The Choice To Leave Behind A "Normal "Life
Jun

This is a guest submission by Julia from JuliaTarquinio.com
There are many things I could say about why I decided to up and leave a job, an apartment, bills and family in New York City to experience life in Costa Rica.
I was tired of working 10 hour days as a teacher who was making more money than most, but starting to hate every minute of it. I can’t even begin to describe the amount of work that I had on my plate and I felt like my every move was studied, reviewed and noted.
The school day was already 2 hours longer than regular public school and with the press always walking through the halls, there was no opportunity for downtime while I got my things situated between lessons or during lunch.
I had to be ‘on point’ from 7:45am to 5pm every day. By the end of the school year, I was forced to work Saturdays with kids who were “below” on the practice state tests.
There were certainly times where I absolutely loved it. I thrived on learning new ways of teaching and collaborating with the most talented people I have ever worked with, but when I stepped back and realized my entire life revolved around it, I started to resent it.
I felt like I was really making a difference in the lives of children, but slowly killing myself. I knew there had to be a better way of achieving what we did without driving ourselves insane.
I Wanted More
Working in Harlem was a constant reminder how badly I wanted to learn to speak Spanish. For years I tried but never got past one or two lessons in Rosetta Stone.
I was fascinated by those who could hold entire conversations in a second language. I wanted to be able to make my brain work in a way that it never had before. When I first started learning, I felt it was going to be impossible.
There was no one to practice with or to explain to me why certain words were used in certain situations. I put Rosetta Stone back in the closet and didn’t even bring it with me when I moved to NYC.
My Environment Influences Me A Lot
Living in a place where 9 months out of the year I leave and return from work in the dark made me fantasize about living at the beach where I could enjoy watching the sun sink into the horizon.
I never felt as depressed as I did during the months of December and March. The start of a school year was also depressing. I hated fall and I hated the feeling I got when it started to get crisp outside.
Everyone around me would be so excited for the trees to start changing colors, the weather to turn cooler but I just felt sick in the pit of my stomach because I knew that soon winter would be arriving. I do not like changes in weather.
I thought if I could be in a place where it is hot and dry all of the time, then that would solve most of my problems. I would have more energy and be able to enjoy being outside.
An Opportunity That Changed My Life
I was sick of work and sick of not seeing the light of day. I did value everything I did with the children, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy everything I needed. My need to have fun again, my need to have a life outside of work, my need to feel free during the week and not have a huge anxiety attack on Sunday nights if I didn’t spend my weekend checking emails and planning.
I needed to not feel guilty if I wanted to spend a week night out at the movies instead of in the classroom or at home answering emails and making phone calls to parents on a phone that was given to me to make sure I returned messages within 24 hours.
I also wanted to start enjoying activities outside again. Being able to run along the Hudson for only about 10 weeks out of the year (without getting frost bitten) was not enough for me.
And then it all changed…
During lunch one afternoon with my sister, I was expressing my frustrations with my job. She suggested I check the Craigslist job boards. I went home that night and lo and behold, there was my dream job sitting there in the Craigslist ads!
When I saw the opportunity to teach in Costa Rica, right next to the beach, I knew I had to go. This is what I had been looking for for so long. A simpler life, where I could teach and enjoy being outside every day of the year.
What It Took to Actually Take the Plunge and Go For It
When I was actually faced with the offer of a job and the chance to move to Costa Rica, I did something so simple that it made my decision to leave an opportunity I was able to commit to in a matter of minutes.
After being offered a position to teach in Costa Rica, I sat in my apartment, looked around and thought “Ok, now, what if I didn’t do this? How would I feel 6 months from now, in the dead of winter, right before all of the craziness of state-testing? Would I regret not going to Costa Rica or would I be wishing I was back in NYC?”
Within seconds, I was able to answer that question. It was obvious. Why would I give up a chance to fulfill something I had been wanting for years?
10 Months Later
I am still in Costa Rica and loving it more now than I did when I first arrived. There were some ups and downs, but in the end, I am so happy I came here. I have met some amazing people, traveled to Nicaragua and different parts of Costa Rica.
I swam under waterfalls, hiked up mountains, surfed amazing beaches, zip-lined through a forest and even painted my entire body with mud! All the while still working as a teacher. I am able to hold conversations with people in Spanish now and learn more about the Costa Rican culture every day.
When I look back at this journey, I am thankful that I didn’t give in to the “security” of a job and the routine of my life. In the end of it all, we have only ourselves to answer to.
I didn’t want to wake up 5, 10, 20 years from then and wonder what the hell happened. I want to look back 50 years from now, smile and tell myself “Hell yeah! That was exciting!”
My name is Julia and I decided last year to move to Costa Rica after an opportunity to teach was offered to me. I am learning all about Costa Rican culture, the Spanish language and more about myself than I ever imagined – another lesson learned to follow my heart and go with my instinct.
You can find me on my blog at JuliaTarquinio.com or on Twitter and Facebook.

Benny
Hey Julia!
Glad to see your guest post! I enjoyed it of course!
You said there was press walking up and down the hallways. Do you mean media? If so, why?
I’m happy to hear you’re getting to enjoy the sun and warm weather much more now!
Juila
Hey Benny,
Yea, the press as in news people. There is a huge controversy as to whether charter schools work and also whether or not they take away from the other schools (I could go on forever, but that might take a phonecall or something). I worked for a politician who was fighting to make educational changes in NYC and like all huge changes, there is a group of people fighting it. To the point where kids and families are threatened when entering the schools. My boss actually receives threatening phone calls.
Anyhow, we had a lot of press to show people exactly what was going on, how we did things and how everything works. I really enjoyed teaching and I enjoyed the fact that I was a part of making a difference, but it got to be way too much.
I am glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
Srinivas Rao
Julia,
All I can say is I’m glad to have been a part of your journey. No matter what happens like you said you won’t wake up 50 years from now wondering what the hell happened. As far as the winter goes, brown people and cold weather are not meant to be so I’ll never live anywhere cold. You’re getting a life experience that many people will never have. When it’s all said and done you’ll be have grown so much as a person because of it.
Juila
Thanks so much for the kind words! I really have you to thank for all of it, so just remind me when I am traveling the world and you need a place to stay! I think it is really important for people to go for their dreams and make things happen. Maybe it is a dream that lasts only a few months and then onto the next thing or maybe it is a dream that lasts forever. Either way, it is important to just go for it.
PS I am sitting at Nibbana alone!
David | Almost Bohemian
So beautiful. I am trying to convince my gf to do this too. Life is too short and too previous to not do what we love!
Juila
Hi David, What are you trying to convince your girlfriend of? Maybe if you present it to her in a way that she benefits from it (ie a chance of a lifetime) she will go for it! Or not do something that is permanent right away, maybe plan something for just a year and you guys just see what happens from there. I am sure it is scary to give up the security of it all, but people dont realize how easy it is to get that stuff back. We are from the USA, you can go back anytime you want and make a decent living. You will just probably have to start at the bottom first and who says that after you guys go on your adventure that you both wont love and not want to return.
Ok, I am ranting. Thank you for reading and responding and keep me posted!
David | Almost Bohemian
Julia
You’re right. Not much we do is permanent. And it’s easy to jump back into the corporate grind life. That said, we are planning a travel journey with no end in mind.
But we are terribly excited about it! I appreciate that you are so nonchalant about it. 🙂
Meg
I don’t think you are having to do very much convincing. I am ready! 🙂
Julia
haha that is great!
Justin | Mazzastick
Hey Julia,
Costa Rica sounds like an awesome place to live and work. I always said that let me live in a tropical paradise and I wouldn’t mind what I did for a living.
Julia
Environment has a lot to do with my happiness. It is important to make sure you have your priorities set and go from there. For me, I wanted to try a place that had a beach and I could learn Spanish. Next time, who knows! Thanks for you comment 🙂
Larry Lewis
You definetely seem to have followed your dreams. Hopefully your experience will give others the confidence to do the same. Who wants to one day be on their death bed, and looking back over their lives and feeling regret about all the things they had not been able to do.
Julia
Hi Larry,
My biggest fear is to look back and wish I did something that I missed out on. I have been around too many people who tell me they are too old or wish they would have – forget the after school programs, that scared me straight! haha
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Graham Lutz
I want to look back 50 years from now, smile and tell myself “Hell yeah! That was exciting!”
Word.
Julia
Hi Graham,
That might be a very important question for everyone in the entire world – what do you want to be able to say 50 years from now?
Thanks for reading!
Meg
I love this!! What a great life. I love Costa Rica. I have plans to travel the world and teach in a foreign country. Hopefully this time next year I will be living my dreams. I am glad that everything worked out for you!! Best of luck.
Julia
Thanks so much Meg! If you need the names of some organizations to look into the teaching abroad, let me know. Some of them provide housing and great salaries – I am thinking about using one of them for my next teaching job. I am so happy for you that you are making your dreams come true!
Glenn
HI Julia
Others are afraid to change careers and also of moving to other places. Too bad for them. Most people who enjoy their lives and are rich are decisive persons who are not afraid of failure.
Good Move!
Julia
Hi Glen,
Being afraid of failure would have kept me from doing a lot of what I have already done. I try to keep that fear far from my thoughts, but of course it does seep in from time to time. I have met so many people who don’t push forward with a dream because of fear and most of that fear is totally legit (what if I dont succeed, what if I lose all of my money, what if it is a big mistake). For me, the fear of never knowing what COULD happen if I turn an opportunity down scares me more than the other.