Author Topic: Moving to the tropics for a family of four  (Read 3051 times)

alfor

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Moving to the tropics for a family of four
« on: May 09, 2014, 12:19:32 PM »
Hi fellow mustachians,

We are a family of Canadians thinking about leaving the winter behind.

We know Costa-Rica, my wife knows spanish and south america. I am a programmer looking to work on freelance projects. We live on a very small fraction of what most Canadians live and we could be able to sustain ourselves with a few days of work a week.

Right now we are looking at Panama, Costa-Rica, Nicaragua. We want a nice place to live, low cost of living, good stability and the ability to grow most of what we eat.

But, that's a big move for us. It means to change the environment and language for our kids ( 3 and 5 years old) and sell everything and start again somewhere else.

Do some of you have experience with this kind of move ? Do you know a good place to live with easy access to permanent residency ?

Thanks
« Last Edit: May 09, 2014, 02:51:27 PM by alfor »

limeandpepper

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Re: Moving to the tropics for a family of four
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2014, 07:19:44 PM »
I'm interested in what others have to say on this topic. My boyfriend also freelances and has an interest in being a digital nomad. I'm not familiar with South America, but I know some people who live long-term in Asia. They don't necessarily have permanent residency, but they do visa runs every few months, which may not meet your requirement for stability. By the way, your kids are so young so they'll adapt to the new environment and language much easier than if they were older, I would think.

alfor

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Re: Moving to the tropics for a family of four
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2014, 07:54:07 PM »
Thanks, yes we knew someone who did border run every tree month to Panama to be able to stay in Costa-Rica. It work if you are a nomad but we want to settle somewhere, and grow our food, etc.
We are looking at eco-communities in central america and we hope to find something that fit what we are looking for.

I forgot to say it last time, the community is one of the biggest factor beside de weather and nature.

CarDude

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Re: Moving to the tropics for a family of four
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2014, 08:09:22 PM »
The kids will be fine with the language; most dual language programs in the US introduce the 2nd language in K or 1st grade, when kids are typically 5-7. Make sure you learn your Spanish too!

Gimesalot

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Re: Moving to the tropics for a family of four
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2014, 06:28:42 PM »
Your kids will learn the language by themselves, once they make some friends. 

One ting I didn't see mentioned were your plans for educating your kids.  Keep in mind that in most Central and South American countries, a good education is only available through private schools.