I moved to Costa Rica without visiting first. Here’s what I wish I’d known

Hi! I’m Sarah. The creator and editor of a Costa Rica travel website called Costa Rica Vibes. I am originally from the Boston area in the United States, but before moving to Costa Rica I lived in Germany with my then boyfriend (now husband) Thomas.

Thomas and I met while volunteering at a community for adults with mental disabilities in Virginia. We knew that in order to stay together in the US the easiest option would be to get married. Neither of us were ready for that, so instead I moved to Germany and started teaching Business English at international companies.

We moved to Costa Rica after Thomas, was offered a job in the capital city, San Jose. However, the company wanted him to start within six weeks. It was completely stressful and nuts. Not to mention, we had never even visited Costa Rica or any Central or South American country before. It was a total blind leap of faith, but one I was weirdly confident about making. Thomas, was definitely more hesitant, but I somehow got him on board.

However, because we went into this move almost completely blindly, it was definitely a bit of a culture shock at first. Plus, we had to deal with the whole process of just setting ourselves up in another country without having any idea what we were doing.

I wrote this article based on all the things I wish I had known before moving here. The good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly.

Here we go!

1. Getting Anything Done Here Tests Your Patience

As I mentioned, we had been living in Germany before our move. If you don’t know, Germany can also be a nightmare to get anything done, but in the total opposite way of Costa Rica.

In Germany everything is bureaucratic and you need 5 different forms to accomplish any simple thing. And Germans are all about following the rules. It can be a lot, but it is usually efficient.

In Costa Rica, it is the complete opposite. Most things are definitely not efficient. I highly suggest practicing your deep breathing and starting a meditation routine before you attempt to move here. I’m kidding…kind of.

Here are just a few examples of crazy things we have dealt with (but trust me….I could go on for hours)

• Thomas had been waiting for several months for his Costa Rican residency to be approved and hadn’t heard anything. Finally, his lawyer set up an appointment at the government office to see what the hold up was. When he arrived they discovered someone had lost the fingerprint copy he had gotten at his last appointment. Nobody had contacted him. So, for five months he was waiting on something that hadn’t even begun to be processed due to an employee error.
• We wanted to set up internet at our house, so we picked a provider and went to their office to set up a contract. I figured they would just give us a router and we would be good to go. No, no, no. They had to first figure out where we lived (because there are no addresses in Costa Rica), sent a technician out 2 weeks later who had to stop traffic for an hour to hang wires to our house. And then, after a week the WiFi stopped working. It turned out the used metal staples to install fiber optic cables and had stapled through some of the cables.
• I went to the bank to get a new bank card and ended up standing at the counter for two hours while the employee filled in a million pages of paperwork and used about 5 cards because he kept imprinting the info incorrectly. And yes, you need to go to the bank for a new card. They don’t just mail you one (because of the whole no addresses thing). Anytime you go to the bank and need to speak to someone, expect to wait for at least 20 minutes before you can even get up to the counter (usually it’s actually much longer). Fun Fact: There is a special line for people with young children. I know people who literally borrow their friend’s children to take to the bank so they can go in the faster line.

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2. The Nature is Insane

When we moved, my mind was on warm weather and beaches. It didn’t even really occur to me that I was moving to one of the most biologically diverse places on earth.

But, wow, what a place.

Truthfully, it has made me incredibly jaded. I have always enjoyed hiking, but when every hike involves seeing sloths, monkeys, colorful birds, etc. it is hard to enjoy hiking anywhere else.

I love waking up early to the sounds of birds and howler monkeys here. Thomas has become a birdwatcher and hobby wildlife photographer.

In Costa Rica, the insane nature doesn’t just extend to the wildlife. The diverse micro-climates are also amazing. For example, from the capital city of San Jose, within a two hour drive you can see beautiful beaches, cloud forests, jungles, rolling coffee farm hills, volcanoes, waterfalls, and so much more.

To say I am spoiled here would be an understatement.

3. My Memory is a Mess

This is a weird one that I definitely did not expect, but this country has ruined my memory.

See, I grew up in New England. I am used to a distinct change of seasons. And, I never realized it until moving to Costa Rica, but those seasons influence my memory a lot. I can think, “Ok I was wearing a jacket and it was cold out, so it was winter of x year when that thing occurred.”

In Costa Rica, the weather is somewhat the same all year round. Yes, there is rain in the rainy season, but the temperature stays relatively the same. Now when I try to think about things I realize they could have occurred any day of any year.

But, to be fair, I’ll take a messed up memory in order to have warm weather every day. That is a trade off I’m very OK with.

4. It’s All About Who You Know

We moved here without having a place to live lined up. We started at a hotel and then moved in with Thomas’s colleague for awhile until we could find a house to rent.

During that time we had so many people offering to help us. These were all people who we had met less than a few weeks before.

It really confused us at first. But, we quickly realized, that is just how it is here. People will go out of their way to help you, and when they do, make sure you take the help. In return, always help others when you can.

This is a society that runs on who you know. We’ve fortunately built up some really great connections that have allowed us to bypass a lot of stressful situations in regards to residencies, moving, getting married, and more. And, in turn we have been able to help out our close contacts when it comes to things like how to start a business here, improving their English or German, etc.

5. Living Here is Not for the Faint of Heart

I know, I said the animals and climate are amazing, but they do also have their bad parts. I was not prepared for a lot of it and in the first few years I had some crazy situations.

Some examples are:

• After living here for about a month I had some type of allergic reaction in which the entire left side of my face swelled up and my eye was swollen shut. It was so itchy and painful. I went to a pharmacist who decided I had Lupus and needed to go get a blood test. I knew that was ridiculous so I started doing my own research. Turns out, mango trees have the same oil as poison ivy. I had picked mangos from a friend’s tree a few days before and I know from my childhood that I am highly allergic to poison ivy, especially on my face. So, I had to go on steroids, but my face cleared within a few days. Now I know, avoid mango trees.
• When we first moved to San Jose, the Turrialba Volcano was very active. We would often wake up in the morning to a thin layer of ash covering all our plants. I have since developed some breathing issues and I am somewhat convinced its a result of the long exposure to ash in the air.
• This country has earthquakes. And I hate them. It doesn’t matter how long I live here, I don’t think I will ever get used to them. Usually they are very mild. In fact, we’ve never experienced any destructive earthquakes. But, even 3 seconds of the earth shaking out of nowhere is enough to really freak me out.
• The bugs here are next level. For example, you can not leave any food or crumbs out if you don’t want 20 million little ants around in no time. I have had a few uncomfortable bug interactions. One of which was finding a giant tarantula in our laundry. Luckily it had already been washed and gone through a nice spin cycle, so it was very dead. Another time, I found a scorpion in my backpack while in the car just before beginning a 5 hour drive back from the Osa Peninsula. Yea, that was an uncomfortable drive spent wondering if any other scorpions were in the car and about to crawl on us.

6. I’ve Lost Some Freedom

One thing I miss here is a sense of full security and the freedom that comes with that. Costa Rica is fairly safe, but as a woman I still do not feel comfortable walking around alone in the evenings. I also do not drive.

In Europe this was no problem because the public transportation is so good. But, in Costa Rica I end up depending on Thomas to get anywhere.

This is fine, but I do sometimes miss just walking around a city without a care in the world and easily being able to get anywhere.

Be clear, I’m not saying Costa Rica is completely unsafe. You definitely need to use precautions, but we also have never been robbed or anything like that here. However, we definitely know people who have.

7. Pura Vida Isn’t Just a Phrase

If you don’t know, “Pura Vida” is the go-to phrase of Costa Rica. It is used to say, “hi” and “it’s all good”. Truthfully, the phrase goes much deeper than that. It is a lifestyle and it is one you will have to somewhat embrace while living here. This country runs at a much slower pace than you are most likely used to.

If you are building a house, expect construction to take longer than expected. If you are driving somewhere, add on some time because you most likely will get stuck behind a truck. If something bad happens, take a deep breath because it is not worth stressing over.

I still have a long way to go in my pura vida mindset. It is especially difficult for me to balance running a business with also being relaxed. But, I’m working on it and I really have grown to appreciate this relaxed lifestyle.

8. Moving to Costa Rica Was the Best Decision

Before we moved, I was very ready to leave Germany, and was confident that this move would be great. But I didn’t realize just how much Thomas and I actually needed that move.

Real talk, looking back, we were both in a rut in Germany and it was effecting our relationship.

For me, a big part of that was the weather. I don’t do well with gray days, and northern Germany is filled with gray days. It was not good for my motivation, my health, and my happiness.

In Costa Rica, I got my life back on track.

We got our relationship back on track.

We started a business. We started traveling almost every weekend. We slowed down our lifestyle. We got married. And we thrived.

I know it might not turn out that way for everyone. Moving is hard and can put a real strain on a relationship. But for us, it saved us.

If you are looking to visit Costa Rica (maybe to see if It’s a good place to move) we have tons of helpful info on Costa Rica Vibes. Start Here

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