Living in Costa Rica

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One of the best things about living in Costa Rica is the richness added to our everyday lives by dozens of loving, working, just plain living neighbors.
One of the best things about living in Costa Rica is the richness added to our everyday lives by dozens of loving, working, just plain living neighbors.
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There’s also the fun of going to the door to buy fresh eggs and fruit from local ladies selling their garden surplus.
There’s also the fun of going to the door to buy fresh eggs and fruit from local ladies selling their garden surplus.
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Our children trot up the road to the home of a local family, where they enjoy a bountiful supply of affection and the company of active Spanish-speaking playmates.
Our children trot up the road to the home of a local family, where they enjoy a bountiful supply of affection and the company of active Spanish-speaking playmates.
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For the price of a pound or two of steak in the States, you can fill several shopping bags with good, fresh garden produce.
For the price of a pound or two of steak in the States, you can fill several shopping bags with good, fresh garden produce.

If you’re still looking for a place to spend that “retired” six months of the year — or if you’d like to live on a modest independent income instead of taking a job to supplement it — here’s an answer that works for thousands of bargain-conscious expatriates: Try living in Costa Rica in a friendly, slow-paced Latin American village.

When Dick (my husband) returned from the U.S. with a small grant to write a book, we found that life on our Costa Rican mountain farm didn’t allow him easy enough access to the excellent research facilities of the country’s capital, San Jose. We thought awhile, and came up with the perfect solution for Dick’s problem and our family’s comfort: We rented a lovely little home in the village of Villa Colon, near the city, and settled into the Latin American equivalent of small-town life.

Our house has three bedrooms, a large, breezy kitchen, an indoor toilet (rarity of rarities), a huge living room and — best of all — one-quarter acre of land on which we quickly got permission to garden. Included in the monthly rent of $35.00 are a three-room henhouse and a dozen bearing mango trees. And this is one of the more expensive rentals! A couple of MOTHER EARTH NEWS-found friends came here looking for land to homestead (got it, too!) and took a house a block from us for just $12.00 a month, including electricity and some minimal furnishings. Since the last rent we paid in the U.S. was $225 plus utilities, Costa Rican prices seemed right to us.

Low rents are just the beginning of the savings in cost of living we’ve found here. For example, there are no heating bills in this area of 75° days and 60° nights . . . yet that second figure means you don’t need someone to sit up past midnight and fan you with palm leaves to keep you cool.

Many areas of the Central American highlands boast a similar delightfully moderate climate. Friends in the higher altitudes of Guatemala report the same year-round comfort we enjoy here . . . and that’s quite different from the popular myth about the “sweltering” tropics.

  • Published on Nov 1, 1974
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