What Would We Do Differently?

Reflecting Upon Our Time In Costa Rica 

- Geoff Barry

Our family spent 20 months living in Costa Rica. We returned permanently to Wenatchee at the end of August 2016 so the kids could start school here last fall.

In the year since, I have been contacted for advice on how to plan for such an adventure by friends locally, but also by families in faraway places contemplating their own travels who heard my experiences from previous articles published in The Good Life.

If I had the trip to do over again, my approach to planning would be very different.

In my experience, many of the individuals who dream of (and embark upon) such a family adventure consider themselves highly spontaneous, perhaps the types who like to figure it out as they go.

I am certainly one of these folks. Back in my younger days when planning for a trip meant planning for one. I would buy the Lonely Planet Guide Book for the country of my destination, but would only allow myself to read the sections that discussed culture and history. I forbid myself from reading any particulars pertaining to places I intended to visit for fear that my voyage might become rigid and “Japanese bus tourist like.”

No hotel reservations. No plans for how I was going to get around once I got there. No need for anything to get me started in my first city. These issues were meant to be sorted out on scene.

I loved these trips. Spontaneous they were. Problematic? For sure. But that was all part of the adventure. I explain these rules to paint a picture of my expectations when my poor wife and I began to discuss our adventure. I was quite content to figure it all out once we got there.

I’ll sum up my best advice for you now: DON’T DO THAT! There’s a world of difference between eight weeks in India by yourself and building a life overseas for your family.