Aaaaaannnnnnddddd.....There Off!

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"Courage is the Power to Let Go of the Familiar"

 

Now What? Everything is sold, stored or packed so it must be true, we really are moving to Costa Rica. Even though we've been telling friends and family for over a year, I think some of them didn't really take it seriously until both our homes sold, then their heads raised up with the question, "do you really know what you are doing?"  We hope so.  Our life is packed into twelve boxes and has been shipped and should arrive in Atenas in 6 to 8 weeks. We're taking the rest of our life on the airplane with us - four very large overweight  suitcases - which we will be paying extra. We've encountered lots of additional costs and at this point we are just laughing and saying "it's only money". Others that have gone before us can probably relate - when push comes to shove you spend to get it done.

 

One pallet...12 boxes....20x20x20 - our new life!

 

Well, here we are on the eve of our departure....we can hardly believe it. Just this morning Roxi said, "when we move to Costa Rica" and I interrupted her and said "you mean tomorrow" - then we just laughed.   The timeline has always been months, then weeks, then days - now it is tomorrow!  She went on to say she was going to remove her watch once we arrived since we will be living the dream with a new culture, a new timeline and a new life! Isn't that what retired people do? Take their watches off and just let time be what it will be!

We have really had a blast in the last two months - we have been on our "Farewell Tour" to say goodbye to friends and family.  In Idaho we traveled to Potlatch, Plummer, Middleton, Meridian, Boise, Garden City and Emmett.  In Washington we traveled to Seattle and Kennewick.  In Oregon we traveled to Sunriver, Bend and all over the Portland metropolitan area.  And now we are in Atlanta where we have seen friends for four days.  Sorry to have missed some of you, but you know where we live - come visit!  We had the time of our life on this Tour and are so blessed to have connected with so many of you out there. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers around what we are doing. We feel it! 

 

 

After weeks and months of working off a "to do" list, tomorrow we will begin a new "to do" list for our life in Costa Rica. First on the list: find a home! Many people have thought we already have a home - no, not yet! On Wednesday (day after arrival) we are meeting with a realtor that will show us rental properties. We don't ever plan on buying a home, just renting a furnished home - and there are plenty of those in Costa Rica, including our new home base: Atenas.

 

On Thursday we meet with a legal representative from ARCR (Association of Residents of Costa Rica) to begin our residency process. Part of the residency process is preparing multiple documents that must be notarized and apostilled. This ARCR organization helps people to work thru the process - plus a mere $1,500 each and two to twelve months later you will be a resident (fingers crossed). One of the benefits of residency is that you can secure insurance within the country which between public and private insurance, runs about $150/month. It also allows you to not have to exit the country every 90 days. There are other perks, too, but those are key ones.

 

Upon arrival we will spend five nights in Atenas at Poco Cielo Resort ("just a little piece of heaven")  - click the name to see our "temporary" home. We are hoping we'll find a rental property within that timeframe, but if not, we may very likely just rent an apartment until we can find a home to our liking. 

 

I promise to write more as life unfolds for us in Costa Rica.  The "Sisters in Transition" are about to be "Living the Dream"!

 

Pura Vida,

Judy and Roxi