He Finds Love, Contentment And A Farm In Costa Rica

CARTAGO, COSTA RICA - At age 46, Ted Tashian, a 1966 graduate of Ingraham High School, seems contented.

He's one of the Norte Americano men - you see a lot of them here, middle-aged and older - who greatly prefer life in Costa Rica to that in the U.S.

They've found love here; they've found a traditional society that caters to men; they've found their dollars affording them a lifestyle that can, if they want, include hired help such as a maid and gardener.

This new life may mean living a walled-off existence from the petty crime in the streets, but to them it's a price worth paying.

Tashian is married to Ana Brenes Valverde, 29, whom he met during a visit here nine years ago. They have two young sons, A.J. and Jordon.

Here in a three-bedroom home in Cartago, the country's oldest settlement, about 20 minutes east of San Jose, they're close enough to the shopping centers but away from the traffic jams.

They say it's a pleasant life, with fresh bread every morning from the nearby bakery; fresh fruit and produce at the town market; perhaps stopping off in the early evening at a local bar, having a beer and "bocas " - the delicious shrimp, grilled steak or other snacks offered free with each drink.

The farm

They also have purchased 50 acres in the Caribbean lowlands, about a three-hour drive east across the spine of mountain ranges than span Costa Rica's 300-mile length. This is where Ted is starting a cattle farm.

The farm's daily chores are done by a hired hand, whose wages are $70 a week plus a house and electricity.

Ted's father-in-law is even on the payroll. It works that way in Costa Rica. Family means a lot. With both his parents dead, and with being an only child with few ties to his own family, Ted now speaks Spanish fluently and enjoys his new relatives.

Ted's college background is in agronomy, and that was what motivated him to first visit Costa Rica. He and another graduate student wanted to see tropical agriculture.

It was a during a bus ride to the beach that they struck up a conversation with three young Tica women, including Ana.

Initially Ana wasn't very interested. She told her girlfiend, "He's gordo y pelon (fat and bald)!" But eventually she took a liking to Ted.

When he came calling at Ana's home, he found that her father had been a field representative for a fertilizer company. Soon he and Ted were discussing chelated micronutrients.

Back in the U.S., Ted wrote to Ana, then flew down again; it wasn't long before they married.

The monthly accounts

For a time, the couple lived in Seattle. They returned to Costa Rica after Ted inherited his parents' home, which he sold. Ted used a portion of the money to establish himself in Costa Rica: $60,000 for a home, and $60,000 to remodel it; $30,000 for the 50 acres, and another $40,000 to improve it.

Ted hopes that in a few years, the cattle farm will be bringing in a comfortable income.

He estimates his family's monthly expenses are about $1,000 to $1,500 - including private schooling for their oldest son.

That's why Costa Rica has been so appealing to so many Americans. They can find a nice apartment for $400 a month, which puts their total monthly expenses at less than $2,000.

Ted says he never regrets chucking it all for the life here. He and Ana talk about how it's a better place to raise kids, with its strong family traditions and picturesque country.

Protecting against crime

But there is something a first-time visitor notices immediately about this easy-going life: the precautions against crime.

The Tashian home is completely walled in, and the windows all have iron grillwork. On top of the wall there is embedded broken glass, razor-sharp concertina wire and electrified wire.

The Tashians, along with other neighbors, all chip in a few dollars to have a security guard bicycle up and down the streets.

Costa Ricans worry more about thievery than violent crime. Purses are snatched; cars are broken into if left on the street at night.

One night, while Ted was working at the farm, Ana heard some noises outside. She waited until she saw the hands of a man over the wall. She fired the shotgun three times then heard the men swear and run away. That's when Ted went overboard on security.

Chucking it all for the sun always involves trade-offs. Yes, you'll be sitting on your veranda, having amiable conversation with friends and relatives.

But between you and the street there may be a wall.

Ted and Ana Tashian have decided it was worth it.