[vaidhy]

I have been thinking about CR.. Does Spanish become a requirement for daily life? I am sure I can pick up a smattering of any language as long as I live there.. but I do want to get through the first few months :)

Edit: One other thing - How about international/English schools for middle school kids?

[jamal-kumar]

Yeah it's pretty good to learn the language of any foreign country while being there. It's not that hard to just power through a book or two and pick up pronunciation by making friends with people who barely speak English. If you REALLY want to accelerate it get into a relationship with someone who barely speaks your language, actually - I have a lot of fun dating girls who are trying to learn English but my Spanish is good enough to give me some better chances starting out

Response to edit: Yeah the international schools here are really good, I actually have a friend teaching at a German language one for kids which is well renowned so there's even options outside of English immersion

[vaidhy]

Thanks.. I do not think I can convince my wife that I am dating girls to learn the language.. but I will power through the books..

CR has been my top retirement destination for long.. between the forests and scuba diving, it would be my ideal country.

[jamal-kumar]

Yeah you're a family man, that's great, I've met a lot of people who have actually moved their families out this direction to do stuff like start businesses, and many of them are quite happy. Feel free to make some local friends though, really the best way to get to know the language in any case