I'm usually quite optimistic when it comes to life but it has been a pretty shitty ride lately. I thought putting out good karma into the universe would reward us but it hasn't worked that way at all, it seems like the nicer I am, the more shitty things happen..
As most of u have probably figured out by now our "life changing move" was more like a terrible vacation from hell where everything that could have possibly went wrong, did.
The first 5 days in Costa Rica seemed like a dream, maybe we had our blinders on, maybe we just got lucky, either way after that we got sent an obvious message from the universe that it wasn't meant for us. On top of our electricity and water not working for days we also didn't sleep well because of the heat and humidity. Then we started getting terrible meals, one after another, even though it was good at the same place before it almost seemed like a bait and switch scheme.. It was then that we realized the locals only want to take advantage of Americans (tourist) not help us, we were ran off the road while driving, people we extremely rude and then ultimately my fiance got extremely sick and the hospital was not up to her standards so we figured it was time to cut our losses and head back to the states for good medical attention and a new plan.
Everything in Costa Rica is a sham. They say "PURA VITA" which apparently means "pure life," however we figured out that it probably really means poor life because there was nothing pure about it. We went their because everything was suppose to be cheap, and it was said it's "the happiest place in the world" and the people are "incredibly friendly" when that is all lies. The truth is my fiance never felt safe their, the people were not happy at all and they were always looking for a way to take advantage of tourist. Whether it be over pricing or giving unfair exchange rates they were ripping us of at every turn.
Turns out it is actually more expensive to live in Costa Rica rica then to live in the states (at least during the 5 busy months of tourist season) because anywhere that is even quasi nice (not just slums with garbage everywhere) cost American resort prices including bars, resturaunts, grocery stores and car rentals. Not only that, it cost money to get into all the cool things because they are in conveniently placed in "nations parks." It cost $6 per person to get into most beaches plus $4 or more to park. It cost even more money to see waterfalls or to go into any "national park" areas where u might want to get good pictures of wildlife. Everything is set up to look nice to get tourists' money, but if you look closer, just off the main roads everything is discustingly dirty. People have tarps for roofs over their poorly built shacks of mismatched metal and wood. We wanted to live a minimalistic life, not like 3rd world country poor people.
All in all we spent well over $6000 in 9 days, we figured it out and if we stayed the entire 21 days (that we played for in advance for the airbnb) we would be been well over 10 grand! So we decided to cut our losses and we left our (already payed for) airbnb behind and headed back to the states for a good hospital.
After a few days in the hospital my fiance got released and was feeling much better. Every thing was chalked up to food poisining, drinking dirty water and dehydration (even though I ate and drank the same stuff and had none of the reactions). They couldn't figure out the rashes but they subsided rather quickly once we got back in to the states so we didn't really care what the cause was. We were just happy to be back in a country where the medical was good and you can flush the toilet paper down the drain instead of putting it in the garbage. Lol, it's the little things in life.
I'll be back with part 2 soon enough because this crazy adventure is no where near over.
"peace, love and all that hippie shit"
If we’re growing we are always going to be out of our comfort zone. I admired your courage to try new things. Never give up!
Well, this pretty much sounds like my (extremely few) experiences with foreign travel ... and what I expect from any other such invitations. Foreign travel doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, and, yes, on my one trip to Mexico -- further than just an hour or two in Tijuana ... I wound up extremely sick and desperately glad to get back home again. The clogged and overflowing toilets in every public rest room, including those at the train station, is one of my most vivid memories of the place. GOD, I was glad to go home!!!
Lol - that does sound about right for most of Mexico. ;) Ha! Or it least it was that way years ago. We had some crazy stuff happen at the CR/Panama border yesterday. Headed back there in a few minutes to get some lost luggage and left family members. They're already talking about "next time" they visit though, which is nice. :) Sometimes things are definitely not as expected.
Good to finally hear it straight from the horses mouth on what happened. The things that were going through my mind were crazy, but I didn't envision the health aspect as being the problem.
Great to hear she is doing well now. What about the dogs? They okay and no problems with them throughout this adventure, I thought that they might be the source of some issue.?
Look forward to part 2, and through away those "rose colored glasses", they distort everything.
Adios amigo,
@sultnpapper
I was wondering about the dogs as well!
hi man! thought you had been quiet on here? so you tried to have a nice holiday away from the stead?
wow I am so sorry you had such a bad experience! I've also heard Costa Rica was quite expensive, but $6000 in 9 days? Wow...
If I were you I'd go to Asia. Cambodia or Indonesia, or other countries around there are so welcoming and very cheap.
Are you still planning to go away once your fiance recovers?
its a very different life style in a poor country.
I also understand what they are doing they see tourists
as one way to increase their living,
What is sad is that it is at the cost of someone else's expectations and life.
moving is a bumpy road so u just started. one small set back. its not the end.
Sorry, you had such a bad experience. We lived in Costa Rica for 6 years but then left because things were going downhill instead of advancing. It became a dangerous place to live. You really need to research beyond the rose coloured propaganda most third world countries offer. And Costa Rica is third world even though they would like to think otherwise. It also helps to know the language before you leave for the adventure. I don't know where you ended up, or what kind of lifestyle change you are looking for, but it sounds like you should have been in Santa Anna or similar location. Folks in Costa Rica will smile to your face, shake your hand and stab you in the back at the same time. Not all Ticos are the same so you do have to be more careful than usual. Costa Rica is extremely expensive and when you are a tourist you are fair game.
...welcome to the world of traveling! lol.
If you don't get ripped off in a country, you either haven't been there, or you stayed in 5 * hotel! lol
It's life, enjoy the trip!
Where is your next destination?
(one thing I have noticed in the 2 decades of my own world travels - and this is an objective observation, not a criticism - A LOT of the US travelers I have met seem to have an idealistic perception and get depressed when reality meets the road...especially in SE Asia, btw. )
Shitty. But none of that is surprising. That’s a very hard and expensive life lesson you experienced.
Hope your fiancé gets well soon.
Wow. What a story @moderndayhippie. How on earth did it end up being so far from what you were expecting? That sounds bonkers.
Glad to hear your girlfriend is better and you are able to regroup and start again. Well not really starting again as you've done all the packing etc.
Do you follow @world-travel-pro? He might be worth "talking" to before your next move. He has a lot of experience in living cheap in a lot of different countries.
Lots of love to you both and hope the next phase of your adventure runs a bit more smoothly for you. 😍
There is a saying about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence, but the truth is the grass is greener where you water it. When Stacie D (@freedomtowrite) and I first moved to the Ozarks we thought we were going to change the world. We thought we were free and could do anything. We quickly found that the economy is terrible and they don't like to hire outsiders for jobs. We have had to make our own way, every step! I am glad your fiance is better. Be well.
I'm glad you two are well.
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If you are not willing to "down-grade" your general living standard and safety, third-world countries usually are not very cheap at all.
I'm gonna agree with @peterveronika and say go to SE Asia for somewhat better conditions, better hospitals, and still a fairly inexpensive cost of living. Not sure Cambodia would be up to your standards, but Thailand I believe would. We lived there for 6 years and there are some shitty areas and expensive tourist traps, but for the most part the country and the people are lovely. Feel free to hit me up if you want tolearn more about possibilities for Thailand. Hell, we might even move back there ourselves!
Sorry to hear of all the troubles, disappointments, and your fiancée's illness. I'm glad you reported, as many people were concerned for you, both in the #steemitbloggers community as well as elsewhere on Steemit. I hope you have tons of GOOD LUCK going forward to balance the setbacks!
What a story, @moderndayhippie! I am so sorry! I do hope that you have reported some of your experience to Airbnb? They need to know that you had a sense of being ripped off - if not by your hosts, but by the way Costa Rica is being presented. Glad to hear your fiance is better and trust that you will enjoy your future travels. Come to South Africa! We can show you all of that, the good and bad - and more!
@fionasfavourites
WOW!! SO glad she is doing better and was released from the hospital!!
I can only imagine what you'll share in part two!
Wow, that does sound pretty rough. Costa Rica is definitely an expensive tourist country. We have friends who visit there and say it is more expensive than Panama. Panama is by no means "cheap" anymore (although they say it used to be). There is "cheap" stuff everywhere - in the States and here. Just depends on what you're looking for. Yes, sleeping at the beach would be hot and humid. That's why we live in the mountains here in Panama! We knew we wouldn't survive the beach life even though it sounds nice. ;) I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you guys as expected. We like it here in Panama because they use the US dollar and their money is a 1:1 rate (they have no paper money, just coins). It sounds nuts that it was that expensive for 9 days! I am glad you were able to get home and to the hospital.
WOW!! What a world wind!! I'm glad that your fiance is better, and that you guys are safely back in America. Sorry things didn't work out, but things always happen for a reason (I know sounds so cliche, but it really is true).
It sounds like you had a unwanted adventure. I was pulling for you. I actually wanted to follow your footsteps. Looks like you save me some bank. Sorry about the experience, I thought about Belize too.
Cool! Now let go.
ALL OF IT.
We had similar huge "bumps in the road" when we moved out west. The trip out was fantastic. But when we got where we were headed, it did not meet expectations - not even close, really. So our trip took a lot of detours and a lot more time and money than we counted on, but we found the right spot eventually. You will too.
ripple hit the sub .50 target. .47xx talked about.
Hey Craig, been missing you around here, give me shout when you get back on here. Hope you are doing well.
Im on steemit for a lil bit everyday now, just curating for now since my whole narrative has changed when it comes to steemit.. i honestly dont know what to post about anymore because i was going in a direction which has now completely changed. Writing seems more difficult now and i have no passion for it :/ thanks for the message, its nice to see people still so supportive.. hope u are doing well too.. take care.
hey hippie, thanks for getting back to me. I can understand it. I'm sure the wind is out of your sails at the moment but there are several of us on here that enjoy visiting with you and your perspective just on everyday life so until your sails catch some new wind just keep in touch thru some curation. Hell, you might read someone's post that give's you a gust of wind you are looking for. Take care brother, we all still care about as the person, not the traveler.
i am sad to read this,,, but i made a post here on how to live by 1 dollar daily in nibal or bangaldish with a film made by US couple - lovely couple about this trip and they enjoyed it toooooooooo much and yes theu had very nice food and many other staff just by 1 dollar daily...
return back to my blog and watch that film to understand your mistake, sorry, you are my brother, i must be harsh little on you...
costa rica and other few countries in america re having sexual abuse, sexual trafficking, killings is as drinking water for them, stealing your money is as eating bread,,,,,,, while in the other poor countries such as middle east contries, they have bride and politness, no sexual trafficking and no alchohols and they pray to god daily, also the same in some other asian countries such as bangaldish, nibal, india.....
my advise to you as you are my brother, next time, if there is next time, try to watch you tube movies b4 you jump to the plane... watch the movies about the city you are going to visit and god bless you
I really needed a change of life, it sucks that it didnt work out as planned but life rarely does. I have since found a new home in a different part of my home country and are starting over. Things are turning around now and i am not upset with how it all worked out.
We did watch youtube videos and did a lot of research before we left but we have learned its a lot different to live somewhere than it is to vacation there.. it was a hard learning experience but i really needed a change in my life and this experienced helped me to appreciate the life I have in America.. life lessons are sometimes the hardest and most expensive leasons to learn..
Hey my brother. Please pass my best wishes of recovery to your feaunce lady.
Well. I am happy that you both now in good health.
Look here and take this as an advise from an older friend..... i was going to be the new 1 million dollar man and i lost everything even my wife by small mistake in one night....
Do not be sorry for the past.... GOD creats things to reach the present.
As i know about you .... you are a kind heart man so belive me god created the bad conditions to slap you on your face in costa rica to prevent the worse cases from happening to force you to go back... you do not know. If your wife did not become sick there. You might now be dead for example if you stayed there.... or roped by a gang..... my brother.... i know that you were a militry man from your earlier posts with great experiance but you must understand that the poor countries will be very hard to accomedate in living there unless you are well lived in that region for long time b4.
Well. At the end..... you are safe... your girls is safe.... healthy ... this is all what we want to hear from you....
Peace . Love.... all that hippiiiiiiii ......... God bless you
Stay safe
Keep helping others as you do not know may be you helped someone in the past and god protected you becauae of this ..... so be happy that god is beside you ...
In peace i wish you happy life
Samer