A big part of planning your gap year is choosing where to go. I’m lucky because I actually fell in love with Costa Rica before ever considering a gap year. For me, the idea of spending time there came first, and the gap year idea followed.
Built for the Tropics
My dear friend Kath Critchfield built a home in Costa Rica years ago. I’d always wanted to visit, ever since a Starbucks Costa Rica leadership summit I was supposed to attend in 2006 got canceled. Eventually I surprised my family by giving us a week at Kath’s place as a Christmas gift. We visited Playa Negra for the first time in February, 2018 and I fell in love.
I still remember the moment I was sitting on Kath's terrace overlooking the Pacific ocean. I was catching up on a little work, a warm breeze blew by, and it hit me 👇
🌴I’m a warm weather person; I am basically built for the tropics.
⏰The time zone makes it easy to work - only 1-2 hours difference.
🤔I have no retirement plan whatsoever.
Me + tropics = 🥰
Casa Bali Dream Home
By the end of the week we'd decided to extend our trip and I started researching properties. I realized why so many people (Seattleites in particular) were seeking second homes in Costa Rica. Not only was it literally a paradise filled with kind people, exotic wildlife, and great food, the real estate market had been stalled since the 2008/9 recession. Beautiful homes sat languishing on the market for years.
There were condos to the south in Junquillal for as little as $175,000 and homes like ours for under $300,000. When we got back to Seattle, I continued shopping. Not only that, I started watching Spanish language movies on Netflix and signed up for Duo Lingo. My future was taking shape.
Surprisingly, when I reached out to real estate agents for help, they were largely unresponsive. But I’ve been described as “a dog with a bone” when I have a goal in mind. I‘d found Casa Bali, and I was sure someone out there was willing to show the home.
Casa Bali: Poolside patio, living room (the house came fully furnished), lap pool in the jungle
When the agents didn’t respond I wrote a note on VRBO and the property manager, Brenda, responded in minutes. Soon after, we’d made arrangements to fly down for a weekend. Henry and I stayed at Casa Bali and by the end of the weekend we'd made an offer. I never looked at another property.
When we told the kids that we’d bought a place, my daughter who was thirteen at the time said:
“Mom, I just never thought you were fun enough to actually do it.”
Well, I guess I proved us all wrong.
Managing a Second Home is Easier than You Think
With a full time job and two kids, life was busy. I have never owned a second anything - boat, cabin, plane - and one of the things that always scared me was the idea of maintenance. Brenda explained I could be involved as much or as little as I wanted in the day to day rental and operations of the home so I chose to do as little as possible.
This is news to some people. Basically, all I do is pay a monthly invoice and approve major repairs. She does the rest. Since the house was already advertised as a rental, it results in passive income. I share this not because everyone is going to look into owning a second home (I realize that is an incredible privilege), but because it may be more achievable than you realize.
The Pandemic Happened: #WorkfromAnywhere
Pre-pandemic our idea was to visit once a year and eventually think about spending more time away as we approached retirement. But COVID changed all of that. Sidnonie was absolutely stir crazy during lock down, and I struggled with the long Seattle winters. As travel started to open up, we made a few trips together. Then we made a few more.
I once flew down for a week on my own to work remotely. I had never taken a personal trip before without my family. It seemed unthinkable. I questioned whether I was being frivolous. But soaking up vitamin D, walking on the beach, and going for a swim between meetings made it feel like this was one of the best decisions I’d ever made.
Tropical Coworking is Real
My dear friend Leang and I even did a personal strategic planning trip in the fall of 2021, an idea I'd learned from my friend Heather Lewis when I interviewed her for my book Female Firebrands. We spent time at the beach, talked shop, and decompressed. And yes we really did work on strategic plans for our respective businesses. It reminded me how much easier it is to think big when you step out of the day to day. I literally get some of my best ideas while walking on the beach.
Leang was my perfect travel companion. Here she is at Corazon Surf Cafe, grilling at home, and eating at Il Rustico.
Granted, vacationing in a beautiful spot is different from spending a significant amount of time in a place where you have to confront more day to day realities. I anticipate missing friends and family, struggling with spotty internet, and having to bank and pay bills in a country where I don't speak the language (yet). No doubt there will be challenges. But they are small in the scheme of things, and so worth it.
CALL TO ACTION: Have you taken a gap year, are planning one now, or inspired by the idea? If so please leave comments. Others would like to hear your story, and so would I!
#adultgapyear #grownupgapyear #sabbatical #workfromanywhere #remotework #hybridwork #tropics #workfromcostarica #graygapyear #flexiblework #womenwholead #femalefirebrands
This looks amazing! I am inspired to travel next year too and also because of a trip to Costa Rica. I loved how green it is there and visiting the coffee and chocolate farms and the animal preserve and waterfalls. I am torn though about traveling alone vs. going with a group like Remote Year or getting a private room in a Selinas hostel. With the groups, there will be weekend excursions which will be fun but I also worry about the quality of the rooms and the noise and partying at nigtht because I work full-time. I google options and watch Youtube videos almost every night as I plan my itinerary. I am thinking South America during our Winter,…
I love this idea! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and experience. My wife and I are in the early stages of exploring options for spending significant time in a Spanish speaking country and Costa Rica is at the top of our list. This is super helpful!