BY : LIZ FLEMING in a tiny town called Tamarindo , on the coast of Costa Rica .
That was the best gift ever because Ted soon fell in love with life in Costa Rica and decided it was time for a permanent change . He sold everything he owned in the States and opened a jeep tour company in Tamarindo . He never learned to surf , but he did learn to love the sounds of the jungle at night and the joy of staying still for a while . He ’ s stopped worrying about making more money than everyone else and concentrates on making enough to stay in business and keep himself fed . He lives in an apartment the size of his garage in Santa Monica , has learned how to fi x jeeps and speak Spanish , got tanned and relaxed and smiles more than he ever has in his whole life .
Ted is living authentically and so is Cathy , a friend I met recently who left an unhappy suburban life in Michigan for a farm in Patagonia and convinced her three kids to come along .
“ I was tired of watching my kids sit inside and play video games all day . I was sick of wishing I was somewhere else … so I started to research and I became fascinated with the lives I saw people living in Patagonia .”
Something was calling Cathy so she convinced her husband to try a year there , to see if a change of place and pace and a healthier , outdoorsy lifestyle could rejuvenate their troubled marriage and re-energize their family life . Because both worked at jobs that could be handled online , the relocation was fi nancially possible and so the trial year began .
Despite having to learn Spanish , the children quickly settled into the small mountain village school near their new home , made friends and learned a very different way of life where video games were replaced by playing outside , climbing trees , building forts , or throwing a baseball .
HE SOLD EVERYTHING HE OWNED IN THE
STATES AND OPENED A JEEP TOUR COMPANY
“ It was like they ’ d time-traveled ,” says Cathy who began splitting her time between her online editing job and working in the garden she ’ d planted .
“ When you can ’ t get to a grocery store easily ,” she smiles , “ you learn how to grow what you want . Then you fi nd neighbours to trade with , so you can swap your extra carrots for eggs or milk . It ’ s a simple bartering system and it works .”
Cathy and her kids soon loved their new home in Patagonia . Cathy ’ s husband …. not so much . He returned to Michigan , putting an end to many unhappily married years . The children spend a month each summer with their dad and grandparents and he visits a few times a year in Patagonia . While that ’ s not ideal , Cathy still feels that the life she and her children are living now is healthier , happier and more authentic .
“ We don ’ t have television and wifi is only available in the village , so if we want to connect , we have to walk there . Instead of watching mindless shows , we talk to each other , play cards , make things … and we certainly laugh a lot more than we ever used to .”
Teiva , another friend met on the road , doesn ’ t wear much clothing – just the pareo ( two pieces of cloth , joined by strings at the hip ) favoured by traditional Tahitian men and a necklace made from the teeth of a boar he once killed to feed his wife and children . He doesn ’ t need a larger wardrobe because , on the island of Tahiti , the weather is pretty much the same year round – warm and lovely .
Teiva lives a simple life , just as his father , grandfather and great grandfather did before him . He fi shes , hunts , grows bananas and breadfruit and lives with his wife and kids in the same small cottage that his family has lived in for a hundred years . If they ’ ve ever updated the décor , I didn ’ t notice . The land he lives on is his – and there ’ s lots of it . Lots and lots . In fact , Teiva and his family own most of the undeveloped central section of the island – a multi-million dollar jungle paradise that has remained almost
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