Many of my readers know that my wife and I have been on a several-years plan to eventually split our time between Indiana and Costa Rica, thus being “part-time expats.” We think of ourselves that way now because we already spend a lot of time in Costa Rica.
But the real transition will take place in a couple of months when I retire officially. Then it will be off to our beloved Jaco, Costa Rica, for the first couple months of official retirement. The holidays will be back in Indiana with the kids and grandkids, of course, and winter of 2020 – well, you can guess that a lot of it will be spent gazing at, listening to, and walking along the beach in Jaco.
Getting to this point has been a journey. I remember sitting together one Saturday morning, talking about the future, about 18 months ago. We began to make a list of all the things we would need to do to bring this lifestyle change about. The list got long, and I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. But we decided we’d just take it a step at a time. And we have.
For the last several months, we have been moving our belongings, Toyota Prius-load at a time, to a lake home in another part of Indiana. That will be our home base when we are in the States. It has been an interesting way to move. Usually, you think of moving in terms of loading a big truck and taking everything at once to your new town and home.
But we got the idea that it would be better for us to do it in stages since our new home in Indiana is ours and available. So, load by load, we have moved what we determined were the Joy-producing possessions (see a previous post) and moved them into the lake house. This has been a great way to do it for us because as we moved things weekend-by-weekend, we were able to place things where we want them, rearrange things to suit us, and then come back the next weekend with another load and do the same. So, by now, most household things are moved. We are living barebones in our old home until I am no longer working full-time, and our new home base is almost ready, with just a couple months to go.
This method of moving won’t be for everyone. But it has worked for us. And it has actually helped us emotionally leave our home of 16 years. We have had moment-by-moment adjustments as we’ve moved into the lake house over time.
I can’t wait to write the first post from my balcony in Jaco, Costa Rica, overlooking the Central Pacific Ocean. You can be sure there will be a photo to accompany the occasion! Until then, I hope to continue to share our journey from part-time expats to PART-TIME EXPATS.
