I’ve often been told even before moving to Costa Rica that the pace of life here is slower than most North Americans or other foreigners are accustomed to. In other words, you need to change your attitude and just chill. Don’t get upset when your food is taking longer to be served in the restaurant or when you’re signing up for Internet or cell phone service or even paying your utility bills and banking. That’s just the way life is here. I was told a hundred times before relocating that this is the way it will always be.
Getting frustrated with the slower pace of life here will not do you any good, and your blood pressure will only surge above sea level. Just relax, go with the flow of life here in your adopted country, and don’t try to change the way things are here because you can’t. What needs to change is YOU. Don’t try to bring your old lifestyle habits here because they won’t work. The only thing that you can change is yourself.
I learned this valuable lesson in the first few weeks I was here. Indeed, one of the main reasons I relocated here is because I wanted to retire, live a simpler lifestyle, and dial completely down while spending less (although Costa Rica is not cheap—we’ll cover that in another blog post), eating less junk food and more nutritious foods, enjoying more outside activities, and doing things that I’ve never had the opportunity to do stateside.
Do you remember that hit song from the 1970s, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”? Well, that’s the same attitude you need here, mi amigo y amigas. It’s Costa Rica, Pura Vida!
(Written Before Covid – 19 Outbreak)
