41-year-old and her family left the U.S. for Costa Rica and live on less than $30,000 a year: 'We're a lot happier' and

[Judi Lynn]

41-year-old and her family left the U.S. for Costa Rica and live on less than $30,000 a year: ‘We'rea lot happier' and never moving back

By Morgan Smith,CNBC and Valentina Duarte,CNBC • Published 5 hours ago • Updated 11 mins ago



But in 2018, after Hurricane Harvey destroyed her Houston home, a trip to Costa Rica with her husband Nicholas Hopper and then 9-year-old daughter Aaralyn became a permanent move.

"The housing market was just insane in Houston because of so many people losing their homes to the storm," Ward-Hopper tells CNBC Make It. "At the time, we were living in a small garage apartment above a neighbor's home, with no relief in sight."

Hopper suggested they house hunt elsewhere. "I thought he meant we should move to a different city in Texas or a different state, but he looked at me and said, 'No Kema, let's leave the country,'" Ward-Hopper, 41, recalls.

More:
https://www.necn.com/news/business/money-report/41-year-old-and-her-family-left-the-u-s-for-costa-rica-and-live-on-less-than-30000-a-year-were-a-lot-happier-and-never-moving-back/3175329/

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. How often do they go back to the U.S. to visit friends or families?

How is their daughter doing? How strong is her connection to the U.S.?

[Judi Lynn]

2. Couldn't tell if they're stil on their tourists' visas, or not, but using those visas, they had to visit the US

every 90 days. From the article:

An added bonus was the birth of their son Nico in 2020, even after doctors said chemotherapy had rendered Ward-Hopper unable to conceive. "I got pregnant within 13 months of living here, which I thought was impossible," she says. "It was a small miracle."

Ward-Hopper's doctors in the U.S. said they no longer detected cancer calls in her body in 2017, and in 2021, her doctor re-affirmed that she was cancer-free, an outcome she attributes in part to her decision to live in Costa Rica. For many breast cancer survivors, the risk of recurrence five years post-diagnosis significantly decreases, according to the American Cancer Society.

I get the feeling that since it's not that far away, they probably do make short hops back home, which, I think was Houston or something, but have made Costa Rica their "forever home".

"I've had great experiences in the U.S., but we can't deny the way that people of color are treated there, and we have not had that experience here at all," Ward-Hopper says. "In Costa Rica, I feel that people are treated as humans first, people are incredibly respectful and kind here."

In banks and grocery stores, for example, Ward-Hopper has noticed that people will encourage pregnant people and elderly customers to skip to the front of the line. "While it's not impossible to get that in the States, the baseline isn't this theme of love, acceptance and community the same way it is here," she adds.

The Ward-Hoppers say they plan to stay in Costa Rica for the rest of their lives, even if they plan extended trips to Africa, Europe and other countries in South America.

"This is where we always want to return to," Hopper says. "Ultimately, our goal is to build up our savings and build a nice finca [the Spanish word for "estate"] for our family here."

That would be a blissful break during the invasion of the Magats, especially!

[AZLD4Candidate]

3. I went back once a year living overseas from 2007-2024

What they do is their business.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. I'm a substitute teacher and on occasion, I'll run a youtube video of Costa Rica.

Especially the zip-lining.

They're fascinated.

[ancianita]

5. Costa Rica allows anyone within 100 feet of the water along its coastline to live there free of taxes.

Foreigners can buy any other property there on a tourist visa without ever needing to apply for residency or citizenship.

I learned that a few years ago from my small group's local tour guide there.