Learning Spanish makes your move to Costa Rica much easier

I just read a post over on The Real Costa Rica Blog that talks about learning Spanish before moving to Costa Rica.  They noted a few stats that didn’t shock me

“I was speaking to the owner of one of the larger moving companies some while back, and he told me that he is now moving back “home” more than 50% of the customers he moved here originally.”

For learning Spanish, TRCR blog mentioned Coffee Break Spanish, which I’ve been listening to for some time.  There are also a few other Spanish/language learning sites that I would recommend as well.

They also reminded me that if you’re moving from the USA that it’s also a good idea to learn the metric system. It’s things like that, that will make your transition into another country/culture, so much easier.

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July 1, 2008 · Filed under Costa Rica, Expat Services, web stuff

6 Comments »

  1. Steph Said,

    July 1, 2008 @ 7:18 pm

    I’m learning spanish and I’m stoked that there are so many options for language learning on the web now. I have been using http://www.edufire.com! just to add another to your list.

    if you are interested in a free session let me know.

    Steph

  2. Zoey Said,

    July 3, 2008 @ 1:57 pm

    I might add that learning the language of the country your moving to not only makes everyday tasks easier, but also makes your time there more enjoyable and helps you feel at home and combat any home sickness you might feel. Leaning the language has such greater implications than enabling one to function in practical situations - it can help you come to understand local culture, truly feel a part of it and really will make any travel abroad experience that much more rewarding. I might also recommend using some of the language learning tools available on the BBC website, I feel that they are some of the best around!

  3. Nicola Robinsonova Said,

    July 14, 2008 @ 7:35 am

    Thanks for mentioning Learnitlists.com in your resources. The inspiration for Learnit was our efforts to learn Czech.

    We are expats from the UK living in the Czech Republic. We had weekly lessons for 18 months before we came out here & learning some language in advance has had a massive impact on our quality of life and what we are able to do here.

    It’s such a pleasure being able to communicate in another language - well worth the effort. I hope that Learnit is useful to you for learning Spanish.

    Nicola

  4. Steve Said,

    July 16, 2008 @ 2:06 pm

    I’ve been trying to learn Spanish, thanks for the links.

  5. Steph Said,

    July 16, 2008 @ 2:52 pm

    Thanks you for some great new online language resources to look into!

  6. John Andersen Said,

    November 21, 2008 @ 11:34 am

    Like a lot of touristy destinations it depends on where you are at… If you hang out in the touristy areas of Costa Rica the people will speak english, if you are where the Tico’s are they speak spanish.

    Of course, learning the language is the way to go.

    -JA

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