Advertisement
Published: November 2nd 2012
The countdown is officially on, today is November 1 and that means we're exactly two months from moving day! On January 1, 2013 my kids and I are moving to Costa Rica, where we will stay for one year. The kids are being enrolled in a private bilingual school so that they can learn Spanish and we'll be renting a house nearby. And my plan is to document our experience, beginning with the planning stage (right now). As I mentioned, we've settled on a school and a place to live. We also recently booked our flights! So that leaves two months to figure out a suitable vehicle to use, decide what we're taking with us and make our final preparations. Piece of cake, right?
I'll admit, when I first told the kids about this whole moving business, their response was tears. Not bratty, tantrum tears - somehow I think I could have steeled myself against that. But these were silent, streaming tears. Sad tears that invoked a few tears of my own. They asked why we needed to do this, why was I making them leave their friends and school? What about our house, where would we live when we get back? It was clear from their reactions that my husband and I have done a very good job in providing them with happy, secure childhoods so far and that the thought of jetting off to a foreign country just for kicks, in their minds, jeopardized everything. So I calmly told them that it was okay to feel sad about leaving their friends, but that they'd still stay in touch and that they would make new friends too. I told them that daddy and I wanted them to learn Spanish, because of all of the opportunities that come with being bilingual. I told them that we weren't getting rid of our house and that they'd be coming back home in a year. Not forever guys, just a year. I also told them that I wanted them to gain the confidence of being able to visit new places without fear so that one day they could plan their own crazy adventures. Kind of a lofty concept to ask a 9 year old and an 11 year old to accept but to my amazement and pride - they did get it. And they're in. They know it won't be all smiles and rainbows next year, but they're ready to try. Also when I told them our rental house had a pool, that didn't hurt either.
I am married, and no we're not seperating or mad at each other or anything like that. Exactly the opposite. My husband and I are very excited that we can take advantage of some careful financial planning that affords us this opportunity, its something we've been talking about and working toward for years. But my husband will not be moving with us. He'll remain at home in Minnesota and is planning to fly down and visit regularly. Plus we'll be using a video chat service to stay in touch almost daily. Yes, I realize this is one of those things that looks good on paper and will likely become a bit more dicey put into practice. But if I didn't think I could do it, I wouldn't have taken this on. It will have its ups and downs but after being happily married for over 12 years, I'm confident in us being able to do this.
So, maybe you're wondering at this point why Costa Rica? Why now? How does one even begin to plan such a thing? Well I'm planning to answer those questions and more. I hope you'll enjoy hearing about our adventure, and even more I hope that I can provide some friendly advice and tips to help you in your own travels. All I know is that there is no rule that says I must live here and there is a wide world out there ready to be experienced. And I'm about to put that belief to the ultimate test.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.074s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 8; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0443s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Misty
non-member comment
I'm so excited to follow your journey! Thanks for sharing it with all of us at home.