Are you considering a move to Costa Rica? If so, it’ really important to put together a solid plan. We took a full year to plan our move to Costa Rica. It gave us plenty of time to begin the big job of selling the things that we wouldn’t need any longer, the stuff that just wouldn’t work well in the Costa Rican climate and all the rest of our stuff that just simply wouldn’t fit into our new villa. It gave us time to gather all the paperwork required for residency (which is an amazing amount of paperwork that requires many stamps & many visits to the consulate). And most importantly, it gave me the time I needed to adjust to the idea of moving to another country. It’s hard leaving family and friends and everything you’ve know for 50 plus years.
Do Research About Life In Costa Rica
What helped us to make sure our plan was sound, we did lots of research about living in Costa Rica and checking out what the large expat community in Costa Rica had to say. We found blogs to follow, books to read, and many video’s to watch. We enjoyed hearing and reading about why others had chosen to move to Costa Rica. It was invaluable to hear about all they had been through in making their moves, how it went for them, what they would or should have done differently. We learned from a fun couple named Andy & Fran Browne. They have a website called Boomersoffshore.com. We have never met them in person, but we hope to one day so that we can thank them for all their wisdom, humor & solid advice. Andy video tapes most of their adventures and shares them on his site. There were other sites I learned from too. Some bloggers even shared their lists of suggestions of what to bring and what to leave behind! Many items here in Costa Rica are expensive or very hard to find down here, especially in the Southern Zone where we were moving to, so it was great to hear from people who said “I wish I would have brought…or make sure you bring”, that kind of thing. It’s really important to bring things that will do well here in Costa Rica, last a along time and be useful for you. Storing things can be tricky here due to all the moisture in the air. Make sure to bring lots of good quality plastic bins for storage. They are hard to find here , and when you do they are not of the best quality and they can be very expensive.
Packing For Your Move To Costa Rica
When we are asked about our move I like to tell the story of the day I came home and found that my husband had emptied the living room and had used black tape to map out the dimensions of our container. He measured up the wall too so he knew exactly how high he could stack boxes and how much room he would have above the car. He knew exactly what would fit into that container and where it would be placed. We tell people we brought all of our furniture, our appliances new and old, our spa, and our car. The reason we decided to bring our furniture & possessions is that many of our things were custom made or antiques or good quality and we knew from our many garage sales that we would get hardly anything at all for these items. Most of our furniture was in pretty good shape, so it just made better sense for us to bring it. Secondly, our daughter was only 6 at the time we moved here. We felt it would be easier for her (and us) to adjust if we had familiar things around. We also knew that cars here are very expensive to buy in Costa Rica. We bought our car about 8 months before our move. This gave my husband plenty of time to have it worked on by our trusted mechanic. He went over it with a fine tooth comb. He ordered new parts for those that needed replacing, checked that all nuts and bolts were tight, and most importantly that everything was in tip top shape to handle the terrain here in Costa Rica and especially our mountain road up here to Osa Mountain Village. If you asked us what was our biggest mistake, my husband would say that we sold most of our tools before we moved here to Costa Rica and that instead we should have brought them all! Whatever we wouldn’t have used, someone else here would have. Number one mistake…… not bringing our tall ladder. We have very high ceilings here in our villa and when a lightbulb goes out we have to borrow someone’s to change the bulb. We also sold our brand new chainsaw. I think the first week we were here, my husband turned to me and said, I could really use that chainsaw we sold for half price that we used only once back at home! These type of items are often imported here to Costa Rica and they are not worth the money they are being sold for. Bringing your tools is a good idea. You most probably will need to repair, replace, or chop things down here, and it’s so much easier to complete a job when you have the right tools for it, as my husband always says!
Having a reliable car and our things here with us in Costa Rica made our transition much easier for us all to handle. As I said at the beginning, you really do need a good solid plan for moving to Costa Rica. One that works for you and your family. Do your research, ask lots of questions, and then formulate your plan. Then once you are moved in and feel settled, you will be ready to begin a truly Pura Vida lifestyle!
We would love to hear your story about moving to Costa Rica or any other foreign destination. Please tell us about your experience in the comments box.