Moving To CR (San José)

I tried to post this on another forum and it got all junked up, the forum was unregulated and unmoderated, i hope to get some good answers here

Hello Expats

my story is not a simple one but ill keep the background brief as i need to focus on the present, My name is Jason Harris i am a business owner in Key West florida, i know all about quitting the job and moving to a paradise, i live in one sorta.

, I was born in Lewiston maine USA, and spent a good part of my life as a radio broadcaster, eventually I transitioned into the world of information technology, after spending a few years in Washington DC and living the city life not to mention visiting phoenix, LA, Houston, Miami, Dallas and other big cities, I decided to slow my life down, I picked Key West florida as my home and have been living here for the past 2 years. The environment here is beautiful, and tropical, we have a beautiful reef located 6 miles offshore, lots of palm trees, tons of roosters, and sadly lots of tourists, we see as many as 20,000 a week, with the cruise ships (4 a day) the bus tours from Miami, the major airport bringing in 5 plane fuls a day, and the people who drive rent a cars to the island, this place is overly saturated

ON my way to key west I journeyed across the usa on a scooter and saw many wonderful things it was an amazing trip which you can read about at Protected content , and among my talents I am also a professional photographer. On my way to the keys I made a stop at the Everglades International Hostel, where I became the kitchen manager in exchange for my fee to stay with them, I stayed there for two and a half weeks soaking up the everglades and the surrounding area, before I sadly said goodbye and moved on to key west (my final destination)

I have been searching for some time for a place to go that is quiet and laid back like key west but without the tourists, a place where I could live frugral and not have to deal with the hub bub of the normal life

SO now after long last and a friend putting the travel bug inside me again i am getting ready to leave this tourist soaked town, i have set my sights on a small village called cahuita in costa rica on the coast, it will be much like where i live now, the reef, the sea, the weather, the wildlife, but without the tourists, i plan on going over for the month of december and if i like it return to the states and plan to move for good, things are so inexpensive over there it almost seems to good to be true,

I am a photographer, i also do technology support for my clients and i own a web design and graphics comapny, on top of that i am principle partner in an etertainment business startup, not to mention i am 50% partner in an advertising magazine, i fear not though, these businesses will continue to go on long after i am gone, so i wont “quit” my business, just move away from it

I dream even now of a night when i can fall asleep in my little bungalow in that village listening to the sounds of the howler monkeys and the waves crashing on the reef……
I know though i have to come back down for a few minutes to reality, after being on the phone with the state departments voicemails, trying to call teh embassys to get info, trying to learn spanish, trying to plot the trip here is what i have so far
I will be leaving Key west for fort lauderdale on December 2nd Protected content , i will then board a plane to san jose the next morning, arriving in Costa rica sometime after noon or so, i will be bringing my mountain bike overseas with me on the plane, once i clear customs i will be reassembling my bike and make a stop for food, then i will get my maps together and head for cahuita, i plan on taking the long way (there are some things i read on the web about a road that goes through the mountains and then follows the coast) i plan on making camp somewhere halfway into my trip to cahuita, i think ill backcountry camp in the forest or near the mountain, in the morning i will break camp and head for me destination. I will be staying in cahuita for a little less then two months, taking in all the country has to offer and learning the local customs and making connections with the locals, If for some reason things dont work out i can fully expect to go back to san jose for my return flight, but most likely the airline will have an empty seat come that day ;)
I plan on making a new life and a new start either in cahuita or puerto vijaio (not spelling that right) the hosues are reasonable and the area is what i want, also with the reef, the swimming, the temperant weather, plus the carribean atmosphere it will be like key west, add in the mountains. waterfalls, jungles, rainforest and of course volcanos and it will be like my home state of maine and key westcombined, without all the congestion, i can even bring my computer skills to help there as well though i dont know if that will be needed, the money from my business will be more then enough for me to survive.
After i am settled my former housemate from key west will join me, she has miraculously recovered from a brain tumour, however she still has seizures and will do so for the rest of her life, a forcefully retired chef she still loves and loves to live her life, she is also looking forward to saying goodbye to the rat race of the usa,
Lastly my girlfriend will be coming as well if we can make her medical issues work out in Costa Rica, she is a college student and is studying to get her masters but would put that on hold to explore the country with me (while here i plan on exploring venenzuela, columbia, argentina, belize, niceragra, and of course my neighbor panama) and can always return when she is ready if she decides to go back, she is fluent in spanish
Sadly for her moving is dependent on a few things i am hoping the expats here can answer for us, she takes three medications for her epilipsy, they are very expensive in the usa, and with us living on a shoestring budget and her not working they will be hard to get, the medications are called Vimpat ($700.00 USD monthly) Oxcarbazepine ($ unknown cost but less then the Vimpat) Lamotrigine ($ unknown cost but less then the Vimpat) she has to have all these in order not to seize and live a productive life, with teh Vimpat we have a loophole where we can use the good ol usa friendly programs to our advantage, if she signs a paper to some company they send a 6 month supply to her moms, who can then forward it to us overseas, the other two meds might be able to be bought in CR at a lower cost, it is my hope that some expat here with epilepsy will see this and chime in
thats all i have for now i know this is alot, i am in the process of finding things out like the best way to get my bike over there , how i will travel, getting my legal papers in order, do i need shots? , figuring out the money thing and the best way to exchange it, is the water as scary as they say it is (montezumas revenge myth) and all sorts of other stuff
I hope someone or many of you can chime in and offer any input good or bad im very logistical and will have this all plotted out before i get on my plane
Ill see some of you soon!
Jay
Key west
for now.....