- Zachary Gerth is a 37-year-old American who moved to Costa Rica in February 2022 with his partner.
- He wanted to buy a house, afford childcare, and have a more laid-back lifestyle.
- He is now raising his daughter in Costa Rica and can afford a nanny who is part of the family.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Zachary Gerth, cofounder of StartAbroad, a concierge international relocation service. It has been edited for length and clarity.
After college, I served in the Peace Corps and then worked in Africa. When COVID-19 hit, my partner, Anna, and I temporarily lived in several states while deciding where we wanted to live. We were both interested in living abroad again for several reasons.
If we were staying in the US, we'd look to buy in a city so that my partner and I could continue working in international development. The houses we were looking at were about $700,000. We could not afford that price.
Although we didn't have children at the time, we both wanted to have them. However, we knew we couldn't continue to work when we did have children because the price of childcare was so high. We knew plenty of people spent up to $3,000 monthly on childcare.
We wanted our future child to live in a healthier, more community-oriented culture where she could also be raised bilingually.
So, we took the plunge and moved to Costa Rica.
We wanted to be in similar time zones with the US
We were sure we wanted to live in Central or South America. These countries worked in American time zones, which would be good for our business and close enough for family to visit. Before moving to Costa Rica, we took a five-week trip and stayed in five different places to decide where to move.
We decided on Nuevo Arenal, in the north of Costa Rica. It had a small community feel and was right next to a beautiful lake. We officially made the move in February 2022.
In the last year, we were able to buy a four-bedroom, three-bath house for about half of what we would have paid in the DC area. It has almost an acre of land attached to it, with a lakeside view.
Our nanny is part of our family
We found a nanny who lives down the street from us and takes care of our 11-month-old daughter full time. The nanny has become part of our family and adores our daughter. Even the nanny's mother loves our daughter, and often makes video calls to see her.
Since we have childcare, my wife and I can work full-time, knowing our daughter is safe.
We love the fact that she will grow up naturally bilingual and a dual citizen.
The culture is so friendly and welcoming. As we are making an effort to integrate into the community, people have accepted us as expats. We can take our daughter everywhere because children are always welcome in social contexts.
When my family comes to visit, they can jump on a direct flight that only takes a few hours. We feel completely safe here, and I feel confident that my daughter will be safe when she starts going to school.
We love the laidback lifestyle
The most challenging aspect of Costa Rican culture is also the part of the culture I love most—the laid-back lifestyle.
The US is geared up to get things done — especially if it involves making money. That's not valued in the same way here. Getting things done can be really painful, moving very slowly. It's what expats struggle with most when moving here.
But the relaxed lifestyle is also one of Costa Rica's best assets. When we aren't working, we spend our time by the lake, meeting friends to play games, going to the beach, and working in the garden.
Although we never plan on moving back to the US unless a parent becomes very unwell, I can't imagine we'll stay in this town forever. We will want a better selection of schools for our daughter. We may stay in Costa Rica, in a different town, or move to another country.