Two babies under 2.5 & moving to Costa Rica!

[MommyBluebird]

Hello everyone!

I've joined mothering.com to meet other blogging and traveling mamas!  We have spent a summer in Norway with our first when he was 12-15 months, and now we are "moving" to Costa Rica!--  We leave December 31st!  Ahh!.. We have a 2.5 year old boy and a 4 month old girl.  My latest concerns are.. how am I going to keep the diaper on my wanna-be nudist toddler and travel with baby food??? (I breastfeed, so at least we have that...but I need to figure out how to bring some homemade applesauce or banana mush).  =)  At least it's not a trans-continental flight!  (We are leaving Maryland, USA)... 

Planning to spend a minimum of 3 months in Costa Rica (but probably a full year), and then continue to bounce around the world for the next few years.  (My hubby works from home, bless him).  

I'm tracking my adventures on my blog mommybluebird.com... would LOVE to meet other blogging mommies on here and share our funny stories!

Cheers! (with coffee, not wine..unfortunately)

Emily

[QueenOfTheMeadow]

Hi Emily!  Welcome to MDC!  Good luck in Costa Rica.  It sounds like an amazing move.  I just wanted to give you a heads up about our advertising policy.  We do allow people to post on thread in the Pleased to Meed You forum with a link to their blog or their business, but we do not allow mulitiple postings in this manner.  Per our user agreement:

Quote:

Advertising & Solicitation

We don’t welcome people posting their wares in discussion threads. There are proper channels for advertising (contact [e-mail]).

[MommyBluebird]

Hello QueenOfTheMeadow,

Thanks so much for letting me know!  

Emily

[mamarhu]

Greetings!

I lived in Costa Rica with my babies many years ago (those "babies" are 16 & 17 now!). It was one of the great experiences of our lives. What are your plans? Urban or rural? Do you have income or savings, or will you be looking to earn? Do you speak Spanish? Do you know any one?

We lived in a remote agricultural area, where tourists are rarely seen, and no Americans lived. We were welcomed into the village community, and the neighbors virtually adopted my kids - like a dozen grandparents and aunties and uncles. The climate where (low elevation, inland) we were was pretty miserable by my standards - tropical hot and humid, punctuated by monsoon-style rainstorms. But that supported all manner of wild fruits in the semi-jungle surrounding our house, and the locals shared with us which fruits could be found when and where, and how to eat them. I did miss fresh vegetables other than tomatoes - I was unable to grow anything in that climate. I imagine more would be available in a bigger town.

The most amazing cultural difference I saw was the low-stress "Pura Vida" attitude. Although most people in my area lived at a substainance level, folks generally didn't seem too stressed about it. In America, we (meaning the mainstream, middle class culture) are always striving for more, and bigger, and better. No matter how much we have in savings, it never feels like enough. We worry about retirement, health care, college tuition for the kids. There is no guarantee that out savings will be enough for those expenses. In Costa Rica, university is competitive, but free. Medical care is free. Not always convenient or accessible, but getting a ride to the city for a doctor appointment if you don't have a car is a manageable obstacle, compared to going thousands of dollars into debt, as is common in the US. State-sponsored retirement (like our Social Security) is something like 66% of your income when you retire. So there is just no reason to be stressed. Life goes on at its leisurely pace. Several of my friends worked for the major banana plantations (Dole), and were paid much less than I thought they deserved. But they just shrugged and accepted that life isn't always easy.

Except in the city (San Jose), violent crime was practically unheard of. Theft was not too uncommon, but no one had anything too valuable any way, so it wasn't an issue. Alcoholism and domestic violence are social problems that are not really being addressed. Life is not perfect. But living in a country that doesn't even have an army is an amazing experience!
 

[MommyBluebird]

Mamarhu,

What a wonderful response!  Let me try to answer all of your questions: We have rented a home near Atenas through the end of March.  If we love it there (which we think we will), we will either continue on in the home we have rented, or find a different home if we find we need more space, would like to try another town, etc.  We will probably stay for all of 2013.  We are leaving the future beyond that open.  We know we want to continue to travel, but we will decide where and for how long a few months before making a move.  I predict we will stay in Central and South America until we master Spanish, and then visit a few more affordable countries in Europe, like Prague and Budapest.  Ideally, in the coming years, we will be comfortable enough financially to afford an extended stay in the south of France or in Holland, where my sister and her family live.  

We have enough savings to pay for our initial 3 month stay in Costa Rica, but my husband will continue to work from "home."  I am hoping to find a way to bring in some income eventually, probably virtually as well.

I studied Spanish for 4 years in high school, and knew enough to carry on a comfortable conversation.  I then learned French, and unfortunately lost a lot of my Spanish!  I'll describe it as the "new" French word for something actually replaced the Spanish word in my brain.  I'm freshening up on the basics of Spanish now before we head out, and I'm hoping things will "click" back after a few weeks of being submerged in the culture.

We do not know anyone there really.  We have been introduced via phone to a family down there by our mutual real estate agent.  Also, a friend of ours knows another family that winter in Costa Rica, and they plan to introduce us to them as well.  I will be looking for mommy groups once we arrive!  I'm wondering if maybe I could even make friends with other moms by meeting up for a Spanish-English language swap.  

The "Pura Vida" lifestyle is something I'm really looking forward to!  I'm much more interested in enjoying life while my kids are growing, rather than stressing about the future!  

We are interested in finding a more rural home after we are comfortable in our new surroundings.  We decided on renting a gated home in a town with lots of ex-pats and locals to ease into the new place as safely as possible with little kids.  It is a higher elevation than you experienced, so the weather should be less humid.  It sounds like an incredible place to live, and I really am excited to see how the next year unfolds!

Thanks for reassuring me that this is a great decision for my family!