Melissa Lombard had a successful residential real estate career in Austin Texas but her and her husband David had always talked about pulling the ripcord on their normal lives in Austin and doing something completely outside of their comfort bubble. Their life reinvention dream happened almost immediately after taking one little step.
On a whim, she applied for them to manage a Bed and Breakfast in a beach town in Costa Rica. The application was accepted out of over 100 people but the only problem, they had to be there in 3 weeks.
When they land in Costa Rica expecting to find the lavish, beach lifestyle they are greeted with a “Survivor meets Pioneer Woman” cabins on the side of a hill in a remote part of the jungle. They jumped in anyway and made the best of it, even thrived in a life they never could have planned.
In this episode we dig into…
- How the dominoes started falling for them to explore a completely different path in life and massive life reinvention.
- Why they choose Costa Rica.
- The mayhem of selling and giving away their cars and stuff in a matter of weeks.
- Battling mud slides, howler monkeys, the Spanish language and raising chickens.
- Running a bed and breakfast with zero experience…running a bed and breakfast.
- How did the cost of living in Costa Rica compare to the US.
- The early end of their adventure to return to their lives in the US and what the reverse culture shock was like.
- What were the things that they missed about the US and now miss about their jungle life.
Show Notes
Coffee with a Stranger – a coffee with lightning bolts and rays of sunshine.
Twitter: @MelissaKLombard
Instagram: @live_simple
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Excited to learn of this adventure!
Thanks for interviewing me for your terrific podcast Todd! What a fun experience reliving the crazy times in Costa Rica! Some decisions only seem crazy in hindsight. This one definitely makes that list!
You are very welcome Melissa. I had a blast speaking with you and learning about your uncommon path in life. Super inspiring!!