My work tends to take me to interesting places.

That actually might be an exaggeration.  I’m not a tour guide or a pilot or an elephant tamer.  But the growing trend of doing business online – combined with the lax deadlines and freelance nature of my job – means that I can work from any place and in almost any time zone.  Living out of the country has been a great way to travel while making my living doing what I love.

I’ve just gotten back from two months in Costa Rica and I’m home for the holidays a bit reluctantly.  I was living in a small town in the west called Santa Teresa-Mal País known for amazing surf, a great environment for travelers, and great hotels.  I’m not normally one to enjoy anything other than skyscrapers and screaming car horns, but the feel of living here was something so tranquil yet so interesting that even I could enjoy it.

My companions and I chose to rent a room at the Fuego Lodge was clean, beautifully decorated, close to the beach, and – even if I hadn’t gone in the off-season – totally affordable.  The common space and pool were relaxing without being boring, the staff was fun to talk to and knowledgeable about the area, and having a maid clean our rooms daily was almost worth it in itself.  With the tropical weather and year-round surfing, there needn’t even be an off-season – and at times it was just us and the lodge’s employees, building a certain convivencia based on a mutual need to surf in the morning, work all day, lay around the pool, and spend the evening feeling truly alive.

As far as a great environment for working, traveling, or a family vacation rental Costa Rica could not have dropped a better hotel into our laps.  Working abroad is exciting by nature, but my stay at Fuego in Santa Teresa has been one of the most memorable two months of my life.