Retired in Costa Rica – British couple abandon the ‘rat race’ and start a small B&B in San Isidro.

Hola! We are John and Sheelagh Richards, now in our tenth year living near San Isidro de el General (known locally as Perez Zeledon, the name of the municipality), on the main road to Rivas and the entrance to Chirripo national park.

Scott invited us to contribute a regular column for WeLoveCostaRica.com – the brave fellow! – an invitation we couldn’t decline for we also love Costa Rica and it will be a pleasure to share some of our experiences with like-minded adventurers. So, here we are with an introduction on how and why we abandoned the rat race for a very different life in Costa Rica.

John was in agriculture; as a lecturer, estate manager and latterly working for the US company, Cargill, as a senior agronomist, while I trained as an occupational therapist and worked in health and social services before becoming a Government adviser and latterly the Chief Executive of the British Association.

Having had to holiday in the winter, we had traveled widely in pursuit of the sun, mainly to the far east and Africa. Then one year we decided it was time to head west, chose Costa Rica — and never got any further! We fell in love with this wondrous country and its delightful people and came back every couple of years until 2005 when we had that ‘time to make a decision’ experience.

With British agriculture going nowhere fast, John decided to take the opportunity of early retirement. Being Welsh and Scottish respectively, we had ended up living in neutral territory in England and though we had lots of wonderful friends there, we didn’t have a feeling of ‘belonging’ in Bedfordshire.

Nor did we belong to our places of birth. Our parents had passed on and our families were spread across the UK and abroad. With no dependents, we were free agents intent upon filling the time between slavery and the dotage with some kind of adventure – but where, and doing what, were the big questions!

During our holiday in January 2005, we decided to see what our money would buy in Costa Rica — a theoretical exercise; we were just looking, not buying. John did, however, do some research on real estate and we had homed in on this area with its ideal climate and environment.

We looked at two plots and two homes; loved one, returned to the UK, ruminated for a couple of months and decided to take the plunge – and by July, John was back to sign the deal!

You can see an interesting free online video interview with John & Sheelagh Richards here.

The decision made, we set about selling our home in the UK. I resigned and worked my notice. We sold off life’s detritus, put ten boxes on a boat and arrived with three leaden cases in January 2006. Looking back, all a bit crazy but we’ve been amazingly lucky and had no regrets whatsoever.

Next time, I’ll tell you more about San Isidro and the steep learning curve in getting our new life organized… a work still in progress!

Written by VIP Member Sheelagh Richards. Sheelagh is originally from Scotland and her husband John who is from Wales are two inveterate British travellers who fell in love with Costa Rica, the beauty of the Talamanca mountain range and the perfect climate of the Rio General valley where they have established a small Bed & Breakfast called Casa de Los Celtas.

You can see a free online video interview with John & Sheelagh Richards here and read glowing testimonials here.

You can see more about John and Sheelagh’s affordable B&B accommodations outside San Isidro with their location detailed here.

Please contact our Recommended Costa Rica Realtors working in the San Isidro area by using the simple form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.