To Build in Costa Rica

Our son and I were visiting family in Australia. Honestly, we had zero plans to build a home in Costa Rica. Sure, we had considered moving out of our apartment which is attached to our business, but we had only really entertained the idea of renting. After that massive earthquake on September 5th, 2012, we were a little shy of creating a structure on this shaky soil!

A routine phone call with the hubby changed my mindset. Having just got home from a chance dinner with some local developers, Ian was fired up about the idea of building a home instead of renting. The terms discussed, over what probably was a few glasses of red, so the details perhaps were rose-tinted, sounded particularly promising. $X price with nothing to pay for the first X years, then XYZ after that… and various other scenarios, most of which were attractive to us… considering that long-term renting is like throwing dollars down the drain.

Well, one thing led to another, and another, and we discovered our dream piece of property, which, I might add, we ended up simply buying outright, for the deal was a good one and not to be passed up. 

To build or not to build in Costa Rica- the question no longer remained. To build. The pros included some compelling ones, the cons faded into oblivion when the pros stacked up. 

Some cons: 

-fear of another earthquake and the ensuing damage. Get home insurance.

-putting down more roots in a country that isn’t our birth country is a little scary.

-having too many eggs in one basket (what will be our home, and our business, all in one town, in a far-away land from my homeland of Australia!)

-concern of upkeep costs (build sensibly, and build to live rather than be ruled by silly choices made early on in the design process)

The PROS look a little like this:

-design our own family home for the way we want to live our life

-make an investment with our money rather than pay for someone elses’ investment

– create a place that we could potentially do home-exchanges with, to broaden our travel experiences while remaining thrifty

– create long term memories for us as a family, our soon to be 5 year old and to have a welcoming environment for visiting family and friends.

Let’s not kid ourselves here- the design process, the hours and hours spent poring over the Houzz app on the ipad, the sense of creation… it is just plain fun! Well… for the most part.