What Are We Doing Now?

Some think that retirement is where you take up a hobby to stay busy, or just relax all day. Not true for us because we are busier than we ever have been.

Stef
Well, she did get a little bored after awhile so we came up with an idea to keep her busy. Because of all the experiences we went through in getting accustomed to living here and what we learned, we decided to start something up where she could help others to adjust a little easier than we did. The business is called Costa Concierges, SA. It is a service business engaged in property management, travel / lodging arrangements, and a host of other services. You can see her website at Costa Concierges to see everything she has to offer.

Pete
I have retired 3 times now, and I guess there will be another time or two. The construction of our house and guest house took up a lot of my time during the last year. Now, I am into marketing by working to revamp Stef's website, into construction management with helping my friend Charlie get a housing project completed and sold, and several other projects that I'm working on. Each day goes by very quickly. One major retirement objective I have is to sit in my Rancho by the pool and drink a refreshing Pina Colada. Hasn't happened yet.

About Atenas

After much research and travel here, we decided to settle down in Atenas, Costa Rica - We really like Atenas and this brief article will help expalin why:

A town in the middle of it all

Perfectly positioned between San Jose and the pacific coast of Costa Rica, Atenas offers a relaxed, rural lifestyle with all of the convenience, diversion and security that comes with proximity to a major city. Located 35 minutes from San Jose International Airport and just over one hour from the beach towns and the marina and golf courses of Los Suenos, Atenas offers an idyllic home base in Costa Rica.
Ideally situated at 2400 feet above sea level in Costa Rica’s Central Valley, Atenas enjoys pleasant spring like temperatures year-round and offers a stunning natural environment. The rich volcanic soil found in the region is excellent for agriculture and there is an abundance of diversity in the flora and fauna that is part of the unique ecosystem in Costa Rica. The coffee grown in the central valley is considered some of the best in the world.
A peaceful, yet vibrant town (5,000 inhabitants, 18,000 with the suburbs), Atenas is anchored by a hard-working prosperous agricultural community. The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming, and the economic disparities found many developing areas are non-existent. Within walking distance of the town square are a community health center with ambulances, schools, banks, boutiques and most restaurants.
The plan to complete Pan-American highway to run from San Jose to Orontina has been approved. The project began January 2007 and is scheduled to be complete in 30 months. Situated along this route, Atenas will now be just 45 minutes to the Ocean beaches and 15 minutes to Escazu.

Attractions & Amenities

The Atenas town location offers you easy access to:

• Beaches
• National Parks
• Golf
• Performance
• Shopping
• Health Care

Looking for a Better Life

This is our daughter Amanda. After making a couple of trips here she decided that Costa Rica was the place to be. The economic situation in the US and a job with no future made her make the decision to move here. She put her home up for sale, and sold it in 9 days - she sold her car in 1 day - Now is this not an indication that this was meant to be? She now lives in the upper apartment of our guest house and is the assistant manager for Stef's business, In addition, she immediately adopted a Golden Lab, which she named Sunny - More to come on that.

This girl has displayed alot of courage and determination - And, I am very proud of her!!

Stef's New Friend

As you know from the last post on our old blog - Our dog of 12 years, Sugar died. She was a wonderful dog and we loved her very much. Just before that, we adopted a stray dog that was staying around our construction site. I think that she is a pure bred Brittney Spaniel and we named her Abby. The day Sugar died, Abby disappeared for 5 days. We found out that she went to a market down the street and stayed there. The guy told us that she would just lay there and not eat during the entire time. We think that she was in mourning for Sugar. Abby is a stray street dog and has her ways. She will listen to us until she gets to the end of the parking area of our drive - After that, forget it, she isn't going to listen to anything and is going to do her own thing. I think that she is out terrorizing the neighborhood, but she comes back home after awhile all worn out. This is a picture of Abby with Stef when the dog is under a little control. - She has been a blessing for Stef after the passing of Sugar.

Our Guest House

Well, we built it for our friends. Believe me, it was not an easy chore. Pedro started building it for us and then bailed out because he said he was out of money. Funny, because we gave him a 65% down-payment! Anyway, we found a great guy to finish the place and he has done a great job. His name is Luis Alapazar. He is a local Costa Rican builder who is honest (not like Pedro) and we trusted him enough to finish Charlie's project and a few others. This home was built for the use of our friends when they came to visit. In other times, we will rent it out to people coming to check out Atenas. - What do you think?

For more pictures - click here

Our New Home

Our home is finally 99.5% completed, and it took 10 months to get it to where it is now. It is very comfortable and we are enjoying it very well.

The home is about 2100 square feet.  We have two king master suits, a living/dining area, kitchen, 1/2 bath, pantry, safe room and more. Including the covered patio area it is around 3200 square feet. We spend most of our time outside so this is very important that we have a large covered patio area. The covered patio area is called a Terazza in Spanish. We love it.

The house sits on about 1.81 acres that we have landscaped about 70% - The 3000 plants that we put on the hill above the house won an award for the most contribution to the beauty of  the city. A flag flies in honor of this.

Total cost for the land, house, pool, rancho and guest house was about $20,000 more than we sold our condo in Brentwood. - Not a bad deal.

One thing to note is that we do not have heat, nor A/C - You don't need it when you live in the best climate in the world :-)


For more pictures click here 

Background

Living here in Atenas during the past two years has been a real experience, and we have made some progress:

• We built our new dream retirement home here in a gated community named Hacienda Atenas. It is a great place with wonderful people living here whom we have made some great friends.
• Along with 4 others, we had a major problem with the local builder - This is another story in itself.
  
• We have made great friends around town. Many Expats and Costa Ricans.
• Stef started a new business to help others coming in that will help them get through some of the things we had to endure. Check out her website at Costa Concierges.
• We now have a great new dog named Abby.
  
• Our daughter Amanda moved here earlier this year to live and enjoy what Costa Rica has to offer.
• Things are starting to calm down now, and I am really looking forward to finally enjoying a Pina Colada near the pool on a sunny afternoon.