Finding an Apartment

The first couple days in Costa Rica, we spent time looking at various apartment complexes to find the right place to live.  We came back three times to the Condominium San Vicente in Belen because we liked the area, and the amenities were pretty awesome.  Not only do they have the standard pool, and weight room, but they also have a covered sports court area where we imagined our family would spend quite a bit of time.

The problem was, they only have two bedroom condos currently available and we felt like we needed a three bedroom.  I kept hoping that somehow they would magically come up with a three bedroom.  In the end, we decided to get an apartment there anyway and squeeze into a two bedroom.

There were also a few other "requirements" for our home that we had to do without.  I only wanted to live in an apartment with air conditioning so we would not have to open the doors and let mosquitoes in.  There was an apartment with central air, but we ended up getting a different apartment because the owner was very flexible on the price and it was on the first floor and there was a yard right outside the living room that we were told the kids could play in.  So, in the end, I thought I sacrificed my comfort (as a pregnant lady) for the fun of my kids.

We slept the first night on the tiles floors with a few blankets, and diapers and clothes from our luggage as padding.  It wasn't the most comfortable, but it felt nice to have a place of our own.

We had to buy all our own appliances and furniture for the apartment, so the next several days we spent time finding appliances and shopping around for couches.  Through a friend, we found a member of our church from Nicaragua to build everything else we needed.  We grabbed some temporary items from Walmart to make due until the custom items were done, because it would take several weeks for the furniture to be finished.

After only living in the apartment for three days, I was called into the condo office.  I was told that our family was too loud, and that if we did not quiet down, we would be kicked out.  We were specifically told that playing on the grass outside the condo was a no-no, and that we would instead have to go to the commons area to play.  We were also told our kids could not practice their musical instruments in our condo, and that our kids could not be in the hallway (they had taken a couple trips up the stairs while we were moving in appliances).

I was shocked by the confrontation.  I could not believe that after just a couple days we had apparently already had three complaints against us.  Especially by some apparent person who never made any effort to even meet us.  But, we made adjustments to conform.  We now take our kids to the commons area each day to practice and they don't play soccer outside our apartment anymore.

I have heard from other moms in the condo that none of them had ever had any complaints.  There must be an ornery person in our building who is not used to kids.  I personally think it is the person in the office who called me in.  He is in charge of running the condo and enforcing all the rules and unfortunately, he lives in our building.  There is also apparently a doctor who lives just above us who works at night and sleeps during the day.

Anyway, I guess there are lessons you learn from different experiences in your life, and I guess trying to be quieter and more aware of others around you is not the worst skill to have to work on;.