few years ago, by the way) or whether you can hire a housekeeper for a song (not actually true and the employment laws will devour you if you fail to do it the right way).
I’m talking about the people, who value family, friendship, education, health, peace, each other, and Pura Vida above all else.
For sure, the country has its problems. As mentioned above, the infrastructure, education system, law enforcement… you name it… it all needs more attention than the available colones will support. Earthquakes shake things up with surprising regularity. Floods chase families from their homes.
But when you turn on the morning news (or watch it in a soda now and then the way we do), you see a sign language translator in a little box at the bottom of the screen. When I was waiting to see a doctor at the local clinic the other day, a nurse came out and gave instructions on breast self-exams to the women waiting with me. The bus driver on our route stopped yesterday to give mi esposo a ride up the last 300 feet of steep grade – at no charge – just to be nice.
The real treasure of Costa Rica is that it oozes an enlightenment that is too often lacking in more developed nations. It is this I wish that the media would spend a little more time selling.
Maybe, as a result, fewer people would leave after a short time, disillusioned that they failed to find paradise, when in fact they failed to recognize it when they saw it.
Pura Vida
