A few weeks ago, in the Screw Retirement article, we invited you to send us your vision of a vibrant community, one that would satisfy your soul and that you would love to live in.

Thank you dear readers who took the time to ponder this important question and to then send us your thoughts.

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From the wide ranging entries we received we chose the description by Bonnie Vining and Joe Schill as the 1st place winner. They will be enjoying three nights in a beautiful home in the Altos de Antigua development, and also enjoying reading about how to have a fulfilling retirement.

Toni Blackwell’s entry was awarded 2nd place, and Toni will receive two books about retirement.

Although the game has ended, if you would like to give your dreams power write them down, and send them to me. Clarifying what you want and writing it down has a way of moving vague desires into reality.

Bonnie very kindly allowed us to publish her entry for all to read. I turn you over now to Bonnie’s vision of a vibrant community.

~~~~By Bonnie Vining~~~~

A vibrant community starts with cultural diversity. It’s a place where people of all ages, ethnicity, and interests bond with each other, not only because of their shared experiences but also out of acceptance of and respect for each other’s differences.

It has a sense of harmony, safety, and security that comes from knowing and trusting your neighbors and looking out for each other.

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The vibrant community we seek is muy tranquilo, yet has an underlying energetic current that flows from the local culture, traditions, and celebrations. Our ideal community will be a place where learning the language and assimilating into the local culture will become a source of fascination and joy for us.

It will be small enough to escape the hustle, bustle, and traffic of the larger cities, yet have access to a grocery store, a bank, a pharmacy, a video store, and other stores and services to meet our basic needs.

It would have gathering places such as a farmer’s market, a park, a coffee shop or café, and restaurants, and ideally, we would find friends in the community who would enjoy getting together for potlucks, dinners, movies, or house concerts.

To us, good health is tantamount to happiness, so climate, environment, infrastructure and services which support good health are keys to our vibrant community. We desire clean air and water, good roads or trails for bicycling and walking, and a natural sense of beauty.

Also important to us are the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables and access to medical care, if needed. Our community would have access to public transportation so we could go to the beach, to San Jose when needed, or to explore other areas without having to drive.

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Our ideal vibrant community is a place where people can be authentically who they are. They feel a sense of purpose and are free to pursue their passions, perhaps discovering new passions through interactions with others in the community.

Joe and I both enjoy hiking, bicycling, nature, travelling, and watching movies, and we derive a lot of joy from helping others. Joe loves to work on bicycles; he is good at working on computers; and he wants to learn to surf. I enjoy dancing, writing, and bringing people together to enjoy live music.

While I don’t have plans to actively present concerts in retirement, I have built relationships with dozens of musicians, and some have expressed that they want to visit us in Costa Rica once we get settled. I envision hosting occasional house concerts or presenting concerts in the park featuring visiting musicians.

I also enjoy dabbling in designing homes and interiors, and I could see designing and building another home someday and/or helping others design their floor plans. Also, we both dream of planting an organic garden, preparing healthy meals, and catching up on reading once we’re retired.

While we may find that pursuing our passions generates additional income, we don’t want to be dependent on that income for survival, so the community where we decide to settle will need to have affordable housing options and inexpensive restaurants and recreation.

A vibrant community has a joyfulness that resonates and its own soul that transcends every individual in the community. It’s like individual threads woven into a colorful garment or individual instruments combining to create a beautiful symphony.

~~~~End of Bonnie’s description~~~~

This was so well put by Bonnie I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to read it. I’m sure that ‘joy’, ‘authenticity’, ‘energy’, ‘acceptance and respect of all’, and ‘freedom to pursue passions’ are values we all want our communities to have and to embrace.

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A question we can each ask ourselves is: “How do I nurture these values in my community? If I was totally responsible for making these values blossom what would I do?”

Toni included this in her entry: “In my daydreams I think of having a little house in Costa Rica, where it is warm all year, and improving my Spanish.

Since I know the value of relationships, my ideal community would be an eclectic bunch of folks including locals and expats, with differing ages and world views.

I would love to volunteer at an orphanage or school. I see Costa Rica as a place where family could gather as well. I am so fortunate, because with some work, this daydream could become a reality.”

It won’t take much work Toni for your dream to become reality. As the Baines couples told me in my interview with them, they would say to anyone considering doing what they have done: “Got for it! It’s fantastic and you won’t regret it”.

I’ll say to you Toni, and to everyone else who relished Bonnie’s and Toni’s ideas: “Go for it! Make your dreams come true.”

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VIP Member John Orian, P. Eng.

Written by John Orian, P. Eng. “If you want something done give it to John!” Having earned this reputation with a billion dollar company and a major Canadian city, John now offers training and coaching in Project Management.

John’s main focus in Costa Rica is helping to create a vibrant international community at Altos de Antigua where he is an owner and investor.

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