Happier Than A Billionaire

HAPPIER ROAD TRIP 2014

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: 1 Medium to Large Zucchini— $1.00

Rob and I just got back from a ridiculously fun road trip. We traveled the country taking pictures, and meeting interesting people. Every year we try to rent a house for a month and explore a different part of the country. But this trip was different. So many of you have reached out offering to share your homes, farms, or resorts with us. It made this journey even more special.

Traveling with Rob is always an adventure, even if it’s just to the grocery store. One of the things that make me crazy is that he will bring a cup of hot coffee with him into the car. Not a travel mug, but a Winnie-the-Pooh cup. Folks, if you’ve never had the luxury of driving on a Costa Rican dirt road, imagine your brain as a maraca. Then take that maraca and toss it off a cliff. It’s not the type of thoroughfare you want when your driver is balancing a hot cup of coffee on his lap.

Inevitably, we hit the first bump and Rob’s coffee flies out of his mug, ricochets off the dashboard, and into my lap. This leaves me in a superb mood and I can’t wait for my “I’m not talking to you” silence to begin. Giving long periods of quiet resentment is a superpower I have perfected over the years. Remarkably, this power has no effect on my husband.

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By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:21-04:00 July 23rd, 2014|Categories: Cost of Living, Nature, Tourism|Tags: darlene, grecia, poas, road trip|19 Comments

WORLD CUP PRIDE IN COSTA RICA

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: One gallon of Super Gasoline— $5.90

The roar came over the mountainside, up from the town of Grecia, catapulting over the surrounding ridges. Costa Rica advances to the World Cup quarter-finals, the first time in history! I have never, ever seen anything like this. Everyone ran into the streets, cars began honking their horns, and we all collectively celebrated this joyous occasion.

My husband and I drove down the hillside, into the traffic, and waved our little Costa Rican flag that we keep hanging over our rear-view mirror. I didn’t feel like an expat, or a foreigner, just another Tica singing into the streets.

I have experienced a million quiet moments in Costa Rica that have made my life sweeter than I ever thought was possible. Then there was this eruption of energy that all but carried me away. My gosh, how I love Costa Rica and its people, embracing me during their proudest moment, and reminding me that I too am part of it all.

Most of the time happy moments come in whispers, but on a rare occasion, it will roar toward you like a clap of thunder. It was a day I’ll never forget.

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:21-04:00 July 1st, 2014|Categories: Nature, Neighbors, Uncategorized|Tags: grecia, world cup|8 Comments

BROOKLYN COWBOY

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: Property Tax— 0.25%

One of the best things about our life in Costa Rica is that now we can pursue hobbies that we didn’t have time for before. My passion has always been writing, while Rob’s has been his music. Some of our best memories are from when we were in college. Rob would play his guitar until late in the evening, and I thought our life would look that way forever. Then came the student loans, the business loans, then the loans for the loans. Before I knew it I was spending a majority of my time working just to pay back an ever-growing mound of debt. My writing got shoved in a drawer, and Rob’s guitar was demoted to the back of the closet. (more…)

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:21-04:00 May 24th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: music, nibbana, nightlife, tamarindo|4 Comments

THE ANTS COME MARCHING ONE BY ONE… HURRAH, HURRAH

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: 16.9 ounces (500ml) of Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil — $6.40

When I was a child, I spent Saturday afternoons watching scary movies with my father in our basement. Back then, there was no Netflix, DVR, or even a Blockbuster Video. Just Chiller Theater. This television show opened with a cartoon hand coming out of a grave, and eating the “Chiller” letters one by one. It probably wasn’t the best programming for a five-year-old, and each week my mother screamed down the stairs at my father to shut it off.

“Bill, put Bugs Bunny back on or she’s going to have nightmares!” she hollered while we watched Godzilla vs Mothra, The Blob, and Planet of the Apes. And like most things my mother yelled about, she was right: I did have nightmares. But I loved every minute of those times with my dad.

This brings me to the 1958 movie, Them. Based on the improbable, but no less entertaining, hypothesis that nuclear testing could create a colony of giant-sized mutant ants, the movie delivers a rollercoaster ride of suspense that could send any five year old to therapy.

Fast forward to today and I can’t help but think that this movie wasn’t too far from reality. I’m getting used to a lot of things about living in Costa Rica, but I just can’t get over our ant issue. It’s not that I don’t like ants, or have any type of bug phobia. It’s more about the sheer number of them that begin invading our house once the rainy season starts. (more…)

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:21-04:00 May 1st, 2014|Categories: Nature|Tags: ants, chiller theater, rainy season|24 Comments

THE TWO OUT OF THREE RULE

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: 1 Pound of Kiwis— $2.81

It’s a rare occurrence when we have all three of our utilities (electric, water, and phone/Internet), working at the same time. We just survived a month without the Internet due to a wildfire that came uncomfortably close to our house. Thankfully, a new line was installed and it started working again. And when I mean working, I mean my upload speeds are equivalent to the World Wide Web circa 1988. While others are enjoying Google Glass, it takes ten minutes to open my inbox. If you gave me a spiral perm and a few floppy discs, it’s my freshman year in college all over again.

Now, it’s not my Internet but my water that is off. This creates anxiety since dishes pile up, dirty laundry accumulates, and anything that gets sticky stays sticky. And since my husband is currently on a mango kick, he seems to get the stickiest of all. (more…)

By Nadine Hays Pisani| 2018-04-15T18:19:21-04:00 April 11th, 2014|Categories: Utilities|Tags: electricity, internet, phone, running, utilities, water|24 Comments

HAPPIER ROAD TRIP 2014

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: 1 Medium to Large Zucchini— $1.00

WORLD CUP PRIDE IN COSTA RICA

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: One gallon of Super Gasoline— $5.90

BROOKLYN COWBOY

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: Property Tax— 0.25%

THE ANTS COME MARCHING ONE BY ONE… HURRAH, HURRAH

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: 16.9 ounces (500ml) of Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil — $6.40

THE TWO OUT OF THREE RULE

Costa Rica Cost Of Living Update: 1 Pound of Kiwis— $2.81

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