What Sparked the Event
In early 2021, I undertook a remote working journey to Denver, Colorado during the COVID pandemic. A friend there excited me about traveling south outside of the U.S., much like an international snowbird.
Thinking about another winter of shoveling snow and turning on space heaters as I moved from room to room made me sad. I listened attentively as my friend painted a picture of living and working in a tropical paradise.
We talked about Mexico, of course, and I love Mexico. I have friends there and love to vacation there. I had never tried working from there, however.
Then we talked about Guatemala and Panama, ultimately shifting to Costa Rica as if it was a setup. He said he knew I would LOVE Costa Rica with my friendly personality and love of sunshine.
My buddy, Michael McLain (shown below), has been to all of these countries many times, and he’s the expert I listened to the most. I had been hearing fantastic things about Costa Rica for decades. I had not heard anything negative.
So, I took to the idea of visiting Costa Rica as an escape while still doing my regular work over the Internet and Zoom. They have a name for it, actually – a Digital Nomad. In my case, a SlowMad as I stayed in each location long enough (weeks) to understand their unique culture.
I’m “nomadic” for only part of the year. Several months prior, I had a trial run, spending three months working remotely from Denver, Colorado, U.S. (I live in Minnesota, U.S.).
On my early 2021 trip to Costa Rica, I considered inviting some business partners and friends to join me next time. I thought, “maybe we can learn from one another, do some business referrals, and have a great time.”
During my trip in Q1 2021, I was looking for the best way to gather my friends and business partners in the same place. Spouses, partners, dogs, and even kids would all be welcome.
Well, this idea became a reality.