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I absolutely love my life in Costa Rica. Living in the lush and verdant Orosi Valley, I have found my perfect retirement paradise. But every silver lining has a cloud here and there, and there are definitely some aspects of my personal paradise that can be trying from time to time.
If you’re looking for a place where you can begin the next phase of your life in peace with the glories of nature all around you, you can do no better than Costa Rica. It has all the things you could wish for—awe-inspiring views, tropical rainforests, rambling rivers,
Day-Glo purple, tuscan yellow, lipstick red, and electric hues I don’t have names for—these are the colors that hug the roads of the Orosi Valley. They are housed in the stories-tall bougainvillea, pendent heliconias, and multi-shaped bromeliads that cover the region, owing to the year-round perfect climate.
I have a confession to make: I had an addiction. Or maybe it’s better described as an obsession…or a mania. There was a time when I probably could have stood in a dank room full of the similarly afflicted and said, “Hello, my name is John, and I have too many watches.”
You don't have to go to Italy to find the Renaissance man inside you. Live somewhere you love, where the cost of living is low and the weather is fine, and you'll find yourself surrounded by opportunities to grow.
The “success” of our lives in America was killing us. My husband Michael and I were tired of living a life where there was just too much order and discipline—and too many adults spoiling the fun.
"Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning." Those are the famous directions to Neverland—a magical place, overflowing with adventure, where you don't grow old.
Misty, dream-like cloud forests...Olympian mountaintops with fertile river valleys...miles of pristine, empty beaches... Despite its small size, Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful and biodiverse countries in the world. It has everything a nature lover like me could want.
When I talk to my friends in the U.S. about my life in the Orosi Valley, they say I live a perpetual vacation. That’s pretty much true. My life here couldn’t be more perfect. This area offers me all the things I was looking for in an overseas retirement—a laidback lifestyle, a low cost of living, and an abundance of things to do and places to explore.
Yes, we have some dirty little secrets. There are some things about the Orosi Valley that none of us who live here want you to know. But having been in your shoes—living in the States and searching for the perfect spot to begin a new life.