I just returned to Tamarindo after a quick trip to my hometown of Chicago. At home and in Tamarindo, people are always asking me how I came to live in Tamarindo and own Tamarindo Backpackers. So I thought I would share my story here.

Almost exactly one year ago I left London, where I worked for a huge corporate law firm as an oil & gas project finance lawyer, and moved to Tamarindo to purchase and run Tamarindo Backpackers Hostel. It is the BEST decision I have ever made and I am enjoying every single day here in paradise!

To give a little bit of background… I’m from Chicago, Illinois. In 2005 I moved to England to study at Oxford University. I loved the UK so much, that I decided to stay there and I completed my law degree in London. I then went to work at the London office of the international law firm Latham & Watkins. I was a project finance attorney and specialized in the large-scale financings for liquefied natural gas terminals.

For the first few years, I loved my job. I learned a ton, had great mentors and worked on projects all over the world. But as my team got busier, we all got less and less sleep with more stress. I started to realize that I did not want to work in law for the rest of my life. I was tired of London weather (rain and cold!!!!), I hated commuting in rush hour, being inside all day and working such long hours. Sometime we would work 20 hours days or I would sleep in my office under my desk!

I would go on holiday and HATE to come back!  I waited all week for the weekend to arrive and I would look forward to holidays months in advance. I was waiting my life away! One day when I was anxious about going back to work after being ill, my boyfriend said ‘If you’re unhappy, why don’t you just quit and do something else?’ Well I had a mortgage in London and to live in such an expensive city, I needed my lawyer’s salary. He asked me what I would do if I could do anything in the world, even if it wasn’t practical.

I said that I would love to own a bar or hotel on a beach somewhere because I love beach and I love people. I already spoke Spanish (my undergraduate degree is in Latin American Studies), so the next day, just out of curiosity, I googled ‘hotels for sale Latin America’. Tamarindo Backpackers Hostel was the third link that came up. I was surprised to see that a property inCosta Rica was affordable.

For a foreign investor, Costa Rica is the best company to invest in in Latin America. It is the safest country, has no military, there is a stable government and a stable currency, its beautiful and green, there are no hurricanes on the pacific coast and foreign property owners have the same rights as locals.

I called the estate agent, Rob Goodell from Blue Water Properties. He sounded SO happy, and he also has a son and told me there are great schools in Tamarindo AND that there is a minimum of 300 days of sunshine per year! In London, it was lucky if we got a few weeks of sunshine per year.

Chris and I needed a holiday anyway so we booked a trip to Tamarindo to check out Tamarindo Backpackers and Rob arranged for us to see several other businesses too.  We weren’t really thinking it would be possible to make such a big move, we were more looking just for fun.

But as soon as we saw Tamarindo Backpackers and walked down to Tamarindo Beach, we were hooked! We loved the charming yellow hacienda and the pool at the hostel. We also loved all of the amazing guests that we met! We went back to London, I sold my house and quit my job, Chris sold his hair salon and I booked plane tickets for myself, Chris and our dog Alfie. Six weeks after returning from our holiday, we touched down permanently in Tamarindo, on 4 June 2013.

We closed the deal on Tamarindo Backpackers on 26 July 2013. Neither Chris nor I had ever worked in hospitality before, so it was really daunting when I was handed the keys to my new business. The first month was a HUGE learning curve, but with the help of the amazing friends I have made in Tamarindo, I was able to get it figured out and now the business is running really smoothly.

Instead of dreading my alarm and HATING Mondays, I cant wait to get to Tamarindo Backpackers every morning to see who I am going to meet! I walk my dogs on the beach every day, make my own schedule and get to meet super cool people from all over the world and hear amazing stories of their travels.

So that’s how I escaped the rat race! Every day here in paradise is an adventure. And most of all, I am happy every single day, no more waiting my life away. I earn much less money than when I was a lawyer, but in place of money I have TIME, which is so much more important!

To anyone who wants to make a change like we did, my advice is DO IT!!!!! The hardest thing is making the decision. Once you commit to the decision, the rest just falls into place.

I hope you will come stay at Tamarindo Backpackers hostel so you can see how far we’ve come and why our guests say we are the best of ALL hostels in Tamarindo!

Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page  for more news and lots of fun photos.
You can also follow us on Instagram @tamabackpackers for more personal photos about my life here in paradise.

If you make a reservation by clicking ‘book now’ on our website you get one night FREE if you stay 5 or more nights with us!

Pura Vida!

Anne, Owner of Tamarindo Backpackers, the best of all hostels in Tamarindo

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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.