Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers - Nosara: Costa Rica’s Expat Surfer Paradise

Episode Date: November 29, 2019

“The monkeys wake me up every morning. There are parrots outside my window,” says Julie Sarver, an expat who moved from Portland to Nosara, Costa Rica. “that is so magical and wonderful.” When you think of Costa Rica, do you usually think of a tropical rainforest with a cute toucan flying around? While you’ll definitely get the wildlife, Nosara’s vibe is more expat beach community. On this episode, you’ll learn about... the cultural differences between the U.S. and Costa Rica; what Julia loves about her new home, and how you can make a life in Costa Rica happen for you;all of Julia’s best advice on what to see, do, and eat when you’re visiting Nosara, Costa Rica.  If you love beaches, baby turtles, and secret supper clubs, Nosara might be your dream place. (show notes at postcardacademy.co) I’m your host, Sarah Mikutel. Did you know I host another show called Podcasting Step by Step? Check it out if you’ve been wanting to start a podcast. Every week, I break down ‘how to podcast’ with a little loving motivation to give you the skills and confidence you need to finally launch that show of your dreams. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Hello, my friend. I am so excited to announce that the doors to podcast launch academy are open. If you are looking for easy to understand guidance to walk you through every step of creating launching and growing a professional quality podcast from scratch, then this online course is for you. But it's not just an online course. Podcast Launch Academy is an experience because if you join this first class, which will close its doors at 11.59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 26. You will also get two months of free group coaching and mentorship from me. So if you've been wanting to start a podcast for a while and you are just sick of struggling trying to figure it out on your own and you don't want to be in the same spot next year,

then I invite you to join a podcast Launch Academy where you will learn how to launch your first podcast without the tech headache overwhelmed or where do I even start worries. This course begins November 29th, but enrollment closes, as I said, at 1159 p.m. Eastern Time, November 26. Visit sarah micotel.com slash course for all the details, and this link will be in your show notes. Welcome to the Postcard Academy. I'm your host Sarah Micatel, and today we are going to Costa Rica. I'm speaking with Julia Sarber, an American expat, now living in Nosara Costa Rica with their family. Now, when I think of Costa Rica, I usually think of a tropical rainforest with a little toucan flying around. That's the postcard I have in my head. But Nosaunaniw.

Sarah's vibe is more expat beach community. Kandinas Traveler magazine has called Nosara, Costa Rica's chic serf town, and its oldest expat town, which has enjoyed a mini-renaissance thanks to fresh restaurants, hotels, and shops. In this episode, Julia tells us why she and her family packed up everything and headed south and what they really love about their new home. So we're going to get all of her best advice on what to see, do and eat when we are visiting Nosara Costa Rica. Julia is founder of a health coach uprising.

An online company, she started to help other health coaches get started in the profession. And this online career is what made her move to Costa Rica possible. So we will get into that as well. Now into my conversation with Julia. Welcome, Julia. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thanks so much for having me, Sarah. You are an American living in Costa Rica. Where did you grow up? Well, I'm actually not even an American. Oh, you're not. Oh, my dad. I'm not. No, it's okay. I don't think I told you this secret about me. I'm an American permanent resident and I have spent most of my life in the Portland, Oregon area. But I'm actually, I come from an international family. My mom is Danish. My dad is German and I was born in Germany. So I actually still have my German citizenship. So it's kind of funny. I've lived in the U.S. since I was four. Oh, wow.

You're a dual citizen like me, a fellow EU citizen. Yes, I'm an EU citizen, which is I didn't want to give that up. That was something that was really important to me. But I'm actually still not an American citizen because Germany almost never allows you to do dual. So I have to, I'm working on a petition for that. That's probably less of a headache for you, to be honest, to just be a permanent resident. I mean, some days. But so dual citizenship with Europe gives you so much freedom of movement. However, you're not living in

Europe. You're living in Costa Rica. So how did you end up there? Yeah. So this is a funny story. So I married an American and we have two children. And our kids are five and one. And we just basically wanted an opportunity to go live a really different life. And one of the things that we have always been interested in is wildlife and also beach living. And so Costa Rica fits both of those things really well. And we heard about a really incredible school here in Nosara called Delmar Academy. And we looked into it. And we thought, well, if we can apply and if my son gets into the school, then we will go ahead and go. And we applied. He got in and it just kind of kept going from there. Oh, wow. So how are you able to live and work there? So to come down here, my husband actually had to quit his job of 16 years,

which was a big step for us. And now I'm the one who's financially responsible for our family, which is exciting and also some days a little bit nerve-wracking. But I've had a business for 10 years and I have been working as a health coach for the first five years of that. And then the second five years after I had my first son, I made a switch and started working with health coaches teaching them how to build their businesses, how to get that first round of clients and how they can run group programs so that they can kind of learn how to scale their business, use their time really well, and teach people about how important it is to pay attention to how your body feels, how what you eat makes a difference, how lifestyle can really help you just kind of have the most

out of the life you're living. So that's the work that I do now. So logistically, visa-wise, How are you and your family able to live and work in Costa Rica? So we looked into a lot of different options, and we could apply for residency, but we're not honestly sure if we're going to stay. We're here kind of on a test year. And my oldest son is five. He's in kindergarten. And we thought, well, kindergarten's probably a good year to just test and see what's possible, right? And so we're here currently on a tourist visa. We almost did a student visa, which I think is hysterical that my five-year-old could have sponsored our whole family into the country. Is that possible?

Yes, isn't that amazing? My five-year-old could sponsor me, his dad, and his brother. But it was very complicated and frankly, really expensive. So we're here on a tourist visa, which actually means that every 90 days we have to do border runs. So our first border run is coming up next weekend where we're going to have to drive north to Nicaragua and just basically exit for half an hour and then come back in. Are you going to tour around to Nicaragua at all? I don't think this time because we are juggling some visitors.

My mother-in-law just arrived and my mother is coming right after she leaves. So we're going to basically go north to drop one at the airport, do the border run, and then pick the other one up. Wow. So glamorous. I know. I think that's the funny thing about this expat life or this adventure life, right? It's like everyone's like, must be so exciting. It's like, yes, and also complicated and college.

Yeah, yeah. That's true. That's true. I'm living in Brexit land right now. And we're all like, what's happening? It's so confusing. That sounds so difficult. It's a challenge. But I love being here. So I'm going to try to ride it out. I think a lot of people are. Yeah. So, okay, so every 90 days, you've got to do a border run? But if you guys decide this is the place we want to be, do you know what the next steps are? Like, can you apply for residency after a certain period of time? You can apply for residency before you arrive. So you can basically file all the paperwork and then you have to go, you know, there's all these steps you have to follow. And as far as I understand it, you can apply for residency. And then basically you have to come to a specific police station in San Jose in the capital city to get your fingerprints done. And once you've done that, like then your residency starts to be processed. So you can really do it any time. You just have to prove here that you can support yourself financially and then you're able to come in.

That's excellent. So for you, as somebody who works online remotely and your clients are elsewhere, you have the freedom to do that. So I think that's definitely something that I love talking to people about because that's one of the biggest questions that I get from people is especially Americans, they don't have the dual citizenship that we have that lets us live in different countries. So they're like, how can I do it? And from everything I've seen, the easiest way is to have a job that lets you work from anywhere. Yes. And here in Costa Rica, they are very protective of the locals' jobs, and I think they should be. So it's very, very difficult to get a job that a local could do. So that's not really an option here. And the other thing to think about is the minimum wage here is $3 an hour. So you might get a job here, but your salary will be so much lower than what you're used to. It will take a lot of adjustment. So this also gives us the freedom to live kind of closer to what we used to live at home, but also one of the reasons for moving here was simplifying because, you know, life gets over complicated. And then you add children to the mix and my husband used to

travel a lot for work. So now we're just trying to like have our days be much simpler, which for whatever reason is easier to do here. Well, yes, let's talk about your life in Costa Rica. So what's the best thing so far living and working there? Oh my gosh. That is a big question. So we, so this town we're in, Nosara, is an incredible blend of international expats and locals. And everywhere you turn, someone is going to help you. So like an example is I went, we went out to dinner and my one-year-old started running off and the server could see a different server, not even our server could see that I was trying to eat and chase my kid. And he jumped up and he said, don't worry, I've got it. And he grabbed my kid and played with my kid so I could eat my dinner.

And so it's so magical to me here how children are embraced and people want children to be part of the culture here. They want children to be here. And that's really different from the U.S. You know, it's much harder to go out to dinner in the U.S. with kids because you're so worried about, oh, my gosh, are my kids being annoying anybody? And of course, it's not like I want to let my kids run wild, but it's more of a, it feels like a team effort, even though that person was a total stranger. So I feel like, you know, if I run into a problem anywhere, someone will help me. So in Nosara, because there's such a big expat culture, are people speaking English there? Is it mostly Spanish? What is the language like? It's a total blend. And so a lot of people are multilingual here, which is really great. And that's one of the reasons we chose the schools so that my older son could be exposed to lots of different cultures. So I speak passable Spanish, but I'm learning and practicing. And most people speak a little.

a little Spanish and then mostly English or mostly Spanish and a little English. So it's kind of a blend. Could you give us a visual snapshot of No, Sarah? Where is it geographically? What does the postcard look like? Oh, man. Well, the postcard would be a shot of the coastline because we're on the Pacific Coast. We are on the northern part of the Pacific coast in what's called the dry tropical rainforest.

So what I can see literally right now is I'm looking at the Pacific and I'm looking down over the jungle canopy. So I can see like the backs of birds as they're flying. I can see the surfers in the water. I can see the white caps. And it is so lush and stunning and green. And one of the things that's so incredible about Nosara and this region is that there are strict building regulations.

So there are not actually any buildings on the beach. So when you look at the beach from the hillside or when you're on the beach, you're not surrounded by a bunch of hotels. It's just beach and jungle. And that just feels honestly so magical. That does sound perfect. And, you know, kudos to them for having the foresight to not let developers or like, God forbid, like chemical companies building on the coast.

I think that's great. Yeah. Yeah. And really here, I mean, the culture here is one of surf, yoga, and environmentalism. It's kind of this funny blend. And it's, it's, I think that's one of the reasons we were attracted to it, too, is because it gives us this opportunity to prioritize. those lifestyle pieces that are important to us, taking care of the planet.

The school that my son attends is an environmental Montessori school. So this environmental conversation is a primary piece of his education. And his school is also half Spanish, half English. So he's getting exposure to Spanish. And then there are also local families that attend the school.

So their kids are learning English and the environmental piece. So it's kind of, I mean, it's maybe again, it's a little cheesy to say, but it feels very magical here. Like there's this magic here that I have not really experienced anywhere else. How do I get there? How do we get there? Well, I have a guest room. Come visit. So you can either fly into Liberia, which is the airport in the northern part of Costa Rica or San Jose.

There's a, it's about a two and a half to three hour drive from Liberia, and it's five to six hours from San Jose. And there's also a tiny, tiny airport here in Nosada, where you can, can take a little pedal jumper plane if you wanted to as well. Oh, wow. So they make us work to get there a little bit. It's a few hours drive. So do we need to rent a car or is there some other way to get there? You can and probably want to rent a car at some point. And you can take a shuttle. So we actually have connected with a shuttle driver here who's actually taken my mom and who's taken me once to the airport. But we have we have cars and you can rent cars. I will say driving here is a little bit of an extreme sport in particular here in Nosara because the roads are not paved and the potholes are

spectacular. Like they are really enormous. And so you have to be sort of prepared for a little bit of adventure driving here. Oh wow. So you're all driving around done dirt roads. Yeah. So yeah. So it's such a funny mix of vehicles when you get here. So you'll see the expats are basically we're all in like four runners or bigger. These big four wheel drive vehicles. The locals are all on motorcycles because they've been driving motorcycles since they were, I mean, you can see families with, like, their kids all on one motorcycle. And then there's also a lot of quads. So, like, think like ATV off-road vehicles that are just used as primary forms of transportation. It sounds like a very sporty place. So what experiences should we have when we visit, No, Sarah? Yeah. So it is a very sporty place.

So we have horseback riding. Of course we have surfing. You should definitely surf for at least boogie board. lots of places that do surf lessons. There's yoga, there's spin studios, Pilates. It's very easy to be active here, which I think is great. One of the things I would really encourage you to do is if you can be here when there's something called the Adi Bada. Have you heard of this? I have not. Okay, so the Adibata happens at a beach that's just north of Nosare, at Ostianol Wildlife Refuge.

And it's a nesting site for olive ridley turtles. and I had the opportunity to go see this last month. It's one of two nesting sites for all of Ridley's in the world. And all of Ridley's are a different type of sea turtle because when they're ready to lay their eggs, they all come at the same time. So you're literally on the beach with thousands of turtles laying their eggs. And you can be there with tens of thousands

and over the course of the week that it happens, hundreds of thousands of turtles come and lay their eggs. And it is just, I mean, it is so incredible. It's such an incredible spectacle of nature to witness. So that's something that if you can do it, I really encourage people to check that out. Oh, wow. That's every October. Yeah.

So it happens from July through December, but really it's been, one just ended last week. And then one happened in September. We saw one mid-September. And then two to three weeks after that, all that turtles start hatching. So then you can go see them hatching after. word, which is, you know, again, totally incredible. So that does sound very special. It's very special because it only happens here and one other place because there's a special black sand at osteoanol. So it's the local guides will take you there and they protect the turtles there and they have

lots of rules in place and you do have to go with a guide and you can get one in advance or you can actually honestly just show up on the beach and they'll assign you a guide when you get there. Do you have a tour group that you recommend to see these turtles? I don't. So we actually, we have been working with locals who we've met. And so the local network here is so incredible. And so I'll just text someone who I know locally. And he'll say, oh, yeah, my cousin does that or my friend does that. And it's just, you can basically ask anywhere. People are so helpful here and so connected. So what other experiences should we have? What have you tried so far? Have you done surf lessons? So I am, I have not done surf lessons yet, but my husband has, and he is already up and surfing after like three lessons, which is incredible.

And it's going to be my turn to do them the next round of lessons that we sign up for. And my son has gotten really into boogie boarding, which is incredible because he was totally scared of the water when he got here. So he is completely shifted. Is the water warm there? The water is warm. I mean, right now it's rainy season, so the water is not as warm as it's going to be. but it's definitely you feel really great in this water. It's not like where I grew up in Oregon and we would go swimming in the Pacific and come out

and our lips would be blue. Yeah. So do you have any names of any tour groups that you like or like your husband where he did surfing? Do you know the name of that company? Yeah. So my husband takes surf lessons with a company called Agua Tibia. They've been so great. It's a local Tico who runs it.

And so Tico is the term for Costa Ricans, native Costa Ricans. And he has had such a great experience with Agua Tibia. And then for transfers, if anybody needs help with getting a ride to and from the airport or even tour groups, we have been using Gionis transfer. Yeah, so that's something that we really are trying to make an effort with is, you know, really supporting the locals who and using their services. So we have had a great experience with Gionis transports. Luis, who runs that company, he has, he grew up in Nosar. his family is here. He has three daughters who he raised here in Nosara and then he has two drivers in addition to him. And then he's also doing these mountain bike tours and surf tours. So he's a great

person if people are looking for some help. It's gionis transports.com is their website. And that's spelled G-U-I-O-N-E-S. Perfect. Thank you. So you mentioned the turtles. That sounds like an incredible experience. Are there any hidden gems that you would take me to in Costa Rica? So I would definitely take you to all of the beaches. So the beaches have different feels. So Playa Palada is a beach that is kind of a cove. I think that is such a stunning beach and it's one that's favored by a lot of the locals from the conversations we've had. Catching a sunset at Playa Palada is like that's an experience you won't forget. And the sunsets here are so incredible. The sky just turns all these brilliant colors of red and orange, yellow,

purple. So I definitely recommend that. And also, sunset culture is kind of a thing here. Like, it's a thing where everyone, families all go down together, expats, tourists, locals alike, and we all share the sunset together. So that's something that I would say don't miss if you come to Nosara. And on the beach, are they having picnics? You mentioned that people don't, like, they don't have hotels built up. Are there restaurants and like beach chairs and things like that or pretty much people are bringing their own stuff to the beach? So there's nothing on the beach really. At Playa Palada, there's two restaurants kind of set back and you can sit at those and look out. But for the most part, people bring their surfboard, boogie board and their swimsuit and that's it. And so

that's kind of actually a little bit of a different cultural piece because for me I'm used to like, oh yeah, you bring your blankets and everything. But mostly people don't do. do that. You know, you might bring a couple of sand digging toys, but mostly you're just playing in the water and that's kind of, and enjoying the sunset. And one of the reasons for that is I think that it gets really dark here early. So once the sun's down, it's super dark because there's just not any, you know, it's not much artificial light. And so then, you know, you kind of head home and have dinner with the family. So are you into yoga? I know that's pretty big in Nosara. Yoga is very big in Nosara. And I do love yoga and I have had some great yoga classes here. And so one place that people should check out for

sure is the Bodie Tree Yoga Resort. And that's really well known here. It has tons of yoga classes. Lots of people come down for retreats. And it's a great, it's a beautiful property. And if you want to eat a healthy meal, they have an incredible restaurant, Cascada. Their chef, Dan, is amazing. And my son, I was actually texting with him last night because I was like, hey, my son is saying your food is the best food ever and he never wants to eat anyone else's food again, which is great because my son was eating green beans and potatoes and like fish, which is a, to get a five-year-old to eat that is incredible. So I really recommend Bodie Tree and the restaurant they have there. What are some other foods that we need to try when we're in Nosara,

like Costa Rican foods? Yeah, so Costa Rican food tends to be kind of simple food. And that is something that I think is there are a couple of specialties. So one of the things you'll want to do is stop by what's called a soda. And the sodas are kind of like your Costa Rican-style diner. It's simple food. It's traditional food. You'll want to go for breakfast because there's a typical breakfast called the Consado. And that is served usually with a mix of black beans and rice, eggs, either fried or scrambled.

There's plantains. with that as well. And then you can get it with sour cream. That's something that is like a debated thing here. Should you eat it with sour cream or not? Like that's a, it's a foody culture thing. And then there's also something called salsa Lanzano, which is this kind of Costa Rican version of Tabasco that everyone eats with everything. And it's just a great, simple, yummy, filling, satisfying meal. I think I could survive in Costa Rica. That sounds pretty good to me. I think you could survive here too. And then, you know, also the empanadas are really good here. And it's actually in Nosara.

It's super easy. If you have, I was talking earlier about how I don't eat gluten. I think that you've probably shared with people that you're mostly vegetarian and kind of leaning towards vegan. And it's super easy to meet your eating needs here. Like there's, it's easy to get gluten free. It's easy to get vegan. It's easy to get vegetarian food here. What is the going out sort of drinking culture like in the city?

So I don't think you could call this area. a city. I think we could call it a village. So we don't have any stoplights. I don't even know if we have stop signs. There might be like a couple of stop signs. So there are a couple of different places where people would really want to go. So one thing they would want to check out is there's a restaurant called La Luna. And it's sitting, it sits on Playa Pilata, which I was talking about earlier. And you can catch, have a cocktail, have a wonderful meal, and enjoy the sunset from La Luna. So that would be one place that's like a not miss. Another place you might want to check out is a Mexican restaurant called El Chivo. And that's a great spot because it is really kid friendly. They have a

great little playground for the kids. And they also are really committed to the locals at El Chivo. And they have a really great culture with their employees. So tipping is pretty, is fairly small here because for most for restaurants, there's a 10% tip included already. most people add another 10% on, but El Chivo is really special because they extend their tips to their kitchen staff. And not everyone does that. And I think that's a really nice thing to do. It is a nice thing. Yeah, because, you know, the kitchen, I mean, they work really hard. I don't know if you've ever worked a service job, but I sure have.

And I know that the kitchen is working just as hard, if not harder than the servers. So it's nice that they get that as well. Plus they have, you know, great Mexican food. And they do things like on Wednesday night, they do a kid's movie night. So the families all come in to go to El Chivo on Wednesday nights. They play a kid-friendly movie. They do a buffet for the kids and the adults get to kind of hang out and catch up. Oh, my God.

What a great idea. I know. And they're open through all of rainy season. So that's really great. And they have great margaritas. And they offer, there's actually a number of microbreweries in town. So it's kind of the food scene is really interesting here. So there's, you know, the sodas, which are really kind of simple and fun and outdoor.

And then there's El Chiva with the Mexican. La Luna has the Mediterranean food. There's a brand new restaurant called Koyol that's like up on the mountainside. That's like way in the jungle that has all these smoked meats. So if you are interested in that, that's something that would be good for you. But I think there are choices for everyone here. I've actually been very impressed with the food. That sounds like a perfect place to spend a nice week at the beach.

Yeah. Yeah. You mentioned it's rainy season. So what does that mean exactly? Is it raining all day just a little bit? What's the weather like right now? So right now the weather is stunning. It's sunny and perfect and just beautiful.

But it's not like that every day during rainy season. So the benefit of rainy season, of course, is that everything is green. So sometimes it's called green season too. The challenge with rainy season is we get incredible amounts of rain in short amounts of time. And what happens then is that things can flood in town. So that can be a problem because we have the no. Sara River that goes through town, and we have little smaller kind of tributaries. And if those flood, sometimes the roads become impassable. And we actually had a day where we had to miss school because

the roads were too flooded and no one could get anywhere. So that can happen. That said, you know, it's usually rainy. And my guess is it's going to rain this afternoon and then it'll be sunny again tomorrow. And we've only had a couple of days where it rained all day since we got here. So that's not too bad. When would you say is the best time to visit? So again, I'm still fairly new here. So it sort of, I think, depends on what you want. If you're looking for a very typical Costa Rican sunshine, no rain experience, then you'll want to come from mid-November through April is when it is most reliably dry in this region.

And where I am in Guanacaste is the region I'm in, we're the driest part of the whole country. So if you really want a dry tropical experience, Nosara, Guanacaste, Tamarindo, we're all good places to choose. Perfect. So let's say we visited Nosara, had a great time. We want to buy a souvenir to remember our trip. What's a typical product you would recommend? Oh, my gosh. You know, I'm not even sure I know how to answer this because we have not really done the souvenir things.

I guess my son did buy a little ox cart, a little wooden ox cart toy, because ox carts are a traditional method of travel here. I don't think they're used so much anymore, but he went to a day camp where they went to a farm. And so they got to drive the ox cart through the river, and that was like such an incredible impact for him. So he wanted this little ox cart toy. So something like that, I think that is reflective of the traditional culture here,

I think would be nice. And then of course, you know, salsa lienzano that everybody eats on everything. Okay. So you can get a little travel size for them. You just have Karen. Okay. Perfect. That's a good one.

Well, Julia, before I let you go, can we do a lightning round of your favorite places in your new hometown? Yes, for sure. Okay. What is your favorite bakery? None of them are open. Okay. This is the challenge of green season is like literally half the stuff is not open.

So I haven't even been there. So it's good. Yeah, go ahead. I was just going to say, so it's good to know that if you want to enjoy everything, you shouldn't go in the rainy season. You might enjoy a quiet, quieter time, but not everything is going to be open. Right. And exactly.

What is your favorite lunch spot? There is a little restaurant called 10 pies that I like a lot. and they have really awesome fish tacos. That's my favorite fish taco in town. And where do you guys like to go for dinner? We like to go to Al-Chile. We go to El Chivo. And then we also, this is a local secret.

So if someone, if you're like staying in an Airbnb, find an expat local and ask them about the supper clubs. So this is a local secret where there are two chefs in town who do a weekly menu and you can just order from them. and then you pick it up and take it home. And that's amazing. And I don't think anyone would know about that. That sounds awesome.

But yeah, it's so great. And the food is so yummy. And the pricing, it's like there's special locals pricing. So it's super fun. And they're all called supper clubs. So that's the secret word to say. Supper clubs. So do they have websites or we just have to ask our host?

No, you just have to know. Okay. All right. Well, I'm going to send people to you. And you can give them the secret supper club code. Yes. Yes, I can add them to the list. Okay. Get us on the list. Yeah. And we could just bring that dinner to the beach or something. You totally good. If the sun hasn't said yet.

Yeah. You totally good. So I know that back in the day, Costa Rica was known to be like a really affordable place. But I don't think it's as affordable as it once was. But for like say someone American, like average means middle class, moves to Costa Rica, but they have a remote job. Would they be able to live comfortably there? This is such a good question. And I think this is one of the things that's most surprising about Costa Rica. It's very expensive here. And like everything's expensive. Housing's expensive. Electricity's expensive. Food is expensive. And yeah, I mean, I would say I would call us solidly, you know, middle class. And yes, we're able to live comfortably. But we also really have to

look at like, do we need to buy that? And how, like, are we, how are we meal planning this week? And like the supper clubs that I mentioned have become such a benefit for us because it's a great way to get food done at a reasonable price. So yeah, you have to really look into it because I think people are really shocked when they hear how expensive it is here. Yeah. How are people surviving on $3 an hour there? So I think they're eating really simple foods. So I think it's like rice and beans for most meals and fresh fruit. And also I think that the housing here, there's a real difference between how Ticos live and how expats live. And so expats will live in, you know, much bigger houses and Ticos. And, you know, it's, I don't want to generalize because it's not

true for everyone. But most people have a much simpler house. They might not even have electricity in the house depending on where they are. And so I think it's just a real lifestyle difference. And it sounds like family is really important as well. So maybe there's some intergenerational aspects to life. Yes, definitely. So one of the things that is one of the cultural pieces here is that when you're, you continue to support your family, even after maybe your kids have grown up. So then maybe you help your kids with their kids, both with child care and financially and just being a support person. So that's something that I would say is a real difference from the U.S. is there isn't this expectation that when you're 18, you go and take care of yourself and you never have any help again.

And it's something that I really appreciate here that I think family is really seen as very valuable. And mothering is seen as important and parenting and children are valued. And you'll even see big men come and like snuggling little babies because that's just, you know, it's important for everyone here. And that's, I think, one of the reasons that we came and one of the differences that I really appreciate. Yeah, it sounds Southern European. to me as well. Yeah, for sure. Or actually, Asia's like this too. Like Asia, if you take travel with young kids in in Southern Southeast Asia, that opens a lot of doors for you. Okay. Interesting. Okay. So you mentioned your lunch, dinner spot. Do you guys have a food hall or food market yet?

I don't. Not that I have seen and not that I know about, but there is actually one spot that I there's a little Peruvian restaurant and a little pizza restaurant where they're both built into containers. So like shipping containers and that's become a really cool way of building here. And they just have outdoor kind of tables and they're set together and they share a bathroom space. And that's we've been there. The food is really good. It's really a fun little spot. So I think stuff like that's going to start popping up around here.

And I think do you have a farmer's market? We do have a farmer's market, a weekly farmer's market. And that is a great spot to get lots of fresh produce. And there is a guy there who sells empanadas and banana bread. And there's another guy there who sells chocolate and someone sells jewelry. So you can kind of get, it's a nice little place to pop by on Tuesday mornings to see what's available. So it's a Tuesday morning market. Yes.

Okay, cool. Do they, sorry, go on. Well, I was going to say, let me actually pop back to the food hall question because there is a place in town called Gabby. And Gabby's play, I think, actually would qualify for that food hall because it has a bunch of shared tables and they have a handful of restaurants. They have a sushi restaurant. They have an Argentinian steakhouse. They have a soda. So one of those soda Labara, one of those places that has the typical Costa Rican food. And they also have a playground. So it's named after this gentleman who he named it after his daughter Gabby. And so they have a playground. So it's actually a great spot for families to go

get a bite to eat and then let their kids run wild. That sounds a good place to get your energy out. Yep. It's run around and go crazy. So the food market that you mentioned, that's pretty much produce. You're not having local designers or anything like that there. No, it's pretty small. So it's not, there isn't, and there's maybe six stalls, six places to shop.

Yeah, it sounds worth it for the banana bread and empanadas for me. That would definitely draw me in. We go there every week just for those. So yes, totally. And sometimes there's carrot cake. And sometimes there's vegan stuff. So there you go. Interesting.

Oh, perfect. So where do you like to go when you're in the mood for some culture? So again, I mentioned earlier the sunset culture is a really big thing here. But the other thing, if you can be here for a national holiday or for Samana Santa, Costa Ricans are very, very proud of their country and very proud of their culture. and I had the opportunity to experience the Costa Rican Independence Day. That's on September 15th. And I just so happened that I actually was headed to the airport to fly out on this day.

And as we were driving, my driver was telling me about the Independence Day and how important it was and how Costa Ricans value their freedom so much. And something that's really interesting that I don't think most people know, Costa Rica actually doesn't have a military. So it's been a peaceful country for a very, very, very long time. But what's so special about the Independence Day is that there are these torches that are lit. And the torches represent the freedom moving through the country. And they have runners that literally run the torches through the country from school to school.

And at each school, the children are waiting for them to welcome the torch and the representation of the independence. And so my son's school had that, you know, had that happen at his school. But then as we were, I wasn't unfortunately there for that piece, but as we were driving, I actually saw the runners. And that was the most incredible thing to see a gentleman, you know, carrying the flame and he was running and he had all these children chasing him. And honestly, I just started crying because it was like so special. That does sound so cute.

Tell us again, when is that? So that's September 15th. That's Costa Rica's Independence Day. Costa Rica's Independence Day. But if you, like, if any holiday or national holiday, that's important for Costa Rica, there's something happening. Okay. Good to know. So how big is Nosara? Like, is there a certain neighborhood that we should be staying in? Is there a certain area where all the Airbnbs are or hotels?

Yeah. So you'll, most people stay in Playa Pilata or Playa Gionis. And those are just kind of the areas that have the food, the restaurants, the, the housing and hotels and surf camps and the yoga retreats. But if you search Nosara on the internet, it'll bring all that up. regional. Nosara town is a little bit inland, but most people stay in Playa Gionis or Playa Palada. Well, you have convinced me. I definitely want to make a trip to Costa Rica now. Final question. What advice do you have to somebody who might be interested in moving to Nosara? I would say, so we came, I was going to say maybe come visit first, but that's totally contrary to what I did. I have never been to Costa Rica before and we moved here. So I just took a leap. I would just say, you know, try to figure out what it is you want to do, do as much research

as you can in advance, and then also just know that it's going to be different when you get here. The thing I've learned from the expats who've been here a while is everyone says you have a rough landing. It takes a while to get adjusted, not just because you're in a new country, it's a new language, but you're also literally in the jungle. And so that, I think, can be really shocking for people to have all kinds of, like, creatures in their houses and to have, you know, like maybe there might be a boa constrictor outside their house. Oh my God, I'm not coming now. Oh, you have to come. We had a boa in our, in our shed,

and the firefighters had to come get it out. So it's like, it's like we're literally in the jungle. The monkeys wake me up every morning. There's parrots outside my window. So, I mean, that is so magical and wonderful, but it also comes with its challenges. So I would say come, give it a chance. It is really special here. and also if you do come ask for help, like build a community. People are so helpful here. They want you to have a good time. So, and they want to show you what they love about this area. Well, thank you so much for talking to me today, Julia.

Where can people find out more about you? They can go check out my work at julia sarver.com. Thanks again, Julia. Thank you so much, Sarah. This was great. I appreciate it. Oh my gosh. Nosara sounds so amazing, and I love that it's not easy to get there. You really have to work for it. And so when you do get there, you're probably going to spend some more time there and actually relax. The boa constrictors in the yards might be a deal breaker for me, but those sunsets on the beach might be worth trying to get over my phobia. How about you? What do you think? Are you interested in visiting Nosara, or are you living abroad somewhere really cool and would like to tell you.

me about it. I especially love hearing from female entrepreneurs who are making their dreams happen. So email me your story at sarah at postcardacademy.co. That's all for now. Thank you so much for listening and have a beautiful week wherever you are. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarahmicotel.com slash blank no more.