This is a true story of an American in his sixties who visited Costa Rica eight times over five years, felt very comfortable visiting the country and then decided to retire there at the age of 65. Our hero's name is Dudley Bodoh and his resemblance to the author is rather significant. The story explains Dudley's decision process that motivated the move, the initial rush of enthusiasm in making the move and how it was somewhat tarnished by a series of significant obstacles. He was determined to overcome these hurdles and eventually he was able to arrive in Costa Rica with a minimum of personal belongings. Dudley would find that settling into life in his new home on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica was a bit more difficult than he had planned, particularly when he tried to get bank accounts, a telephone and his personal residency card. He would have to assume the status of "perpetual tourist" for the first two and a half years before eventually wading through the bureaucracy of government requirements and an unfortunate relationship with a less than ethical intermediary who confounded the process. As time went on Dudley would develop the regular reports that he sent home to family and friends into a monthly newsletter he called "The Golden Gringo Chronicles", dubbing himself the Golden Gringo or "GG" for short. He chose this name as a reflection of his good fortune in choosing Costa Rica for retirement. The Chronicles had a surprising effect on him; they caused him to research and learn specifics about Costa Rica and neighboring countries in order to write more intelligently about them. He shared this research with anyone who was interested. After five years of residency in Costa Rica, GG concluded that he had indeed made the right decision on where to enjoy retirement. He found himself quite comfortable with the rugged wildness of an amazingly beautiful land and the gentle, smiling countenance of the Costa Rican people. He was indeed living "Pura Vida".

Formato	Tapa suave
Número de Páginas	196
Lenguaje	Inglés
Editorial	Robert Normand
Fecha de Publicación	2014-07-15
Dimensiones	9.02" x 5.98" x 0.42" pulgadas
Letra Grande	No
Con Ilustraciones	No
Temas	América Latina

Bob Normand grew up in Massachusetts, lived in Pennsylvania twice for a total of 17 years, Ohio for 12 years, Belgium for 21/2 years and Florida for 10 years before moving to Costa Rica. In 2008, at the age of 65 he retired to Costa Rica after having visited the country eight times and falling in love with it. Mr. Normand graduated from Villanova University with a master's in Chemical Engineering and worked in the plastics and chemical industry for 17 years. Later he founded several small businesses in computers, computer supplies and office furniture. During the last 15 years of his professional career he acted as principal management consultant to over 110 businesses and founded the Institute for Smart Business Management, a consultant firm based in Sarasota, Florida that offers online management guidance (www.isbminc.com) for small and medium sized businesses. Writing and teaching have always been of interest to Mr. Normand and his teaching credits include several semesters as an Adjunct Professor of Small Business Management at Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania. During this time he wrote a book to help struggling entrepreneurs called: Entreprenewal - The Six Step Recovery Program for Small Business (soon to be available on Smashwords). After settling into his new life in Costa Rica, he found himself writing periodic reports to family and friends back in the United States about his experiences living in Costa Rica. Before long these reports evolved into a monthly newsletter he dubbed "The Golden Gringo Chronicles". He specifically picked "golden" to signify his golden years of retirement and how lucky he was to have been able to retire in such a beautiful and wild place. As time went on the circulation of the Chronicles increased to the hundreds as friends and acquaintances discovered the newsletter. The Golden Gringo Chronicles continue to be published every month and can be found by Googling "Golden Gringo Chronicles", clicking on the "Archives" page and then on the latest edition. To add your name to the newsletter, simply send an email requesting such to bob@bobnormand.com.