Reason #99: The Cost of Living or The Price of Life

Couple of Ticos on their way to WalMart

I frequently get asked the question of “how well can I get by with $xx per month in Costa Rica?” The answer depends a lot on the person doing the asking. Is it your intention to come to Costa Rica and maintain the same “high consumption lifestyle” that you had in the U.S.? If so, then probably the answer is no. However, if you choose to adapt to the culture here and really live like a “local” then probably yes, and maybe even for a whole lot less than you expect. The cost of most things “homegrown” is considerably cheaper here. Food that is locally grown and processed, services such as cleaning, car repair, etc. are much less expensive. Electricity is far cheaper here since more than likely you will not be using “luxuries” like air conditioning, dishwashers or clothes dryers….that is, if you live like a local. I have not had any of those U.S.-style luxuries anywhere I have lived in Costa Rica and I feel I live quite well. I don’t miss them in the least. When family comes to visit from the states they always ask me “where is the dishwasher?”, or “where is the clothes dryer?”, as if those things were absolute requirements of a normal life. Well, normally here they are not and folks get along just fine without them. I guess life is just a lot simpler down here and we tend to get by with less. It just becomes a natural part of life not to have those things that you probably took for granted in the U.S. So, yea, the cost of living is considerably lower here. But that doesn’t mean life is cheap. I guess when you have less “things” that you depend on to get you through each day, you end up depending more on yourself. You just have to “make do” and actually that is quite refreshing. You don’t need all those fancy contraptions that make life easier. Life just kind of takes on an ease of its own and you stop “sweating the small stuff” like actually having to wash the dishes by hand or hang the clothes on a clothesline. Hell, for the first few years I lived here I didn’t even have a car and many Costa Ricans get by just fine without one. How? They take the bus, or they walk, hail a taxi, ride a bike, a motorcycle, or even a horse. It is refreshing and invigorating to have learned to depend less on things and more on me. If you do that, depend less on things and more on yourself, then sure you can get by here with what would be considered a poverty wage in the U.S. This all brings me to a related, but entirely different point. That is, even though the cost of living is less, the price of life is not. Is life any less valuable in a country where one can live quite comfortably for a sum that in the U.S. would seem to make one impoverished? One thing that has been extremely refreshing about living here is the virtual absence of political, cultural, religious or any other form of argument on the topic of “right to life” or “reproductive rights” or the U.S. political hot potato of “abortion rights.” I guess being a predominantly Catholic country, like all countries in Latin America, the topic is just considered to be settled. I am reticent to even venture into the fray in this blog and upset the order of things here, so I will only pose a question for thought. And that is this….”if life doesn’t begin at conception, then when exactly does it begin?” And if by some chance you would agree that it does, then what is the “price” of that life? Can there really be some “right” other than the right to life itself that is worth more? Okay okay, enough said. Listen, Costa Rica is a great place to come to experience a richer and fuller life for a whole lot less, I’ll guarantee you that. So if you’re interested in knowing more…..call me.
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03/26/2009 in Costa Rica Guy Personal and Humorous, Uncategorized