Between Worlds (Pt. 2): Saying Goodbye to Our Old Lives

Leaving behind the place we called home

Aug 15, 2025

Our original plan was to ship all of these boxes

It didn’t feel like a loss. It felt like a beginning.

The house is still full of stuff. Boxes and piles waiting to be sorted. The list of things to fix kept growing.

Even though we discounted the home price and agreed to help with closing costs, the new buyers kept sending over fix-it requests.

Normally, this would have pushed us over the edge.

Thankfully, Anita’s parents arrived right when we needed help the most.

Her dad, a natural fixer, jumped in to help us tackle the repairs: leaky sinks, overhanging tree limbs, and endless small details.

One problem at a time. One checkmark at a time. Slowly, the list got smaller.

We’ve always believed in synchronicity. But the way we found our realtor—and our immigration lawyer—still feels wild.

A week after telling my family about our move, my brother texted me:

“Hey, one of my clients is here visiting. He lives in Costa Rica. You should talk to him.”

We called his client, who turned out to be the hinge that opened the next door.

Mike warned us about some bad realtor experiences and connected us with his realtor, Nacho, who immediately felt like the right fit. No pressure. No pushing us toward expensive properties we didn’t need. Just a guy who listened.

Nacho then introduced us to his lawyer friend, who would become one of the most important people we’d meet during this entire move.

The lawyer told us something we didn’t know:

“You can waive import taxes if you’re approved for residency.”

We packed up ten boxes to ship. But later remembered the tax break only applied after residency was approved. Oops.

So we pivoted.

Instead of a shipping crate, we pared everything down to five checked bags, two carry-ons, two personal items, and one dog in a soft carrier.

The rest went to donation. Or family. Or the trash.

Pookie was our biggest wildcard.

We had to:

Get him USDA-certified
Time his final vet visit within 10 days of the flight
And pray he wouldn’t lose his mind at 30,000 feet

So we got meds for the flight— which I accidentally threw away while decluttering. Luckily we had enough time to get some more. Just a quick visit to the vet and we were good to go.

Another big goodbye was work.

I’d been with the company for over 15 years. And even though I’d been preparing for this, I didn’t give notice until two weeks out.

But I also pitched something: a shift to contract work. They said yes.

Switching to a contract role gave me the sense of continuity I needed—one familiar anchor amidst the sea of change

On my last office day, I got the final document we needed apostilled: an employment verification letter— the final piece of our paperwork puzzle.

This is everything we had left after my parents filled the rental SUV

My parents arrived with a large rented SUV, ready to take the last of our things down to South Florida.

The ten boxes we’d packed before were now four. They packed those along with our checked luggage and some items they were keeping.

We waved goodbye as they drove away with the last of our possessions.

A few hours later, we met with the title agent and realtor and signed the papers. Just like that, the house we’d called home for three years belonged to someone else.

We took one last look around.

It was bittersweet. But it didn’t feel like a loss.

It felt like something new was starting.

We dropped Pookie with our neighbors, got in the car, and made our second trip to Tallahassee.

It was a quiet ride.

No more papers to print. No more repairs to make. No more piles to sort.

Just the road ahead and the feeling that—for better or worse—we’re really doing this.

These last moments didn’t feel like a goodbye.
They felt like the promise of something we’d been waiting for.