Planning for the Adventure - Part 1

This is a little outside the "diary" so I am making a separate post for the benefit of others who might be considering the expat life here.

Planning -

Where to go call home -  We knew we wanted to be walking distance to the beach, so our next decision was whether we wanted to be on the Carribean or Pacific coast. We decided we would prefer the climate on the Pacific side. Pretty easy part of the plannig process.

School - After choosing which coast, the next big concern was school for the kids. I researched lots of options and finally decided it would be one of two different school. So our decision about where to live on the Pacific coast was based on what communities were in close proximity to those two schools.

School part 2 - We ultimately decided to enroll our kids in an online school called the Keystone School. We decided that would give us flexibility as we choose where to live and time for the kids and us to do some exploring and to visit schools and make an informed decision. So far online school is great - our kids are self-motivated and doing well.

Health Care - Last year, as a self-employed family of four, we spent $27,000 on health care. That includes $12,000 on health insurance that had a $5K per person deductible. Tristan's braces, Ryan's orthotics and the $5K deductible for Ryan's eye surgery are included - but the rest is just basic everyday go to the dr or dentist stuff.  For this adventure, we opted to purchase major medical coverage through Cigna - it is insurance designed for expats. It will cost us $200 per month and it will cover anything that requires hospitalization and it also covers cancer and psychiatric care (hey, you never know, we might all go crazy here!). It is a million dollars coverage per person per year. Otherwise, we will be paying for our care as we need it. What we understand is that an average dr visit costs $40. I can't imagine, that in this scenario, we are going to spend anywhere close to what we spent in the U.S.

What to Pack - We planned to rent a fully furnished house, complete with kitchen utensils and linens, because shipping furnishings is an outrageous expense. So we brought 2 pieces of luggage each, for a total 8 pieces of luggage. Each of us had a suitcase or trunk for whatever they wanted to bring that was not clothing. Ryan brought a suitcase filled with art supplies and Tristan brought one filled with legos and magic cards. Kyle brought a trunk filled with fishing supplies. I brought.....drum roll please.......miscelleneous items. You know fun stuff like bug repellent, chewable advil for my daughter that can't swallow a pill, my favorite body lotion that has sunscreen in it, benedryl, a dog brush, bowl and leash. Boring. That was my bag. Our other bags were summer clothes, swim wear, sandals, shoes and then we each have a pair of jeans or two and a fleece and/or sweat shirt, raincoat. I think we packed well. Locals tell us there are times, in the evenings, when a jacket is needed.

I will continue this post later. In the meantime, if anyone reading this blog has questions, feel free to ask!

THE DOG: I will do separate post on planning to bring a dog - a big dog - with you to Costa Rica. That was by far the most challenging part of planning the trip.