Present home : Farm in Northern Costa Rica
Ages : 54 & 57
Two sons 30 & 32, who are living in North Carolina.
Income $50,000 USD/year secure (many diverse overseas investments) and a tourism business currently at $120,000 or so per year ( I own a botanical garden) .
Additional income from fruit groves and tilapia ponds $15,000/year.
Profession : Gunsmith, nursery grower, waterscaper, fish farmer .
Vehicles : Two 1970s Toyota Land Cruiser BJ40’s with 2.4 diesel engines, kept in top-notch condition and a 2 cycle Ez-Go golf cart set up [with tires and suspension] for all terrain.
Firearms : 2 Mossberg Maverick 8 shot 12 gauge shotguns (best pump gun ever made, never saw many broken in my 30 years of repair work ), Stainless Ruger 10/22, Stainless .223 bolt action in a custom bullpup stock, 2 Security Six 357 4-inch Rugers.
Ammo. 2,500 of each caliber and have reloading equipment-supplies.
Fuel : 235 gallons of diesel and 55 gallons of premium (stabilized)
Water : Gravity fed springs and 18,000 gallons of storage tanks, year round river, roof water capture system, 25 foot deep well
Improvements : 4,800 square foot main house, all high efficiency lighting and appliances.
Full wood and metal working shop.
Canning room, meat grinders, corn grinders, shrink wrappers, dehydrator etc.
One bedroom cabin with full kitchen near the main gate.
Rancho (like a tiki hut) seats 30 with a huge concrete smoker / barbeque and baking oven.
Another cabin with views down to the river and pasture below.
These structures are located so armed men can take out anyone entering the farm with ease. Big Iron gate out front surrounded by Bougainvillea (thorny flowering shrub-vines.)
Property tax: $90/year (Sorry guys, you’re paying for imperialism)
Gardens: extensive. One of the largest collections of exotic fruit and vegetables anywhere.
Livestock. 1,000 lbs of Tilapia and 500 lbs of Pacu at any given time. Five Goats. (2 milk goats, 3 goats for slaughter), 15 chickens at all times and 4 egg laying hens. 6 rabbits (so far..LOL)
Cattle are not sustainable. Too big to store the meat and use way too much water and acreage per head. I have one good trail horse.
There’s plenty of wild game and fish here but no need in harvesting.We all have livestock and many folks have ponds
Dogs: 2 American bull dogs that will shred anything I tell them to.
Security : Various cameras and motion detectors throughout the property with an early warning to me before the sirens alert. Its a full perimeter system with indicators so I can know precisely where the target(s) are.It has full battery back up
Food storage: Maybe one year for us and the critters but not really necessary here.
Communication : Cell phones, full intercoms throughout the farm.
Hobbies : Taking care of my exotic plant collection and building everything I need.
Next project. We have good, strong year round wind here, so I am working with the boys from Southwest on setting up a Skystream 3.7 [grid-tied wind generator]. Once that is done I’m doing an underground walk in freezer.
Background : Grew up in semi-literate southwestern Virginia, escaped 25 years ago to semi-literate rural Miami. I got tired of the political lies and (designed) ignorance of the average American voter and bailed to a truly free country that has no Nazis running it or nuclear weapons pointed at it. This is the most mellow, real place I have ever experienced. It’s like Fiji without being so remote. I first came here in 1986 for an orchid show and I knew this was my escape spot.18 years later I sold everything I had, put my money in real currencies, and took off! A one way trip. Pura Vida! (pure life)
Side note : When living in any Latin American country the rules are [essentially] the same as up there [in the US]. Even Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala are no problem provided you find the right spot and immerse yourself into the culture.
Stay far, far away from large towns and beaches. Get in the mountains in a small farming community. Where I live there is very little poverty since everyone has a chunk of land and most are craftsman and farmers. There are many Costa Rican and South American medical professionals here and many are retired but own farmacias and even make house calls! My neighbor is a cardiovascular surgeon with a huge macadamia farm.
Another plus down here is there is no need for heat or air conditioning, and nearly all of the water systems are gravity fed. No need for electric!
Fish, chicken, rabbits ( small meals) and fruits and veggies. No refrigerator required.