Anna Sosdian and Zachary Gerth spent months traveling around the U.S. in a converted camper van but, by the end of 2021, they were ready for a more permanent living arrangement. They thought of settling down near their hometowns in Virginia and South Florida, but the local real estate prices made their eyes water. Other regions of the country they could afford were too far from family, so the couple came up with another plan: They set their sights outside of the U.S.
Leaving the U.S. might seem like a big leap, but the couple had plenty of practice living abroad. Sosdian, 35, and Gerth, 37, met working for an NGO in Kenya, making it official at a wedding in Zanzibar. After that, they lived in Rwanda.
Upon returning to the U.S. in 2020, Gerth and Sosdian wanted to start a family but, in addition to real estate prices, they were put off by the cost of child care in the U.S. Soon, they began to dream of moving abroad again, but this time on their own terms, not an employer's.
"The pandemic for a lot of people was a moment of self reflection and wondering what we should be doing now," says Sosdian. A plan formed: With Sosdian's background in international HR, they could help other people move abroad, using their own experience as a jumping off point.
In early 2022, they moved to Costa Rica, and have lived there happily ever since. Here's how they did it.
Are you an American who has moved abroad? Fortune would like to talk to you. Email senior writer Alicia Adamczyk at alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com if you are interested in being featured in a future article.
A quick visa and then a home
The couple considered a few different places for their international move, including Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Costa Rica. They wanted somewhere close to Gerth's family in Florida, and in a timezone that where the could work remotely in the U.S. A lower cost of living relative to the U.S. was also, naturally, a major deciding factor. Costa Rica checked all of those boxes. It offers a a two-and-a-half hour direct flight to Miami and, helping to clinch their decision, it has a stable government and fairly simple visa process.
There are a few different visa types that Americans and other foreigners can use in Costa Rica, including a pensioner's visa, an investor's visa, and the Digital Nomad visa. Gerth and Sosdian opted for the tourist visa at first, which granted them 180 days in the country. They left the U.S. with one suitcase each, determined to use the first five weeks of their move to suss out different towns, renting homes for a week at a time. During those exploratory weeks, they tried to live as locals would, running errands, buying groceries, and keeping tourist trips to a minimum.
While the couple expected to settle on a beach near the coast, they ultimately decided on a city in the mountains, nestled between the airport and a large tourist destination on a large lake. After the first week there, they rented a home for a month, then a year, and finally decided that's where they wanted to buy their first home. It's the best of all worlds, they say.
"We went north, and it was a lot cooler, the lake was gorgeous, we went kayaking and we fell in love with the nature here," says Sosdian, noting they often wake to toucans and monkeys in their backyard. "It's a very welcoming community."
Finding the right house took a little work. It's not as easy for foreigners to get a mortgage or competitive interest rate, they say, and they worked with a realtor who could show them the ins and outs of the market. They looked in their town for around five months, thinking they'd buy a lot on the lakefront and build their own. After putting a 10% deposit down on one lot, they pulled out, as other quotes to build on it and fix a retaining wall (a necessity in Costa Rica) were too costly.
Finally, they found a home for sale and negotiated with the owner directly. The house cost well under $300,000, and they've put around $40,000 of work into it. Still, with three bedrooms, a separate office, and a lakefront view, it's far more than they would have gotten in the U.S., they say.
While the couple has a bank account in Costa Rica, they still do most of their banking in the U.S.—that is where their business is incorporated—and pay self-employment taxes in the U.S. (Costa Rica does not tax foreign income.) Their advice to those interested in moving abroad is to have a credit card with no foreign transaction fees as well as a debit card that allows fee-free withdrawals internationally.
Missing Trader Joe's
Life is easier in Costa Rica, Gerth and Sosdian say. While getting used to the pace and culture of a new country is always difficult for expats—the couple describes the process as the "moving abroad emotional roller coaster"—the family now feels at home.
"If you were to move down the street in the U.S., that’d be tough. Moving abroad is 100 times worse," says Gerth. "It’s much more relaxed here, and people want to live here because of that. But it’s harder to get things done. America is built around getting things done, make it efficient for us to spend money. Costa Rica is not. It’s more relationship based, which is a big change for Americans."
But they prefer it that way. Of course, not everything is cheaper. Electronics are pricier compared to the states, as is anything else that needs to be imported. When friends and family members visit, they bring a suitcase full of goodies, including baby formula and Trader Joe's cookie butter. "The cost of staying with us is bringing an extra bag of stuff," Gerth jokes.
It's been a great place to run their company, StartAbroad, which helps Americans with the logistics of moving abroad. So far, they've aided hundreds of people secure visas, search for rental homes, purchase cars, and relocate their pets to Costa Rica and Portugal. The business has been so successful that they are adding Spain and Panama as new destinations.
It's the type of service they wish existed when they were searching for a new place to live, they say. While there's a wealth of information on the internet about moving abroad, much of it is outdated or simply incorrect, says Gerth. "Do it right the first time" has become part of their business ethos.
Gerth and Sosdian welcomed a daughter last December. Born in Costa Rica, she is a dual citizen, and the couple is happy she will grow up learning both English and Spanish. They are also now permanent residents, and are able to hire a full-time nanny to care for her in their home.
While it can get lonely at times—luckily, both speak Spanish and are able to communicate with community members—they don't plan to move back to the U.S. any time soon.
"There’s a lot of reasons people want to move abroad, and there’s a lot of difficulty," says Gerth. "We’ve learned that there’s barriers in everyone’s path and there’s ways to overcome those barriers if you want to."
