Hills in Grecia

And as for the views, we found a great house in Escazú with its own fantastic views of the city. But this time we’ll only be 5 minutes from the town instead of 15. It’s a charming older house owned by a sweet European couple who’ve remodeled and decorated it with driftwood and their own unique artwork. It even has a pool and a pool table! We love it, and I’m sure we’ll be happy there.

The main reason for the move was to be closer to a good private hospital during the months surrounding our new baby’s birth, just in case we need it. But we’re also excited to be closer to so many fantastic restaurants with international cuisine, larger stores like Pricesmart/Costco, like-minded people, as well as fun and educational activities and classes. We’ll be less than an hour away from the beach, too.

Escazu house night view

Escazú is an upscale suburb of Costa Rica’s capital, San José, and has seen a huge influx of foreigners in recent years. It’s also one of the most expensive areas to live in Costa Rica, so we were lucky to find an excellent deal on the house we’re renting ($1200/month), especially since it’s on a street with some large multi-million dollar homes (including Mel Gibson’s). We plan to stay there for at least 8 months (that’s the minimum on our lease), and then possibly head out to an Asian country such as Japan for the next phase of our adventure.

One of our main reasons for choosing to move to Costa Rica was so we could all learn Spanish. I’m pleased to report that the girls are becoming more and more comfortable with the language. They’re no longer afraid to speak Spanish to people, and are therefore seeing some great improvement in their abilities. We’re hoping by the end of the year, they’ll have the language down really well. I’m also pleased at the level my Spanish has grown to. It’s certainly not perfect, but I can usually get my point across without halting too much, and can understand the other person well.

Well, goodbye Grecia. Maybe we’ll come back for a visit now and again. Here are some pictures of the new place, mixed in with some pictures of our current place in Grecia for comparison – the captions will spell the difference.

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Dining room

After two weeks of visiting dozens of houses all over Grecia, Costa Rica, we finally picked the house we will live in for the next year. Who’d have guessed it would be the first house we looked at!

When we first saw the house, we were impressed by the views and the gardens, but the lack of furniture and decorations made the house seem very bare. It was also pricey for not having a swimming pool, the layout of the house and basement seemed strange, and it didn’t have enough beds to sleep our family, not to mention guests. So we decided to pass on it.

After looking at lots of other options, some more grand, and others much less impressive, we almost decided to go with a smaller and quite a bit cheaper house (actually the second one we looked at) for 3 months – mostly because of the time flexibility, but also because of the price, and it had most of what we need. But I wasn’t overly thrilled with its rustic feel and small living spaces. I had a hard time picturing myself being comfortable there.

After thinking about it, I realized that the first house would actually work well for us with a few modifications. So I e-mailed the landlord with some requests for additional furniture, and a decrease in price. And I got both! It’s still on the high end for around here, $900/month, but we think it will be worth it.

The Details

From the side

The house has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and is off a private lane in San Isidro de Grecia, on Calle Rodrigues. It also sits on over an acre of gardens with over 100 varieties of flowers and plants, and plenty of room for the girls to run around and explore. You can hear birds singing, and spot all kinds of birds as well as other animals such as wild bunnies and squirrels, and it is completely private. There is also a little pond on the property where a family of ducks has chosen to make their home because of the free food.

Our favorite part about the house is the views which can be seen from every window. On a clear day, you can see all the way to San José! I also hear the views at night are breathtaking. The living room and attached dining area are very spacious, and both open onto a large deck, making it all a very comfortable space to enjoy as a family or to entertain guests.

The house also has a large kitchen, which has everything but an oven. But they said they will work on getting one for us. The mixture of tile and wood floors, along with the intricate woodwork on the doors and frames makes the house pleasant and elegant in appearance.

One other big plus to this house is the hiking trails directly off the property, which lead to a waterfall. We haven’t seen it yet, but the pictures look great, and we’re excited to check it out. And while the gardens are already beautiful, we’re told there are even more flowers and it’s even greener in the rainy season. The garden also contains a few fruit trees such as grape fruit, guava, avocado, passion fruit, and banana, which we’ll enjoy.

Almost Ready…

It will take another week or so for Rolan (the landlord) to get everything ready, setup the Internet connection and utilities, and bring in the additional furniture and decorations. So during this time we plan to rent a car and drive down to the southern part of Costa Rica near Manuel Antonio and Dominical, to visit the beach and explore some other parts of Costa Rica that are a little farther away.

We are excited to move into our new home and think that we will be very happy there. To get a better idea of what it’s like, check out the photos and video below.

Also, if you haven’t noticed, at the end of each day, I’ve been posting about the day’s events on Twitter (and Facebook). So if you want to keep more up to date with what we’re doing than these irregular blog posts, be sure to follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/brandags.

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Our house appraised for $238,000 just a couple months ago, but unfortunately, we didn’t get an offer that high. Because of the current market and time of year, we ended up selling it for $215,000, and after closing costs, we’ll have to pay a couple thousand to get out. But that’s how it goes. There are several reasons that we’re glad to get out from under a mortgage, even if we have to pay to do so.

Stuff Does Not Equal Happiness

For example, we’ve realized that beyond basic necessities, owning stuff does not make you any more happy than you already are. In fact, it can take away from your happiness because you then have that “stuff” to worry about, maintain, and dispose of when you’re done with it. I look back amazed at how much time I have spent in my life purchasing, using, maintaining, and getting rid of stuff – stuff that I didn’t even really need, and that ended up detracting from the things that really matter to me. Then there’s the added stress of hoping it doesn’t get stolen, or damaged, broken, or lost, and then replacing it when it does. Why do we do this to ourselves?

Our house is (was) moderately sized by American standards. 1960 square feet, 4 bedrooms, and a good-sized yard. But for the four of us, it’s really probably more than we need. Sure, we’ve dreamed about renting out some gorgeous mansion in Costa Rica with a grand view, swimming pool, and acres of gardens to wander around in, and that might be fun for a while. But I think we could be just as happy in a little apartment, where we’re closer to the community and have more chances to interact with the local people. Maybe we’ll try both. But I don’t think size matters as much as we’re led to believe. The biggest place we stayed in Panama was a 700 sq ft 2 bedroom house with one bathroom, and it was good enough, really. Do you realize how big our American houses (even the smaller ones) seem to people in other countries?

Obsessed with Size

In America, we are obsessed with the size, quantity, and “niceness” of our possessions. We work so hard to obtain what we think we need. And when our income rises to the next level, we instantly want to upgrade everything we have to bigger and better. We get a bigger TV, a bigger house, a nicer and newer car, and fancier vacations. Then if we get more money, we get an even bigger TV, an even bigger house, more expensive clothes and toys, etc. Why? Does it make us feel more important? Do we want to impress our family and friends? Do we just like having nice things? Or is it just what we do in America because that’s what everyone else does and we don’t want to stand out?

If we have become dissatisfied with our lives and think more or better stuff will make us more happy, I will tell you – that is a lie. Filling your life with more and better stuff may be fun for a while, giving you a temporary sense of pleasure, but it will only last until the next best thing comes along (which it always will), and in the end, you will only have… more stuff to deal with. And that leads to bondage – owning stuff can sap our time, energy, and money, and even leads some into debt. Why can’t we be content with what we have?

I want freedom. Freedom from the bondage of excess material possessions. Sure, I’ll own things that make sense. I’ll still own some clothes, a computer, and other things I enjoy and actually use. But I don’t buy into the idea that the attainment of fancy things is one of the end goals in life or the hallmark of success. Nor do I want to become so attached to my possessions that I’d be heartbroken if they were gone. It’s just “stuff”, and you can’t take it with you when you die, anyway. (My personal belief is that nothing belongs to us anyway, but to God, and we’re just stewards over it.)

Renting Beats Buying

I also don’t want to own a house – at least not right now. Being the furthest thing from a handyman as you can get, I would rather rent, and have someone else take care of maintaining the place. And when I’m ready to move on, or if I get tired of a place, I can leave without worrying about selling a house or having my money tied up there. In Costa Rica, we’re going to be renting furnished places as well (which are in abundance), so we don’t have to own or carry around furniture. This also gives us a nice change of scenery when we change locations, so we don’t get tired of seeing the same furniture pieces and art everywhere we go.

Do the math and you may be surprised that despite what you’ve been told, there is less financial benefit to buying a house than you may think, unless you plan to stay there the rest of your life, or at least long enough for it to appreciate a great deal. Realize that you will almost certainly spend much more on payments than you will ever get back out of the house if you sell it.

In some ways, you could still say that buying is better than renting since a portion of your mortgage payment is going toward principal and you can get that money out with a second mortgage or by selling the house (if you’re lucky). In this way, there’s at least a chance you’ll get some of your money back. But if you compare the total you spend over the years in mortgage payments, taxes, maintenance, repairs (stress), and time, to how much you’d spend renting a similar place, the benefit of “ownership” becomes less appealing. This is especially so when you factor in the 12% + other fees you pay for closing costs when you sell – hence the need for appreciation. And don’t think that real estate doesn’t depreciate. It does. So in some circumstances, you could even end up losing money and being in debt by trying to “own” a home.

Of course, if you don’t ever plan to sell the house, then it will be great to have a place to live your entire life (if you want to stay in the same place that long) and eventually no mortgage payment, although you’ll still have property taxes and utilities. At that point, it’s probably better than renting (although maintenance costs will go up as well). But remember, a house can never be considered an investment, unless you’re also renting it out or making income from it in some other way. Otherwise, a house, along with other possessions, is also just “stuff”.

I may buy a house again someday, if I find a place I want to stay a long, long time. But right now, I value the freedom of mobility more than responsibilities and hassles of home ownership. And I’m excited to own only the things I need and use regularly, and no more.

Less physical clutter leads to less mental clutter, which leads to greater mental clarity, which leads to greater peace. I’m starting to feel the weight lifting already!

Additional Resources:

• Washington Post: 5 Myths about Home Ownership
• MSN Article: Why Own When You Can Rent?
• Article: Your Possessions Own You
• www.mnmlist.com

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Some thought it was ground water, and suggested sump pumps. Others said it was most likely a plumbing issue and they’d need to “camera” the line to see if they can spot leaks (pretty expensive), then dig up the concrete and fix it (even more expensive). Others said it’s a small enough leak that patching around the edges of the wall would divert the water and fix the problem. (I tried. It didn’t work).

Well, guess what? While we were in Panama, my sister said that we had absolutely NO water in the basement! Even after heavy snowstorms. But as soon as we got home and we ran a few loads of laundry along with the dishwaster, we found our basement soaked the next day.

“That proves it!”, I said. It must be a plumbing issue – a leak in the pipe somewhere! So I called a plumber (a different one than we’d called before – Rescue Rooter). He came in, heard my story, and the first thing he noticed was that the little plastic pipe coming from the water softener wasn’t properly set in the drain. It was just out on the floor. He told me that every week or two, depending on use, water softeners shoot out about a tank full of water as part of the regeneration process.

I didn’t believe him that this could be the cause. The water was much more dense by the wall, and was never near the pipe. And it went clear to the other side of the room, skipping parts in the middle. It couldn’t be! Could it? He put the softener through a regeneration cycle, and sure enough, out came lots of water! Eventually, it all made its way toward the wall, causing some puddles to form.

He put the pipe in the drain properly in under one minute. Problem solved!

Can you believe that I have had over five “professionals” – including the city water guy, city sewer guy, and several plumbers – come into my house, and none were able to figure that out? In addition, most offered expensive solutions (over $1500) to solve the problem, sometimes even just to see if there was a problem! I’m sure glad I had someone else come in before I went ahead and spent the money.

As far as how the pipe got out, I don’t really know. But I think it may have been moved by someone I had come give me an estimate to remodel the basement several months ago.

Anyway, I’m really glad this issue is solved and that we don’t have a leak in our basement! Yay! Now I can get back to putting the storage room (and my office) back together.

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For a while, we entertained the idea of renting it out as a vacation home for someone who wanted to come and ski during those weeks, etc. We thought about using services like vrbo.com or sublet.com to list our home.

But as the time of our trip drew closer, and we realized all that there was to prepare, we decided it would be too much of a stress for us to go this route. We currently have a little water leak in our basement, and everything downstairs is a mess right now because of it. We’re not sure we’d be able to get that cleaned up in time, and wouldn’t want to scare the visitors if they noticed a leak. (We’re hoping we can get it permanently fixed before we leave, but we’re still not sure what’s causing it. We’ve been thinking it was ground water, but recently noticed a consistency after doing several loads of laundry).

Our house is also full of personal items (clothes, etc.), the girls’ toys, and you never know how well a stranger is going to take care of your home. We’re not leaving anything very valuable in our house (except maybe our digital piano, but good luck carrying that!), so we weren’t too worried about theft (and we’d have their credit card number anyway, so could charge if there was damage, etc.) but we just didn’t want to deal with that at this point.

So, my sweet sister, Ashley is going to be taking care of our house while we’re gone (as well as some wonderful neighbors). For security, and because I’m such a gadget geek, for the times when no one is home, I bought some light timers that will turn lights on and off at random (or programmed) intervals, to give the appearance that we are home. I’ve also installed a wi-fi web-cam that will broadcast live video on the Internet, so we can see and hear what’s going on at our house while we’re on our trip. If it senses motion it will even e-mail us photos at that time, and let us watch the recorded video. Neat, huh?

We’ll also be locking up everything well on the outside. I’ve installed a biometric security panel on all the doors, programmed so they won’t open unless it determines through an advanced analytical algorithm, that your finger matches the DNA structure of someone in my family. Alright, I’m just kidding there. But that would be pretty amazing, wouldn’t it?

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