Container Homes in Costa Rica

With the mortgage crisis in the USA, the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, and a runaway consumer culture…. It is time once again to appreciate that “small is beautiful,” simplicity is a virtue, and living within or below one’s means helps keep life peaceful.

Costa Ricans tend to live in much smaller spaces with many generations together. You don't see baby sitters for kids or senior living for old folks, mostly just families sticking together and taking care of each other. Being alone for long periods of time or living alone is not the ideal.

Last month, The New York Times published an article about small homes gaining popularity in the USA. ("The Next Little Thing")The age of the McMansion requires a lot of $$$$ for heat or air conditioning, maintenance, taxes, mortgage etc. They interviewed some people who had achieved this American Dream and now have simpler aspirations. One of the consequences of having a large home is the isolation in a family as people spend a lot of time in their own spaces with their high tech toys.

My friend Jimmy has an interesting new project that addresses the “small is beautiful” concept. He has taken shipping containers, recycled them and retrofitted the inside as a beautiful, functional home with all the necessary amenities. Jimmy’s container homes have a practical aspect in Costa Rica where many foreigners buy land without homes. It often takes a long time before building and of course you need a place to live before and during construction. Also, there is a lot to learn about your land in a foreign country before you build that can avoid big expensive mistakes later.

Jimmy was my first ex-pat friend in San Ramon and really helped me. When I didn’t speak a word of Spanish and didn’t know the lay of the land, his friendship meant a lot to this stranger in a strange land. We went every weekend to different beaches and he opened his home to me as a place to hang out. We have both seen lots of foreigners come with big dreams yet return to their country of origin when things became tough. We have helped each other over and over to find the humor in situations that could make one crazy and frustrated. Sometimes we let each other rant and rave and sometimes we party until we forget what got us stressed.

To learn more about Jimmy’s container homes look at the property page on our website. (www.costaricapm.com)

The World is Flat

Living here in Costa Rica in Spanish allows me to be right in the Tico culture. It also tires me out by the end of the day. Like many ex-pats, having some great reads in English is a nice relaxing treat. As a New York Times devotee for most of my life, I easily devoured The World is Flat by Times writer Thomas Friedman.

I recommend The World is Flat as a must read for anybody wanting a big life that sees the possibility to utilize the whole world no matter where you are geographically. People no longer have to be in the same location to share information and collaborate. You no longer have to be a huge corporation to have an impact on people all over the world. An individual person's creativity allows growth, not just the amount of money one throws at a situation. This book basically describes our International life and the life of a blogger (as well as many other situations).

What a different world. I guess I'm old as I can remember living in a world without the internet and cell phones. When I traveled in Europe at the age of 17 in 1972, I used to mail aerograms to family and friends. They took about 10 days to arrive and were totally obsolete by the time they did. In a way, my travels in the 70's allowed me to really remain in my experience.... cut off from my familiar world....but in another way, the reality of living in Costa Rica is much easier now. I can keep in touch with family and friends, do business with internet banking, etc...

It's been amazing and fun for me to have readers from all the continents.... 25+ countries and growing. There was the nice note from Australia from a woman who had the same magical feelings as me about San Ramon a decade ago. She googled the bar/club Secretos and ended up on our blog and website www.costaricapm.com.

The funniest and biggest contrast was seeing that we have at least 1 reader in Baghdad. San Ramon and Costa Rica, a country without an army could clearly be the ultimate fantasy for someone living the violent insane life that exists in Iraq. It would be a total pleasure to find a home for someone in San Ramon after they survived the war in Iraq.

Life no longer needs to be a black and white choice of one thing or another but can be your own melange of what works for you. Enjoy the book, The World is Flat, and more importantly enjoy opening up your mind to how rich and global your life can be.

Taking a Break from San Ramon

It is time to take a break from San Ramon and experience New York City and Ithaca for a few weeks. There's lots of snow on the ground and it's cold, dark and a little scary. I had fun with my 8 year old nephew Daniel in Brooklyn who seems to enjoy hanging with his uncle. I managed to eat Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Mexican, falafel, pizza, bagels and lox and every other ethnic food favorite that defines the New York culinary scene. Walking the streets of NYC and looking at the people is a fun contrast to San Ramon and Costa Rica. Topping the days off with reading the NY Times and living in English was nice for awhile. Did I mention how cold, snowy and expensive it was here?

Manana, I return to San Ramon. We left our crew to work while we were away. There are 4 contractors renovating a house, a Nicaraguan family improving the farm and Rosario and Ivania cleaning and watching our property. And then there's Oscar who drives by the farm on his tractor many times a day and makes me laugh and smile whenever we connect.


For now, my life in San Ramon and El Empalme is full to the max with work and transformation. My life in the USA is pretty much a vacation and a break from responsibility and decisions. The balance is always shifting and both lives and cultures nourish me yet also make me crazy ... kicking and screaming for the other. I feel pretty lucky but also kinda brave to live this big life.