After researching Costa Rica in the pages of International Living and seeing the country featured in real estate TV shows, Victoria, 67, and Larry Torley, 65, were ready to check it out for themselves. And it didn’t take long for them to find a new home.
Market day is my favorite day of the week. Just about every town in Costa Rica has a weekly farmers' market called the feria, usually held on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. In some towns, it's a permanent open-air covered space. In others, vendors set up tents and tables in the town square or a closed-down street or two downtown.
"Won't you miss your family and friends if you move overseas?" That's a question we at IL get asked a lot, and the answer is... "Of course you will." It's something my husband Dan and I have experience of. We didn't think about it too much when we moved to Ecuador back in 2001. With the exception of Dan's mother, none of our family—my parents and our siblings—lived in the same city as we did.
Skip ahead a year and a half, and we find ourselves still gazing with eyes wide open at the land where we began. Costa Rica completely captured this whimsical family, much to our surprise, with its total package. As nature lovers, we experience an ever-present awe for our intense surroundings—the tropical birds, countless waterfalls, incredible beaches, and stunning mountain views…so much diversity in such a small country.
As Corey Coates finishes his morning stroll along Jaco beach he can't help but feel grateful to have such balance and peace in his life. Every day he wakes up with the sun, meditates, enjoys Costa Rica's superb fruits and coffee for breakfast, then visits the ocean from his beachfront luxury condo. "The satisfaction I feel each day doing what I love is immeasurable. Some days are harder than others, but at the end of the day I've done exactly what I want when I want."
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One of my favorite surprises upon moving to Costa Rica was the open-air ferias or farmer's markets. They can be found all over the country, and offer delicious fresh fruits and vegetables at very affordable prices. For example, at my favorite market (located in the town of San Isidro de General and held every Thursday and Friday), you can buy three pineapples for $2, mangoes for less than a dollar a pound, and a head of lettuce for 50 cents.
What makes for a happy expat? This is something I think about often, because honestly...not everyone is cut out for the expat life. The rewards are tremendous and it's a wonderful, life-changing experience, but there are challenges—and most are easy to get beyond. From my experience (and I've been an expat for 13 years now), those who thrive living overseas are those who are well prepared ahead of time. They've done lots of research and they know what they're getting into. Overall, they have positive, optimistic perspectives about most everything...
On that trip in 2000, the couple bought a lot for $30,000 in a gated community just outside the small village of Ojochal, which sits just off the two-lane coastal highway. Their aim was to build a home for their retirement and use it as a vacation property themselves and also for rental income. They visited often during the building process. In 2007, they moved down permanently.
People often tell us how brave they think we are, and that they admire us for venturing out and doing this crazy thing—quitting our jobs in our early 40s, giving up all stable income, and moving to and living in a foreign country. Of course, some people have also told us that we're crazy. And, it's true: it is crazy...but it works for us!