{"id":6359,"date":"2013-01-30T12:39:47","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T17:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=6359"},"modified":"2013-01-30T12:39:47","modified_gmt":"2013-01-30T17:39:47","slug":"costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=6359","title":{"rendered":"Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"

By now you probably know I moved to Costa Rica. It’s not forever, so I’m calling it temporarily permanent. Many people have emailed me about my move and the country etc, so this post is to get everyone up to speed. Then I’ll answer any questions, assuming I know the answers.
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\nWhy did I move to Costa Rica?<\/strong><\/span>
\nHonestly, I moved for the fun of it. There really is no other answer. I can work from anywhere in the world as long as I have good internet access. We considered lots of places but decided to stick with a US time zone, so my schedule wouldn’t change. Costa Rica was our top choice; Panama, Ecaudor and Peru were also considered. <\/span>
\nWhat will I be doing here?<\/strong><\/span>
\nI’ll be working as I’ve been doing for many years…from home, over the internet. My wife got a teaching position at one of the international schools. My kids (ages 4, 4, 1) will be enrolled in school\/day care. <\/span>
\nDuring the week, our lives won’t be much different than they were in the States (other than my wife working and my 12 month old being in day care). The kids will make friends, ride their bikes\/scooters, go to parks, go for walks, etc. On weekends we plan on exploring the country: both coasts, national parks, the rainforests, some touristy spots, etc. <\/span>
\nLife will be simplified because we won’t have access to all the things we had access to in Colorado, but that’s ok. I don’t think we need lots of stuff or access to lots of stuff to be happy.<\/span>
\nWhat are we hoping to get out of this?<\/strong><\/span>
\nMe: I personally want to learn Spanish and learn something “local.” That might mean farming (I currently live on a small organic farm (picture below)) or cooking (I’m pretty handy in the kitchen, and I’d love to learn to make many Latin American dishes).<\/span>
\nMy kids: I’m hoping they learn Spanish, or at least have a pretty good grasp of it.<\/span>
\nWife: She’s looking for mostly a cultural experience which entails doing all our shopping at local farmer’s markets and ma an pop stores, and anything that involves cooking, she’d be up for. She also wants to explore every inch of the country.<\/span>
\nWill we save money, etc being here?<\/strong><\/span>
\nvI’ll answer this in general terms, not as it specifically applies to us.
\nHealth care is much less expensive in Costa Rica.<\/span>
\nHousing could be more or less expensive depending on one’s individual situation. If you pay a lot for housing in the States, you can certainly save money here, but you can also save money moving within the US.<\/span>
\nOther bills? Internet and cable are comparable to the US; other expenses (power, water) are much less. Most living quaters don’t even have an HVAC system, so no central heat or AD. Where I live, it’s not needed. <\/span>
\nFood is hit or miss. Generally speaking, fruits and veggies which are grown here are cheap, but anything brought in is expensive (bananas cost 10 cents each, but a small watermellon cost me 9 bucks at the farmer’s market).<\/span>
\nMost everything else is more expensive because the government puts a tax\/tariff\/surcharge on imports. A cheap box fan bought at Walgreens in the States for $15 cost me $36 here. A high chair at Babies-r-Us in the States that might be $75 cost $200 here. It’s shocking how expenisve things are. <\/span>
\nTransportation\/Cabs? Cheap.<\/span>
\nSchool? In the States, school is free once the kids get to kindergarden. Here, we’d be paying, so this would be a significant expense.<\/span>
\nOverall, you could potentially save money here by living cheap and below your means etc, but you can do that in the States too. <\/span>
\nWhatever money we save with housing and healthcare will probably be spent travelling throughout the country, so for us it’s a wash.<\/span>
\nWhen will we return?<\/strong><\/span>
\nMy wife is commmited to teaching for 18 months. After that we’ll decide if we want to move back, stay another year or possibly move somewhere else, like Panama. If we like it and the kids like it, maybe we’ll stay. If we miss the rock climbing and skiing in Colorado, we’ll come back. If the kids are on their way to learning Spanish but would greatly benefit from being here one more year, we’ll stay. Who knows. We’re not planning that far in the future. For now we’re just getting settled in.<\/span>
\nThe organic farm…
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\nJason Leavitt<\/span>
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