I realize posts like this are a dime a dozen on the countless blogs out there providing advice on moving to Costa Rica. I hope this one offers a slightly different twist on a well-worn topic…
In my humble opinion, the Costa Rica expat living mistakes to avoid generally come in three different flavors and those are mistakes of mindset, money and (for sake of continuing the alliteration), misanthropy (or developing a negative attitude about your fellow humans)…
Also, please note that I am, again generally, writing about mistakes that “Americans” (er, expats from the U.S.) make, since that’s where I’m from. And after almost 20 years here, I can tell you that I’ve made most of the mistakes revealed below…
Mistakes of Mindset
Risk Aversion (American Style)…
I believe America is unique in the world when it comes to risk aversion. It’s probably because we are also unique in the world when it comes to ratio of personal injury lawyers and insurance agents to total population. Down here we’re just not that way. The personal injury lawsuit doesn’t even really exist here at all. Costa Ricans do things, routinely, that make the average American tourist, or newly minted expat, gasp in horror. An example is the “station-wagon” motorcyle…with the dad navigating, the mom sitting in back, and the toddler sandwiched between them. What horrible parents, correct? Wrong! It’s just the most efficient way they have at their disposal of getting from Point A to B.
And that risk aversion filters through to the manner in which some expats choose to live their lives in Costa Rica. A prime example is an over-abundance of caution when it comes to security. Since they have more stuff than the average tico, these risk-averse gringo expats are absolutely convinced that the locals are out to take some of it from them. So they go to obscene measures to avoid that…making their expat homes look more like drug-lord compounds complete with razor or electrically charged wire and video cameras to capture what is going on in every corner at every minute. For some, even armed guards are deployed. It just gets downright ridiculous and probably invites more problems than it avoids.
The Perpetual Vacation Mindset…
Most of my expat and/or real estate clients first arrive to Costa Rica “on vacation”, usually to a beach destination, which in my case means Dominical, Uvita or Ojochal. There they encounter a gorgeous coastline and lots of entertainment options, with many other tourists doing them same thing they are doing…vacationing.
Have you every stepped back and observed the way people behave on vacation? I have. I grew up on the beach, in the major U.S. tourist destination of Myrtle Beach, S.C.
People generally don’t act on vacation like they do back home. And they shouldn’t. After all, they might only get the opportunity to be tourists once, or maybe twice, a year. Why not let the hair hand down a little? People on vacation in our Costa Ballena do what people on vacation do all over the world, they have a good time.
The problem is that when you settle as an expat in one of those beachy touristy destinations and then try to live full-time in that type of mindset, you tend to get the idea that life is one big vacation. Well, I guess we could argue philosophically as to whether, or not, that’s actually the case, but…
Life has a way of ultimately bringing one back down to earth, if you know what I mean.
Let’s face it, the body and mind can only stand so much of being “on vacation.”
Mistakes of Money
Straining Credulity (by accepting really bad advice)…
I have clients constantly make the following comment to me, or something to its affect…
“well, so and so told me such and such…”
You get the idea, right? Here’s some sage advice, don’t take advice from anyone who hasn’t lived, full-time as an expat, in Costa Rica for at least 5 years. Otherwise, the odds are highly likely that they haven’t the foggiest idea of what they’re talking about.
We Americans like to think that our “friends” (usually fellow Americans) know best and have our best interests at heart. They might be well-meaning and all, but bad advice is bad advice. And it can get you in a world of trouble down here and that especially portends in financially-related matters.
Showing Off (American Style)…
Some expats come to Costa Rica with the idea of changing their consumptive habits. After all, Costa Rica is one of the most naturally pristine places on Earth and over 25% of its entire territory has been set aside and preserved. All that provides wonderful inspiration for living a more sustainable and less consumptive lifestyle.
Others come here to try and turn Costa Rica into a tropical version of back home. They build lavish homes and drive exotic vehicles. They bring the keeping up with the Joneses mindset with them and if they settle in the right area, such as an expat enclave in a tourist destination, they’ll be surrounded by plenty of Joneses to keep up with.
I’ve always tried to steer clear of that, partly because I don’t have the money to even try to keep up in the first place, but mostly because I really wanted to get away from that down here. I really don’t see the point in coming to Costa Rica and trying to live an American lifestyle of over-consumption. It tends to mess things up for those of us who came for something entirely different.
Mistakes of Misanthropy
Cynicism is NOT Your Friend in Costa Rica…
Making the Costa Rica expat living mistakes alluded to above can give rise to a very unhealthy case of cynicism. Costa Ricans, by and large, are not cynical. This is a very happy-go-lucky culture…the so-called “pura vida” culture you’ve heard about. Sometimes that sense of “getting it done when it gets done” mindset can rake the nerves of the newly-minted gringo like fingernails on a chalkboard. However, resisting will only exacerbate the issue. Costa Rica culture is also very passive-aggressive and if you express your discontent too openly, it will be met with reactions that will only fuel that discontent even more.
The best way to react? Go with the flow and avoid cynicism at all costs.
Minding Others’ Business…
The best way to make it to bliss as an expat is to get involved in positive and impactful endeavors. Many expats who live here simply have too much time on their hands. Some utilize that time by meddling…we call that being a “chismoso” or “chismosa” here in Costa Rica. Yea I know, minding the business of others can be great fun, anywhere, can’t it? But did you really come to Costa Rica to do that? Can’t you find better things to do out there?
If not, you’ll more than likely end up in the aforementioned gringo bar drinking your poor liver into oblivion.
Immersion Therapy…
The simple solution to all of the above Costa Rica expat living mistakes is to engage in immersion therapy.
I know it sounds cliche for me to advise you to “learn the language.” But it just seems funny to me that the gringos in said bars complaining about the ticos not being able to speak their language are the same ones who decry, along with Trump, the fact that many of the Latinos back in America can’t speak perfect English.
If you’re going to live in a foreign country and be surrounded by a foreign tongue, it’s better to switch than fight…learn the language and you’ll get along much better and that will help serve to guard you against “cynicism creep.”
Of course, there are many other ways to immerse than just learning Spanish. This blog post is already running a bit long, so I won’t begin to list them here.
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