Some of you may be wondering exactly what's going on.
Are we leaving Costa Rica? Are we moving to Mexico?
Before our recent due diligence trip to Mexico we had already pretty much decided that we would be making a move in late spring/early summer of 2020 (also in 2020 both of us turn 70).
We just weren't exactly sure "where" we would be moving.
There are many reasons for our decision to leave Costa Rica, but I will list a few here for you.
When we moved here in 2016, it was our 1st move outside of the US. We feel that we made an excellent decision in choosing Costa Rica. It's a beautiful country, the people are friendly and life is pretty laid back (maybe just a bit too laid back for me LOL). It's also in a really great location for visiting other countries in Central and South America.
We weren't that interested in living in one of the beach communities and so chose to live in an agricultural town (with a more Tico feel) on a coffee farm on one of the ridges (about 15-20 mins from town). Our house has a spectacular view and our street is quiet. We also chose not to buy a car (or house) because we wanted the freedom to relocate if we should so desire.
Not having a car has definitely restricted us somewhat and made it more difficult to get around the country, but it was our choice. We enjoy the ease of busing, although travel on the roads in Costa Rica can be slow and time consuming. Although we have great weather living up on the ridge at 4,200 ft, it has necessitated that we either hike up the hill to the bus stop or take a taxi into town (those taxi fares can really start to add up!!) We would prefer to live in a more walkable location where the cost of living is also less.
In addition, as much as I love nature, walking on the beach, waterfalls, hot springs and jungle animals, once you've done that, there isn't much else to do and we found that we wanted a choice of more activities such as musical events (like jazz), workshops, classes, nice restaurants with diverse menus, shopping and night life! You can certainly find some of that here in Costa Rica but the country's focus is primarily on its spectacular beauty and diverse landscape.
Since living here, we have visited Panama twice, Nicaragua twice, Mexico twice, Guatemala and Peru as well as making trips back to the US to San Francisco, Houston and Ft Lauderdale. While we were in Mexico we fell in love with the country and decided to make MEXICO the next country we would explore. It makes more sense to do that from inside the country rather than flying back and forth from Costa Rica through customs each time we want to visit.
A good home must be elastic. It must give, expand and contract, while helping you hold it all together, sort of like a good pair of Spanx. And when it no longer does, it just may be time to go.
There is nothing wrong with Costa Rica, but we still crave new adventures. There is nothing holding us here and thank goodness we still have our health!
I will add that, we will probably always think of Costa Rica as home. We have our temporary residency here, so we can come and go as we please and I'm sure we will make trips back to visit friends and partake of the beauty and the peacefulness that is this country.
