We get this question all the time. People schedule a free discovery call with us and say something like, “We want to move to Costa Rica in 2028. Is it too early to start?”
The short answer: no. It is not too early. But how you use that time matters enormously.
Preparation Matters More Than Timing
Here is something we tell every person who reaches out to us: the timing of your scout matters less than how prepared you are when you scout.
We regularly hear from people who are arriving next week and want to squeeze a scouting trip into their vacation. They have five out of six days packed with zip lining, river rafting, and surf lessons. Those are wonderful things to do, but they are not scouting. There is a vacation and there is a scout — and if you have never been to Costa Rica before, we want you to do both. But they are not the same thing.
Too many people come, spend a week here, go home, and feel no closer to an answer. That is not because Costa Rica failed them. It is because they were not prepared to answer the questions that actually matter: Is this the right country for me? What kind of life do I want to build here? Which region fits my needs?
When you come prepared — with clarity about your priorities, your budget, and your non-negotiables — your scouting trip becomes dramatically more effective. You stop wandering and start evaluating.
Can You Start Too Early?
Yes and no.
There is such a thing as too early for the relocation phase — finding a specific apartment, enrolling in a school, signing a lease. Those details need to be timed out fairly close to your actual move. Costa Rica changes, your life changes, and locking in specifics two or three years in advance does not make sense.
But the scouting phase? That is a different question entirely. Scouting is about answering a bigger question: Is Costa Rica the right place for you?
Does it feel good to be here? Do you resonate with the pace, the culture, the climate? If so, what region draws you in? What kind of community do you need?
That conversation is never too early to start. If you visit and love the country but do not love the region you visited, you have plenty of time to come back and explore a different area. That is the advantage of starting early.
Patrick’s Story: From New Zealand to Costa Rica
Patrick has shared this story before, but it is worth repeating because it illustrates the point perfectly.
His family was initially looking at moving to New Zealand. They spent almost two years on that process — visiting, researching, even consulting with New Zealand-based companies to work toward a work permit. Then the plan shifted, and Costa Rica entered the picture.
Patrick brought his family down for a vacation. At the end of the trip, he asked them: “Do you think this is a place you could live?” They said yes. One kid said beach, the other said not beach. And from there, the real work began.
Patrick came down for four separate scouting trips. Each time, the concentric circles got smaller — narrowing in on the right region, the right town, the right house. When they finally found their place, pulling the trigger was easy because the decision had been built over years of thoughtful work.
That is what preparation looks like. And it is the exact opposite of what we see from people who make a knee-jerk decision to move in three weeks because they are scared of what is happening in the world right now.
When Research Becomes Paralysis
Here is the flip side: some people do too much research.
We have seen folks who have watched hundreds of hours of videos, read every blog post, joined every Facebook group — but they have never set foot in Costa Rica. At some point, the research stops creating clarity and starts creating paralysis.
You need to set the research aside, get here, and see if what you have been reading online matches what you feel in your bones and see with your own eyes. You can always go back and do more research after your scouting trip. But nothing replaces the real experience of being here.
How to Use the Time Before Your Scout
If you are a year or two out from your move, here is how to use that time wisely instead of just consuming content:
1. Get Your Finances in Order
This is the number one advantage of starting early. Financial preparation is critically important, especially in a country that is more expensive than many people expect.
You need savings for scouting trips. You need a clear picture of what you can afford for housing, healthcare, residency fees, transportation, food, travel back to your home country, schools, and everyday consumer goods.
Come to Costa Rica with your eyes wide open on budget. Go to the grocery store and do a full week of shopping. Visit the mall and see what things cost. If you arrive without understanding the financial reality, it is too easy to gloss over it in the excitement of the moment.
2. Get Clear on Your Priorities
Instead of reaching a predetermined conclusion — “We are moving to La Fortuna because that is what the internet told us” — spend your lead time doing some deep soul searching.
How will you spend your time? What climate makes you come alive? Do you want to walk everywhere or drive everywhere? What do you need in a community? Do you need healthcare access? Do your kids need specific types of schools?
The more clear your priorities are, the more effective your scouting trip will be. And confidence in your priorities gives you the freedom to pivot when something does not match up. If you arrive knowing that healthcare access is your number one non-negotiable — as it was for Patrick’s family — then you can sort through every other variable from that foundation.
3. Learn the Regions
Costa Rica is an incredibly small country, but it is incredibly diverse. Beach towns along the Pacific are a completely different lifestyle from the mountains, which are different from the Central Valley, which is different from San Jose and its suburbs.
You do not need to become an expert. But get a basic sense of the lay of the land so that when you land at the airport — which is in Alajuela, not actually San Jose — you have some orientation. Understanding the different regions and what they offer will help you relax and actually experience what you need to experience during your scout.
4. Define Your Non-Negotiables
What are your must-haves? Not your nice-to-haves — your absolute deal-breakers.
For Patrick’s family, it was healthcare access, good internet, and views. For others, it might be budget, proximity to an airport, walkability, or schools for their children. Everyone wants the monkeys in the yard and the stunning sunset. But those are wants, not needs.
Separating the two before you arrive will save you from chasing a fantasy and missing the life that actually works for you.
5. Understand Your Budget
Do a real gut check on your finances. People often arrive in Costa Rica and are shocked — some things are cheaper, many things are more expensive than expected.
If you come with a clear budget for housing, healthcare, transportation, food, and even shipping your belongings — or deciding not to — you will make far better decisions on the ground. One of our clients shipped an entire container of household goods and later said they regretted bringing all of it. Some things did not even work in the Costa Rican climate.
6. Stay Engaged Over Time
Follow Costa Rican news. Read the Tico Times. Watch relocation videos. Talk to people who have already moved. These small, consistent steps beat an initial burst of obsessive research followed by a snap decision.
You are not just thinking about moving to another city. You are thinking about moving to another way of life. That should take time.
Why Work with Your Pura Vida?
A lot of this you can do on your own, and we encourage it. But nothing replaces working with people who have actually done this themselves — who live here every day and who have helped hundreds of individuals, couples, and families navigate this exact process.
Our job is not to be the smartest people in the room. It is to know the smartest people in the room. We will not answer your legal questions — we will connect you with the right lawyer. We will not answer your mortgage questions — we will hook you up with the right people.
What we will do is play devil’s advocate. We will help you think through the tough stuff, not the superficial stuff. We will help you see your blind spots and ask better questions. We want you to stick. Nothing is sadder than watching someone we care about leave Costa Rica because they rushed the process and were not prepared.
We have made plenty of mistakes ourselves. We started this company so that others would not have to make the same ones.
The Bottom Line
Is it too early to start planning your move to Costa Rica if you are two or three years out? No. The answer is no.
How you approach that time will change depending on how far out you are. But the right time to start is whenever you are ready to begin learning — learning about yourself and learning about Costa Rica.
The right scouting trip is not the fastest one. It is the one where you are the most ready to figure out if this is the right place for you. And that readiness starts long before you board the plane.
If any of this resonates, book a free discovery call with us. Whether you are scouting in three months or two and a half years, our job is to get you ready to do it right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it too early to start planning a move to Costa Rica two or three years out?
No. While the specific details of relocation — signing leases, enrolling in schools — need to be timed closer to your move, the scouting phase can and should start early. Use that time to get clear on your priorities, your budget, and whether Costa Rica genuinely fits the life you want to build.
What is the difference between a vacation and a scouting trip?
A vacation is about relaxation and activities — zip lining, surfing, river rafting. A scouting trip is about evaluating whether Costa Rica is the right place for you to live. You should experience everyday life: visit grocery stores, drive the roads, walk the neighborhoods, and talk to people who already live here. If it is your first time, we recommend doing both — but know they serve different purposes.
What should I do before my first scouting trip to Costa Rica?
Get your finances in order, define your non-negotiable priorities, learn the basic regions of the country, and set a realistic budget. The more prepared you are, the more productive your trip will be. Avoid the trap of doing hundreds of hours of online research without ever setting foot in the country.
How much does it cost to scout Costa Rica?
The cost varies depending on how long you stay, where you visit, and whether you work with a relocation service. Budget for flights, accommodation, transportation, meals, and any guided services. Starting your financial planning early gives you time to save specifically for this trip, which is one of the biggest advantages of beginning the process well in advance.