Family ditch UK and buy one-way ticket to live in country 5,000 miles away
Naomi, 31, and Johnathan Jules, 30, from Darlington, have revealed what life is like in Costa Rica after they swapped their lifestyle in the UK for a tropical time overseas
A Brit couple has ditched their home in the UK in order to experience a more "simple" way of life - with jungle school and cheaper amenities.
Naomi, 31, and Johnathan Jules, 30, left their life behind in Darlington and purchased one-way tickets to Costa Rica. The couple said they put their three-bedroom semi-detached house on the market and bought tickets to Guanacaste instead. The pair, who made the move when their child was just two months old, said they are saving a whopping £330 per month.
Now, they spend £900 a month for a two-bed apartment with a swimming pool. Naomi shared that they wanted to re-locate to somewhere that wasn't "materialistically driven", so opted for a relaxed life overseas. Their daughter is due to be enrolled in a jungle school when she is old enough and they visit the beach and local market most days.
Naomi, who was a health and safety officer, said: "We have been raised to go to school, college, university and then onto jobs. I am a free-thinking person and I haven't been happy in this system that we have been brought up in. I had a goal to get out of the UK and when I got pregnant that feeling intensified. I told my husband that by the time our daughter was three, we were leaving the UK. Life is so simple over here which is what we wanted - it is not driven by fancy cars or money."
Comparing what it was like to live in the UK, she said: "I was living in my overdraft. We never bought anything for ourselves - I never bought new clothes. We were living to work and not getting any enjoyment from our lives. The cost of living out here is only a little bit less than the UK but the quality of life here makes up for that."
Naomi and Johnathan are massive nature lovers, which is why they decided that Costa Rica would be the best place to raise their toddler. Originally, the pair were debating going to Portugal, but due to Brexit, they couldn't get a visa. Naomi said: "We love the outdoors and love everything green. We did so much research before moving here and heard the locals are very friendly. There is a jungle school out here and so much for us to do as a family."
In May 2024, Naomi and Johnathan bit the bullet and put their £215k home on the market. "We sat down saying we needed to go for it, otherwise we would never do it," she added. "Within five days the house was sold and then we realised we needed to take it seriously." Naomi and Johnathan were on a plane from Gatwick Airport, London to Costa Rica to start their new life, earlier this month.
Naomi said her family and friends were not surprised. She said: "They knew we were unhappy here so I don't think they were too surprised. My dad thought it was outrageous. The thing is my dad might not always agree with what I do but he will always support me. We both have the most supportive family - they all just want us to be happy." While they were living in the UK, Naomi and Johnathan were paying £900 a month for their mortgage without bills. Currently, the couple are taking career breaks to decide what they want to do with their future.
Originally, Johnathan's company was going to allow him to work remotely from Costa Rica but changed their mind and he had to leave his job as a quality assurance officer, he said. Naomi said: "We're currently not receiving income. We took it as a push that we wanted to work for ourselves and make money for ourselves. We are taking July off and then in August we're going the concentrate on working on our income. Obviously we have money, we would never put our daughter in a risky situation."
Monthly outgoings in the UK
- Mortgage payments: £900
- Gas and electric: £160
- Council tax: £170
- Food shop: £560
- Total: £1,790
Monthly outgoings in Costa Rica
- Rent with bills included: £900
- Food shop: £240
- Total: £1,140