I cannot believe we only have three days left here. It never seems like enough time. I can't figure out if I feel that way because it's vacation, and, let's face it, who wants to NOT be on vacation? Or, if it's because I want to live here and adopt this lifestyle.
We talk seriously about moving here every time we visit. We have discussed this since our second trip in 2007. Dustin could definitely live here, no question. He is simple and could be content, happy with surfing everyday. He wouldn't mind if he never saw another store again, or any other American convenience for that matter. Me, on the other hand, I haven't figured out quite how I feel about making such a huge move to another country.
The longest amount of time we've ever spent here was 12 nights which was out wedding/honeymoon trip. At the end of that trip I was ready to go home, mostly because our last three nights were spent without electricity (purposefully) at an eco-resort, plus I was just exhausted from the excitement. As soon as we got home, however, I couldn't wait to go back, missing everything about it.
I thought 17 nights would be a good indicator of how I would feel here a little bit more long term. Not that I'm comparing 17 nights to 365 days a year but I thought the vacation-y feeling would subside after about 7-10 days, Lily would get bored and I would start missing everyday U.S. staples.
But. No.
All that I'm missing are my family and friends.
We'll never really know if it's right for us until we just do it. Or at least make a plan to live here part-time...somehow.
We have spent a lot of time this trip talking to other Americans that made the huge commitment of moving here. We drilled our bungalow neighbors, Laura and Brian, asking them what they miss about the States, how they worked out the logistics of moving here, what its like for their two young children, what do they do when they get bored, and on and on. They've lived here for almost three years, moving away from the high end living of Orange County, California, and they have no regrets.
I asked another young, 30-something, expat that has lived here for seven years, "Ryan, do you ever regret leaving the states?". After he finished laughing for a good 10-15 seconds, he said "HELL no!! I sat on my porch everyday for a YEAR, drinking Costa Rican coffee, laughing my ass off, knowing I achieved my dream. That newness wore off a bit, but no, I love everyday here".
They all gave us sound advice but at the end of the day, all it takes is money.
Could we make it work financially? Hmmm, maybe. It would be a sacrifice, selling everything in the states except for our rental property, that we would keep for when we come home, and Dustin's truck, since it's paid off, but we could do it.
The problem? What would we do for income?
Foreigners are not welcome to work in Costa Rica, unless they're on a work Visa which is very, very difficult to obtain, and expensive. Many Americans own businesses here, which is risky, of course, and you must hire locals to work for you. Costa Ricans believe in generating employment for THEIR people. A novel concept. All other Americans that live here either have gobs of money and are retired, or have an American business that they can run efficiently from over here, online.
I'm not even sure of the point of all of this rambling. Perhaps it's my way of beginning to develop a longterm plan of some sort.
Ideally, we would love to make some sacrifices in Florida and invest in a bungalow down here, renting it out for the majority of the year but being able to come here as we please (or as we can afford!). That's a very real possibility over the next couple of years: saving, planning and researching.
If you want something bad enough...
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