As soon as I can, I’ll update you on my one year trip. I’ve decided to leave everything behind and spend real time with the people that matter the most in my life: my wife and three children. This is my story, I hope it will inspire you to create yours.
You can read my previous “on the road” articles:
Date: from December 2nd to January 2nd
Countries/States/Province traveled through: Costa Rica
I’m writing this on the road exactly one month after we arrived to Costa Rica. This post is about the life in Costa Rica and also the lessons I’ve learned so far during this trip. I knew this was going to be a life changing experience, but I didn’t expect the outcome of it.
Life in Costa Rica
To give you an idea, this is my view from my bedroom:
Each morning, I wake up watching toucans, coatis (I named one “Patati” as we feed them a lot!) and this incredible landscape. Each neighbor is about 200 meters of our place and we don’t even see them as the nature is omnipresent here. We live in Baru, a small village nearby Domincal, another small village of surfer:
I love the feel of this village as it has only 3 roads and life is quite simple; enjoy the beach, relax and meet cool people. We rented a car for the next three month as we wanted to explore every bit of this beautiful country.
We created a small life here. William is playing soccer with kids every week, we explore a different famers’ market and we spend time between playas and waterfalls.
**William, Amy and myself jumped over the highest point (on the left) of this waterfall**
So how’s life in paradise?
Surprisingly, we hit a huge down when we arrived
I never thought this would be possible, but it happened. For the first 3 weeks, we felt almost depressive. It’s like if we lost our drive, our adrenaline and our bodies let us know that we went too far. No kidding, I was in bed before 9pm for 3 weeks in a row!
Living in a house was “complicated” for us… many things to manage! We weren’t used to stay at the same place for more than a few days in a row. The sedentarily stay hurt us like a disease. We felt like we were going back to the people we were before the trip and we didn’t want that. Memories of our old home started to strike back and we started missing our home, family and friends. Did we made all this to come back empty handed? This is what went through our mind for a while.
Now that this phase is over, I can tell you it was all related to the “end” of the first part of our trip. We worked so hard and went through so many highs and lows that reaching our destination created emptiness in our heart. But we needed this emptiness to clear our thoughts and find what we want to do once we return. We are taking the time here to define the new life we want to experiment.
Then, my mother arrived, we celebrated Christmas together and I’m currently having my sister-in-law with her family for 2 weeks (on top of receiving the visit of my best friend next week!!!). Life is getting back on track and I’m now able to synthesize what I’ve learned so far.
I’m invincible
I told you in my latest on the road that I’ve become invincible. It’s not that I’m fearless, I still have several fears. The difference is that now I know that I can achieve anything in life and that no fears are bigger than my will to achieve my goals. Funny enough, we are all invincible, it’s just that we don’t know it yet. This trip confirmed what I read in many books over the past decade: we can do anything in life and we will succeed.
My thirst for doing more projects is growing fast these days. I can see all the possibilities in front of me. All I have to do is to pick what I want to do and make it happen! It’s like the world became my playground, I feel like a kid in a Toys ‘R us!
I love the connection with Mother Nature
We spent lots of time hiking during this trip. I’ve explored:
The mountains of the Canadian Rockies, Mount Rushmore, Yosemite, Gran Tetons and Zion;
The different beaches of Vancouver Island, Oregon, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico and Costa Rica;
The nature miracles of Yellow Stone, Death Valley, Antelope;
The power of volcanoes Pacaya, Massaya & Cerro Negro;
Driving routes with incredible landscapes across Canada, the U.S. and Central America.
I noticed all this time spent admiring what the world has best to offer made me very close to our planet. I don’t see consumption the same way as I do. I have plans to compost, double the size of my garden and even have hens! I will search for more eco-friendly ways to manage my house and we will buy less clothes and other stuff! I’ve been living with about 10 days of clothes for 6 months and I don’t miss my wardrobe yet!
Money isn’t that bad
Oh yeah… money! You are going to tell me it’s fun to live your dreams, but you still need money to finance them, right? To be honest, we always find a way to make it happen anyhow. As of January 3rd, I’ve spent a total of $31,171.97 plus $8,000 for the villa (I live there until Feb 27th). If all goes well, I can expect to spend about $70,000 in total for the entire year. This is obviously without counting what we invested in the RV and other purchases before our trip. Still, this amazing adventure will cost me less than $90,000. What is $90,000 in a life span? Not much. In fact, I spend about the same amount of money when I live at home and I don’t have this much fun! Hahaha!
The idea is having the capacity of generating money along the way. I was working nights on my websites before I left and continued working during my trip. Now that we are based in a house, I have 2 days of full work per week. So far, I didn’t have to touch my investment to finance my trip. A combination of my online income, renting my house and about $400 per month in Government allocation (children allocation) make it possible. I will not come back home with much in my bank account, but my heart and soul will be filled with happiness, the most important currency of all.
My family is closer than ever
Being 24/7 all together is not always easy. The lack of space combined with the warm weather obviously lead to a few brother-sister fights you can imagine! But something grew up between us. A bond that is so solid, so magic, it will last forever.
I can see how my kids are playing together, how they enjoy spending time with us and the discussions we have with them. During our trip, we discussed the U.S. election, topics like homeless people, school in other countries, the difference between North America and a third world country, etc. Both older kids grew up interest in cooking, traveling and art (William now builds shell sculptures!).
My wife and I became the best team ever. We are here to support each other and we had some much laugher in the past 6 months, it was rediscovering my wife a second time. As we evolve, we discuss about our future, about how we see life and the persons we want to become.
If there is only one thing that comes out of this trip, it will be that we have spent the most amazing year of our life all together. I wrote it before; you can always make money, but you can buy the time back. It would be impossible for us to live this kind of experience once I’ll retire at the age of 55 or 60.
If there is one thing I can wish you for 2017 is to stop thinking you can achieve your dream once you retire and start living them now. Get out of your comfort zone, challenge your life and people around you, make things happen, you will only get happier!
Great write up. Thanks for sharing your highs and lows of the trip.
You are right about time: you can not buy back time.
My plan for the summer is to have 1 month off and next to our 2 weeks family road trip to have also a few roadtrips with the kids. Camping would be nice…
nice plan ATL!
where do you plan to go? I can’t wait to go back to Europe… probably in 2018 or 2019! We want to travel one month per year from now on. Now it’s only a matter of making enough money… but travelling has become a top priority for us!
Wow, seems like an amazing journey so far.
“I will not come back home with much in my bank account, but my heart and soul will be filled with happiness, the most important currency of all.”
Isn’t this all that matters 🙂 Love how you explain that money can’t buy you happiness, but that you have to create your own and shouldn’t wait until goals are met.
We’re going on a short trip to the west coast in about 5 weeks time. Will be our first time there, but I’ve heard some great stories.
Hey Divnomics!
I think many people are too focused on saving money aside for their future and forget to live now. I think we should try to reach a balance between now and then :-).
The West Coast? loved it! From Vancouver Island to bottom of California (I didn’t fall in love with the Baja 😉 ).
I think my favorite place was Vancouver Island and Oregon. Chilly, but beautiful!
Cheers,
Mike
Hi, Mike I’m glad to hear you and your family are living the once in a lifetime vacation. I have a feeling one day you may retire in Costa Rica. Oh before I forget, let us know when your book on your trip is published.
Be safe and God Bless you all.
Skip
Hello Skip,
Thx my friend!
Honestly, if I had to retire elsewhere in the world, Kelowna, BC and Hawai would be on top of my list, before Costa Rica.
I really enjoy it here, but there are a few things that makes me go crazy… like having to go to a coffee shot to have internet… and even the fastest internet coffee shop of Dominical is having recurrent problem with their network ;-).
I am 66, and early in 2016, I suffered a life-threatening stroke that has left me capable of about 1/10th the things I could always do before. This will probably be permanent, but I am thankful to be alive. All I can say, is life is what happens while we are busy making other plans, so enjoy the ‘here and now’!
Hello Richard,
I know you have been following me for a while now. This means a lot to me. I’m sorry to hear about what happened to you. You show me another great example of why I’m trying to live now and not tomorrow. It’s so easy to forget that life is precious!
Cheers,
Mike
How did you find your rental in Costa Rica? Any reputable website you can recommend for long-term rental in Costa Rica? Thanks. It is always fun to read you.
Hello Venise,
I used airbnb to book my rental. I am satisfied with the whole process and reading about other renters comment prior to make my choice helped me a lot!
Cheers,
Mike
Nice Mike – I know Dominical pretty well from a former life (Stayed near Uvita) – looks like it may have grown. I could not agree more – life design is super fun. I continually find it amazing what happens when you start seeing and dreaming what is possible way beyond the grind. The adventure you are having with your family is very inspiring – I can only imagine the wonderful lessons for you kids. May the adventure never stop no matter where you are.
Hello Quinn!
I didn’t know you lived in Uvita, that’s a great place! My son is playing soccer there! I enjoy the playa over Uvita, we go there often (my our favorite is Dominicalito 😉 ).
Cheers,
Mike
Hey Mike and Family:
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!
Inspiring, Inspiring, Inspiring!
Keep on inspiring!
Connect when you are in Milton, ON.
?
Hello Raj!
thx!
Unfortunately, our passage in Ontario was at the beginning of our trip. We will not going back this year (but we never know in the future!).
Cheers,
Mike
Such amazing writing!
At age nearly 90, My wife and I have done it all but I hate getting old and a bit infirm. So many of my friends are gone. In the end does it matter? Oh but what memories.Wish you and your family a very happy journey!
Hello Krishan,
Thank you so much for your kind words! You are confirming I’m doing the right thing! memories is the most precious gift we can give ourselves!
Cheers,
Mike
Greetings from Chiang Mai, Thailand, Mike and family!
I am so happy to read your posts and see the transformation that has happened. You are living proof that we can live our dreams and not simply dream our life!
For the past 2 years, I have been “living fabulously” after being downsized froma university teaching career.
I made sure my investments were sound, and started doing Air BNb from my home for income. Great way to meet wonderful people! I’ve also rented out my home for several months the past 2 winters so I can travel to warm and exotic locations (backpacking at 56 no less!).
One thing I would advise your readers, as you have pointed out, is to face your fears. YES you can rent out your home to a stranger. YES you can go to a country where you don’t know anyone or speak the language. YES you can live on your defined budget. It’s all about saying YES, then making it happen! I was the proverbial Volvo-driving soccer mom for about 30 years. I finally right-sized my life, my priorities and the people that were in it. Now I look around at my new life and I smile!
Life is too short to be ruled by fear of failure or facing the unknown. We are much more capable and resilient than we think we are.
GO for it!
Safe travels for the remainder of your fabulous year, Mike.
Roberta W
Halifax
Hello Roberta,
wow, reading your comment this morning gives me shivers! You kind of describing the future I want to live in a few years from now! We have been discussing our future projects a lot lately and I think we will go back to Quebec to set some roots for our kids. They miss their friends (especially my oldest son).
We want to travel each year from now one, but probably 1 month per year. Once the kids grow older (in 10-15 years or so), we will be able to travel the world my wife and I and probably come back home only from time to time.
As you say; everything is possible, it’s only a matter of saying YES!
Thank you so much for sharing! We are also planning some family travel. Can you tell us more about how the RV worked for you guys? Are you renting it? The reason I ask is you mentioned $70k and then $90k? I assumed an RV like that would go for over $50k itself? Would you consider doing a trip using other modes of travel or accommodations such as airbnb, hostels or hotels?
Love to hear your thoughts! Thx!
Hello Chris,
It’s funny you asked as I have a few article ideas to explain this whole part of the trip :-).
We bought the RV in 2014 to practice in 2015 and modify it according to our needs. I then have a 40K loan to pay over the next 10 years. Right now, I see this part more as a cash flow thing (e.g. costing $520/month with insurance included) than the real $40K + interest I have to pay throughout 10 years.
RVing in North America is easy and probably the most effective means of travelling as countries are big and there are lots of things to do and see. However, when you reach Central America, it is getting a bit of a challenge to drive with a 25ft RV. The roads are not exactly built for that! hahaha!
In the future, we think more of swapping our house or using airbnb to travel. We found we rather stay at one place and use it as a hub to discover what is around us (a little bit like we do now in Costa Rica).
I’ll have a post about the total cost of my trip so far (including expenses related to the RV or the villa we are renting for 3 months) in a few weeks. Stay tuned 🙂
If you have any more questions; please send me an email at dividendustries@gmail.com. I love to discuss about travelling!
Cheers,
Mike.