Blues in the Boondocks
By Christopher Howard
M.A.
For the past 25 years I
have been helping people
relocate to Costa Rica.
During that time I have
had the opportunity to
observe where people
settle and how they fare
in different areas of
the country.
About 80 percent of my
clients stay in the
Central Valley in areas
like Escazú, Santa Ana
and Cariari, Heredia and
Alajuela. Most of them
have selected these
places because of the
amenities they offer
such as good housing in
the paths of progress,
proximity of private
hospitals , emergency
health care and private
ambulance services,
high-speed Internet,
good shopping,
entertainment and other
intangibles. The
majority of people are
happy and found what
they wanted in Costa
Rica.
The remaining 20 percent
of the people moved to
the beach, remote areas
of the Central Valley or
other parts of the
country. About ten
percent of this group
adjusted well to living
in more isolated
situations. They are a
special breed who don't
need the stimulation and
comforts found in the
Central Valley near the
major cities. I have
several friends who live
in the beautiful
Dominical four hours
form San José and just
love the laid back
lifestyle.
However, one thing I
have observed over the
years is that a good
number of the people who
more to the outlying
areas really get bored.
At first they think that
will be happy being
"away from it all." But
after a while the lack
of stimulation and
variety of things to do
starts to wear on them.
They quickly realize
that they made a mistake
and chose to move closer
to major towns and
cities. Often they find
exit strategy difficult
because they have
purchased property in
areas out of the path of
development.
I even have a Costa
Rican friend who is a
realtor and move to a
beach in Guanacaste and
almost went off the deep
end. She stated,
"Everything is a pain in
the neck here. I have to
drive 20 minutes just to
go shopping and there is
absolutely no local
entertainment."
Conversely, there are a
few cases where people
who tire of living near
cities and choose to
move to the countryside.
However, this scenario
is the exception and not
the rule.
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