Exploring Costa Rica Culture

Hi Louise,

My hubby and I, now living 3,000 miles apart, (He outside of Philly, me in Portland OR) have very similar needs as yours when thinking about Costa Rica.  We would like to try it for a month and then as my husband prepares to retire, we would like to live in CR for 6 months out of the year.  I'd be interested to know what you find out about the "authentic" Costa Rica.   

Melinda

Teslababe.

I will let u know what I find out.  I have been chatting back and forth with a couple that currently live there.

My husband and I were very happy with George Lundquist's 3-day tour (you can google him). We went in June. George takes you to different parts of the Central Valley. One really great part (the best part) was meeting so many expats who were very open to sharing their (varied) experiences with us. On our particular tour were three couples, total. We've all settled in different parts of CR since then -- one couple at the beach (Playa Samara), one couple near Lake Arenal and the volcano, and one couple (us) in the mountains above the central valley town of Grecia. We are all quite happy with our various decisions.
When my husband and I came in June, we did end up renting a car and we stayed at a lovely condo very near where we are now living. But we wouldn't really have needed a car -- the bus service is terrific and since we've been here (October 2) we have used the bus exclusively (our car just arrived a few days ago). And even though we now have a car, we will be using the bus whenever we have to go to San Jose. Our friends who now live at the beach took the bus from San Jose to get there -- they just made sure they had reading material. The buses are modern and comfortable. As far as places to rent; there are many, many furnished places available in different parts of the country to rent for a few days or a few months. AirB&B is a good source. Good luck!

I'll definitely let you know my experience. We are going for two weeks (leaving next week!) Spending time in 5 different communities specifically to see if we would like to live there with the same kind of lifestyle you speak of. We are planning on using public transportation for the entire trip and will be everywhere from Alajuela to Dominical.

Back from our two week tour. Spent three nights in Alajuela - two too many! A very noisy area. From there, we took a bus to Grecia. Took a cab to our hotel. It was on the bus line, but since we weren't familiar, decided the first trip up should bring us right to the door. Loved the town! It had enough of everything - banks, restaurants, shops etc. We were able to bus it back to the hotel easily. Spent three nights there and then left for Manuel Antonio. The hotel owner gave us a better way to bus it than I had found on thebusschedule.com. We bussed back to San Jose, caught a short cab ride to the bus company going to Manuel Antonio. From there, we paid about $16 each for a bus ticket. The bus was not a/c - and we didn't have a window opening right on to our seats so it was hot, but not too bad. I saw our hotel as we drove by and hollered for the driver to stop. The bus was almost empty at that point. We only had to walk back about a block.
NOTE: if you are in this area - the park is closed on Mondays. We missed out on seeing it because I neglected to note that in my planning.
The hotel was a short 10 minute bus ride to the beach. Do not bring valuables with you - or you will have to take turns watching stuff. I recommend a waterproof pouch of some kind to tuck key and cash in that you can keep on you in the water.
From there, we journeyed a short way down the coast to Dominical. We arrived at the bus station and a driver offered to take us for $24. A splurge, but not bad. Dominical is a very small town. Looked like some nice places to eat - but we never took advantage of them. Our hotel was another $12 cab ride from town into the mountains - not accessible by bus. The place was beautiful and offered everything we could want - great restaurant, bar service, pool, view. . .
We decided rather than take the bus back to Escazu as originally planned, we would take a shuttle. Expensive compared to the bus ride, but we didn't have to worry about getting back to town and transferring later.
Spent our last two nights in Escazu - again very urban and noisy. We stayed at a lovely B & B off the main drag. It was only about a mile walk or a $2 cab ride to get to restaurants. The owner arranged for a nice local tour for our last day. Only about a mile further back into the hills, we were in a nice local community.
The only drawback to staying in this area was a $30 cab ride to the airport compared to $8 if we had stayed in Alajuela. However, we wanted to see different communities. Next trip - we'll spend only one night on either side of arrival and departure close to the big city. The rest of our next trip will definitely be on the coast. We loved it there! Once you get used to the humidity, the ocean and laid back communities are definitely a plus.

Aloha from the BIG Island of Hawaii.  The hubby and I are here for 3 weeks and will compare this lifestyle  to Costa Rica when we visit next year.  In spite of the impossibly long and complicated  Hawaiian names, English is spoken throughout this very diverse Island, which makes life very easy for us.  No way would we be able to rely on mass transit, though, and cars are VERY expensive.

Wishing you a safe and enjoyable journey...and anxious to hear about your adventure in Costa Rica.

Melinda

As beautiful and lush as Hawaii is, it is way over populated and housing is ridiculously overpriced. Unless of course u can afford 5 acres of land build your own oasis. Most importantly where is the Hawaiian culture??? Are they almost extinct now or living in some isolated corner of the island?  Costa Rica aeems to stil maintain a large population of its Latin culture which is a major draw for us.

I think you will find that there isn't as much Latin culture as possibly you are expecting or at least hoping for.
As for deciding in advance where you don't want to live, such as a gated community, you may change your mind.  Once you have looked at some 'stand alone homes' and have seen how close together or RIGHT next to the road, where many homes are placed,  they will more than likely have a high fence or wall with bars on the windows. Many 'gated communities' are basically, just a subdivision with a gate, often larger sized lots and which  have more Costa Ricans living there than they do have extranjeros, if indeed they have any... but there are some very private, exclusive and expensive ones too, that have gates and guards.
I used to live in one and really enjoyed the secure feeling it gave me, when I traveled around rather than having to find someone to stay in my home, as is usually recommended.
Whatever you decide to do, I suggest you rent, but do not sign a longtime lease until you are sure that you have made the right choice. If not, it is much easier to pack up and try another location.
Keep an open mind and try not to come with preconceived expectations.

Have a good trip!

If you want to learn about Costa Rican "culture" buy several brand new trash cans and a remote camera. Put some trash in one and set it out front.Repeat until they're all stolen.Confront them with the fotos and they'll swear to the baby Jesus and his mommy it was someone else.
THAT. Is the Costa Rican "culture". With this system you should be able to "lose" 15 plus cans in a 24 hour period. Don't be surprised if a couple of the "smiling helpers" are wearing badges and driving dented cars with Fuerza Publica emblems.