Loneliness is on the rise in the US. A study of 20,000 US adults found that nearly half suffer from feelings of loneliness. Apparently, Generation Z (ages 18-22) is the loneliest group!
Living in New York City among millions of people might seem like the opposite of loneliness but I wasn’t surprised by the findings. So many people even in bustling New York City are bunched together but still alone — transfixed to their individual phones or hurrying to get somewhere else.
I feel very differently in Tamarindo – it’s yet another thing that draws me there.
A friendly environment where little social interactions happen naturally
Playa Tamarindo, where we have Condo Boom, is bustling compared to Playa Langosta, the town next door, where we have Casa Salita.
Tamarindo is cosmopolitan with multiple languages heard at the busy outdoor restaurants and so many delicious cuisines to choose from. At the same time, it still retains the small-town feel. You can easily walk from one end to the other (much of it on the 1-mile stretch of beach). Strangers wave and say hello.
You don’t bump into someone inadvertently because either/ both of you are glued to a cell phone. More likely, you might bump into someone walking with their dog, or a young kid on the beach running into the mild waves.
Experiences over stuff
The last time we spent a few days in Tamarindo, I did do some shopping – a gorgeous bracelet hand-painted by an expat artist who opened her own store. But the rest of the time was spent collecting experiences not stuff.
In four short days, I built up quite the seashell collection, while Scott ran up and down, back and forth on the sand multiple times trying to visually capture the difference between high and low tide (it’s quite striking when you see it live how much the shoreline recedes!).
On an earlier trip, we walked from Tamarindo to Langosta along the beach because the low tide provided passage over a jigsaw puzzle of low rocks (in high tide, the rocks and therefore access would be submerged).
Our daily morning and evening walks also provide exercise and a chance to decompress as a couple.
Detox from social media
Speaking of decompression…while our Internet connection is fast at Condo Boom so we can get work done as needed, there really isn’t a need to be glued to our computers.
On our last trip, I did do some work that required connectivity – being a guest on a podcast that showcased Costa Rica FIRE and submitting a proposal for the next phase of a consulting client.
Mostly, however, we got our entertainment from being outside doing and exploring, not inside watching. For example, if you know where to look, you can even get a mountain sunrise view in Tamarindo.
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Costa Rica definitely got on my radar because it seemed like the type of place that was quiet and calm, but still with enough to do. Perhaps it can also be the solution for the Loneliness Generation.
We are Scott and Caroline, 50-somethings who spent the first 20+ years of our adult lives in New York City, working traditional careers and raising 2 kids. We left full-time work in our mid-40’s for location-independent, part-time consulting projects and real estate investing, in order to create a more flexible and travel-centric lifestyle. 
Financial independence and early retirement is not something we originally focused on, but over time realized it was possible. Our free report, 
