It’s been two years and three months since we sold everything, downsized, and made our dream move to Costa Rica.

Most of our friends and family thought we were crazy, with the exception of a few that were jealous, and they tried to talk us out of it.

What they didn’t understand was that our hearts had been captured by Costa Rica in 2001 when we toured the country for our honeymoon. Its’ natural beauty and simplicity had been calling us ever since.

“What brought you guys to Costa Rica?” is a question I answer almost weekly down here. Tourists always wonder how we got so lucky. The truth is it had nothing to do with luck, just a whole lot of sick and tired.

1. Sick and tired of working so hard, for what?
2. Sick and tired of spending money on stuff, and then spending more money to repair it, maintain it, and store it.
3. We were sick of the never ending lists of places to go, and tired of spending more time as a family apart than a family together.
4. We were sick and tired of working 49 weeks a year, to spend 3 weeks a year in a place like Costa Rica.

We were ready to change those percentages, even if it meant downsizing.

We did have to downsize, but we still landed ourselves a wonderful tropical home just walking distance to the beach. A luxury we could never afford in the States, even with the long hours we put in.

The food prices were the biggest shock for us, and one of our greatest challenges. We had to change the way we ate and cooked.

Packing the kid’s school lunch can be tedious without any pre-wrapped, individual snacks. Heaven forbid I had to peel and slice a carrot myself! Over time, we have managed to tighten the reigns on our food budget by limiting the imported and sticking with the locally grown.

Now, we eat together regularly and our food choices are so much healthier, thanks to the delicious mangos that grow in our front yard!

Another major adjustment was getting used to the lack of conveniences… long lines at the bank, spotty cell phone coverage, tardiness caused by the daily cow road block, and the tedious yearly car registration process, to name a few.

We also found the unpaved and unmaintained roads, slow-like-a-snail restaurant service (forget about fast food), and the quest one must go through to purchase goods we foreigners are used to (school supplies, clothing, household items, decorations, holiday items, birthday gifts, etc.) tiresome.

There was a hump where we thought we just couldn’t live without all those conveniences any longer. While my wife longed for a Target and a trendy salad bar, I missed my quick burgers and stocked-to-the-hilt hardware stores.

Now, however, living without them for over two years has saved us thousands of dollars, and it’s part of the downsizing that makes our simple, beautiful life here possible. What did I do with all that time I saved with drive-through-banking and drop-off dry cleaning anyway?

I find myself connecting with people in those bank lines, playing ‘eye spy’ with my children instead of talking on my cell phone on those back country roads where there is no service, and enjoying long conversations with my wife while we wait for our food at a restaurant.

All the other inconveniences are more than adequately made up for by hiring a full or part time maid for a very affordable price. Our maid has been with us for two years now and has become a part of our family.

All things considered, the inconveniences only add up to about 5% of our life here. Most of the time we are enjoying a perfect day at the beach, followed by another perfect day at the beach, followed by… you get the picture.

There is no denying it, the beaches here are incredible!

Once we made the decision to finally make the move, it was only 3 short months of planning and garage sales until we found ourselves sitting on an airplane hearing, “Welcome to Costa Rica, for those of you visiting, we hope you enjoy your stay. Everyone else, welcome home.”

I can’t say it’s all been tropical bliss (is constant bliss possible with three small children?), but I can say it’s been a great adventure, filled with more than we had ever imagined, and one that we will continue living out well into our future. Our only regret is that we didn’t make the move sooner.

Costa Rica’s catch phrase “Pura Vida” doesn’t mean the “perfect life”, it means the “pure life”, which is what we’ve found down here.

Pura Vida!

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.