Mar 08 2012
Updated 4/1/2015 The Caja is Costa Rica’s public health care system. The full name is the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS). For many expats living here, their experience is limited to getting their carnet (health system enrollment card) at the Social Security office and getting prescriptions or lab tests through the Caja. But in …
Permanent link to this article: https://retireforlessincostarica.com/the-ebais-where-healthcare-starts/
Jan 22 2012
You may have heard this little story before, but we think it is a great reminder of the joys of a simple life well lived. The businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Costa Rican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin …
Permanent link to this article: https://retireforlessincostarica.com/the-businessman-and-the-fisherman-a-parable-for-today/
Sep 06 2011
Some days it’s almost too much for me…I think about our life here in Costa Rica and the gratitude just bubbles up and overflows. I love our life here. We have made some wonderful friends and have found the sense of community we always craved. What has brought it home for me this time is …
Permanent link to this article: https://retireforlessincostarica.com/in-gratitude/
May 23 2011
One of the things I learned was important to me was the sense of community I experience living here. About four months after moving to Costa Rica, we starting attending monthly “mixers” of a newly formed group made up of mostly gringos here in San Ramon. The idea was to learn from each other, sharing …
Permanent link to this article: https://retireforlessincostarica.com/community-action-alliance-costa-rica/
Apr 09 2011
Permanent link to this article: https://retireforlessincostarica.com/visual-link-spanish/
Apr 01 2011
Two and a half years ago, we were planning our move to Costa Rica and I spoke almost no Spanish. I knew that I wanted to learn, that my days would be fuller if I could communicate in the language of the land. So I looked at my options and selected Visual Link Spanish. I …
Permanent link to this article: https://retireforlessincostarica.com/habla-espanol-you-bet-i-do/
Dec 31 2009
It’s New Year’s Eve — ¡Próspero Año Nuevo to all! — and I have a few hours of quiet time. The cats are outside being cats. Paul is in town buying some rope to hang our new hammock and some ground beef for the meatballs I will make later today. We are going to a …
Permanent link to this article: https://retireforlessincostarica.com/our-first-holiday-season-in-costa-rica/
Aug 21 2008
Where do people live the longest? So far, researchers have identified four places, which they call “Blue Zones,” and one of them is on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. In a recent AARP magazine (see below), I read about a group of villages there where an inordinate number of people live to 100 years …
Permanent link to this article: https://retireforlessincostarica.com/costa-rican-secrets-to-a-long-life/
May 26 2008
I’ve only seen a small portion of Costa Rica so far, but already I know that it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I’ve stood on the side of a mountain at 4,000 feet and looked out at the Nicoya Peninsula and the Pacific Ocean beyond. I’ve sat on the porch of …
Permanent link to this article: https://retireforlessincostarica.com/beautiful-costa-rica/
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