It's really happening. After months of waiting and prodding our Costa Rica attorney, the much anticipated email finally arrived in our inbox. We're scheduled to meet with immigration in July! E-gad! Three months to finish our preparations and be on our way.
How to wrap things up in time was still keeping us up at night when when the second email arrived. The one telling us that the new immigration law requires that residency applicants show that they have been registered with the public healthcare system, known as CAJA, for at least two months when they show up to finalize the process and obtain their cedulas. The one that meant we have to leave in one month to tend to that not-so tiny bit of paperwork.
Oops. Time for Plan B.
After a couple of days of panic, a simpler plan began to emerge:
- Table all efforts to get the house ready to go on the market and focus on getting ready to become Snowbirds for the summer.
- Return in the fall to tie up loose ends and load our trimmed down household into a shipping container before we make the final move.
And with that simpler plan -- relief. After all, saying goodbye in stages will be ever so much easier than doing it in one fell swoop. Just as importantly, using the summer to scout out a longer-term rental will clear up any uncertainties we might otherwise have about to take -- or not.
Ahhh. I think we can do this.
