If I get real reflective and try to nail down what gave rise to my Costa Rica “addiction”, I’d have to say, more than anything else, it’s adventure.
I’m a person who’s always been possessed with a strong sense of adventure and Costa Rica has delivered. One of my earliest Costa Rica adventures was a day-long ride on the back of a buey (Spanish for ox) through thick jungle to cross over into Nicaragua (in a place with no official border crossing). This little adventure was thoroughly blogged about in the post, If There’s a Will, There’s a Buey.
Seriously…
Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but if you want a cushy and security-centered expat life, perhaps you should opt for the Mexican Riviera instead.
Costa Rica can be harsh. It’s rugged. It’s got bad roads, really bad ones that can loosen your teeth fillings. It’s a bit lawless, at least compared to the U.S, which is on the fast-track to becoming a police-state. We often speak of the streets of our U.S. big cities as being “jungles.” Well, in Costa Rica we’ve got real live jungles with critters that will bite and/or sting the crap out of you.
However, if you’re like me and imbued with an alluring sense of adventure, all of the above caveats sound enticing. I love being an adventurous spirit in Costa Rica. I love taking off into the jungle, either by foot, bike, or car, to parts unknown and discovering that hidden waterfall, or seeing some form of wildlife I’d only heretofore seen in books. That’s something you can easily do in Costa Rica without threat of any revolutionary guerilla interference. There’s no real “human” threat lurking out there in the jungle to kidnap or kill you. Granted there are some natural threats, but those are what make the whole process all the more adventurous.
Now wait, I’m NOT SAYING Costa Rica isn’t secure. It is. But a security-minded person will miss out on a lot. They will miss out on what truly makes Costa Rica such a special place.
Why?
Because security-minded people tend to conjure up reasons to be fearful where none actually exist. Haven’t you ever heard of the acronym FEAR = False Evidence that Appears Real? I’ve been in the Costa Rica vacation business down here for many years. I often get inundated with questions from certain customers who seem fearful about every aspect of traveling to a “3rd World” country. Right away I know that I’m dealing with a security-minded person. That’s a person I’m likely to have problems with as a customer. That’s a person who probably is not going to like the bad roads, the bugs, or the lack of bilingual communication.
I don’t mean to dissuade anyone from moving forward with their expat plans.
Well, maybe I do.
After all, I want to be the honest Costa Rica expat consultant.
So, in your particular case, perhaps it’s a good idea, in the course of making your plans, to also do a little self-evaluation. Are you adventurous? Or, are you more security-minded? If the latter, does it really make sense to move away from a place you feel secure in and into one in which you probably won’t feel secure, or not nearly as secure?
To repeat, I strongly believe that Costa Rica will mesh well with the adventurous-minded, but not so well with the security-minded.
If you are adventurous, or even if you aren’t presently, but would like to become, then by all means come on down!
Because this special little country offers never-ending thrills for anyone intent on being an adventurous spirit in Costa Rica.
Here’s a little video to announce some exciting things to come regarding Costa Rica expat living…stay tuned to the blog and Facebook page…
Pura Vida!
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