Living in the countryside (or campo as it’s known here) vs the city center or beach communities has its ups and downs. Here are 3 reasons why I live in the countryside and 3 reasons why I’m ready to move.
3 Reasons why I live in the Costa Rican countryside
Coffee
To quote Aristotle, “The best part of waking up is single source Costa Rican coffee in your cup.” It’s some of the most delicious coffee in the world and it grows ten steps from my front door. If you’re lucky, you will have a neighbor with a micro brew who supplies you with free coffee.
Cheap Rent
As I type this, I can’t help but sing the words ‘cheap, cheap rent’ to the tune of Red, Red Wine. If you don’t need to live in a house that’s floating on the waters of the Pacific Ocean, you can save a lot in rent. I live in a comfortable 1 bedroom apartment for $90 per month with utilities included. I could have a nice 2-3 bedroom house for $150 in the same town. You wont find these prices on any website so you have to put in some footwork to find them once you land here.
Authentic Tico Experience
Most Ticos don’t live in condos or gated communities along the coast of Puntarenas or Guanacaste. The easiest way to get a feel for the real culture and learn the language is to go where the Ticos are. The campo provides that opportunity at a low cost. I’m glad that I have so many Tico friends and that I’m comfortable communicating with each one. You can always jump in the car for a trip down to the beach and even stay at the nicest hotels with all that money you save by not living there full time.
3 Reasons why I’m ready to move
English
It’s not so much English as it is the lack of English. Sometimes I want to just sit down face to face with a friend and fluently speak English until my voice box hates me. Having no native speakers within 25 kilometers means that I can’t just walk out of my house at any moment and do that.
Weather
It gets pretty cool up here in the mountains where I live and the homes don’t have heaters. I can live in the campo outside of the mountains and may sing this same tune about the heat but I’m willing to take the chance.
Distance
It’s true, I only pay $90 per month in rent. But, I also live more than 20 kilometers from the nearest bank, 50k from the nearest beach, and 90k from the capital. If that sounds awful, you would be wise to live in the campo only a few kilometers from a moderately sized city.
What do you think you would love or hate the most about living in the countryside of a foreign country? Leave a comment below.
I’m not sure that I really understand your pros and cons.
Pro 1) Is Costa Rican coffee not available all over the country? Outside your door is nice but really.
2) Low cost rent. That does sound good.
3) A real TICO experience?? Is this not in conflict with your number one con? If you must speak English then why not move back to the US of A. Why did you move to Costa Rica in the first place.
Con
1) See PRO 3 above.
2) I live in Louisiana and do not like the HOT summer that lasts for 6 months. I do not have a cool place relatively close by to visit.
3) Distance. Our nearest very small grocery store is 10 minutes drive away. A larger store is 30 minutes away. A big grocery store, doctors, movies, hardware store or much of anything else is an hour away. What you have sounds kind of nice.
I’m not trying to criticize you. Everywhere you can live has pro and con. I’m considering a move to Costa Rica or Ecuador to have good fresh food readily available and where the government really cares about the environment as much as they care for large corporation profits (and contributions to politicians). Perhaps I’m fooling myself?
Well, Bob, it looks like you spent as much time typing your comment as I spent typing the post. I will gladly address the points you have made.
Pro
1. The very same coffee is available all over the world. However, it is enjoyable to watch the entire process from coffee plant to coffee cup. That can’t be experienced all over the world. Also, there are many great micro brews that no one will ever taste outside of the small towns where they are produced.
2. Damn right it does.
3.I don’t think I understand what you want to say. Having the OPTION of speaking English on occasions doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t get an authentic experience. The point is that most Ticos don’t live in expat enclaves.
Con
1. I think this has been covered.
2. I like the heat. Some people don’t like the heat. To each, his own.
3. Again, to each his own. I’m ok with the distance but I see how many people would not. I think most people would see it as a con. Historically, people move to cities as economies develop. It is clearly preferred by most.
*As a bonus, my first point about coffee very directly address your desire for fresh food. You can get coffee here that was literally picked from the plant a few days before. It won’t sit in storage or a store shelf for weeks or months. The coffee fruit will just spend a few days becoming a delicious hot beverage.
You may not be fooling yourself. You may find that Costa Rica is a perfect fit for you. Just remember, that for every positive you gain here, there will be a negative. You will have to decide whether the positives are great enough to make up for the negatives.