Costa Rica is a Lot Like the U.S.
Courtesy Costa Rica Living

In my living the 3 1/2 years before moving here in MEGA retirement communities in Florida (for awhile I lived in Venice, Fl - where people say "This is where your GRANDPARENTS go to retire" [saying this to 60+ year old people]) & hanging out with MANY retirees (like my "Wild Goddess Gals" that were in their 60s/70s!!) - most I met were SOOOOO evolved & cool - still GROWING (not thinking their lives were over & they knew everything)!!

MANY had "fixed" incomes but NONE that I met were ANYWHERE as cheap & in as "lack mentality" as many (NOT ALL) I've met here!! I can't tell you how many people I've met here that say "I'm on a fixed income" (in their words - $400-$1,000/month) which is WAYYYY MORE than many (NOT ALL) Nationals live on here PLUS many have homes &/or actual money in savings ++ (novel concept for MANY Nationals here living on TRUE limited incomes).

I live in a nice compound of 18 units but there are only 3 gringos living here - 2 from the U.S. (myself included) & one Russian so not all of us live only amongst the other gringos. As a matter of fact - one of the things I LOVE about Pozos de Santa Ana is all the Tico's here - last week I passed my FIRST gringo that I've seen ON the street during my walk that I do 2-3 times a week (I also LOVE this area as I TOTALLY feel safe going out for a walk at 8pm!!). True many gringos live in Pozos but I guess they drive or don't get out much.

In my traveling around the country - I've met MANY Tico's that actually DO LOVE having access to many of the "gringo" conveniences/type of things so NOT ALL Tico's want that "simple" life some of the posters here ream us about.

If some people want a simple life - YEHHHHH for them!!! If they can live that way - GREAT!!!

I've been here now 7 months & I'm "needing" my U.S. products less & less (though I'm still not about to give my blueberrys up yet!!), I'm leaning towards a more simple life than ever before. Like MOST habits in life - for MOST people - it takes time to change our ways.

MANY of us in the U.S. were raised around nice things & CONVENIENCES 0 so cover me with whipped cream!!! I'm blessed to have learned at a young age to validate my time hence I put a dollar value on it as well as my spirit/positive feelings/energy so conveniences & doing things that are ergonomically more sound to help prevent/put off potential LONG-TERM damage on my body (ahhhh - the big picture MANY have a challenging time with!!) - that's just LOGICAL!!

The only time I've really tried to "push my gringo values" onto someone else here is where their safety is concerned (of course that also comes back to MY pocket book as if they get hurt on that ladder cleaning the high windows for ceiling fans - I have to pay for it) & when it comes to thinking that cleaning around a window sill in a house that gets LOTS of dirt road dust is a NORMAL part of doing ones job & taking pride in the work you do (heck - I've NEVER found a housekeeper in Puerto Vallarta [& I have over 350 properties I promote there] not get that!!).

Well - since that doesn't seem to be the norm in standards here - I could have just continued frustrating myself for months (like I originally did) or I could for the FIRST time in my life - quit looking at cleaning as a drudgery & I can create a FUN environment & system for myself & do it the way I LIKE it done!!! I've bought cleaning products to put in EACH bathroom & each bedroom so when I wake in the a.m. - I pick a room to do each day, crank the high energy music up & I'm AMAZED at how fast I can detail a room in 15 min. tops (What my housekeeper WAS doing for 1 hour I'm clueless). Or say if I"m in the bathroom & finally ready & have a few minutes before my ride comes - I pick up the disynfectant wipes (CONVENIENCE!! Can be found at PriceSmart) & just wipe around the sink & toilet, outlets, etc. - 1-2 minutes tops!! EASY!! I then take my "magic" duster/mop (that I brought into my bedroom the night before) & I just dust away. Now that I have my AWESOME tile buffer/waxer (with a little a built-in vaccum!!! THANX William!!!) - it's even easier & my blood pressure has lowered that one day a week!!! "Big Girl" solutions to "challenging" situations!!!

We CAN learn to adapt to our environment IF we choose to & if not - OH WELL!!!!

So - newbies, people of thinking of moving here & those that have been here for awhile that want to learn/grow still - I SOOOOO welcome you to PLEASE ASK AWAY - no matter how foolish or gringo-ized you think a question is & if someone slams "you" - I welcome you to consider doing what I like to do - I feel sad for them & wish them well in how the QUALITY of their life/friends is showing up & I move on to my next question or sharin' because I KNOW there are others on this board that have the answers, are more than happy to look for it &/or have the SAME question (I get LOTS of emails reaffirming it!!)!!!