HGTV Comes to Our Town - Our Life in Costa Rica

This is the C👀lest thing EV-VER!!! 

Any HGTV House Hunters International fans out there?

I LOVE that show and here's your chance to see an episode about a couple buying a house in GRECIA (my little town)!! I even know the people who live there now. As a matter of fact, we are having dinner at the house on July 10th!

The show airs on 7/3 and 7/4 so be check the schedule for times in your area. 

I'll remind you again so you don't miss it.

I'm pretty excited!

⤹About the Episode 

Add a Little Plastico To Your Decor - Our Life in Costa Rica

Plastic has never been my decorating style but since moving to Costa Rica I've learned that you have to be flexible and creative.

and you're going to have to iMpRoViSe

For instance, for some reason the majority of houses in Costa Rica have no medicine cabinet, or for that matter, any kind of cabinet/storage in the bathroom. They don't usually have a mirror either. We were lucky because we did have a small glass shelf and a nice mirror over the sink. So for the 1st year we were here I kept everything in the closet in the bedroom and would have to run back and forth every time I was getting dressed. At first I tried to solve the problem by putting in a small rack under the sink, but that didn't work well because it was very difficult to get to.

Since we are going to be staying here -- I decided to make things easier on myself. Obviously no matter how patient I was, no medicine cabinet was going to magically grow out of the tile! 

So what could I do?

Well, there is a shop in town called Grecia Plastico which is devoted to all things plastic. They have all kinds of storage units in there and all of a sudden getting some plastic stack up drawers didn't seem like such a bad idea! And, they had them in all of these bright colors (which I ♥) and the cost was (only) $40.

So I bought the orange one (below) for my bathroom. This particular style comes in red, blue, green, orange and beige and they are on wheels so you can move them about. 

They are actually pretty well made and the back and the insides are black so you don't even have to bother trying to decorate them. In person they don't look too cheesy either. (Not sure if they will look like that to you all in the photos)

There wasn't too much space in the bathroom to put it so I stole some by placing it just in front of the towel rack. There is still room for my one towel as Lavanson has his own bathroom.

Now I have drawers for make up, cosmetics, meds, personal items or whatever. The top is nice and flat so I was able to put my makeup mirror there and I have a convenient outlet right behind the drawers.

Now I can utilize the the glass shelf for other things. 

I was so pleased with the new drawers in the bathroom that I bought a purple one for our 2nd bedroom (which is my office) I have a small desk in there with only 4 tiny drawers so this gives me more space for papers, office supplies, etc. This style is a little different and the drawers are bigger and wider. The color is perfect for the room. I will probably move things around, but for the time being, at least you can see it.

So why stop there? We have 3 bedrooms! So I bought the red one (below) for our spare bedroom. I don't have much of anything in it now but I am sure things will find their way into those drawers with time.
Not even sure where I am going to put it so have been moving it around.

The good thing is, since they are plastic, if we move to another house I can always put the orange and red one side by side in the laundry area or even outside. The possibilities are endless.

Oh and now Lavanson has decided he wants one for his bathroom. His bathroom has a different configuration and is a smaller space so we are going to go back and get a smaller beige colored one for him.

I think they are lovin us over at Grecia Plastico. A big smile comes over their faces when we walk in now!
Cha Ching!!😀

Living in Costa Rica

You just gotta "make it work"

An Organic Farm On Our Ridge - Our Life in Costa Rica

We are extremely lucky to have an organic farm (finca) on the ridge where we live.

Below are some of the local school children learning about organic farming. I think the children here are much more knowledgeable about where their food comes from than our kids back in the states. Many children also live in homes surrounded by lots of land where there are farms and gardens and where they grow fruits and vegetables. 

I previously posted that I've been growing my own herb garden for the past several months.  I have sage, basil, rue, linden, rosemary, and tarragon. The garden is looking really good! 

Recently I added a lime tree, some lemongrass and an aloe vera plant. All of them purchased from the finca. Each one costs about $2. 

Finca Organica San Luis de Grecia

A Death in Paradise - Our Life in Costa Rica

Today's topic is one which we do not like to think about very often, but it happens. People die, even in paradise.

In March a friend of ours who lived on the ridge (El Cajon) opposite ours (San Luis) passed away. His name was Mark Sandler and he and his wife Laurie had lived in Grecia for a number of years. I took photos of them at the re-wedding back in August. 

Mark had a heart condition and was being treated here in Grecia. One afternoon he was not feeling well and laid down for a nap before dinner. He never woke up. Mark had suffered a heart attack.

Mark & Laurie

I am so impressed that in Mark's honor some of the Grecia expats are putting together a new program to  help save lives. 

Background below

This brings me to some important information you need to be aware of if you are going to live here, particularly in Grecia. 

The healthcare system here is very good (the WHO rates Costa Rica's healthcare one notch above the US) but the best care depends on where you go (which often depends on where you live and how you get there).

I always try to impress upon people when they are moving here to please take into consideration their access to GOOD medical.

For minor injuries and general maladies, all pharmacies in Costa Rica are required to employ an in-house pharmacist, who is able to treat minor problems and prescribe certain medications. 

The 3 best hospitals (all private) are -- Hospital CIMA in Escazu, Clinica Bibilica in San Jose and Hospital Clinica La Catolica in Guadalupe, San Jose. I have also heard that Hospital Mexico -- which is a Caja (operated by the Costa Rican Department of Social Security), has an excellent cancer treatment center.  

Part of the problem is, first of all, when there is a life threatening emergency, you need to get to the hospital in order to receive treatment. If you need an ambulance consider where you live. We are up on the San Luis ridge. It took 20 minutes for the ambulance to reach Mark and the ambulances here do not carry all the state of the art medical equipment needed (as in Mark's case).

As an expat you have options for medical

**(if you are living abroad but not in Costa Rica be sure to check out medical availability for the country of your choice)

1. You can self insure because the cost of treatment here is very low (1/3 to 1/5 less depending on the type of treatment). That means you can go to a private doctor if you need to and go to one of the private hospitals. (this is our chosen option for the moment)

2. You can buy Expat Health insurance. I think AIG has a policy and I have a friend here who sells coverage if you need it. 

3. You can rely on the medical that the local people get through the Caja. The problem with the government medical is that the process is very slow. You might have to wait months for x-rays and sometimes there is just no time for that. Expats are sort of healthcare "snobs" we are used to what we have in the states and the clinics and hospitals here are just not set up like that. You can get great care but (i.e ) you might have to sit in a crowded room on a hard back chair with an IV in your arm for hours or spend hours waiting in the hallway in an emergency room. In Caja facilities the family is responsible for a lot of the non medical care of the patient - like providing food and bathing. Expats often complain (we are very good at that) about the healthcare procedures here but complaining is not going to change anything. It is what it is. Just educate yourself to what is available and make an informed choice. 

4. Or...Of course you can always hop on a plane and go back to the states. 

Mark's story is below and there is a gofundme set up to raise funds. 

I am going to be involved in further discussions about options here in Costa Rica and will update you on what I find out.

Remember, it's not bad -- it's just different!

 I also included the link for the fundraiser. I know most of you do not live here but if you would like to help us save lives we would welcome your contribution. 

I moved my kids out of America - Our Life in Costa Rica

I moved my kids out of America. It was the best parenting decision I've ever made.

Wendy DeChambeau

"I really wish you'd reconsider your decision," my neighbor Steve said. He strode over, hands on hips, and added, "I hear it's dangerous down there. I'm really worried about your kids."

The decision he was referring to was the radical idea that my husband and I had settled on. We were moving, along with our two young sons — at age 7 and 9 — from small town U.S.A. to a modest mountain village in Ecuador. Steve wasn't the only one with concerns. My brother, who normally lauded my parenting choices, was ominously silent on this one, afraid that talking about it would make it real, give it life and validation.

Some of our friends turned on us, calling us terrible parents, or saying we were unpatriotic. Why would we want to leave the land of the free and the home of the brave? And where was Ecuador, anyway?

MUST READ

It’s Just Stuff - Our Life in Costa Rica

And...Just Like That!

A whole year has gone by!

We celebrated by returning to the US on the exact same date that we left to come here last year - May 31st. (actually it just worked out that way because 1 year was as long as I could extend the return ticket on Delta) 

At any rate, it was still somewhat symbolic.

Our Stuff

If you recall when we moved here last year, we left the majority of our household goods, including our 2 cars back in the states. We stored the furniture and household goods at Lavanson's brother's house with a promise to remove them in a year and although I wish I could have kept them there longer, his brother wanted them out (during that year he had decided to rent out the house and so the garage needed to be cleared) and a deal is a deal!!

our stuff on the right side of the garage - starts at the red chairs

You Need A Plan

After thinking long and hard and doing quite a bit of research regarding what to do with all of our "stuff" we decided to use an estate/moving sale company -- (Grasons' Co).  We spoke with our local consultant Nora, several times before we headed back to the states. We set up an appointment for her to come to the house for our free consultation and to give us a quote. 

We met with Nora on June 2 as scheduled and she gave us a quote of the estimated value we could expect to receive at the sale, which was somewhere between $5,000 - $7,000. Her commission is 30%.  She does pre marketing for the event and posts the event details for the numerous email list she has. Several days before the sale her staff comes over to set up. On the day of the sale she has other staff that work as the event sales people. After the event all items not purchased are taken away to leave your area cleared. The unsold items are donated to charity or disposed of. 

She often combines 2 shows together at an off site location where the items can be staged to give a more appealing experience which can net higher prices. The furniture & household goods however must be moved by truck and the cost for that goes to the seller (upfront and out of pocket) and not included in the sales quote. 

Since we also had cars and art, she could handle the sale of those separately as well. The commission on the vehicles is about 10% and she can take art out to auction for better pricing if necessary. 

If Your Plan Falls Apart

Before we left for the states we thought we had it all settled, but when she arrived and got a look at all the items we had in the garage the estimate for moving them was between $1,500 - $2,000. If we paid that upfront the deficit would be difficult to come back from, so she suggested we hold the sale on site to save us the moving cost. Unfortunately for us, the earliest date she had for an onsite sale would be on the weekend of June 16th and our return reservations were for June 14th. She prefers that none of us be present during the sale (which we would not have been) but Lavanson's brother did not want to have the sale conducted at his home unless one of the 2 of us were there.

So...all of our plans fell apart!!

To say that I was terribly disappointed would be an understatement!!

Make a New Plan Stan

Still I was able to sell some items and gave many others away to friends. In a way this keeps the significance of something alive because it is still within the extended family.

We packed some of our things including some personal keepsakes which we had planned to bring back to Costa Rica (we will be shipping several wardrobe boxes periodically when we can afford it - I have 4, Lavanson has 3). We will be using Mario Barquero Ent, the same company we used in the past. The boxes are $530 each compared to shipping a container which runs about $6,000.

Mostly due to our limited time schedule, I still have some furniture and art left (which I am arranging to  sell from here) but we had to leave everything else in the garage, those household belongings will be sold off, disposed of or given to charity.

Craigslist

While we were there, I put my beautiful, fully loaded 2008 Infiniti G-35 (with less than 28,000 miles) on Craigslist. I received lots of responses but had little time (or desire) to haggle with folks about price and test driving. I was nervous to use Craigslist and there are lots of scams going on. If you choose to use it be very careful (the site includes a link outlining what to watch out for when selling vehicles). In the end I sold my car to one very persistent responder. I met him and his wife and baby boy in the parking lot at a local Safeway. He test drove the car. Made me an offer and the next day (the day before we were leaving to return to Costa Rica) we went together (go with the buyer & insist on wire only) to his credit union to wire funds. Turned out he is a police officer. I felt pretty safe after that. Lavanson sold his car on the day we were leaving! Both of us took less than we wanted but at least the cars are sold! 

And the question has to be asked, do you own your possessions, or are your possessions owning you?

It can be very difficult to part with our material possessions. For me, they included nice furniture, art, tons of clothing, collectibles and other items I had acquired over many years. For the majority of us there is no place to keep all of this "stuff" when you choose a nomadic life style or decide to settle abroad.

So "that's that" physically and materialistically we are free. 

No turning back now.

My life isn’t perfect, but I’m happier than I’ve ever been, more satisfied than I ever was before.

 I would never go back!

He Tried - Our Life in Costa Rica

And he was so careful as he was counting out all the pieces but...still we ended up with more blades than we needed. I wonder if the 2nd fan even has a blade now? 

Guess we'll be making a trip back to town to give the extra one back. Gotta love it here! That's Costa Rica! Gotta factor all of this in if you plan to move here. 

It's simple, but it's different!!

Bienvenidos Grecia - Our Life in Costa Rica

If you have ever tried to type the word Grecia on your computer and if your auto spell check is working, it will probably correct the word to Greece.

As you make the turn off the "auto pista" (freeway) you will see this monument perched at the entrance to our picturesque little town. Obviously a tribute to its namesake, although, I have yet to find any information on its origin.

Simple but Different - Our Life in Costa Rica

Our 3rd bedroom is on the "darker" side of the house. Since it doesn't get as much sunlight, we decided to put a fan in there to cut down on some of the humidity during the rainy season. 

We went into town to purchase one. Now, you probably think that would be a simple task right?

Well, I guess it is "simple" but boy is it DIFFERENT!

Of course first I had to figure out the proper Spanish name for a fan.

(I think it is el ventilador)

Our 1st stop was Mundo Magico Grecia, located right across from the bus station.

I've looked for fans in the past and interestingly enough, even though it is hot here, fans are not always readily available.

On this occasion I got very lucky as we were greeted in English (pretty rare in Grecia).

I told the salesman what I needed and they just happened to have fans on sale.

The fans were on sale 2 for ₡20,000 (or about $40 in US dollars). The price sounded good so I told him that I would like to buy 1 fan.

Except the sale was for 2 fans and that meant they were both packaged together in the same box. He gave me the option of coming back in 5 days and he would have it assembled of taking the fan with me. We chose the latter.

So he opened up the box and took out all the parts. He methodically separated them into 2 stacks. Motor, stand, screws etc. He counted out every single piece in front of us, put them in small bags and then loaded my portion into a huge yellow bag.

My cost $20. They rang me up at the register and instructed me to save my receipt and if anything was missing or the fan did not work to bring it back within THREE days for exchange or return.

Although the fan situation caught me a little off guard, this is also part of the normal procedure when you buy something (including lamps).

Also just so you know-- many, many items are sold here by the each. You can buy one band aid, pills are sold by the each.

For instance there is a tester (electrical socket) at the register where they will check the bulb in the lamp to make sure it is working properly. They will also check your merchandise to make sure there are no unusual scratches, cracks or dents. (check as they do, I have purchased several items with scratches which back in the states I would not have purchased -- but here in Costa Rica it is often the best you can do). Many of the items are made in China - so you know the deal.

BTW - We're (or I guess I should say Lavanson is) going to assemble the lamp tomorrow (day 2) so we will have another day to return it should it not work properly.

Simply, Pura Vida!

Back from the U.S of A - Our Life in Costa Rica

We're back!

Will update soon. Costa Rica is now our home!

Sold our 2 cars, some furniture (details to follow) have boxes prepared for shipping to CR 

and my thoughts on the estate/moving sale process.

HAPPY to be HOME!