Ask most Costa Ricans where they went during the month long school break in June and July and hoards will reply: The beach. The rain stops in the Central Valley; off to the beach.

For two years, I owned a home on the beach and when the holidays come, I miss my little wooden house. All the romantic ideas I’ve ever had about the beach are true, especially on the Caribbean, my coast of choice. In the morning I’d walk along the beach and many days see no one except a few monkeys. The sea is clean and the horizon sucked me in like an endless vacuum of light. The kids loved the sand and our little town was as quaint as a little town in a snow-globe. (Hey, now there’s an original souvenir!) Life brimmed on every leaf, in every tree, and in each drop of water.

Though I did not live full-time at the beach, I got a taste of what it’s really like - after the postcards are sent. Since most vacation spots on the Caribbean are below the port of Limon, it is at least a five to seven hour drive. With kids, it’s a long ride. On the Pacific coast, there are a few spots like Jaco and Punteranus closer to San Jose. However, many choose beaches on the north Pacific and the drive becomes as long. A few places it makes more sense to fly a commuter plane. Living so far away from the city means deciding what you are willing to either live without or be content with fewer choices. You may have to settle for dial-up Internet while you wait for a year or two for DSL. If you depend on special needs services or supplies, do a lot of research before choosing your location. A routine trip to San Jose figures into most ex-pats budget that decide to live on the beach.

My home was a dream tree house. Half wood and half cement, both materials bring challenges. Wood means termites. Cement stays damp and brings lots of mold. The Caribbean rains almost all the time with several small breaks throughout the year. Closets are a no no. In a closed space, mold seems to grow in seconds. Beyond termites every home will have ants, cockroaches, geckos, spiders, more ants, of all sizes, scorpions, and of course mosquitoes. Since Costa Rica has cases of dengue fever, it’s wise to sleep with a toldo - mosquito net. Water supply is iffy, and often so low you can’t flush a toilet. Many people air condition at least one room where computer or other technical equipment is kept.

Petty theft is a problem at the beach. Keeping a guard up is just wise. There’s a lot of drug use. It comes with the territory. We were robbed once because someone staying in our guest room on the bottom floor didn’t shut the little wooden shutter at night. Though the guests lost cameras, phones, and clothes, thankfully no one was hurt. But common sense goes a long, long way at the beach.

What could be the most important thing to do before settling at the beach? Rent. Resist buying if you can. I’ve watched many-a-Gringo pull up stakes after a few years because one or more of all those factors I mentioned above proved too much to handle. Test drive the town and the area before deciding. It’s true you can sell, I did with some great help. In fact you may decide the beach is yours forever, but instead of Cahuita, you prefer Puerto Viejo down the road.

So why even go? We all know the answer to that: it’s the beach, and the sun, and the forest, and the monkeys, and the air. I could never breath enough of that fresh oxygen and plants and life growing on every tree and gate and wire and road. It’s incredible. Days on the sand, the kids would loose themselves in play and imagination and sticks and rocks. We lived very much in the NOW; the beach is all about the NOW. But it’s a lot of work, especially with small kids. Between those moments of surf and sand come the laundry, dinner, fevers, stomach aches, bug bites, whining, and all the other “regular-old-life” challenges. At a different time in my life, I would have kept my home, but single parenting two kids and one with special needs was just too much. A home at the beach demands a lot of on-hands care I couldn’t give.

My daughter must have been trading stories at school with her friends about who did what over the vacation because in the car she asked me out of the blue why we sold her house. I told her what I’ve written here but in the terms a seven year old can handle.

We’re going to go off and see volcanoes for awhile. Plus we’ll be going back to the beach. We’ll always be going back to the beach.