Costa Rica Census!

We've been counted!

The 2011 Census started this week in Costa Rica - it will be going on all week.  We had a lovely young woman come to our place and ask us all sorts of questions :-)

Years from now, people will be able to look us up and see what sort of house we lived in, what our education was, and what we did for work.  An interesting thing (to me) is that there was no question about nationality.  Yes, we said where we were born, but there is no way (from this questionnaire) for people to determine whether someone is a citizen, a resident, or a tourist.

It was an interesting experience; I hadn't participated in a one-on-one census before, not even in the states.  It feels a little odd somehow.

Routine without Ruts

I had a nice little routine going here - some structure, but not so rigid that it was suffocating.  But then visitor season hit, followed by major holidays, and some serious and multiple changes to my class schedule (I have to blame something, right?).  I found myself a bit rudderless, and didn't really realize what was happening.  Then I suddenly saw!  And remembered how important it is to have purpose and structure in life.  So, I made a little schedule, and a few rules. 

The number one rule is:  every day, say "where will I walk today?" instead of "do I have to go out for something?"

Supporting rules include basics like get up by 7:00, have a real breakfast, no more than 2 cups of coffee (that one is tough, and may very well go by the wayside), and get ready for bed by 10:00 (but actual sleep time will take care of itself).

Today was the first day of tryouts :-).  Rick and I walked to Guadalupe, mainly for the walk, but also to stock up on meat at the butcher.  I hadn't been there in a very long time, and never any day but Saturday.  Saturday is feria day in Guadalupe, and so I used to combine that with a number of other chores - as did many other folks.  And the butcher was **busy!**  But on a Monday?  Not so much! :-D

Once I started to think about what I could do when I go out, instead of how to accomplish everything efficiently, life got a bit nicer.  No more groaning about having to go out to do a bunch of chores, no more over-stuffed shopping cart, no more saying "where did the day go?"

Replacing Glassware: the Never-Ending Story

Clink, clink, CRASH!  There goes another one!

Tile floors and glassware just do not mix!  I love tile floors for so many reasons, but there is just that one thing that I would like to be different.  One little bout of fumble-fingers, and your glass is toast.  Then you have to wear shoes around the house for a few days while the glass slivers overcome their shyness.

The fortunate thing is that we got over any sentimentality long ago - glasses are just glasses.  When we run low, we make a run to the store and stock up again. 

And we do run low - I think my record is three broken glasses in two days.  One glass made it through a single pouring of wine before it cracked.  We still have one glass from our original batch, but I'm thinking of getting a pool going for it's crash date...

Exploring South

Jim came to visit last week!  He has a finca (farm or acreage) in Ojochal that he needed to check on, and invited us along for the ride - what an interesting whirlwind that was!

We met him at the airport, went and got his rental car together, and headed out of town - Friday afternoon traffic struck, as did the rain, but we still got to Ojochal in 4 hours.  Ojochal is on the Pacific coast, a little over an hour South of Quepos.  It's up the hill, about 700 feet, and the sea breeze keeps everything very comfortable (of course, the air conditioned car didn't hurt :-D ).

After all the recent heavy rains, we were lucky that the roads were all open.  Several places had restrictions while the road was being worked on, and we could see the remnants of quite a few mudslides.  We got to Ojochal a little after dark, had dinner, and went on to our hotel.  Diquis del Sur is run by a charming Québécois couple, Renée and Pierre.

The next morning, we relaxed over breakfast and enjoyed the view while Jim met with his property manager.  After a while, we packed up and headed out to the finca.  We drove up a dirt road, pulled to the side, and got out.  Alongside the road was a river, about 25 feet wide and 2 feet deep - and yes, the finca was on the other side!  Fortunately, I had on shorts and water shoes, and the water was simply refreshing :-).  Unfortunately, the water washed off all my bug repellent!  I ended up with about a dozen bites - the fire finally banked after about 5 days.  Aside from that, tramping around the finca was fun - we saw some of the new fruit trees and pineapple plants that had been planted - even brought home a big bunch of bananas (ripening as we speak on my back terraza).

We originally were going to spend the rest of the day at the beach, and another night in Ojochal, but decided to explore a bit farther - we had never been in the area, so *everything* was new!  So, the plan was to go on to San Vito, near the Panama border, stay the night, then drive back to San José through the mountains and San Isidro de El General.  Well, we were all set to drive off, when someone mentioned that the buses to San Vito were coming along the coast road - that could only mean one thing - the inland road between San Isidro and San Vito was closed or very restricted.  Hmmm.  Time for plan B (or is that C now?). 

We decided to spend a little time in San Isidro.  A couple of hours and several road restrictions later, we were hunting for a hotel.  We drove past a few, looked in at one, and ended up at the Hotel Diamante Real (2770-6230 / 2770-6232), a decent, somewhat generic hotel, pretty close to the center of town.  We walked around, had dinner, and found out that San Isidro has a lively music scene!  Our restaurant ("gato" something, near the hotel) turned into a jazz club after 8:00 :-).

The next morning, we walked around a bit more, then took off for San José.  I had heard about this road - horror stories!  It passes over Cerro de los Muertos at about 11,000 feet, and very near Cerro Chirripó, the highest point in Costa Rica at 12,228 feet.  I know now what it looks like above the timber line in Costa Rica - glimpses of shrubs between banks of fog... :-D  BTW, the horror stories are all about the fog, slick roads, and steep drop-offs - don't take the name (los muertos = the dead) to mean that ghosts stalk the unwary traveler :-).

A bit over 3 hours later, we were relaxing at home in San José, eating a late Sunday lunch.  We have a number of places to return to, and a lot of things to do when we do return!

Driving directions from San José (the airport) to Ojochal, Playa Tortuga, South Pacific, Costa Rica:

1. Head North from the San Jose airport (towards Alajuela-Puntarenas)
2. Continue driving for 11 kilometers
3. You should see a sign pointing right (La Garita, Atenas)
4. Exit the highway to the right and make a left turn (direction Atenas-Quepos)
5. Continue driving on the main road for 2.5 kilometers
6. Turn left towards Turrucanes
7. Continue driving for 3.5 kilometers, passing under the highway, and turn left in downtown Turrucanes.  Maneuver the two rotundas to get onto the highway (autopista) Caldera in the Caldera direction.
8. Continue driving on the highway until you see the exit for Jaco
9. Continue driving on the main road, signs are pointing to Quepos 103 kilometers and Jaco 37 kilometers
10. Continue driving straight; go past Jaco, towards Quepos
11. Continue driving through Parrita
12. Before Quepos you should see a sign pointing left (Playa Dominical 43 kilometers)
13. Continue driving on the main road
14. Drive straight from the police checkpoint, drive past Dominical on the right
15. Continue driving on the main road for 34 kilometers
16. You will see the entrance to Ojochal on your left. The road is not paved.

International Guitar Festival!

The International Guitar Festival kicks off this week!

Rick and I went for our first little taste at the MedioDía today.  What fun!  The Orquestra de Guitarras de la UCR played arrangements for guitars - there were about 20 players, ranging from soprano to electric bass (is there such a thing as a soprano guitar? dunno, but it went pretty high, like a mandolin).  The composers included Manuel de Falla, Andrew York, Astor Piazolla (!!!), Ernesto Alfaro, Pedro Elías Campos, and Rubén Fuentes.

We're very much looking forward to more guitar this week :-)

Living in Costa Rica - Best and Worst (for now)

People often want to know "the worst" and "the best" about living in Costa Rica - unfortunately, this list changes, depending on what kind of day you're having :-S.
So, my list for today is all about the unexpected...

Three of the best things about living in Costa Rica:
- sharing a moment with others while waiting for or riding a bus. Or shopping. Or watching a tope. I love it that so many people get a gleam in their eye, for no apparent reason. Then a smile, then sometimes a comment about the line, or the weather, or whatever, that sometimes leads to a lovely conversation.
- the fiestas that never seem to stop! The new year starts with the end of Christmas fiestas, then continues through school summer break. Then fiestas leading up to lent. You would expect things to quiet down during lent, but noooo! It's *summer,* and March is a *huge* month for weddings, horse fairs, and other celebrations. Then Easter! It is the biggest week for family vacations to the beach, as well as religious parades. May slows down a bit, but there are still plenty of fiestas. Then June and July have major events - Guanacaste day, and San Juan's little summer. August sees patron days in San Ramon and several other cities. The entire month of September is Independence Month, with clean buildings and parks, flags and buntings streaming, parades and fireworks. October and November seem to build up to Christmas, and December is chock full of fiestas!
- the bus system! Every time I really think about this, I have to laugh at myself. I used to practically *live* in my car - drove since the age of 9; I never used a bus (except for school, and then only until I could legally drive). Now, in Costa Rica, I have yet to drive a car. And I get a special thrill out of finding a new way to get somewhere by bus. So call me weird.

Three of the worst things about living in Costa Rica:
- news from USA. More and more, I find that news from the states is just plain depressing. The rest of the world seems so much more sane by comparison. But that might be because I am less vested in the details of the rest of the world.
- cherries and blueberries. Unattainable at a reasonable price, and even if you could bring yourself to pay $25 for a handful, you could only do this for a very short time each year. Mitigated by luscious, year-round mangoes :-)
- that uncomfortable feeling when you think you should know what to do in a situation, but you don't. When and how do you invite someone to coffee? What do you do to thank someone for an invitation? How closely do you calculate time spent on a job, and therefore determine pay? What hints are you missing? It's a minefield...

These are some of the things that were unexpected - let's not forget that the original reasons for even investigating Costa Rica as a place to live still hold:
- We can live (really live) together, as we like, spending real time together
- Medical care is excellent and affordable

and the expected difficulties:
- culture shock - yes, it still attacks, but less frequently, and less severely. And it is more recognizable each time, and therefore more easily dealt with.
- safety, and the necessary suspicion that goes with it - this is still hard to accept and live with, but it is becoming a more natural part of life. I'm telling myself that is a good thing.

Is 4 Out of 10 OK?

I have lived here *how* long now? Off and on, coming up on 5 (FIVE) years! And I see that I have *not* been to 6 (SIX) of the top ten destinations in Costa Rica! As a summary, here they are, along with my lame excuses:

1) San José - well, I *live* here, so I have *been* here. But I haven't seen an awful lot of it - almost none of the museums, for example. I'm counting it.

2) Arenal - I have been here, several times! And I'll be back :-)

3) Monteverde - sorta went here, once. Really, it was Santa Elena. But I walked through one of the reserves. I'd go again if someone was visiting and wanted to go - any takers?

4) Manuel Antonio Beach - haven't been. Don't know why. It's been on my "must do" list since day 1.

5) Tamarindo Beach - went to a couple of other beaches on the Nicoya peninsula. They're darned hot! Sámara was nice, and I'd go back with an interested visitor. I would tell a visitor how to get to Nosara. Tamarindo has never interested me.

6) Jacó Beach - Probably won't go, just on principle - too many gringos can't pronounce it. But principles are meant to be broken...

7) Puerto Viejo & Cahuita - ooooooohhhh yeah! Have been. Will return. Got new snorkel gear demanding a try-out.

8) Drake Bay (Corcovado National Park) - this has also been on my "must do" list since day 1. I will get there eventually...

9) Tortuguero - turtles. For some reason, you can't come to Costa Rica without doing something with turtles. I don't mind turtles, I just don't get the fascination.

10) Montezuma - One of the first friends we made in Costa Rica lives here. Maybe one day we'll get out there and see him. If others in this area are as nice as he is, we'll probably kick ourselves for not getting out there sooner.

So, is 4 out of 10 OK? If you count the fact that we'll be here for the foreseeable future, and have spent a lot of time figuring out LIFE, maybe so.

This is not a whirlwind...

More Flowering Trees!

When I was in Puriscal last weekend, the Cortesas Amarillas were in full, glowing bloom!


Some of the blossoms fell - here's what they look like...

Flowering Trees!

Summer was *made* for flowers! Costa Rica is home to a whole *bunch* of trees that bloom after the leaves drop - they are *fabulous!*





Of course, you *need* a funky bench to sit on too...

No More Noise!

No More Noise!

Well, *somebody* got fed up with the noise next door! A few days ago, this showed up, and the noise *stopped!*

Qué Ruido! What a Racket!

OMG! O-M-G!!!

It is 7 a.m. (SEVEN! in the MORNING!), on a SATURDAY!

I woke up to the sound of an electric saw cutting metal, hammers banging away (more metal), people shouting directions...

And once I'm awake, I notice the trucks using their air brakes as they come into town on the main road. And the train whistle - whoever said the train no longer runs in Costa Rica is soooo *wrong!*

NOT the "tranquilo" morning envisaged when you think of Costa Rica - I'm *supposed* to wake up to birds tweeting, and - well, at the moment, I can't think of anything else that would be pleasant to hear waking up.

Gotta go get my feria fix...

Alajuela Living: Pros and Cons

I’ve been putting off posting a review of living in Alajuela, and I’ve finally figured out why. I didn’t want to write anything negative about it! Our rule for town reviews is to write pros *and* cons, and Alajuela has always felt good – I didn’t want to dig for bad.

Well, since our plan for Costa Rica is to live in several towns for several months each before deciding where to settle down, we have to try to stand back; we have to toss the rose-colored glasses. I struggled with the Orosí review as well.

During our visits, we have been trying to keep in mind that we are looking for the best place for us - this is difficult because it is so easy to focus on the positive and ignore or downplay any negatives. It is easy to say "Oh, we can live without that," etc.

We lived in Alajuela for 4 months, from the end of the rainy season until the end of the dry season. When we left, we kept it on our list as a possibility. We let our impressions settle for a while, then came up with this list of Pros and Cons.

Costa Rica update

• Affordable: While still affordable, CR has gotten more expensive.
• Safety: We believe CR is getting more violent.
• Year-round living: We have our residency (no change in outlook)
• Religion: We’ve seen many saints’ processionals, we’ve met more people who attend church, but are not fanatics. However, Alajuela central park often had yelling bible-thumpers. (no change in outlook)
• Interesting (culture, activities): There are many universities, museums, theaters, and a symphony (but mostly only in San José). Music is a big part of life. Cowboys (sabañeros) are alive and well, contributing fancy horse-back riding, topes, and rodeos to the scene. A question we still have is how easy is it to get involved?
• Dangerous diseases (few or none, please): Dengue fever is on the rise.
• Medical care (accessible and good): We bought into the state-run medical insurance ($61/month for both of us). There are several excellent private and public hospitals, but the best ones are in San José. I had surgery – so far, so good.
• Water – must be drinkable (bottled water is available, but too expensive and bothersome). Neither of us could drink the tap water without some degree of discomfort; we ended up using bottled or filtered water for drinking and for making soup and coffee. This has been true in every town so far, so we have decided that we will need a water filter for anywhere we live in Costa Rica. We found a faucet-mounted water filter at EPA in Escazú, and brought a large supply of the replacement filters from the states.

Alajuela Overview (see here - http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CS/index.html - for data**): Alajuela is a large city – it is the second largest city in Costa Rica, and has about 72,000 people. It is the city nearest the “San José” airport. It is about 17 km West of San José (560,000 people). It is in the central valley - a bit lower in elevation (918 m / 3015 ft) than San José (1146 m / 3763 ft).

Pro:

• Friendly people – Alajuela has some of the friendliest people! On our nearly daily walks, we exchange smiles and greetings with many people. We have met and become friends with many people there. Alajuela is on par with small towns in its friendliness. We felt much more welcomed than in Grecia (for example).
• We fit in (purely a feeling): We are comfortable walking around Alajuela. The neighbourhoods make us feel energized.
• Very few of the helpful people have ulterior motives (e.g., they genuinely want to help; they are not just trying to sell you something).
• Alajuela is not a tourist town, but we saw a lot of travellers.
• A Central Park – Alajuela has an excellent central park, as well as many others. We regularly walked through 3 on our short trip to the bus station; all are beautiful and relaxing.
• Excellent central market; a lot to chose from. However, we didn’t shop there often enough to develop a sense of what were fair prices. There is also a weekly farmers market, verdurerías, and super markets.
• Good doctors are available in town; there are both a clinic and a hospital. It is a decent bus ride (20-45 minutes) to San José for private hospitals and major public hospitals.
• Easy to find things – it is a large town, and the provincial capital, so most items are available (shoemakers, tailors, spices, appliances, furniture, bedding, “unusual” medications). Specialty items (CPAP) are available in San José.
• Many ethnic restaurants – Chinese, Columbian, Peruvian, Italian, Tex-Mex…
• (Pro for Julie) ¨Good¨ climate - not too humid, a little bit too hot. “Hot” was 84-87 inside. A fan helped, and Julie got used to the heat. At the peak-heat time of day, there was usually a nice breeze, so going outside (like to a park:)) helped. Our apartment got pretty cold at night – 67 was not uncommon (a thicker blanket would have been welcome).

Con:

• (Con for Rick) Climate – Rick needs a cooler elevation (perhaps 1200-1300 meters or higher); Alajuela’s elevation is about 900, and is on the hot side. Temperatures in the upper 80s were common. It was too hot for Rick.
• Somewhat difficult to have a horse nearby, but there is a stable. We didn’t see any riders.
• Not as affordable as smaller towns – rent was double; food was more expensive.
• Few opportunities for social interactions and meeting new people. There were few events for such a large town (although the soccer stadium had games and a few concerts). Limited to “hang-outs” such as Jalapeño’s, and private parties.
• Able to find housing within 10 blocks of the center of town – we found an apartment that was 5 blocks from the central park, but it is more expensive than in smaller towns. It was also hard to find!
• Feels safe (emphasis in addition to above list) – safe enough that a woman can walk around alone at night? I used to do this in Alajuela, but now I would think twice about going by myself after dark.
• Community – need to be part of an artist/music/movie community (how far away is too far?) – near UCR, or other center. Didn’t find this in Alajuela.
• Entertainment / Mental Stimulation – we need a town with more than churches and bars (of course, parks are very entertaining) – Difficult to find.

** use some caution when looking at populations – this site counts the population within a 7 km circle. So, large towns are under-represented and small towns get more population than actually live in town.

August 04, 2007 - Costa Rica, But Which Town?

So, we know more about what we are looking for (see my last post), now what? We made a list of towns to check out. We put together this list from word-of-mouth, maps, and driving through towns on our way elsewhere. It is not carved in stone; we can add towns at any point.

Next, we visit! That is possibly the best part. Some towns we go to for the day via the bus, some we stay in a hotel for a few days, some we homestay with a local family, and some we rent an apartment or house for a few months. I believe you get the best information and feel for a town by first doing a homestay (for at least 2 weeks), then renting your own place for a month or two. But, of course, some places just don’t grab you enough to make that kind of investment.

This is also difficult. The objective is essentially to find fault with the towns on your list, and determine whether they go on the “no, not for us” list or the “possibly us, check more” list. It is soooo easy at this point to “overlook” something, or downgrade the importance of a criterion – usually, we get overwhelmed by how nice the people are.

Also, I think the way you get to know the town colors your judgment. If you stayed at a hotel in Orosí, you would never know that the lady who lives across the street from the supermarket sews for a living. You wouldn’t know that there actually *is* a place to get your nails done, and a place to get a massage. If you take a day trip to Sarchí, you wouldn’t know that it has a botanical garden, but if you got off the bus too early , you would get a great introduction to the wood-working business.

It is a strange thing to blog about as well, since this is purely *our* list. I know that many of the towns that we will have on our “no, not for us” list are where others have put down roots – perfect for them. So, disclaimers apply – here are our lists.

Towns Currently Under Consideration

· Alajuela

· Atenas

· Barvas

· Cartago

· Heredia

· Naranjo

· Palmares

· Sarchí

· San Antonio Belén

· San Isidro del General

· San Pedro

· San Ramon

· Santa Bárbara de Heredia

· Tres Rios

· Zarcero

Towns that are “not for us”

· Grecia

· La Fortuna

· Monteverde / Santa Elena

· Nosara

· Orosí

· Paraíso

· Sámara

· San José

· San José de la Montaña

August 04, 2007 - Costa Rica Decision Details

When we first investigated how to retire early, and where we could do this, we made a list of “needs” and “wants” – we’ve both worked on trade studies in our technical careers, so this was nerdy second nature to us ;).

Our original list, and how Costa Rica scored (before our first trip, book & internet investigation only):

Needs

· Affordable (can we live there on less than $30,000 / year): Costa Rica has a good exchange rate, medical costs and medical insurance are reasonable, housing is reasonable (especially if you are not in a beach resort)

· Safety (laws, enforcement, history, stability, how does it feel): CR has been a stable democracy for over a century, with one 2-week civil war in 1948. It has no army; the government saw that the main purpose served by the neighboring armies was to control their countries, not to protect them. The people are welcoming and friendly. They are generally happy and caring. The country gets earthquakes, but they build for them (and we are used to this phenomenon, being from California).

· Able to live there year-round (weather, visas, residency): Costa Rica has good weather year-round, with the temperature dependent on the elevation. It is off the hurricane belt, and has many sunny days even in the rainy season. Tourist visas are easy to get, and last 90 days. A three-day trip out of the country is enough to get a new tourist visa for another 90 days. Residency is relatively easy to get.

· Religion (tolerant, doesn’t dominate life and laws, the people are not fanatical): Catholicism is Costa Rica’s official religion, but there are a multitude of other churches and temples. Many major Catholic holy days are also state holidays. Some church buildings (e.g., the basilica in Cartago) are state-funded. Costa Rica farmacias sell birth control; prostitution is legal, abortions are not.

Wants (weighted and scored)

· Language (English, or able to learn fairly easily): Weight = 9, Score = 7. Spanish is spoken in Costa Rica, and many people know some English and French. There are many language schools and tutors.

· Easy to travel “home”: Weight = 7, Score = 8. It is physically possible to drive to Costa Rica from USA, but there are several somewhat-unstable borders to cross. Flying is relatively easy. Cruises stop in Puntarenas and Limón.

· Easy to establish residency: Weight = 9, Score = 8. The Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR) is an organization that helps people immigrate. The information is easy to get, and the immigration laws are such that we could do it without too much risk.

· We fit in (purely feeling): Weight = 9, Score = 8. This is almost simple gut reaction. Are we comfortable walking around the towns? Do we feel energized or depressed? Is it likely we can adjust through all the phases of the culture shock we know is coming?

· Interesting (culture, activities): Weight = 8, Score = 8. Costa Rica is a small country (approximately one eighth the size of California, about as big as from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe). It has a huge diversity of environments (but no snow – boo hoo – when was the last time I actually sought out snow?). Tourism is a large part of the economy, so there are plenty of activities geared toward fun. There are many universities, and the “college culture” that goes with them. There are museums, theaters, and a symphony (but mostly only in San José). Music is a big part of life. Cowboys (sabañeros) are alive and well, contributing fancy horse-back riding, topes, and rodeos to the scene.

· Dangerous diseases (few or none, please): Weight = 7. Score = 7. I am including snakes and bug bites here. There are something like 20 different venomous snakes in Costa Rica, but they are rare in the cities, and only a couple are aggressive. I figure the less you know about something dangerous, the scarier it is. So I intend to learn a *lot* about snakes and bugs. Mosquitoes carry malaria in the wet lowlands (mainly in the far North and South boonies). Dengue fever is on the rise - it is usually not fatal, but gives you a week or two of hell instead (Hawaii has this mosquito-borne disease too). CDC recommends hepatitis shots (this is easy to do, and is a low-risk vaccine). Most of the water is drinkable (we found a few places where we had problems).

· Medical care (accessible and good): Weight = 8, Score = 9. Any resident may buy into the state-run medical insurance ($60/month for both of us. It is less if you are older – yes, *older* - the extra that younger people pay goes towards a pension.). There are several excellent private and public hospitals, but the best ones are in San José. Many of the hospitals in towns have the ability to stabilize you, but then they transfer you to San José. Costa Rica is sometimes known as “Beverly Hills South” because many people come to get cosmetic surgery done on “medical” vacations.

· Expatriate community (available, supportive): Weight = 8, Score = 8. There are many centers for ex-pat support. These include ARCR, internet groups, and local hang-outs in most towns (and they are amazingly easy to find).

Since visiting and living in different towns in Costa Rica, we have fine-tuned our list, and added some more specific things to help narrow the list of towns.

· A Central Park – there is just no substitute

· A Central Market – variety is the spice of life

· Friendly people, with few ulterior motives (this is difficult to determine, and even more difficult to agree on)

· Able to find housing within 10 blocks of the center of town (5 is even better, as we’re still trying to go car-less)

· Feels safe (emphasis in addition to above list) – not necessarily all places in a town (most towns of size anywhere will have *some* “bad” parts), but safe enough that a woman can walk around alone at night

· Climate – cooler elevations (1200-1300 meters or higher); beach is too hot for us

· Community – need to be part of an artist/music/movie community (how far away is too far?) – near UCR, or other center

· Entertainment / Mental Stimulation – we need a town with more than churches and bars (of course, parks are very entertaining)

· Water – must be drinkable (bottled water is available, but too expensive and bothersome)

January 21, 2007 - A New Start

What are some of the things you do when you make a life-change?

Certainly, I think about keeping in touch with my friends and family. For me, that is easier said than done. Hence, the blog...
In general, I am lousy at keeping in touch - it is not something I am happy about, and so am looking for ways to fix the situation. I recently lost my web domain - I hadn't kept it up anyway - so, the email address that people have used for years is goooone.

So what is this life change?
Well, I gave notice at work this week. As of March 2, I am officially retired!
As I am 43, this cause a number dirty looks and comments. Among them: "loser!" (Steve), "I hate you" (Tim), "but you aren't even grey!" (Bret - thanks for that one ;))

Rick (my husband) and I are moving to Costa Rica soon. We will be "rentista" residents, which means we aren't allowed to work (but that *is* the point). I plan to learn the language (my Spanish is not up to snuff yet), learn about the culture first hand, learn how to live our daily lives in different towns around the country, and learn...

... and share