Reveling in Costa Rica Expat Inconspicuousness

I guess many of you probably think that most of us expats down here are hiding, or running, from something. Truth be told, some of us are. Those are the ones that tend to show up in the headlines of the American Expatriate newsfeed (that is, once they’ve been discovered).

But that’s not the majority of us, thank god. No, the rest of us just want to live our lives substantially free from interference…in the form of rules, regulations, or even societal norms. Because we expats are far from normal. I mean who in their right mind would uproot from the country of their birth and move to some strange exotic land, full of mystery, adventure and romance?

Sounds horribly frightening, doesn’t it?

I just hope I’m not encouraging “too many” of you in that direction…

I’ve noticed that the mountain expats are reveling in Costa Rica expat inconspicuousness to a higher degree than the beach ones. We’re kind of a rugged, individualistic lot up here in the proverbial holler. The thought of keeping up with the Joneses is just not something we worry about too much, or at all. I haven’t seen too many mountain expats that I’d say were guilty of being “show-offs.” In fact, most of us would rather never even show up…at all…that is, on the radar screens of nosey neighbours, back home annoying acquaintances, and certainly not da gubment.

The beach is a different story…probably because there are more of us down there, or maybe it’s just the heat (or various and sundry substances) softening the brains of the beach-minded. Now lighten up, just kidding there beach expat!

But, in reality it does seem, at least to me, that there’s a higher degree of preening pretentiousness down there amongst the beach crowd expats.

As for me, I’ve never enjoyed standing out in the crowd. In that regard escaping to Costa Rica and reveling in Costa Rica expat inconspicuousness has suited me very well. I wear it like a well-worn coat on a cold winter’s night. I feel very comfortable in my Costa Rica inconspicuousness. I’ve grown so accustomed to it that I’m afraid living in the U.S. could never suit me now. So, I guess I’m stuck here.

Of course I’m posting this to a real estate related blog and I am a real estate agent down here. In that regard, there’s a limit to which I can remain both profitable and inconspicuous. But life is filled with such dilemmas and we just have to learn to live with them, wherever we might find ourselves.

No, no, no…it’s better to remain inconspicuous, living in the moments we and our circumstances create for ourselves. It’s better not to meddle in the business of others and, to the extent we can, make sure they don’t meddle in ours. That is the essence of “pura vida” living. And Costa Rica offers that. It offers the ability to get away from all that meddling and incivility.

The incivility is, more often than not, the indirect result of the meddling, wouldn’t you agree?

Better to just live your life the way you see fit without anyone looking over your shoulder or through a magnifying glass, trying to discover ways to rationalize how much better they have it than you do.

My last post provided some insight into my Costa Rica story…the how’s and why’s behind my Costa Rica presense. Of course when I first arrived I was more than ready to make the big splash, as we Americans often desire to do. However, gradually I faded into the dense jungles of Costa Rica inconspicuousness.

Now, if you read that post you might get a good idea of what motivated me in this direction, away from any semblance of limelight. And boy do I feel a whole lot better and less stressed as a result of that momentous paradigm-shift. I honestly believe it has added a decade or so to my time on the surface of this old revolving rock.

Geez, I guess I just potentially blew my cover…

I realize this has been the kind of post generally written when one can’t honestly think of anything actually worthwhile to write about…

Nevertheless, I hope you catch my drift…

Pura Vida!