Rappaport family – Allyson and Andrew Rappaport sold a Connecticut veterinary practice in 2020, bought a home in Las Catalinas in 2020 for $1.6 million, and rebuilt their lives in a car-free Costa Rica beach town—trading high US living costs and school safety worries for walkabi
Allyson Rappaport still remembers what the mornings in Connecticut felt like: the routine of running a busy veterinary practice—then the weight of driving back home to Ridgefield, where life came with a constant background worry.
“Our kids were going to grow up in this environment where you have to worry about being shot in school,” Allyson said. “It’s not some place I’d want to raise my kids.”
The couple’s days were full in New York and their evenings were full at home. Allyson and Andrew Rappaport owned a veterinary practice in New York and often worked six days a week. At night, they returned to their four-bedroom home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, living with their two sons.
They had built a comfortable life. But the cost of living felt high, and the couple said they dreamed about slowing down—while also worrying about school safety and what they described as a competitive, consumption-driven culture.
When the opportunity to sell their veterinary practice arrived, the decision shifted from a private idea to something practical. In 2020. they sold their Connecticut home for $915. 000. and the couple began their move to Costa Rica with one clear goal: a different pace and a different kind of childhood for their children.
The town they fell for didn’t have cars. Las Catalinas is a car-free beach town on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, and the Rappaports said it felt like the perfect fit the moment they saw it. “Immediately we’re like, ‘Oh my God, this is where we need to be,’” Allyson, now 50, told Business Insider.
Her husband, Andrew, 65, described the emotional push behind the shift: “We started soul-searching about what we really wanted our lives to look like and what we wanted our kids’ lives to look like.”
They had considered other places in the United States, but the couple said they couldn’t think of anywhere else in the US they wanted to live. Costa Rica kept pulling them back—partly because they’d visited before, and partly because the lifestyle they imagined felt possible there.
It was their sons—then 6 and 8—who needed the least convincing. Having already visited Costa Rica, both boys were excited about the move. The family relocated permanently to Las Catalinas, where they now live in a four-bedroom home with their two sons.
The home came at a price that would have been difficult to replicate back in Connecticut. The Rappaports bought the property for $1.6 million and spent about $200,000 renovating it. Their residence sits steps from the beach and includes a pool and garden.
Their second move inside Costa Rica reflects how they planned the next stage, not just the first one. The couple said their current home is the second property they’ve owned in the country. They sold their first house in Las Catalinas for around $1.5 million and then purchased a larger home nearby for $1.6 million in 2021. They spent roughly $200,000 upgrading that larger home.
Taxes, they said, also shifted the math in a way they felt immediately. In the US, their annual property taxes were about $15,000. In Costa Rica, they now pay around $5,000.
Andrew said a comparable beachfront house would likely have been out of reach in the US. “We would not have been able to afford that anywhere.”
For the family. the most visible difference in daily life isn’t only cost—it’s what feels safe and simple. In Las Catalinas, the town’s walkability means their sons can move around without the same constant awareness of traffic. Allyson said. “The walkability of the town has been so great for the kids. because they can just go out and we don’t have to worry about them getting hit by a car.”.
That freedom shows up again at school. The couple’s sons attend an international school and, Andrew said, have formed friendships with kids of different ages and backgrounds.
The Rappaports’ decision to treat Costa Rica as more than a vacation also reflects how immigration rules can shape retirement plans. The family is among many Americans choosing to relocate, and the US Embassy in Costa Rica estimates that approximately 120,000 Americans live in the country.
Costa Rica’s residency options help explain why the move has become a recurring story. The country offers visas for retirees, digital nomads, and investors. Under the investor program. foreigners can qualify for residency by making a minimum $150. 000 investment in the country. including in real estate—the route the Rappaports took.
Moving abroad came with an adjustment period. Even with English widely spoken in Costa Rica, the Rappaports said they initially struggled with the language barrier. Now, they are fluent in Spanish.
Life also slowed down in ways that weren’t always convenient. Everyday tasks and bureaucratic processes often take longer than they would in the US, they said. Still, the couple described it as part of adapting to a different culture.
Allyson pointed to the local mood as a guidepost: “Pura Vida, that’s the local thing. Like, ‘Oh, it’s all good. Pura Vida!’”
They do miss some conveniences from American life. Specialty ingredients can be hard to come by, and online shopping isn’t nearly as convenient or accessible as it was in Connecticut.
But they said those gaps have changed their shopping habits. Allyson described an upside: “You realize, maybe I don’t really even need that.”
The slower pace affects the family’s time together most of all. The couple said they spend more time together, and Allyson described how their sons have become more present in their routine—“Our kids have us growing up, both of us. We’re at all the functions now.”
Running errands also takes longer than it did in the US. Andrew said that a trip to the grocery store, a car service appointment, or other routine tasks can easily take several hours.
Even so, he said the days don’t feel empty. When people ask whether they’re bored all the time, he said the answer is no. “We fill every day. There’s really not a lot of downtime, yet we never feel rushed or pushed or stressed.”
On a typical chore-free day, the couple’s schedule is built around movement and togetherness. After making breakfast and getting the kids ready for school. Allyson heads to the tennis courts before the family meets for lunch. In the afternoons, they’re often at the beach, by the pool, or working out at the gym.
Their marriage has benefited from the same change in tempo. “Even after seven years, it still feels like we’re living on vacation,” Allyson added.
Costa Rica relocation Las Catalinas Ridgefield Connecticut veterinary practice sale expat retirees car-free beach town property taxes residency investor program Pura Vida
Car-free Costa Rica sounds amazing but like… can you really just up and do that?
So they moved because of school shootings and cost? Honestly good for them. But I bet it’s still not cheap down there when you factor in everything.
Wait it says they sold their vet practice in 2020 and bought a house in 2020 for $1.6 million and then rebuilt their lives… how are they a vet still? Like did they just open another practice there or was the article talking about something else? Also Ridgefield is not like… Chicago or whatever lol.
I don’t get why people act like driving is the only safety issue, like shootings are just gonna magically stop because you’re in Costa Rica. Sounds like they wanted cheaper living and quieter schools, which fair, but the whole “background worry” thing feels like fear talking. Plus they had money already from selling the practice, so for regular folks this is kinda fantasy.