About

Eco-Expat: a protracted tale of moving from one America to another is a book, a blog, a contribution, and an adventure. Maybe one day it’ll be a forum.

I bought land in Costa Rica in 2010 with the idea of living there full-time with my children. Since then I’ve gone through a divorce, thought I was giving up on my Costa Rica dream, decided that would be insane on a couple different levels, and re-connected with the folks already living in the eco-resort where my land was.

After emailing the land developer several times, and telling him how much I was still interested in moving there, he shared with me another option. One that fit me even more perfectly than Osa Mountain Village.

I triumphantly placed the rest of my savings on the new place he opened up – Serenity Gardens Eco-Village, just ten miles away – and my current plan is to move there after the children are out of school. Sooner, if they end up wanting to come with me. In the interim, it’ll be a FABULOUS vacation spot.

Eco-Expat will be the story of my journey from the United States of America to Central America. I’ll detail the preparations I make (physically, emotionally, financially, and mentally) before the move; I’ll write about my current homesteading and permaculture efforts in Eugene, Oregon while awaiting my move; and all the red-tape stuff that creeps up during the process.

If you are debating a similar plan of your own (or just like reading about people who do), rest assured Eco-Expat: a protracted tale of moving from one America to another will lead you there, every step of the way.

Here’s an overview (and great video) of both Osa Mountain Village and Serenity Gardens Eco-Village.

The blogged book, Eco-Expat, will include tabbed pages identifying the bounty, beauty and …  coolness of both Osa Mountain Village and Serenity Gardens Eco-Village. I’ll have photos, videos, news items about the region, and my ambivalent quest to learn some Spanish. This book will be half how-to/half memoir, in the same vein as the book, Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life, and the blog and forum, Down to Earth.

Please join me along the way, leave comments, suggest edits, share your stories. When my move is completed, I’ll package up the most relevant posts, add a few bonus chapters, and sell the printed version of Eco-Expat. The blog, however, will continue with culture shock, making money in a foreign country, and perpetual tourist stories, as well as a chronicling of my Costa Rican homesteading. I’m going to keep chickens and bees and dance and do yoga! Pura Vida! The good life.