Take time to relax and listen to the ocean
Tico Time
Don't come to Costa Rica without bringing this one thing.
People visiting or moving to Costa Rica pack a lot of stuff, but the one thing almost everybody forgets to pack, or maybe they don't even realize they need it until it's too late, is patience.
If you come here without patience, you're going to end up very frustrated.
The locals in Costa Rica are called Ticos, and people from the US, Canada, Europe, etc. are called Gringos. Neither term is derogatory.
Death and taxes
You've probably heard that there are only two things that are certain in life—death and taxes.
But here in Costa Rica, there are a few more things that are certain—dogs barking and nobody showing up or doing things when they say they will.
Time or promises here have no meaning
Nobody gets in a hurry, and nobody bothers to be anywhere or do anything when they say they're going to do it. They just consider it normal.
A friend here left a sofa at a shop to be re-holstered. After 11 months of promises that they would get to it soon, he finally picked it up and left it at another shop that said they could do it in a week or so. It's been seven months, and they still haven't done the work either.
If someone says they'll be somewhere at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, you may not see them until 9:00 or 10:00. Or you may not see them until Thursday or Friday—if at all. And if you say something about them being late, they just say that they're on Tico time. They don't even apologize. They just show up whenever.
Everything is done mañana
Technically, in Spanish, mañana means tomorrow, but in Costa Rica, it just means "not today." Everything gets done, mañana. It's common to hear Ticos say, "I'll do that mañana, meaning some other time.
Patience
We're all familiar with the prayer, "Lord, grant me patience, and I want it right now."
If you're trying to get a building permit (or do anything else involving bureaucracy), it will take forever. The sooner you accept this, the sooner your life will be easier in Costa Rica. And by all means, don't think you're going to change the system or the people.
If you want things to be done like they are in the US, then stay there and don't come to Costa Rica. You won't be happy. And I'm sure that is true in many other Latin American countries. It's a laid-back lifestyle where nobody gets in a hurry, and they don't worry about a schedule. Everything gets done mañana. That is, if it ever gets done.
Maybe that attitude helps explain why there's no stress here, and many people in the nearby Blue Zone live to be over 100.
Bottom line: A high percentage of people who move to Costa Rica leave within two years because they just can't adjust to "Tico Time."
In Jimmy Buffett's song, Below is a link to the song on YouTube.