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BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE APRIL 1, 2018 | BOSTONGLOBE.COM/TRAVEL

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By Necee RegisGLOBE CORRESPONDENT

Ever dream about

d i t c h i n g y o u r

American life and

taking your family

to live in a foreign

l a n d ? M y h u s -

band’s nephew,

Andrew Weinstein,

and his wife, Chris-

tina Berkemeyer, did just that, moving their two

children (ages 2 and 4) and two Rhodesian ridge-

backs to the beachside jungle in northwest Costa

Rica. For less than the price of renting out their

Washington, D.C., townhouse for a year, they are

ensconced in a five-

bedroom villa over-

looking the Pacific

i n N o s a r a , a

surfing and yoga

mecca.

Making your

dream a reality is

indeed possible,

though it takes a

lot of research and

planning. Of course, the expat life is easier to

achieve if you work for yourself, or your company

allows you to work remotely, as Weinstein and

Berkemeyer both do. On a recent visit, they of-

fered insight into why they have taken this jour-

ney, and what it takes to make it happen.

“We wanted an adventure. We wanted the kids

to know life out of D.C. and the United States.

Friends in Guatemala have kids similar ages to

ours, and they made it look desirable. We’re aim-

ing for quality of life change,” said Berkemeyer.

“Choosing a place to relocate is a combination

brain and heart. We started with the brain part —

logistics — and then visited a number of different

places until we fell in love,” said Weinstein.

Make a list of what youwant

In order to zero in on the perfect location for

your expat life, it’s helpful to know exactly what it

is you want. Weinstein and Berkemeyer made a

list including that the destination be Spanish-

speaking; a five-hour-or-less flight from home;

safe; a warm climate; near a beach; have a strong

expat community; affordable childcare; and good

telecom infrastructure. Once you define your own

requirements, you can narrow your search to spe-

cific locations.

Take scouting trips

No matter how much you research places on-

line, you still should check them out in person be-

fore making a commitment. Like a dating service,

destinations that look good “on paper” may dis-

appoint in ways you can’t predict.

“You need to see if a place speaks to you,” said

Berkemeyer.

Scouting trips are the perfect opportunity to

EXPAT, Page M3

IsIsthe expat lifethe expat life

for you?for you?

If you want to experience living in another country, here are some tips to helpmake it happen

By Katie QuirkGLOBE CORRESPONDENT

Stepping out of our casita’s stoneshower with windows facing onto thelush forest, I jumped at the sound ofmy 7-year-old’s panicked voice.

“Mom, you have to come right now!There’s a Collared Aracari down at thebreakfast place, and Sal said she justsaw a toucan.”

I threw on a sundress and raced af-ter my ecstatic son toward our guesthouse’s breakfast deck. There, leaningover the porch rail, were my husband,older son, and parents known to theirgrandchildren as Sal and O’da. Infront of them in the yard were bambooplatforms, tied to trees, laden withbunches of bananas and the mostamazing birds I had ever seen: Col-lared Aracaris with their bright redrumps, yellow chests, and serratedbeaks; and Costa Rica’s largest toucan— the Black-mandibled — measuringin at about 2-feet long with its car-toonishly large beak.

We continued to gasp at birds for atleast a half hour before any of us re-membered that we, too, were there forbreakfast. When I finally settled into

my chair, sipping a glass of frothysoursop juice, I smiled. While plan-ning this trip, the ease of a kid-friendlyCosta Rican beach resort had certainlyoccurred to me, but instead I had de-cided to capitalize on our group’s new,and perhaps fleeting, ability to explorethe outdoors together. At 6 and 9, mykids could finally keep up on any mod-erate hike, and in their late 60s, myparents were still quite active. So far,our multigenerational naturalists’ tripwas proving a success.

Birds beyond our wildest dreamsAfter meeting up with my parents

at the airport in Liberia, we aimed forBijagua, a town in Costa Rica’s cowboycountry just south of Nicaragua. Thelure of this region is Rio Celeste, amineral-infused river located in Teno-rio Volcano National Park.

Though our plan had been to headto the park first thing in the morning,three hours after racing down to thebirds at breakfast we were still leaningover the railing, perusing our hosts’homemade bird ID cards and enjoyingsome of their smaller avian neighbors:

BIRDING, Page M4

Multigenerational familytravel isn’t for the birds

At PlayaGuiones,Elijah Gilbertexaminesshells androcks along thebeach.

Abigail andElijah Gilbert,at PlayaGuiones withdad CalebGilbert, arevisiting cousinswho relocatedto Nosara,Costa Rica, tospend a yearabroad in anearby rentedvilla (top).

KATIE QUIRK FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

A Rufous Motmot welcomed the family.

InsideInsideGETAWAYSGETAWAYS

BRANCHINGOUTBRANCHINGOUTLife is Good hits the roadthis summerwithits own vacations

M6

FAMILY

A P R I L 1 , 2 0 1 8 B o s t o n S u n d a y G l o b e Travel M3

with multiple phone chargers,batteries, and cables. I travelwith my own stash of coffeecreamer in my computer bag aswell.

Aisle or window? I prefer to sitby the window on a plane be-cause no matter how muchsleep I got the night before, I al-ways fall asleep for the first 30minutes of a flight. So I will sitby the window to lay my headagainst the wall.

Favorite childhood travelmemory?We didn’t travelmuch as a family outside of lo-cal events. One of my favoritememories is going to Gatlin-burg, Tenn., with a friend andhis family when I was about 12.

like to go there and see what Ifind.

One item you can’t leave homewithout when traveling?Mycomputer bag. Not only is mycomputer in there, [but] it alsohas my “electronic survival kit”

to what we eat and drink.

Wherewould you like to travelto but haven’t? I have alwayswanted to go to Ireland andScotland. I don’t know for sure,but I think my family tree runsback to Scotland, so I would

and “Keep the Kisses Comin’.”We caught up with the 39-year-old crooner, whose newest sin-gle, “See You Try,” was releaseda few weeks ago, to talk aboutall things travel.

Favorite vacation destination?I don’t necessarily have a favor-ite vacation spot, just as long asmy entire family is with me.That is what makes vacationawesome for me.

Favorite food or drink whilevacationing? I live by the motto“travel global, drink local,” so Idrink locally when I travel. Ilove a good steak paired with agood bottle — notice I didn’tsay glass — of bold Cabernet. Itall depends on where we are as

C ountry singer CraigCampbell said he’shappy vacationinganywhere, as long as

his wife, Mindy, and daughters,Preslee, 10, and Kinni Rose, 7,are with him. The Georgia na-tive, who lives in Eagleville,Tenn., a small town south ofNashville, is coming to Bostonfor an April 9 benefit concert atLoretta’s Last Call. Proceedswill go to the Dana-Farber Can-cer Institute. “My dad was 36years old when he died fromcolon cancer, so it’s been a mis-sion of mine to do everything Ican to help when it comes toraising money or awareness forany kind of cancer or sickness,”said Campbell, whose hit songsinclude “Family Man,” “Fish,”

THE VIP LOUNGE | CRAIG CAMPBELL

Life is a song whenhe’s away with family

check out schools, real estate,medical facilities, and the gen-eral ambiance of a place. Whenkids are young, good schoolsare not as critical a consider-ation, though they are a greatresource for finding and mak-ing friends in the community.While on the trip, it’s also help-ful to seek out and talk to otherexpats. Social media is anothergood option for finding answersto specific questions you mayhave. Try searching Facebookfor local expat groups in townsyou may want to go. They areoften a good place to find adviceon everything from where toget cheap gas to reliable plumb-ers and childcare services. Theyare better than general ex-patwebsites that Weinstein de-scribes as “99-percent useless.”

Real estate rentalsWhen starting your research

from home, look for US rentalcompany brands located in thetown you hope to reside. Theymight not do year-round rent-als, but you can use pricing in-formation for research purpos-es. Also, look at Airbnb to calcu-late year-round rentals basedon high and low season aver-

uEXPATContinued from Page M1

aged prices. On your scoutingtrip, it’s best to find and workwith a local agent.

Safety concernsCheck with the US Depart-

ment of State to ensure yourtime abroad is both enjoyableand safe. Their travel websiteoffers a checklist of things toconsider before going, such assafety and security information,and the risks of visiting a partic-ular country or region. SomeUS citizens with special consid-erations, such as students,women, and LGBTI travelers,may face additional challenges.It can also help plan for what todo in a potential crisis situation.travel.state.gov/content/travel/e n / i n t e r n a t i o n a l - t r a v e l.html

HealthInvestigate whether your

health insurance has globalarm, and make sure you deter-mine whether your specificsymptoms are covered in thecountry you plan to reside. Onyour scouting visit, check outlocal medical facilities and doc-tors to make sure they meetyour needs. Do they have ambu-lance services? A pediatrician?In addition, search out private

organizations that provide in-surance for international travel-ers, including services such asgeneral travel insurance (forlost baggage, canceled flights);and medical insurance includ-ing air ambulance, medicalevacuation and escort servicecoverage. travel.state.gov/con-tent/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/your-health-abroad/insurance-pro-viders-overseas.html

Visa requirementsAgain, the State Department

website is a great resource forvisa information specific to in-dividual countries. Some expatsmake “tourist runs,” and checkback into the United States ev-ery 90 days, or whatever is thehost country’s authorized travellimit. Some apply for a longerterm residency, usually thoughthe host country’s embassy.

Tax implicationsSearch out expat tax service

companies to figure out ac-counting and tax implicationswhen living abroad. Questionsto consider: Will you be subjectto double taxation and foreignfilings? Will your visa or immi-gration status affect your taxes?If you’re on a work visa, youmay think you’re not a residentbut the tax agency of your newhome country may disagree.

PetsMoving your pets can be a

logistical challenge, both travel-ing to and, in particular, return-ing home from your destina-tion. Animal health export re-quirements are determined byeach country, and can changefrequently. The USDA AnimalPlant Health Inspection Servicewebsite covers all requirementsfor all countries. Once youknow your destination, it is rec-ommended that you contactyour local veterinarian to assistwith the process, such timeframes for obtaining a healthcertificate, updating vaccina-tions, diagnostic testing, or ad-ministration of medicationsand treatments. www.aphis.us-da.gov/aphis/pet-travel

Once your pet’s medicalneeds are met, you will need to

consider transport. Large petscan be problematic becausesome airlines don’t have appro-priate crate sizes, and, depend-ing on the destination, theywon’t take pets in cargo if thetemperatures are too highwhen landing. There are petshipping companies that can beused as a fallback option.

Other considerationsThe devil is in the details, as

the saying goes. Some other is-sues that need to be addressedinclude forwarding mail, put-ting belongings in storage, rent-ing out your home, buying thethings you’ll need for living in anew place, arranging travel foryour family and pets, and thetransportation you will needonce you arrive, such as buyinga car. The most important thingis to do your homework well inadvance of the move.

“Try to make the transitionseamless. The more you do be-fore you get to your destination,the more you can enjoy it whenyou arrive,” said Weinstein.

Necee Regis can be reached atneceeregis@gmail.com.

PHOTOS BY NECEE REGIS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Home sweet homeaway from home

From top: The road to PlayaGuiones; families enjoysupper at La Luna inNosara, Costa Rica; ahowler monkey in the treesnear the villa being rentedby Andrew Weinstein andChristina Berkemeyer.

I don’t remember the specificsbut I do remember we had agreat time. I remember beingin a gift shop and seeing, forthe first time, a key chain withmy name on it. I had neverseen “Craig” on a gift item likethat. It rocked my world. Also, Ihad never seen the mountainsbefore that trip.

Guilty pleasure when travel-ing? Sleeping in a little longerthan I would at home.

Best travel tip? Plan ahead andask questions about whereyou’re going. Have an itinerarybefore you leave. That takes allthe guesswork out of the trip.

JULIET PENNINGTON

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