In case you missed it, be sure to read Part 1: The Build Up.
It’s been a few days of pondering the idea of moving to Costa Rica and the reality has sunk in. Just how would we move to Costa Rica? We had two small children; a two-year old and a seven-month old. We had a pretty successful yoga studio going. I had a good consulting practice going. Our life was here in Vancouver.
It just didn’t seem like there was a practical reason to move to Costa Rica. How would we earn a living there? What about the different culture? Living in a new country? What about health care? What about school for our children?
Over and over again, the same question stared me in the face – how could we practically make a really good living in Costa Rica?
This question ate at me for a while. If I could answer this one question, I could clear the biggest hurdle to moving my family abroad. I absolutely LOVED the thought of raising my kids in another culture, out in nature, away from the city.
I loved nature. I loved wildlife. I loved the jungle. I loved traveling and taking people on trips. Callie loved being on land. She loved nutrition, yoga and wellness. She loved the beach, the heat and living in a warm tropical location.
But HOW could we make this work???
Clearing the Hurdle: So many people I speak with would LOVE to move to Costa Rica. But they get to the same question I got to: how do I make a living down there? And then their inquiry stops. No further thought. An impossibility. And their attention shifts back to their lives.
But, the thing is… I’m not like most people. I get fixated on things. I analyze the challenges and obstacles. And I ask myself – How can I overcome this hurdle and still make my dream come true?
I just don’t stop and don’t let anything get in my way, no matter how insurmountable or impossible the odds are. I stewed on this question and stayed up late at night strategizing and scheming.
Perhaps build up my consulting practice or create an online business? All of those things would take time. And logically, since I had a family, it would make more sense to stay put in Vancouver even once we were successful with an online business. We had a physical location of a brick and mortar business.
But I wanted to move NOW. Before my kids got settled into school, before they made friends. I wanted them to grow up abroad. AND I was also committed to the financial success of my family and didn’t want to jeopardize the wellbeing of my family or create financial hardship.
So how could we have both?
Then the idea came to me that in order to justify moving to Costa Rica I would need a practical brick and mortar business in Costa Rica. If we had a successful business with a physical location in Costa Rica that needed our attention, practically speaking, we would HAVE to move to Costa Rica and relocate our family.
Get a yoga and wellness retreat center in Costa Rica.
The thought flooded into my mind and the light bulb went off. All of a sudden everything made sense for us. Callie loved real estate. She always wanted to have a piece of land. She loves yoga and wellness. Her skillset is operations, administration and management.
My skillset was in sales and marketing. She loved the beach and the warm tropical environment. I loved the jungle. I spoke Spanish. I had traveled to 25 countries. I loved taking people on trips.
It dawned on me that Callie and I together were uniquely suited to run a yoga and wellness center in Costa Rica. Owning a retreat center would combine the best of both of our skill sets and harness all of our passions.
Everything made sense. I had a moment of extreme clarity. I knew we were going to run a retreat center in Costa Rica.
Uh…OK…So now what??
Stay tuned for part three of this three part series (“The Dreamers vs. The Doers”).