SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read my book Plan A Never Happens, don’t read the rest of this blog until you do. This article will leave you dazed and confused, and reaching for some kind of illegal, or at least immoral, coping substance. I don’t want to be responsible for you spiraling out of control, so do us both a favor and go read the book first. Then come back and finish this blog.

Okay, now that we have the uninitiated taken care of, let’s move on to the story. Plan A Never Happens, you’ll recall,  was the story of all that it took for Carmen and me to make our long-awaited move from the U.S. to our wonderful home in Costa Rica. The move was six years in the making, but the final year was when the heavy lifting happened. It is also when the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic hit. People were getting sick and dying. Borders closed. Government offices were shuttered. Nobody knew anything about what was happening, much less about what was going to happen.

Making the transition from a life in the U.S. to that of an ex-pat in another country is never an easy task. It requires a mountain of paperwork, all of which must have special international verification. There are also banking, tax filing, and family considerations, along with more logistics than you could imagine. Now put the overlay of a worldwide pandemic on top of that, and you have the makings for a really good book (4 Stars on Amazon as of this writing).

But, since you read the book, you know that it does all work out in the end. We manage to get to Costa Rica, with our pooch Frankie and our two cats in tow. That’s where the book ends, so I thought I would bring you up to speed on the story after we arrived.

In short, life has been wonderful. Costa Rica is one of the finest places on the planet, with a diversity of culture, geography, and amazing things to do and see. I mean, we have a troupe of Howler monkeys living in the tree across the street from us. That’s not something you see everyday in Northern Virginia! The people of Costa Rica (they call themselves Ticos) are warm, inviting, and friendly. We have made numerous new friends in the time we have been here.

We have visited numerous beaches. We have gone to several of the many volcanoes in the country, and enjoyed the hot springs, amazing waterfalls (That’s Rio Celeste behind me on my main picture on the Home page), ziplines and mud baths they have to offer. We happily pay the very low price for the 100% health care we receive. We happily pay the low price for the 100% renewable electricity this country runs on. Our cable and internet service? Well, some things don’t change no matter where in the world you are.

Because of the legwork we did in the U.S. to make sure that every piece of documentation we would need to apply for our Residency was ready to go, we received our Dimex (Residency) cards in what was probably record time. We know people who have been here for years, and haven’t been able to make their way through the maze of requirements to obtain their residency (and hence, the things it provides, like that health care). Some have even given up. We pulled it off in less than five months. Our attention to detail, all carefully outlined in the book, and the work of a skilled and seasoned lawyer made it happen so quickly that even the lawyer was amazed.

We have now bought a used SUV that is in wonderful condition, and will serve us for years to come. We have learned the ins and outs of how, where, and when to shop for things to make our Colones go their farthest. We even have a cellphone that not only has a Costa Rican number, but also allows us to call the U.S. for free.

So, the happy ending in Plan A Never Happens really wan’t an ending at all. It was an amazing new beginning.