Ivette Cuevas moved from California to Costa Rica and opened a coffee shop with her son. They both say it's better for them than life in the US.
Vincent Alcampo
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ivette Cuevas, a café owner living in Costa Rica, and her 16-year-old son, Vincent Alcampo. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Ivette: I didn't choose Costa Rica — it chose me.
I left California 10 years ago to build a new life with my business and romantic partner. Together, we purchased a hotel with a restaurant in Uvita, a beach town on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. I had no experience running a restaurant and initially had nothing to do with it, focusing more on the hotel's day-to-day operations — but when we split up, I took over the restaurant while he managed the hotel.
I wound up selling the restaurant before I was ready to let go. It became my dream to open a new one.
Despite the breakup, life kept moving like it always does. By the time I sold the restaurant, I'd put down roots in Costa Rica. I'd purchased my home and had a great circle of friends, so I decided to stay.
I moved to San Jose, Costa Rica's capital city, where I met my husband and had a daughter. My son, Vincent, traveled back and forth between California with his father and Costa Rica to visit me until, a little over a year ago, he decided to move here permanently.
Vincent: Life in Costa Rica is different from back home. I've been lucky to be able to travel a lot so early in life, and I think it has taught me about the world. It has definitely shown me I don't like to sit still.
I grew up by the beach, so life in this big city took some getting used to, but I like the energy here.
I like to keep busy, and I always want to do more. I really just want to be the best at what I do and keep pushing to learn more.
For a while, in addition to school, I ran a little dog treat business. The idea of being an entrepreneur like my mom has always appealed to me. Thankfully she always encourages me, and let me take on a full-time job after I tested out of my senior year of high school.
Ivette: Last year, I had been eyeing a property nearby with a "for rent" sign for months. From the moment I called to see if the place was even available, everything just fell into place. I just knew it was the right thing to do, so Coffee Bear was born.
I created a menu from scratch based on breakfast recipes for foods I missed from back home. I wanted simple ingredients, quick service, and a healthier alternative to fast food, which is all over the place these days.
We cater to locals — mostly ex-pats from the States and Canada since we're near the US Embassy, but the odd tourist finds us off the beaten path every now and then.
The café wouldn't be what it is without Vincent. He's 16 but an old soul and so ambitious for his age. He's taken on a huge role at Coffee Bear, and together, we're planning to open a second location near the beach in Guanacaste that'd be his to run. We're looking at building him a small house up there to live in while he does.
Vincent: At the coffee shop, I get to do a little bit of everything: managing, being a barista, working the cash register. It's different every day and I love it.
And I love working with my mom; it has brought us so close together. We get along really well, we joke around, she asks my opinion on things. We really built this together.
Getting to see the very bare bones of the coffee shop before it became what it is now taught me a ton. And working here has me thinking about someday going to Barcelona to go to culinary school.
It was a big change to move out here, but I'm excited to see more of the world. It's definitely a family value to travel and explore. I'm grateful to my mom for showing me what's out there. Because now it's like, why would I want to stay in one place? I want the best, so I want to go see more.
Ivette: I'm really proud of Vincent and that he has aspirations to move out of the four walls he was born in — because a lot of people never even leave the city or the state that they were born in, they just kind of stay there forever.
I think it's really cool that he's so young and has already experienced living in another country, learning another language, and running a business with family. I love that he's learned to be passionate about what he wants to do and not be afraid of failure.
Those are really cool life experiences that some other people wouldn't have the opportunity to do. And I think that's a gift we were given when we moved here.
