In today’s Costa Rica expat profile, we meet a multicultural family living in Playa Langosta, Costa Rica. Neither is a native Costa Rican, but Leona and Heitor met on vacation in Costa Rica and fell in love with each other and the place that they would soon call home. Here, Leona talks about raising a family, building multiple businesses, and living in a foreign country. She also introduces her latest project, The Beach Office Coworking Space.
I am so happy to have you share your life with us! Can you tell us about you and your family and explain why you chose to live abroad, away from your native country – or in your family’s case, countries?
Well, my husband and I met in Costa Rica and he is a surfer from South Brazil. We tried living in Oregon, where I’m from, but it was a little cold and the surfing just wasn’t what my husband, Heitor, was used to. We both wanted a slower life where our kids could be outside and active all year round.
The beach is the perfect place for that, especially for surfers. Since we had lived here in Costa Rica before when we first met, we were familiar with the friendly people and relaxed culture and we really wanted that.
From my experience moving to a new place has a ‘fairy tale’ quality on arrival. Was that the case for you and when you moved to a new place?
Like I said, we had lived here before, so we kind of knew what to expect. 2010 was the first time doing it with kids though, and it has been so much fun! We were lucky enough that our business at the time had a structure that allowed for us to have a lot of time together and to enjoy and get to know our new life. Dusty roads and a sweaty walk to the beach with a 3 and 4 year old was just the journey we had to go through to get to the beach or arrive home at the pool – really nothing we could complain about!
When we first arrived to live in 2010, we knew the first months to a year would be like a test. After a year and half we left and spent some time in Brazil, as well as back in the United States. It was fun, but we missed Tamarindo every single day.
So we came back. I guess for us the fairy tale is still alive and well!
You have lived in a couple of places. Can you compare them? What are the best things about living where you are now?
One thing I really love about Tamarindo is that it is a small town, but so international. Heitor passed through here in his travels before meeting me and decided back then that if he ever lived in Costa Rica, it would be Tamarindo. I had never been here, and when he told me this was where he wanted to land, I wasn’t so sure I would like it. I thought if we were going to move to Costa Rica, we should move somewhere where there are Costa Ricans, not gringos.
But I was wrong about this place – it’s not only English speakers from the US. Being an International Studies major, I love the diversity and access to cultures and languages; from the vacationers to the traveling nomads to those who choose to relocate here. It’s really amazing. Heitor too loves diversity, but really it’s the array of surf breaks that make this the place for him.
The best part about Tamarindo though is that there is a sense of unity and strong community among a people who have, for the most part, all intentionally decided to make Tamarindo their home. Because of this, people are invested in the community and truly love their home. This has really been picking up too in the past few years, with more coffee shops, local farmers, farmers markets, kids classes and activities.
I hope to add to that as well with my new project, The Beach Office Coworking Space.
The other places we have lived either don’t have the diversity, or are too big for our liking, making it difficult to find that community of people you connect with.
The Beach Office preparing for opening
What is The Beach Office?
The Beach Office is a Coworking space and business resource center. It’s a service I think the community, both traveling and living here, could really
benefit from. My hope is that it can be a central place where people connect and collaborate, either by sharing skills, information and/or resources, or diving into more exciting projects together. At the core, it is a professional work space for anyone who needs that.
Do you feel like you stay where you are now? Will you go back to the US, Brazil, or perhaps move somewhere else?
When we left Tamarindo in 2012 to visit Heitor’s family in Brazil and then mine in The United States, Tamarindo was really our only trial home; the only place we had decided to pick up and move to and see how it goes. The only reason we decided to spend so much time in Brazil and the States was that we knew that really, we could live anywhere.
Heitor and I have a lot of faith and adventurous spirits. Even with kids, we believe the world has many options for us. It just took that little time away for us to realize how much Tamarindo had soaked into our hearts. We couldn’t stay away. So while we want to visit so many places all over the world, we want Tamarindo to be our home.
Since we have been back, some really exciting projects have developed organically. Heitor is now working with kids through surf coaching and jiu jitsu and that has brought at lot of joy to our lives, to be so connected with the community we
love. We’ve really made it home.
Can you explain how you handle residency and/or working where you are now?
When we moved to Tamarindo we had developed a Brazilian Jiu Jistu association; Abrahao BJJ. Heitor is a very talented instructor and he developed a really awesome curriculum. Heitor would travel back to the United States every three months to hold seminars and instructor training workshops.
As time went on living here, some other things developed here in Tamarindo as we saw various needs and opportunities in the community.
On top of being a black belt in two martial arts, Heitor is also a skilled surfer, and the natural teaching talent crosses over to coaching surfing. He has developed a surf program for kids, training them regularly to get really good and even compete.
Now that we know this is home, home, we have started our residency process. When we examine all the places we were considering making home, Tamarindo best embraces who we are and allows us to flourish in our specialties career-wise. This isn’t the case for everyone, but if people can get creative and put the time and patience into Costa Rican paperwork, there are possibilities.
An aside – Liisa, I love the part in your book where you encourage brainstorming income stream options and exploring one’s own skill set and how they can translate into a job that provides freedom and flexibility.
Saturday Surf Club
Can you compare family life in your home country to family where you live now?
Oh family life here is way better! Especially now. Tamarindo has changed a lot since we first moved here. Lots of families and community focused services and establishments have popped up. The kids, and adults alike, have options for ways to stay fit or be creative or to learn new things and connect with people.
My son is a surfer, so that’s easy, but my daughter has an incredible dance teacher and an equally talented art teacher. Heitor and I have been able to work with a lot of kids through surfing, jiu jitsu and camps as well, and it’s just a lot of fun to connect with families who seek out a certain quality of life for their kids and for themselves.
And then there are the small, magical moments, like walking down to sunset on the beach together or when the rain comes and the kids get soaked outside before coming in and hiding out inside as a family. Plus it’s always “summer” here, so there are many ice cream trips and afternoons at the pool, or moments exploring tide pools together. These things just never get old.
Did you make any mistakes in planning, or in your initial move? If so, do you think you could have avoided them, and how?
Well, I wouldn’t really characterize either of us as planners. We are more dreamers and then we jump. Our flexibility and being able to go where the journey takes us keeps it all working for us. We have had some set backs, but we intentionally choose to go for what we want, even if that means taking risks. We rarely settle for only “what’s possible”. We could totally benefit from a little more planning, so I do recommend it.
What we did have was an existing and consistent set monthly income, a fluency in three languages and a familiarity with the culture. I would say that’s a pretty solid tool box to start with.
Our first journey back here with a family was an adventure in itself. Turns out the airline we were suppose to fly on had just gone bankrupt and was no longer flying, so that set us back a day. I spent hours on hold just praying. Once we got here, the apartment we had hoped to rent wasn’t even done!
So, Heitor negotiated a deal, in the middle of December – mid high season – for us to stay a week or two at a better rate. This allowed us time to find a more permanent rental, which Heitor did pretty effectively with his social skills.
Now that I’ve been here long enough, I understand what a miracle all that was.
Yeah, I recommend reading The Family Freedom Project and following it step by step!!!! haha. Then when you get here, or wherever,
network! Make friends and build your community.
Is there anything you wish you brought with you from home, or another stop along the way, that you don’t have?
This is pretty mundane, but the best thing I brought with me in our first move was a Magic Bullet. That made all the difference in adjusting to the different
foods and getting a new cooking rhythm down. With Heitor going back every three months the first year and half, we were able to figure out the short list of
things he should pick up.
Since then we’ve just learned to live with what’s available. Really the moving, packing and purging is the most freeing experience, one we should all relive over and over, cleansing our physical junk! I would call myself a minimalist for sure, so there’s not much I “need”.
How are your language skills? Does that make a difference to your life?
We are all trilingual: English, Spanish and Portuguese. Not only is it super helpful, but it’s fun too. I love language and hope to learn a few more before
my journey is over.
Language skills are really incredible tools for many reasons, so gift that to your kids, starting as early as possible.
Any final thoughts or insights to share?
I’m really excited to be able to share part of our journey here and hope it encourages other people to go for their dream lifestyle. Everyone’s path will look different, and that only means more people are doing it right. We aren’t all meant to follow the same roads and trample over each others footprints, but as we step out and explore what truly makes us happy, we can still be a support for one another by sharing our experiences.
I think it’s super cool the community you are creating here, Liisa. Just imagine all the people that will be inspired to check in with themselves and feel the courage to make changes, if desired. It would really be cool to see a group of people come down with you and be able to see them start that exploration process. And if our family can help in anyway, we would be more than happy to!
Thanks Leona! I look forward to seeing you, your family and your new coworking space in Tamarindo in a few months!
Leona and I would both love to hear from you. Drop us a line either here in the comment section or on the Family Freedom Project Facebook page.
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