FINDING HOME IN COSTA RICA (& LISTENING TO THE WHISPERS OF THE SOUL)

Forget the rules, forget what looks good on paper, and be brave enough to go after what lights up your wide open eyes…

So I recently moved to Costa Rica, and I wanted to share this experience, in the hopes it might inspire you in some way. For the past four years, I’ve been traveling the world - trying out new places, new versions of myself, new ways of thinking and living. But deep down, I was always searching for that place - the one that feels cosy, like home.

In a way, I’ve been a bit of a "serial dater", but with places. And in the process, I’ve seen some not-so-perfect patterns show themselves. I’ve projected my expectations onto places. I’ve stayed in some way longer than I should have, convinced they were the perfect fit on paper. And more often than not, I’ve failed to fully give it a try - to commit. Always one foot in, one foot on Kayak searching for the next flight, with that niggling feeling that in some other place the grass might be greener.

After a while, the travel that once felt like such an adventure, like free-falling through life, started to feel more like a trap. I could never fully relax with the subtle undercurrent of chaos in that I had no roots. I could never fully integrate into a place, because in the back of my mind I knew I’d be gone soon - and so would most of the people I’d met. Travel used to open me up, but as time went by I found myself closing more and more with each new place, and experiencing the same feeling of flatness when I realised: this isn’t my place.

A couple of weeks ago, this came to a head. I was staying in a small, bohemian beach town in Brazil - a place I’d been dreaming about for over a year, thinking, yes - maybe this will be the one. At first it seemed perfect. I loved it - The charm of Bossa Nova floating through the air as you wander the picturesque square lined with tiny, colourful houses and their outdoor restaurants.

But after about a month or so, I started to feel that oh so familiar uninspired feeling. I convinced myself I just needed to stick it out, to try harder. But the feeling only grew stronger, and I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I just didn’t feel like it was my place. So I did something - kind of reluctantly, kind of eagerly - I asked ChatGPT to help me figure out where to live (I know, I know), but after entering all the things that were important to me in a place and seeing the results, a huge shift in clarity came.

The top suggestion was a little beach town on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica - a place I’d already spent four months in at the start of my travels and absolutely loved. I remembered feeling so alive there, so nourished. But for some reason, I thought I needed to keep searching for somewhere new, that it would be too easy if the second place I’d visited turned out to the place I call home. But when I got that nudge from ChatGPT, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time. Like the butterflies in your stomach you get as a child on Christmas Eve. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. That place.

Then I realised: It had been there all along. The one place that had truly felt like home. A place that wrapped its loving arms around my soul with its lush jungle, cascading waterfalls, and wild song of the raging sea. Oh so giving.

And whilst moving again felt awkward (someone decided to buy a bunch of new clothes, guitar and bicycle) the idea of staying felt worse. I knew if I stayed the life would be drained out of me. I knew I had to move - and quickly. So I did it. I decided to trust my gut rather than logic my way out of the upheaval trusting your gut sometimes requires. I booked a flight for one week later, packed up all my stuff (minus the bicycle lol), and made my way to Dominical, Costa Rica.

Now, as I sit here sipping a matcha latte and digging into an almond croissant in one of the town’s delightful new cafés, I can say with a very clear and open heart:

What’s truly meant for you will feel like Christmas as a child. It will feel like gold dust in your belly, and laughter in your heart. Listen to the whispers of your soul. Listen to how the body speaks. The signs life sends. Forget the rules, forget what looks good on paper, and be brave enough to go after what lights up your wide open eyes. You were crafted to be wild.

Kat x