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The country mountain town of Atenas in Spanish-speaking Costa Rica seems an unlikely place to find a free library of not just hundreds but thousands of books in English, French, German, and Italian. It gives you a little glimpse into the international mix of the thriving expat community here.
What I love about what I do is that I can work from home. Or, really, I can work anywhere there is an internet connection. I don't have to commute. I have the freedom to be anywhere in the world. For the past seven years, home has been the small town of Atenas in Costa Rica's Central Valley. Although in all, I've been living in Costa Rica about 18 years.
Walking into my Tai Chi/Qigong class this morning at the Atenas Yoga Center, I was greeted by several new smiling faces. There were new expats in town, renting a house for a few months to check out whether Atenas, Costa Rica, could be their new home.
When John and Gay Boggs of Virginia decided to retire to Atenas, Costa Rica, in 2013, they chose to build their dream home. They'd already looked at existing homes in their price range but weren't completely satisfied with the quality and features.
Like many expats living La Pura Vida in Costa Rica, Ania and Tom Dudek—and their two sons—first visited the country on vacation. "For years, we would come for a month and rent a house in a different area each time," says Ania.
Expats love living in Atenas, mostly for three reasons: the mild weather, its great location on the western end of Costa Rica's Central Valley, and its friendly, small town community. These are the reasons that drew my husband, Rolando, and I here seven years ago.
What I love best about living in Atenas, Costa Rica, is how peaceful it is. The capital city of San José is only an hour's drive to the east. But whenever I have to go there, like just the other day, I always breathe out a big sigh of contented happiness when I turn off the highway and onto the main road into Atenas where we live.
My favorite day of the week is Friday in my country town of Atenas—although since moving here, every day is pretty good. On Fridays, I pile all five of my dogs into the car and head early in the morning for the farmers’ market, followed by a lively off-leash hike on a forested mountain trail near town.
My favorite day of the week is Friday in my country town of Atenas—although since moving here, every day is pretty good. On Fridays, I pile all five of my dogs into the car and head early in the morning for the farmers’ market, followed by a lively off-leash hike on a forested mountain trail near town.
Never in a million years would I have thought as a child growing up in a Southern California seaside town that I’d end up living in small-town Costa Rica. When people ask me how I came to live in Costa Rica, it’s an unusual story to tell.