Couple Retired to Costa Rica With 2 Sons; Bought a $1.6 Million House

For years, Allyson and Andrew Rappaport spent their days caring for animals at the veterinary practice they owned in New York, often working six days a week.

At night, they returned to their cozy four-bedroom home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, where they lived with their two sons.

Although they had built a comfortable life, they found the cost of living high and dreamed of slowing down. They were also worried about school safety and their kids growing up in what they saw as a highly competitive, consumption-driven culture.

When the opportunity to sell their veterinary practice arose, the couple saw it as a chance to retire and make a lifestyle change.

“We started soul-searching about what we really wanted our lives to look like and what we wanted our kids’ lives to look like,” Andrew, 65, told Business Insider.

The couple knew they wanted to leave the cold behind, but they couldn’t think of anywhere else in the US they wanted to live. Instead, they kept coming back to the idea of Costa Rica, a country they’d visited multiple times and loved.

When they returned for another family vacation, they checked out a few properties and found Las Catalinas, a car-free beachfront town on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. It felt like the perfect fit.

“Immediately we’re like, ‘Oh my God, this is where we need to be,'” Allyson, now 50, told Business Insider.

They didn’t have to do much convincing with their sons, who were 6 and 8 at the time. Having already visited Costa Rica, both boys were excited about the move, she said.

In 2020, they sold their Connecticut home for $915,000 and relocated permanently to Costa Rica.

The car-free beach town they fell for

The Rappaports, who consider themselves retired, now live in a four-bedroom home in Las Catalinas with their two sons.