The 5 Reasons Why We Still Choose San Ramon

Recently, we covered the 10 reasons we chose San Ramon de Alajuela. If you haven’t read it yet, here’s a quick summary:

• Reason #1: It’s still a real Tico town.
• Reason #2: It’s convenient to the airport.
• Reason #3: It’s convenient to the beach.
• Reason #4: It’s convenient to good hospitals.
• Reason #5: We don’t need heat or air conditioning.
• Reason #6: Lots of volunteer opportunities and chances for community involvement.
• Reason #7: It has wide streets.
• Reason #8: It has a mall.
• Reason #9: It’s convenient to San Jose.
• Reason #10: It’s a University town.

We are happy to say that all of these reasons are still valid. To know San Ramon is to love it. Now, going on three years of living in San Ramon, we have a few more things to add to the list. So here are the reasons we still choose San Ramon as our “home town.”

Reason #1: It’s still a real Tico town. That’s what we were looking for, and that’s what we still love. We know we mentioned this reason the first time around, but it bears repeating and some clarification. San Ramon is not over-run with Gringos, the traditions & customs are unchanged from years ago, and the culture is still intact. We may have underestimated the number of Gringos in San Ramon last newsletter. Some estimates say that there are 300-400, not 200, in the greater San Ramon area. Even so, the ratio of Ticos to Gringos is still incredible. The town of San Ramon is only 1.29 kilometers square and has a population just under 14,000 people, however, more than 82,000 Ticos live in and around San Ramon and use it as their principle town for shopping.

Reason #2: Where we live – the Cabinas. We love where we live! It’s beautiful and green, primordial, and so different from anywhere we’ve ever lived before. It’s like living in the jungle but it’s just 10 minutes from town. And renting here is easy, with Cesar, Tali and Deyanira looking after our needs. Everything included in the rent so we don’t have the hassle of dealing with a lot of the day-to-day challenges — though the challenges are few, and the pleasures are many. Just click here to watch the video we made on our front porch.

Reason #3: San Ramon has a great feria (farmers’ market), held on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. We frequent the feria to buy fresh flowers, just-picked fruits and vegetables, produce, meats and more from family-run local businesses. You can find most of the familiar items you’re used to, and if you are more adventurous, you can try some of the unfamiliar tropical offerings like guayaba, pejibaye, and mamones chinos.

Reason #4: There are lots of opportunities to volunteer and make a difference in the community. Many of these opportunities have been through initiatives of the Community Action Alliance which is dedicated to

helping Expats integrate into the local community, volunteering, and trying to make San Ramon a better, safer, more prosperous town. A great example of all of these things is the Used Book Sale we held in November (see above).

Through our work with the Alliance, Gloria and I are working on the micro-level, while other members & committees of the Alliance are working on the macro-level, building relationships with local movers and shakers, other community groups, and the American Embassy. But whatever your interests, there are ways to be useful in the community. Many English-speaking Expats serve as native language speakers, helping the local teachers with students trying to prepare for better jobs by learning English. Other Expats volunteer at the local orphanage; they play with the children, engage them in fun projects, and provide groceries and other assistance. And still others volunteer with the local recycling center, teach in the local schools, and raise money for the schools to buy new equipment.

Reason #5: These last two years and eight months In San Ramon, we have established some of the best relationships of our lives. We have met some wonderful people, both Expats and Ticos, as well as people from other parts of the world, and it just keeps getting better and better. Our social life is almost too busy, between going to the beach two or three times a month, to having dinner with friends either on our porch or at their homes, to concerts, art exhibits, & cultural activities in town.

Talí

Daily interactions are so personalized here. When the battery in my watch needs to be replaced, I go to see Hector at the relojaria (watch shop), walk next door to Optica Rosan and ask Gladys to adjust my glasses, then walk a block to the Parque Central to have an ice cream cone and visit with the local Costa Rican pensionados (retirees). And when it’s time to make our monthly donation to the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) – over 5,000 families in San Ramon canton have made a monthly pledge – Alejandro comes by on his motorcycle to personally collect it. We even get visits from the traveling nurse from our local clinic when it’s time to get our yearly flu shots. He also comes by motorcycle with the flu vaccines in a small cooler attached to the back. Once in a while we’ll run into our dentist, Dr. Patricia, on the street and greet each other with a hug and kiss on the cheek. And just about every day we interact with Talí, the gardener at the cabinas, who has become a friend.

We pinch ourselves everyday over our good fortune to have this great, exciting, beautiful, and fulfilling Expat life. Yes, it’s been the people! ALL OF YOU who have made our dreams come true beyond our wildest expectations. THANK YOU ALL!!!