About Me, Samantha
Hi! I’m Samantha, nice to see you here! You’re probably curious about living in Costa Rica and how I ended up in Costa Rica, so here are is my story.
I have been living in Costa Rica since 2012 when I moved down to be with Yeison, who is my husband and a Costa Rican. I basically only moved to Costa Rica to be with Yeison, I had never visited Costa Rica before I met him, I never had any plans to move here at all! Life is so funny that way, isn’t it?
I met Yeison in 2010 (you can read our story here) during a volunteer trip to Central America while I was still at UW. Afterwards, I went back to Seattle to finish college, graduated in 2011, worked for a year and moved to Costa Rica in 2012 by myself at the age of 23. To be honest, I didn’t know how long I would be in Costa Rica for since I was only moving to be with Yeison and we had been long distance for two years!
Thankfully, things worked out and he is now my husband. We started Mytanfeet in early 2013 in order to document my life in Costa Rica and our adventures together. Since then, it has grown to become a dedicated Costa Rica travel blog and we have a Costa Rican travel consulting company together!
And I’m happy to say that I’m officially a Costa Rican resident! I am no longer an “expat” aka perpetual tourist, but a very happy immigrant. You can read about my process of getting residency through marriage to a Costa Rican here.
Articles I’ve Written About Living in Costa Rica
Here are the articles I’ve written so far about living in Costa Rica. Most of these articles were written in the first two years of my move when we lived in Playas del Coco. I don’t write too much about this topic anymore since we focus more on traveling but hopefully some of these stories will be interesting and entertaining for you if you’re considering making the big move as well.
Times sure have changed since 2012 so some of the articles may be a bit dated, but that was how my experience was back then.
Living in Costa Rica Blog Posts
Guide to digital nomad life in Costa Rica
Things I had to get used to living in Costa Rica
What I wish I knew before moving to Costa Rica
What surprised me about living in Costa Rica
You know someone’s been living in Costa Rica for awhile when…
Living in Costa Rica for $2000 a month
What it’s really like to live in Jaco
The day I met the president of Costa Rica
Getting laser eye surgery in Costa Rica
Getting my Costa Rican driver’s license
What to bring to Costa Rica when you move
David & Eileen Reid says
My wife and I just got back from Costa Rica, we planned on staying a week and decided to extend our stay for another week. Because of that we want to thank you for all your help with a private tour of San Jose and transportation for our second week. Your help was very much appreciated!
Sammi says
Hi David and Eileen, it was our pleasure to assist you and we’re glad you had a great time in Costa Rica!
Kayla says
Hi, I am an American college student and I love your reading your blog. I have used it to help prepare myself for my first trip to Costa Rica last year. I instantly fell in love with CR and have been back two more times since my first trip. I have also decided that I want to attend a university there to further my career in healthcare. Do you know of any universities that have English instruction? Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Kayla, I am not sure if there are universities in English and if it’s like a masters or professional school, they will be in Spanish. I know many of the school participate in foreign exchange programs, UCR is one of them and in Costa Rica, public universities are actually better than private but private universities may have English options.
Lesley Allec says
Your blog is awesome, I came across it yesterday as i prepare for my new expat experience in Costa Rica, reading your posts made me even more excited to be there next month, when my husband and my three year old son make our way down there.
Keep being you 🙂 – wonderful post and very encouraging.
Much love!
Sincerely
Lesley A
Sammi says
Hi Lesley, thanks for reading and for the kind words. Good luck with your move to CR!
Farrin says
Love your blog, so much good information!!! thanks for sharing
Sammi says
Thanks!
Cameo says
So glad to have found this blog! I’m studying abroad in Costa Rica this August for 4 months and this is great info to know. Thanks for sharing. 😀
-Cameo
Sammi says
Glad to see you here Cameo! 🙂
Nancy herbst says
I am looking for an expat community somewhere in Cectral or SA which is on or near a beach, can take classes and perhaps volunteer. I am a retired NYC teacher. I would like to. Be part of the local and expat community. I have enjoyed San Miguel in Mexico but there are no beaches. Any ideas?
Sammi says
Hi Nancy!
If you are interested in Costa Rica, you can check out the expats in Costa Rica facebook group for more information and to connect with other like-minded people.