| We just moved out of our house in Pica Flora. Back in June, we had rented it knowing that we likely would not be staying there for the full year. But, we thought that we would have had some time to shop around to see other places and decide what type of experience we wanted; we didn’t think that we would be “evicted” without having any option to extend our stay and then have to rush a decision. Pica Flora is technically a vacation rental. It is absolutely beautiful with a magnificent view but the surrounding area is really not your typical Costa Rican neighborhood; the other houses in the area are occupied by Gringos living here or renting for a few weeks. |   |   |
We had to decide what we wanted from our experience – a gorgeous vacation home in the hills or being with the locals. We were (and still are) torn between the positives and negatives of both options. In the end, we settled for the latter.
We are now 5 KM outside of the center of Atenas in an area called Barrio Mercedes. The interesting twist is that we are indeed in a Tico neighborhood but the house that we are renting is a North American style home. It is so unique in the area that our official address for the TV cable company is “casa de 2 pisos” (2-story house). Walking through our front door and into our house feels like you are crossing a border into the United States or Canada.
The views of a typical Costa Rican neighborhood in front of our house
Our current house came with some big bonuses for the kids. The house belongs to a family with 3 children of similar ages. As soon as our kids laid eyes on all of the toys, they were sold on this house. And, as far as the kids were concerned, the swing set and trampoline out back sealed the deal.
There are many Tico kids on the street and this was an important part of the decision for us. We are hoping that our kids will be able to integrate with the other kids on the street.
Now we have to get used to the action outside our house. When we were at Pica Flora, we had to deal with one rooster; the number of roosters that surround our current home are too numerous for us to fend off. Combine the sound of the roosters with the barking dogs, trucks, and motorcycles, and you have a real Costa Rican symphony a single-pane window away.
Naimah is a maniac on swings
Our backyard has seriously psychedelic eucalyptus trees
