Costa Rica Cost Of Living : Cookies that look like Oreos, smell like Oreos, taste like styrofoam-$1
I went to the beach yesterday and saw that Pura Vida Rida opened. They rent kayaks, paddle boards, and mountain bikes. Very outdoor-zy things; perfect for a very outdoor-zy country.
Along with their usual rental fees, you can also buy a membership that would allow you to use their equipment year round. That’s what I love about Costa Rica. Why spend time on a stationary bike when I can paddle out to a reef and do some snorkeling? I wouldn’t have to wipe down any exercise machine or talk to that weird guy who always wears his sweatpants a little too tight. (You know who you are)
Costa Rica is a fun place. It always entices you to get out and live. Really live. Like take a kayak ride and watch a whale and her baby jump out of the water kinda living.
One hundred times better than an hour on a treadmill. One hundred times better than a day in the office.
[…] This process brought me to a small courtyard in San Jose, Costa Rica, trying to decide where I would be by the end of the day for the beginning of a 30-day trip. I had heard of a place on the Northern Pacific Coast with mountain bike rentals and what looked like some really nice singletrack from Nadine Pisani’s blog, Happier Than a Billionaire. […]
A hike on the bluffs picking fresh figs along the way, then sliding down a 3 story sand dune into the lagoon is much more fun than any of my old gyms too! I’ve lost over 60 pounds after one year in Portugal…and I forgot to diet. Ex-pat life is the greatest.
Good for you!! Costa Rica is an active place, and so many fun things to do. It’s probably the easiest place to lose weight and not even know it!!
Hey Nadine,
We have nevr gotten robbed, but strangely, on three occasions my cheap sandals have been stolen… I set them on the sand neatly, stroll for an hour, return, and slip them back on… and I can’t figure out who would want nasty sandals… Ticos, especially on our area, are very religious and not in poverty, so they don’t steal so much, but apparently shoes left on the beach are “fair game”
I have heard of some houses being broken into, but here is the thing… lots of times it is a house that has been sitting empty for years, with only an occasional renter, or it is a Gringo who is mean to Ticos… funny, huh?
We are not too worried, but my husband does take lots of precautions nevertheless.
Yes, we take precautions as well. You really have to be on top of things, not leave items in your car or on the beach. We haven’t had a problem, but we are always careful.
LOL at the cookie comment. Gag.. their packaged cookies are NASTY here.
Aren’t they weird. I hate paying for the Oreos, but it’s hard to find a really good cookie here.
Wait until you get robbed.
I’m glad you brought that up. It was one of the reasons I wrote the book. When I first started thinking about moving here, many people tried to scare me, tell me horrible stories they read online, and generally rain on my parade. So now that I’ve lived here for four years, I can give an honest account of my experience. No one elses, just mine.
I’ve never been robbed. My car has never been broken into. I know these things happen but they happen everwhere. I can say I’ve been a victim of a home invasion while I lived at college off campus in NJ, and my husband, from Brooklyn, has been held up by gunpoint three times back in NY.
I would never tell anyone not to go to my college, or not to visit Brooklyn. It’s sad that these things occur. And perhaps, Johnny, you’ve been a victim and I an understand how you feel. It’s a hard thing to get over. You tend to hold onto hostility and end up hating the place you thought was safe. But in my case, I’ve let go of the past, got over that incident in my life, and moved on.
I would also suggest not hanging out a lot at bars and going home inebriated. Many men do this, bring a lady friend back, only to find themselves waking up with their pants around their ankles and their wallets gone.
Seriously guys, that cute twenty-year old girl in the hotpants is not interested in you.
So nice…paddling a kayak in the ocean…peace and quiet…sweet way to get some exercise and meditate all at once.
Sounds perfect to me.