The other I was reading a recent post from a major Costa Rica news group. It really really started me thinking. It was about the relationship between language and culture. Basically, language is responsible for every culture’s mindset. It is why we are all different and it also factors in to how well we understand another culture. That is to say it is easier to get a handle on another culture’s mindset the more of their language that we understand.

If you come to Costa Rica to live or retire it is of paramount importance to learn the language and interact with the people. As I have said before on repeated occasions and probably sound like a “scratched record” as they say in Spanish, “If you don’t know some Spanish you will always be a foreigner.” You are also increasing the chances of failure here. Don’t get me wrong! I have seen people live here for ten or twenty years without knowing the language and survive. However, they are really missing out on experiencing the best things about living in a different culture and will always be “strangers in a strange land.”

Being bicultural can makes all the difference in the world. One of the reasons I have had such a fantastic life in Costa Rica over the last thirty years is because I speak the language. All of the success I have had here is a direct result of my linguistic background. Hundreds of doors have opened for me and opportunities have presented themselves.

Cervantes said, “To know another language is to know another world.” Nothing could be truer.

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting in the Fiesta Casino watching an NBA playoff game with a good friend of mine, Jim. He has been in Costa Rica for about ten years. He didn’t come here to retire but to work.  He was originally sent here by an American company to do specialized work at the Intel plant near the airport. During the time he was working for Intel Jim began to explore the country and experience the culture and lifestyle. It did not take him long to fall on love with the country as many Americans do. He not only fell in love with the country but with a Costa Rican woman also and ended up marrying her.

When his contract ended at Intel Jim had no intention of returning to the States. What he did was find another U.S. company that required his skills and experience, so he could continue to live here. That was about seven years ago and he has never looked back. Jim hasn’t made millions of dollars here but earns enough to support his wife and small daughter and still has enough left over to travel to the States once in a while and pursue his hobbies and interests.

He says that if had returned to the U.S., he would definitely be earning more money than he is making now. However, he feels his lifestyle is richer and more rewarding in Costa Rica and wouldn’t trade for “all of the tea in China.” Recently he told me, “Give me the rice and beans and pretty ladies of Costa Rica.” What he was saying is that he is happy living here and eating gallo pinto which is one of the Costa Rica’s main dishes. Although he is married and loyal to his wife, he says looking at all of the beautiful women is uplifting and keeps him feel young. I experience the same thing on a daily basis. Once again it is all about lifestyle here and those who get bitten by the Costa Rica bug never it out of their system and end up staying here permanently.

Westward expansion in the Central Valley only refers to good things that are happening now The completion of the long-awaited Caldera Highway linking the Costa Rica’s Central Valley to the Pacific Coast is now reality. With it has come the expected westward growth along and near this new thoroughfare. Land values have risen in areas adjacent to the highway. There is a ripple effect from this which influences other nearby places like Puriscal and Atenas both of which are in the path of growth. Atenas has already been discover by foreigners and prices have risen sharply. On the other hand, Puriscal is just starting to happening and value can be found.

Once place I am really excited about is Orchid Point Estates in San Antonio de Puriscal. This unique project is right in the path of growth and offers a whole slew of amenities. The owners had the foresight to know that the Puriscal was the next logical place in the line of western development and spent months searching the area for the ideal spot to do a project. What they have now is truly unique to the area and Central Valley — spectacular drop-dead panoramic views at reasonable prices smack in the middle of the wave of progress and only short drive from the bustling Lindora and Escazú areas and the U.S.-affiliated Cima Hospital.

Orchid Point has over 30 view-lots that will only appreciate as the area grows. Costa Rica is a brand name because of its great weather, enduring democracy, friendly people, state-of-the-art affordable health care, housing options and most of all great lifestyle. The country also offers excellent real estate opportunities for savvy investors. Costa Rica is a warm-weather destination like Hawaii and will always attract tourists, celebrities and retirees who will in turn fuel the foreign real estate market.

This is a no-brainer and the perfect opportunity to get in before the crowd.

See www.orchid-point-estates.com for more inforamtion

If you retire in Costa Rica and happen to understand some Spanish you will hear the phrase “Estamos en Costa Rica.” This means “We are in Costa Rica” but really has little to do with where one’s physical location.

This express is often used by Costa Ricans to explain or justify the way things in the country work, as manifested by the inefficiency in many areas. For example, if the country builds a new highway and it turns out to be poorly constructed, the locals will justify the shoddy job by saying, “Estamos en Costa Rica” to indicate that these things are endemic to the country.

Another example is if someone is applying for Costa Rican residency and the process drags on and on and the person starts complaining about the bureaucracy to the locals. The latter will say “Estamos en Costa Rica.” In other words it is to be expected because that’s the way the country operates.

There are countless examples of where this expression can be applied by Costa Ricans to describe and rationalize why things go wrong here, take very long to get done or why strange things generally occur.

As foreigners we are never going to be able to change the idiosyncrasies of Costa Rica. So, we have to adapt to them and accept them if we are going to be happy living here. I chose to write about this subject to help potential retirees be aware of the many cultural differences they will be confronted with when living here.

When people think of retirement in Costa Rica they often picture themselves lying on a palm-tree lined beach with a paradisical background. Living on one of Costa Rica’s pristine beaches has a lot to offer but it also has a downside you should be aware of.

Recently the town of Nosara, located on the Pacific Northwest coast of Costa Rica, was cut off due to a few days of torrential rains. The town’s main highway was turned into a virtual river. Over three hundred people in the community had to be taken to shelters because rising water threatened their homes and their personal safety. A few secondary roads were completely destroyed and there were several minor landslides and blackouts which cut off communication with the outside world. The whole Nicoya Peninsula really got hit hard by May’s rainstorms. Costa Rica usually doesn’t experience this kind of weather until October, which is traditionally the wettest month.

So as you can see living at the beach in Costa Rica is not all fun and games. Most often infrastructure lags behind the other areas of the country. Besides occasional flooding, Internet services can be scare, the heat can be soffocating at certain times of the year, air conditioning bills can be very high, quality emergency medical care can be far away, good entertainment and groceries can be an issue as can isolation and boredom.

I personally know a lot of people who initially were very enthusiastic when they first moved to the beach to retire in Costa Rica. About eight out of ten of them have since moved to the Central Valley where there are more services, cooler weather, good medical care and more things to do to stay busy and happy. I even know a successful Costa Rican business woman tried the beach for a year but could not stand living there. She eventually moved back to the San José suburb of Rohrmoser where she is much happier.

You really have to be a certain breed of animal to live at the beach full-time. It is better to visit one of Costa Rica’s beautiful beaches for a few days on a mini-vacation and then return to your home at a higher elevation. That is what a lot of people do. Some even have second home or condo at the beach but only use it for a few days at a time.

Personally I always feel refreshed when I return from a trip to the beach and start to feel the cooler weather as I reach the Central Valley. I get an instant inject of energy from the cool breezes.

Don’t think I am against living at the beach in Costa Rica. I am just trying to paint a realistic picture of life there to help potential retirees and other make the correct decision.