Expat Community > Costa Rica

alexnikotommom
Joined 2011
Posts: 5

moving to tamarindo area from san diego...w 3 kids

13 years ago

To anyone w advice or input...

My BF and I are moving our family consisting of 3 kids, 7, 2 and 8 mo, and great dane to CR. This has been something my BF has wanted to do since he first visited the country 10 years ago. I, however, never had visited CR and always thought him to be a dreamer. Up until about 1 1/2 ago I considered the US and mainly San Diego the place where we would always live. I guess what changed was the overall outlook on life I had after becoming pregnant w my 3rd. In a nutshell, we started struggling just trying to make ends meet as most young families do to I guess what you would call "having it all" meaning great high paying jobs, beautiful huge house, and living in a neighborhood most people aspire to end up one day...where as we are just now starting out being in our late 20's. "Having it all" though, does come with a price tag. In our case its the time we sacrifice with our kids so that we can work to pay for all of this. Between the nanny, housekeeper, gardener, ect., you really do need an entourage to live. Well, we've had enough. We're both of the same opinion that living a SIMPLE life is the way to go here, especially with young kids. I'd embrace the day we can escape from trying to cram working 10 hours, school, sports, meetings, playdates, practices, time for baby, ect. in 1 short day. So, we're pretty much giving it all up, selling our house, and moving to CR. Many people including our family of course say we can do that here, and I agree, however, my BF was right when he told me that once I visited CR Id fall in love too. After vacationing in Playa Grande this summer and touring the Guanacaste area, Im 100% convinced this is the place I want to live. The people, outdoor activities, laid-back lifestyle, and of course beauty of the country rank in the top 3 reasons for the move, we simply cannot get these things here. The cost of living is just icing on the cake for us. We've already done all our research on schools, health care, cost of living, and culture shock. We're ready to go yesterday, but just want to make sure we have eveything set in place and all loose ends are tied up here. Any advice or input positive or negative would be much appreciated. Im especially interested in hearing about other families with kids and adjusting to a new life after the excitement wears off...if in fact it ever does.

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moving to tamarindo area from san diego...w 3 kids

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