Ciudad Colón
Costa Rica
If you had asked me three years ago, I never would have guessed that I would have become an expat. I am easily a decade away from “retirement,” although that is a term that is almost a foreign word for people of my generation. At that time, I was living the year of my dreams in Kyoto, Japan, walking among the gardens and temples each day, studying painting and calligraphy, on a never-ending mission to find the best ramen in town.
Then I returned abruptly to the States after news broke of the pandemic around the world. For 15 months, I desperately tried to assimilate back into the way of life in America with no success. It became very clear that this was a path and place I had left behind, and it was now time to chart a new course and direction in the greater world. I knew by now that 80% of the world offered me the opportunity to live more simply and cheaply than the U.S, but did not know where I would ultimately end up.
The first leg of my journey, already a year ago, led me to Costa Rica on a one-way ticket. Costa Rica was a place I had fallen in love with over a decade ago on my first solo journey. Its pura vida way of life, in accordance with the rhythm and tide of nature, was a natural fit for the simple way of living I sought. I spent a slow, quiet season along the Guanacaste coast immersed in one of the “Blue Zones” of the world, the home of some of the longest living people on the planet. An invitation had been extended for me to oversee eight Airbnb rentals for some South African friends who were longtime residents of Costa Rica. I immersed myself in the simplicity of life there, walking for miles along the beach at sunrise, living healthfully off of a fish and vegetable truck, surrounded by nature. However, like many of the best love affairs, the season came to an end and so did my tourist visa. I would need to leave Costa Rica for Nicaragua, Panama or perhaps Colombia, then return if Costa Rica was going to become my expat home.
It was about this time that I learned of a place called Boquete, Panama. During my initial research, Boquete sounded almost too good to be true. It offered almost all of the elements I had clarified over my many years of travel as my ideal living environment. I was simply looking for a place where I could live life on my terms. I ventured by bus to Boquete with an original gameplan to explore for one month. I ended up living there for six months on top of a mountain among the local indigenous people, living simply, making new friends and processing my own coffee.
When I finally made my way back to Costa Rica, I naturally assumed I would return to the beautiful Guanacaste coast and resume pura vida life along the beach. However, through a series of side roads and detours I ended up in the Central Valley in a lovely town outside the far reaches of modernization called Ciudad Colón.
As with Boquete, I arrived in Ciudad Colón planning to stay perhaps a month, then make my way on down the traveler’s road. However, I discovered a place quite similar in many respects, offering the qualities I most appreciated about Boquete. I have now been living in Ciudad Colón for a season, three months, and have just extended my stay
Ciudad Colón, Costa Rica offers the following elements for my ideal location:
Natural Surroundings: Having grown up in an urban environment, I discovered the healing power of living in balance with nature while living for a year in Kyoto, Japan. The Japanese live by a spiritual principle of blending their homes and buildings in accordance with the natural environment, while honoring the trees and elements. This had such a profound effect on my overall experience and well-being. It had long been at the top of my requirement list for an ideal place to live. This is difficult to find in the chaotic expansion of modern day America.
Ciudad Colón is completely surrounded by natural environment, offering mountains, hiking waterfalls and even a biological reserve. It is located in the Mora Canton in the San Jose province of Costa Rica and know as a multicultural community. Writers and artists have been attracted to the area and it is also home to University of Peace, which attracts international students from around the world. Ciudad Colón offers hiking, mountain biking and running.
Water: In considering my ideal location, I knew I must be near water. In my home city of Austin, Texas, my favorite form of exercise and meditation was taking my stand-up paddleboard on the section of the Colorado River that runs through the center of town at dawn. Ciudad Colón offers a number of hikes along the cascading river, and has its own waterfall. The mountainous surroundings with hiking trails are also plentiful.
Small Community Population (16,000): Having spent much of my life in larger metropolitan cities, I was hoping to find a place with fewer people. Before leaving the U.S., I considered moving to places like Asheville, NC and Bend, Oregon, which offered more modest populations, but still were growing rapidly. Ciudad Colón offered a smaller population of 16,000 with a unique mix of local Costa Ricans and expats. At times there are students from over 60 countries through the University of Peace. Near to Ciudad Colón is the indigenous reserve of Quitirrisi, where they are known for their handcrafts.
Access to Ocean: Ciudad Colón, named after Christopher Colombus, is located in the San Jose province, which makes accessibility to both the Pacific and Caribbean Coast quite easy, whether by car or by bus. Within 5 hours you can be in Puerto Viejo along the Caribbean or Tamarindo on the Pacific side. If you love the ocean, as I do, but may not want to live year round at the ocean, Ciudad Colón offers the best of both the mountains and the ocean.
Access to Good Food: As a result of its diverse international population, Ciudad Colón has developed numerous excellent restaurants with varied menus from other cultures. You can enjoy Indian food, Greek, Argentinian, all within the town of Ciudad Colon. Two grocery stores and the bi-weekly farmers market in the center of town allow me to cook mostly at home inexpensively. One can also eat at various sodas where the locals dine for just a few dollars.
Inexpensive Cost of Living: $350-450 Rent: One of the main reasons I left the U.S for a much simpler way of life was due to the unsustainable cost of living in a country that is rapidly moving the other direction. In my home city of Austin, “the next Silicon Valley”, the cost of housing escalated 43% in one year during 2020. For many like myself, this makes it an unsustainable place to live or create a future, as is now the case with many places throughout the U.S. My first casa in Ciudad Colón was a studio across from University of Peace. I was up on top of a mountain, surrounded by beautiful hiking and wildlife for $300 per month. I now live in a small casa on top of the same mountain, overlooking lush trees, wildlife and all variety of birds for just $450 per month which includes furnishings, electricity, heat, and water, as well as reliable internet. As a writer and digital nomad, this provides an excellent location for me to work remotely.
As for now, I am here for the foreseeable future as I continue making my way along the Hero’s Journey.
View from the Road
The small size of Costa Rica affords one the unique opportunity to experience all of these elements with easy access. Recently, as part of my mandatory visa border crossing, I decided it was time to experience first-hand the Caribbean coast and set sail for a long-weekend trip to Puerto Viejo.
Puerto Viejo is the center of the country’s Afro-Costa Rican community which fills the region with the food, music and culture of locals whose heritage originated from Jamaica.
My first impression of Puerto Viejo was that it was the town I had always imagined Costa Rica would be. It offers some of the most beautiful beaches in all of the country with some of the best snorkeling and fishing. But it is the Caribbean influence and culture that makes Puerto Viejo uniquely special place you discover that you never want to leave immediately after you arrive. If I had discovered Puerto Viejo years ago on my very first exploratory trip to Costa Rica, perhaps I would have never left.
Field Notes
“When looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.”
-Joseph Campbell
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Zen and Ink Journals represents hundreds of hours of writing over the past decade, sometimes from a train in remote China or a coffee shop in Kyoto, a hammock in Costa Rica or a simple cabin on a mountain in Boquete, Panama.
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Kirk
Wishing you continued success on your travels, sounds great!