So…Why Costa Rica?

Who can say no to that face? Honestly there were a handful of reasons why I chose Costa Rica. Some of them were business related and some of them were just personal preference.

After reading Tim Ferriss‘, The 4 Hour Work Week, I liked the idea of a “mini-retirement”. The only difference was going to be that I would work from my “mini-retirement” and it would only be 3 weeks.  So now how did I choose Costa Rica of all places out there in the world? I had 3 requirements that must be met in making my decision.

1. It must be inexpensive to live there for a considerable amount of time
2. It must be inexpensive to get there
3. There must be a decent Internet connection

So after hours of searching online all I was finding was a handful of places that were meeting 2 of the 3 requirements.  I was looking at Jamaica, Bahamas, Argentina, Europe, and a load of others.  Finally I rethought my possible locations and Costa Rica jumped into my head.  I don’t know how I missed it!  I knew some people that had traveled there and absolutely loved it.  So after another couple hours of searching I finally found it.

I found a small 1 bedroom (with an additional futon) condo in Playa Ocotal with a dedicated high speed Internet connection in my own room.  Cable TV and a full kitchen were also included in this condo located 1000ft from the beach.  The best thing is that I found my flight for a grand total of $376 roudtrip from BWI to Liberia, Costa Rica.  This was probably the cheapest flight I found to any of the locations I was researching.  If that wasn’t enough, it costs $575 to rent the place…FOR A MONTH!!!  I thought for my first “mini WORKING retirement” I would try 3 weeks and see how that worked for myself and the business.

So that is how I picked Costa Rica in a nutshell.  During my research I came to realize that Costa Rica would be the perfect place for me to be for personal reasons as well.  I am a huge fan of beaches, warm weather, wildlife, and what not.  Another great thing is that it is a very secluded place.  There is a bar a few minutes (bike-ride) away where I can watch the Super Bowl and have some relaxing evenings as well.

Keep checking back over the next few days to figure out the steps I took to lining up all this.  My next posts will feature the exact process I took planning and finalizing the trip and what my mobile office actually entails.