Monkeys love bananas almost as much as I do.
Pros and cons of living in Costa Rica
Mangos, monkeys, bananas, and colorful birds
There are a lot of mangos, monkeys, and colorful birds here in Costa Rica, as well as friendly people.
I also love all the fresh fruits and veggies that are available year-round. Strawberries, for example, are picked every day.
I especially love all the colorful birds.
There are so many wonderful things about living in Costa Rica. Of course, the weather is one thing I enjoy. It gets hot down at the beaches, but up here in the mountains, it's almost always in the 70s year-round.
Most mornings start off at about 69 or 70 degrees, and rarely does it get up to 80. The monkeys like warmer weather, so they stay at a little lower elevation than the 4,500 feet where I live.
I see toucans like this from my balcony on most days.
The cons of living in Costa Rica
Everybody talks about all the good things, but there are some cons of living in Costa Rica. Here are a few.- Lately, the volcano that's ten miles away has been more active than normal, and sometimes there's a smell of sulfur gas.
- Many of the roads are patches on top of patches, and they need more patches because of all the potholes.
- There are lots of barking dogs.
- It's a slower pace of life here, but that's not always good. I have two neighbors who have been trying for over a year to get building permits to build their houses. The permit office keeps saying, "Two more weeks."
- Everything here gets done, mañana, but that doesn't mean tomorrow as the Spanish word implies. It just means not today.
- And there is the rainy season for about six months out of the year, where it rains hard all afternoon almost every day. (But, the next morning, there's bright sunshine again until noon.)
The main takeaway from this article: To be happy here in Costa Rica, you have to enjoy all the good things, such as the weather, colorful birds, abundant fresh fruits and veggies, and super-friendly people.
But don't get in a hurry, and don't expect anything to change. Next year, the dogs will still be barking, and the roads will still be bad. But who knows my two neighbors may have their building permits by then.