The Journey's End - Why we chose to leave
After three years living out on the Western Beaches of Costa Rica, we’ve decided to come about and return home to the USA. We do so not in anger or frustration, or due to family or health reasons, but simply as part of our own evolution as we go through our retirement years. Many people ask us why leave this paradise? The answer is “It’s complicated”, but it seems to be a very common thread with expats who come with the expectation to stay forever but then pack up and return home within 3 to 5 years. So here is our story and reasons as best as I can tell them.
Our Story
When we arrived here in July of 2013, we really had no idea what we'd find, how we'd fare, or what we wanted to do with our lives, or whether we were going to stay here for the rest of our lives. We knew financially that staying in Colorado in our old house was not an option. We had to move! The downsizing was the hardest part. After four agonizing months of that, we finally parted ways with our house, jobs, car, most all of our furniture, collections, and a lot of “stuff”. Coming here gave us a fresh start with new eyes and people to shape our lives. We were ready for and willing to take on a most unusual adventure.
Fast forward three years on. We made it work! We took the leap of faith and landed on our feet. We braved living in a foreign culture with a different language and survived. We adapted to a tropical climate in an exotic place. We reveled in the fact that any time we wanted we could walk the 500 or so steps down to the beach and bathe in the warm tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean. We could turn off the idiotic American TV, put politics aside, eat healthier, and put aside consumerism and live "Pura Vida". So why leave?
It's Complicated…
After three years we've been-there,-done-that at least once. By the third year all the low hanging fruit has been picked. Unless we really want to go a lot further afield there wasn't much new to try. While Costa Rica has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, after a while we found that the one we have right here is as good as or better than any other. I still love the ocean, but it has lost the exotic wonder it first had. I still try to do my daily beach walks and "ocean bobs" (to call it swimming would be a stretch), but It's more of a habit than liberation, and my mind drifts away to other things. The first two years we did things and went places like crazy. For all its worth we saw a lot and did a lot. But like a gold mine that's run its course, eventually the mine yields diminishing returns. While repeats are fun, and some things never get old, there are new places and activities we'd like to see rather than retrace old ground. Yep, time to move on.
The “Class of 2013”
When we moved here, we were "The Class of 2013" in the Costa Rica Expat migration. Others had come before us - some stayed and some left. Initially we hung out together as a group unified by common needs and experience. As time wore on the groups coalesced into smaller ones with more common interests. Sometimes you're in, sometimes you're out. It took some time to accept that and not feel slighted when I got left out. We have a few very close friends here, but many others have just become occasional run-into's. Although the distances are not that great compared to living in some areas of the US, it's still just not easy to just hop over to Playa Panama, Coco, Arenal or wherever. Roads are rough and for the most part narrow and windy, and a trip over to some of our friend's houses is an arduous undertaking. There is a very transient nature to people here. Even the full time expats leave for extended periods to go elsewhere, and the Canadians have an annual migration here for usually three months and then leave. Already about one third or more of our friends who moved here have left. Time for us too.
What Day is Today?
Quite frankly I truly believe I would flunk the standard test EMT's and doctors give people to determine if they are disoriented to time, place, and person. Each day looks pretty much the same as the last one. Aside from occasional rain showers and wind, the weather is pretty much the same day after day. Only the degree of heat and wetness changes. Even the length of the day only varies ab about 40 minute thorough the year. Since we are retired, with no pressing commitments or schedules, time pretty much just drifts. My wife goes to all these ladies group activities like Yoga, Water Aerobics, Canasta, and Mahjong so that's how she remembers what day it is. For me and most of the other men I know here, we just drift along with everyday being essentially Saturday. Heat and Humidity tend to put a real damper on motivation around here. While you can look out your window and see beautiful ocean and landscape, the plain fact is it can be hotter than Hades outside, or sometimes just about to downpour. When it's just too hot and there is a no cool breeze it tends to really be a motivation killer. It just is! Things that I say I'm going to do - become fluent in Spanish, Learn to play an instrument, Paint Plein Air paintings more just don't seem to happen. Instead we spend days checking Facebook, email, surfing the WEB, binge watching Netflix or in my wife's case, playing cards on her ipad. In all honesty things can get pretty boring here, especially in the low season when there is no one around and it’s too hot and sticky or rainy to do much.
You Come To the Realization That It Really Is Still A Third World Country
There are a large number of expats who come down here for three or four months, for most of them life is a breeze and a lovely respite from the cold winters and hectic life back in the USA or Canada – especially during the high season here. There's a lot of stuff that you can just forget about when you know that you're not here full time. Whatever loose ends remain, you know you'll be back in your native country before long and you won't need to deal with it. If you live here full time, it’s different. Sooner or later there is stuff that will come up that you will have to deal with - much of it will involve a lot of Spanish speaking. Healthcare issues, Immigration issues, Legal issues, Car and Home repair issues - you can't slough them off. Living here full time requires a commitment to facing those and navigating through them. While we navigated successfully through these shoals, at times it was extremely frustrating if not completely overwhelming. It took a lot of effort and persistence and patience to constantly be trying to deal with other cultural norms, and a different language. When you feel sick or tired or really scared or helpless to your circumstances, these really wear you down. You just want to do a reset and make the problem go away! “It just ain’t Pura Vida no more!”
Getting things sent here has proved to be a particular obstacle in a land with no real addresses per se. I found myself constantly spending time on the telephone to people in the US just to guide an urgent package to me, but had no way to actually communicate with the local people responsible for this task (Yes, FedEx, I’m talking about you!). Duty’s and other constraints made it so that the only reliable way to getting things here was by the "mule network" or a re-supply mission to the US. And while we have broken away from the need to have a lot of stuff, some things you do need break or need replacement, and that becomes very difficult and expensive here.
Getting things repaired and adequately maintained was also a source of frustration as there aren’t exactly yellow pages here, and even if there was one, carrying on a complicated conversation in Spanish was often beyond my abilities. In all fairness the people here are very hard working and diligent, and the problems we faced were probably no different than ones we faced in US. It’s just a lot harder here.
Health Care
On the whole our experience with Health Care here in Costa Rica has been a good one. The cost of doctor’s visits is reasonable, and the quality of the services I received I have nothing but praise for. I also came to appreciate to ease it was to fill a prescription compared to a three hour wait at my local pharmacy to call the doctor’s office and insurance companies to fill even the most basic ones. But now having reached the age where I qualify for Medicare, I have access to affordable services and covered medications and supplies that I do not have here in Costa Rica.
While we have been lucky in that both of us have remained healthy and have had no outstanding medical issues, or need for emergency services, we have always felt a real sense of vulnerability. While we have been able to get by using basic health care services and the very occasional need to see a roving specialist out here, should we encounter anything more serious it would entail a very long and potentially expensive trip into a San Jose hospital or rolling the dice with the CAJA hospital in Liberia. Not something we felt comfortable with. Private Insurance policies for us here were prohibitively expensive, so we’ve taken the approach to just-stay-healthy-and-hope-for-the best. It’s worked well so far, but we both are getting to the age when sooner or later one of us is going to roll snake-eyes. When that day comes, I know I’ll feel much better in a place where at least they speak English and can understand what is going on. So it’s high time to go back.
There's No Place Like Home
As Dorothy discovered in the Wizard of Oz, “there is no place like home”. No matter how much we dis our politics, consumer life styles, poor diets, and horrible weather back in our native lands, there is always some invisible string that binds us there and slowly tries to pull us back. Some have succeeded in breaking it and never plan on returning there again. But for us, the string was always there, and has really always been part of the whole plan. While we are fit and healthy we want to enjoy life, and coming here certainly fulfilled that part of the dream. Yes, I miss the seasons - especially the fall colors and first snow fall. The seasons set my biological and emotional clock, and like Peter Pan, I haven't grown up here in Neverland. But I also miss the ”easiness “- not having to struggle trying to translate what was said, or be able to eavesdrop on conversations that aren't in a foreign tongue. I miss being able to grab a sandwich or quick bite to eat at the multitudes of lunch places around, and eat out at ethnic restaurants within easy reach. I miss the security of knowing that if my car should break down I know who or at least where to call, and if the worst happens, I know I'll be taken to a place where I'll be able to communicate with the people caring for me and not having to fear that I won't have a clue what they are going to do to me. So for now I’ll click my heels together and recite “There’s no place like home…..”.
We Got the Urge for Going - I Guess We'll Have To Go…
As the lyrics of the song by Tom Rush say, “We got the urge for going…. I guess we’ll have to go”. One thing we do want to do is to go more places. We've had a really fun time doing the stuff in our neighborhood (i.e. Costa Rica), and managed to make forays into Nicaragua and Panama a few times. We even managed to get deeper into South America into Peru and Colombia. It really whetted our appetite for more. But as the saying goes "Ya can't get there from here". We are lucky to live so close to the International airport in Liberia. For us it’s a 20 minute jaunt compared to people who live out in Tamarindo or beyond, where it’s a 3-4 hour drive there. Unfortunately unless you are going back to the US or Canada, the planes don't go many other places - and until recently the airfares from Liberia have been outrageous! We could go to San Jose and find flights to more places or cheaper ones, but that means a 4-5 hour bus trip for us, usually leaving at zero-dark-thirty in the morning and often another overnight stay. Many trips we've taken abroad from here we've had to return to the US first and then leave from there. It adds a lot more travel time and expense.
Some Final Thoughts
If you ask me would I do it again, I’d say “absolutely” without any reservations. It has been a truly remarkable three years. But in parting there are some things that we’ve come to realize and decisions that we made that should warrant taking heed of. It’s very easy to come here thinking you’ll live here forever, but in fact you never really know just what the future brings or how you’ll feel about living here after the initial rush is over. Consider carefully before plunking down the bulk of your life savings to buy or build here thinking “This is it!”
So there you have it. I’ve been happy with our time here, and will leave behind friends and places that I’ve come to love. It’s been an adventure and learning experience, but for now farewell.