41-year-old and her family left the U.S. for Costa Rica and live on less than $30,000 a year: 'We're a lot happier' and

[Judi Lynn]

41-year-old and her family left the U.S. for Costa Rica and live on less than $30,000 a year: ‘We'rea lot happier' and never moving back

By Morgan Smith,CNBC and Valentina Duarte,CNBC • Published 5 hours ago • Updated 11 mins ago



But in 2018, after Hurricane Harvey destroyed her Houston home, a trip to Costa Rica with her husband Nicholas Hopper and then 9-year-old daughter Aaralyn became a permanent move.

"The housing market was just insane in Houston because of so many people losing their homes to the storm," Ward-Hopper tells CNBC Make It. "At the time, we were living in a small garage apartment above a neighbor's home, with no relief in sight."

Hopper suggested they house hunt elsewhere. "I thought he meant we should move to a different city in Texas or a different state, but he looked at me and said, 'No Kema, let's leave the country,'" Ward-Hopper, 41, recalls.

More:
https://www.necn.com/news/business/money-report/41-year-old-and-her-family-left-the-u-s-for-costa-rica-and-live-on-less-than-30000-a-year-were-a-lot-happier-and-never-moving-back/3175329/