How the best-laid plans get even better when you give yourself the freedom to pivot and try something else.
I fell in love with France the day I arrived in Paris, the City of Lights. I had never planned to go there. I didn't want to go there. My husband had suggested it for years and I turned him down flat every time.
Me: They don't like Americans.
Don: I found the French to be very nice when I was there.
Me: They let their dogs poop on the sidewalk and refuse to pick it up.
Don: That is true.
Every time he would suggest a trip to France I would suggest a trip anywhere else. Then in 2010 my younger sister was getting married and everyone in the whole family was flying to London for the event.
Don: You know, we could fly into Paris the week before the wedding and then take the bullet train through the Chunnel to London.
Both of our girls were in the room when he said this and it was immediately voted on and decided 3 to 1, we were going to France.
I have learned over the years that I don't fly long distances very well. I can't sleep on a plane so after transatlantic flights I arrive on the other side of the planet like an over stimulated toddler. I spin in circles babbling nonsense, I hate everything and nothing makes sense or makes me happy until I've had a good sleep in a dark room and a nice meal.
We flew overnight from Dallas to Paris and arrived to the bright and shining morning sun. After a slightly terrifying cab ride from the airport around the Arc De Triomphe (one of the world's most intimidating traffic circles) to our hotel on the Champs-Elysee I thought I was ready for my post arrival nap until I took a look out of our hotel window.
At the time Don was still working for the network and had racked up monstrous hotel points so we were staying at a 5-star hotel right on the Champs, two blocks from the Arc. Just below our suite the heart of the 8th Arrondissement stretched out before me, high-end stores lined the tree ladened boulevard like proper tuxedoed valets waiting to usher you in and fulfill your shopping dreams, cafes with bold red canopies and white whicker chairs held clusters of Parisians sipping their morning espresso while nibbling on a flaky croissant. A vibrant, dance like energy shimmered over the honking cars that rumbled and slid along the road.
How could I sleep? We dropped our bags and headed for the streets of Paris and it did not disappoint. J'aime Paris! I quickly forgave the piles of poo along the walkways and soaked up the art, the architecture, the parks and most of all, the carousels!
Life being what it is, busy and complicated, we didn't return to France until 2019 and I was happy to discover my love for the country; its history, its food, its language, its coffee had not changed.
We stayed a few days in Paris and then rented a car and slowly drove south through Orleans, Bourges, and Lyon ending up in the on the Cote-d'Azur in the town of Sainte-Maxime. It was divine.
We enjoyed it so much we made plans to return in 6 months and bought tickets for May of 2020. Haha, yeah, that 2020. As you already know, that didn't happen. Despite our best efforts we couldn't get to France until September 2021 and by then a lot had changed and I'm not referring to deadly virus that raged across the planet and the need to fly with masks on.
For many reasons that I will probably write about in some future post, Don and I had decided to sell everything we own and move out of the United States. We're not trying to make some sort of statement, political or otherwise, we were just ready for a very different adventure. After much discussion and research it turned out that our favorite country, France, was actually an extremely affordable place to live, outside the big cities, of course.
I immediately signed up for Duolingo and started playing French Cafe music nonstop all over the house.
We decided on the south of France, narrowed our search to the coastal area that stretched from Marseille to the Spanish boarder and booked our flight for September 2021. Navigating customs, Covid protocols, and language differences we ultimately landed in Marseille and took off in search of a town we wanted to live in. The list included looking at Niemes, Montpellier, Pezenas, Beziers, Narbonne and Carcassone and lots of tiny villages in those areas.
We saw amazing places, ate wonderful food, drank more coffee than we should have and even had French real estate agents show us properties for sale. That was super fun because we got to try to communicate in French, Spanish, and sometimes even English. Our agents were funny and helpful, it's an interesting way to tour a city, especially if you let the real estate agent drive!
When it was all said and done we settled on Narbonne and planned to return in December.
Three months later we landed back in Marseille and headed for our new favorite city in France. Located about an hour north of Spain, Narbonne has about 50,000 people and is one of the oldest cities in France. It has history, gorgeous cathedrals, an amazing indoor market, a canal through town that leads to the beach. You can actually ride your bike from the town to the ocean following the canal. The surrounding hills are agricultural preserves containing vineyards, open space for horses and cattle, and even a nature preserve with giraffes and lions.
Returning to France in December made me realize a few things;
I really liked this town! We spent 10 days in Narbonne acting like we lived there. We enjoyed the Christmas markets, drank Vin Chaud while watching children ice skate on elevated rinks of frozen plastic, shopped the local markets and even made new friends.
French Christmas markets are amazing!
The cold Mistral winds that blow through the southern region of France are no joke.
I loved so many little thing about French village life.
My heart was sad and didn't want to move that far away from Texas.
In the course of planning our US exit we got wonderful news, our oldest daughter and her husband were expecting a baby! Our first grandchild! The closer we got to pulling the trigger on this move the sadder I felt until I finally blurted it out.
Me: I can't do it! I want to! I really do, but I just can't be that far away right now!
Don: Yeah, I understand.
Moving to France was going to allow us to close our restaurant (a huge stress!) and stop working. In our mid 50's we could be free to pursue our creative dreams and live on a modest passive income if, and only if, we left the United States. (I'll give you a rundown of the numbers and the reasoning in another post)
Don: What do you think of Costa Rica?
Me: The country?
Don: Yeah.
Me: I haven't thought of it at all, why?
Don: What if we move there? It's a quick three and a half hour flight from Austin.
That's how it started. That was January of 2022, by February we had gathered enough information to know that we could indeed afford to buy a place in Costa Rica and live within our budget. Then began the great purge. We started selling stuff (see posts The Journey Begins and That Crazy Thing You Do for more about that) and getting our house ready to go on the market. We decided to close the restaurant the second weekend in April and five days after that land in Playa Del Coco, Costa Rica to buy a condo.
Our house in Austin sold in March with a closing date of June 2th. We found two condos in Costa Rico, side by side, one for us one to use as a rental and closed on those just a day after we got to Coco on June 10th. It happened fast and went smoothly, it felt right, like destiny.
How does Costa Rica compare to France?
It doesn't. You can't compare the two.
What we longed for in our new lives was simplicity. A slower pace. The ability to walk to stores and restaurants, learn a new language and a new way of life. We could do that in Costa Rica and still be a quick flight back to family.
So I switched Duolingo from French to Spanish, grabbed my bathing suit and jumped into the deep end of Pura Vida. It did not disappoint.
France is still on the table. Maybe not living their permanently, yet. But definitely visiting as much as our Visas will allow.
For now all of the things we wanted to experience are part of our daily lives. I don't miss the US. I miss my family but not the life I used to have. I enjoyed it while I was there, I'm enjoying this now.
Oh, and as a massive bonus, Costa Rica has excellent coffee!
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