What we’ve learned 8 months in
How has it been eight months since we moved to Costa Rica?? Where did the time go?? I started this post writing about what we’ve learned in six months, but like everything in Costa Rica, things take a little extra time (I’ll get more into that in Tip #4). Plus we had some awesome guests over the holidays, so it’s been a while. Happy new year, dear readers!!
Nevertheless, what follows are 8 Tips that we feel we can impart after our short time here. This is by no means an exhaustive list – there are plenty of other lists of tips on the interwebs. Rather it is a compilation of things we learned that we didn’t see elsewhere. So grab a beer from your favorite brewery, and enjoy!
Tip #1: Make Friends
This may be easier for some than others, but you can’t move to Costa Rica without making friends. First of all, because people are so damn friendly here! It is the true “Pura Vida” lifestyle that folks are kind around here. Second, friends – especially those who have been here for a while – will be invaluable as you try to navigate the challenges of living in Costa Rica. For example, when we had to import our Jeep, our friend TJ (the brewer at our favorite spot – Cervecería Independiente) connected us with an import agent, and Marc at the Bagel Kitchen next door hooked us up with his banking guy. Without these two recommendations, we would have been absolutely lost. Or worse – wasted money!
Additionally, when you move to Costa Rica, your friends and family back home won’t understand what you’re going through. Your new friends will. It’s helpful to have people share their stories with you and laugh as you go through the same things they did. Plus, you start to feel like it is home when you get invited to weddings (cheers Roberto and Chelsea!) and over to people’s houses for dinner (thanks Justin and Patricia!).
Tip #2: You are not on vacation all the time!
The quicker you learn this, the better! When you first move to Costa Rica, it feels like vacation – there are beaches and fun things to do at every turn. It can be an easy trap to fall into! The touristy things like adventure parks and sailing tours are all at your fingertips – and they are fun! But that will get very expensive, very fast.
This is not to say that you can’t enjoy this beautiful country and all it has to offer. Enjoy the touristy things when friends come to visit. And when you have a rough day at work, rather than heading to the coffee shop for a long lunch break, head to the ocean and take a 30-minute dip. Nikk and I try to do this at least once a week – even on good days. It might be one of my favorite parts about living here!
Tip #3: Aprender Español (Learn Spanish)
Okay, technically this IS on all the lists of tips for moving to Costa Rica. But it is one we didn’t take seriously enough, so I feel like we HAVE to put it on our list. Not learning Spanish before we got here has been one of our greatest challenges – especially during border crossings as we drove from Denver to Costa Rica!
Luckily for us, most of the people we have encountered speak English and/or understand our awful Spanish. But we don’t want to be “those Gringos” who expect a Spanish-speaking country to adapt to us. Recently, we had to ask a friend (see Tip #1) to come with us to translate, and, though we had a good time, it would have been so much easier if we understood the language ourselves. We have set a goal to work really hard in 2020 to expand our Spanish knowledge, and if you’re moving here soon, we encourage you to do the same!
Tip #4: Be ready to adjust plans. AKA: be patient, things can take foooooooorever
The other morning our internet went down. This happens about once every other week or so. For two people who still work and require the internet for said work, the internet going out is very problematic. We’ve become very good at quickly packing up and heading to somewhere that always has reliable Internet. Again… no Starbucks here, so we hit up the next best thing: the brewery! Don’t worry, we stay away from the beers until work is done, but we are beginning to wonder if TJ and Cathy cut our internet to beef up their business! The point here is not that we are single-handidly supporting their kids’ college fund, but that you always have to have a plan B.
Last month we went to the bank to pay our marchamo. The marchamo is similar to US car registration and insurance, rolled into one. If you plan to own a car when you move to Costa Rica, you will pay this fee every December. The first time we went to the bank to try to pay our marchamo, we waited in line about a half-hour (which is fairly quick for a bank visit!) only to find out they wouldn’t take our credit card (it has the flat numbers and they would only accept credit cards with raised numbers). So… you guessed it… plan B. We transferred money from our US bank into our Costa Rican bank account (which took about a week and cost $45), and then went back to the bank to pay and get our 2020 sticker. Bottom line – everything you plan to do, plan to do it another way.
Tip #5: You can get by without a car, but you may not want to
We knew we wanted a car when we moved to Costa Rica. That’s why we drove Chivo down! But a question we see from a lot of expats-to-be, is whether or not they’ll need a car. Need is an interesting word. When Chivo was going through the import process, we were without a car for six weeks. Since we live in a town where we can walk to restaurants, groceries, and (most importantly) a beach, we were just fine without a car. In fact, even now, we probably only drive once a week!
That said, we do love having the ability to drive when we want to. There are tons of beaches just a few minutes’ drive away that we visit often. There are restaurants and other grocery stores in neighboring towns that we enjoy going to. And when we have to go to the airport or on a border run, it is nice to not have to rent a car or book a shuttle.
So do you NEED a car? I don’t think so. There’s so many options to take public transportation, rent a car or golf cart in the instances that you need it, or even hitch a ride with friends. Of course, this is all dependent on the area/location you move to, and how much you’re willing to spend. Car ownership can be pricy!
Tip #6: Be prepared to eat differently
Some things aren’t as readily available when you move to Costa Rica. The big one for me to get used to was cheese. There is not a huge selection and most of what you can find is pretty basic. If you do find good, quality cheese, you’re going to pay for it! Salsa and hummus are staples in our house, but when we moved, we couldn’t find any that we liked. So we started making our own! Better for us, and way better tasting!
The flip side of this is that some foods are more common down here! I can eat mangos year round and plantains are never more than a stone’s throw away. Living in a beach community means that fish is fresh and delicious. Learning about new foods has been fun, too. We have experimented with chayote (a potato-like vegetable) and we are huge fans of pitaya (aka dragon fruit).
If you’re a picky eater or set in your ways, moving to Costa Rica may be challenging for you. But like everything else, have patience and I’m sure you’ll find something you enjoy!
Tip #7: Always bring your camera
Several times a day, Nikk and I will take a break from work and pop out to our front yard. The house we’re renting sits on three lots and has an incredible array of plant life: from palm trees to fruit trees, to ground plants and vines. All of that flora brings a lot of fauna, too, so we often have animal visitors. I swear every time we don’t bring our phones out with us, something cool flies or scurries by! Costa Rica has such a rich biodiversity, you’ll never not be in awe of the animals you see!
If you’re moving to a beach community or you like doing water activities, I highly recommend investing in a GoPro or similar camera with a waterproof case. We love taking ours snorkeling! Usually when we snorkel, we go off in our own direction, so it’s super fun after an adventure to see what the other person captured on film.
Tip #8: Kiss your apps goodbye… and plan to download a few new ones
Okay, not all your apps… but some of them will no longer work or mean anything when you move to Costa Rica. For example, if you’re an Apple user, Apple Maps does not work south of the US border. It’ll show you where you are, but you can’t get directions or search for restaurants in the area. We use Google Maps for everything now, and we hear that Waze is good too. However, proceed with caution! Google Maps likes to tell you a route has a “similar ETA” but what it doesn’t tell you is that the other route is along a dirt road. During rainy season, Google Maps will have you literally stuck in the mud.
Another app you won’t use anymore is any weather app. First of all, the weather here is perfect. Every day. So no need! Okay, maybe not perfect, but definitely close to perfect, and definitely not a lot different from day-to-day. Hot and dry during dry season; hot and rainy in the afternoons during rainy season. The end. The other thing to keep in mind, at least where we live, is that weather apps aren’t that accurate. But if you’re like me and you’re used to checking the weather for the week before you plan your dinners… (No? Nobody does that but me? Hmmm. Interesting.)… the most accurate weather app we’ve found is Wunderground.
Some other apps that we’ve downloaded and found super helpful are Google Translate (see tip #3) and a currency converter. The most important app you’ll want to get, though, is WhatsApp. This is a messenger and calling app that works over the Internet. Almost everyone here uses WhatsApp to communicate. It is great because you can message and call with people who have Costa Rican phone numbers, as well as US and Canadian numbers. Plus, most businesses use WhatsApp – and let me tell you how awesome it is to make a vet appointment via text! Woo hoo!
One last piece of advice…
So there ya go, folks! Our gems of wisdom from a measly eight months of living in Costa Rica. We truly love it here and can’t wait to see what the next eight months (and beyond) will bring. If there’s one extra important thing that we have learned that we can share with you, it’s this: go after your dreams. Life is short. Take the vacation, see the concert, spend the time with the loved ones. And if your dream is to move to Costa Rica, pack up and get down here. There’s a lot of weird/new stuff, a handful of “pack-your-patience” moments, and a lifetime of exploring and learning to do.
Have you already made the move? Did we miss any tips that you found helpful? Do you have questions for us? Drop us a line in the comments! And thank you, as always, for joining us on this journey! -N&S
