The Adventure of a Lifetime

Palisadians Sarah and John Gibbons Detail Their Six-Month Stay in Costa Rica

By SAMANTHA SONNETT | Intern

To say Sarah and John Gibbons had a change of scenery from their usual coastal California surroundings as they and their three sons moved to Costa Rica at the start of 2023 would be an understatement.

The Gibbons family, residents of the Palisades for more than 10 years, spent six months living, working and going to school in the province of Guanacaste, with the goal of reconnecting as a family.

Although John had visited Costa Rica a few times for surf trips and Sarah had facilitated some wellness retreats in the country, neither had previously visited the town that they ended up living in: Playa Flamingo.

They said they wanted their boys—10, 12 and 14 at the time of the trip—to see what it was like to be taken out of familiar surroundings and experience a different pace of life.

Going into the trip, the El Medio Bluffs residents said they were focused on the new perspectives their sons would get from living in a different country. They had three main objectives in mind: family connection, growth and exposure to the larger world.

Simultaneously, they also needed to keep their boys’ educations and own work lives on track. The one place that seemed like it would fulfill all their needs was Central America. An international school in Costa Rica came with great recommendations, and the time zone allowed them to stay connected with Sarah and John’s colleagues and clients.

Sarah works as an executive leadership coach for “high-achieving creatives and entrepreneurs,” in addition to being an author and podcast host. John is CEO and chief product officer of Libsyn.

Not only was Playa Flamingo practical, Sarah said there is “a deep place in [their] hearts for Central America: the culture, the people and the way of living.”

“It felt like it would be a really good fit for the experience that would support us and [reconnect] as a family, slowing down,” she said.

Finding the right place to live may have been easy, with Costa Rica being the “obvious choice” to the Gibbons, but every big decision comes with obstacles. While two of their kids seemed to be open and excited about the idea of moving, one of their sons was feeling “a bit apprehensive.”

As parents, they wanted to honor their children’s feelings, and Sarah confessed, “One of my biggest challenges is to be uncomfortable when my kids are uncomfortable, and not try to just ignore those feelings or pretend that they’re not there.”

Waves of excitement and nervousness passed in and out of the Gibbons’ home prior to their day of departure. When the time came to fly out, there were a lot of tears, and naturally, those feelings did not immediately settle when they arrived in Guanacaste.

Despite some unease that may have been lingering, Sarah and John were pleasantly surprised by their sons’ resilience. Their kids made the most of this change, using their time in Costa Rica to make friends and spend time outside, adventuring and playing sports.

The school they were enrolled in had students from around the world, and the boys were able to develop meaningful connections with peers from places like Russia, Turkey, Italy, Israel, Brazil and Canada.

They also spent a lot of their free time exploring the outdoors of Playa Flamingo, along with surfing and soccer. Seeing their kids thrive in a new school and a new environment, Sarah and John felt as though they had accomplished their goal for their kids “to realize they can do hard things, and they can learn from it and they can possibly really enjoy it.”

The Gibbons family said their experience in Costa Rica was priceless to their family and they would “do it again in a heartbeat.” Their boys were able to learn lessons that they would have never received in school, and every family member grew in ways that they could not have imagined.

Coming back to the Palisades, Sarah said it has had its ups and downs.

“We’re grateful for our life in LA and the opportunities we’ve created for our sons and ourselves, however, we feel the ‘busyness’ trying to suck us back in, which contradicts the experience we desire as a family,” she explained four months after the return. “We’re really working to stay true to living from our values, and experience days that have spaciousness, real connection and intentionality. It can feel lonely at times, because we’ve noticed we’re not as busy as we used to be, and yet, it doesn’t always mean others are around to hang and be spontaneous. We’re finding our way.”

Sarah added that if her younger sons had their way, they’d be back down in Costa Rica full-time yesterday.

“Even though it’s had its challenges integrating back into the LA world,” Sarah continued, “I wouldn’t trade in the experience for anything. It was truly life changing.”

One aspect of life in Costa Rica, they said, paralleled life in the Palisades. Although their town may have been smaller and lacking the usual amenities, like stop lights or gas stations, Playa Flamingo’s “flavor of community” reminded the Gibbons of the community-feel back at home.

“While seemingly different on the surface, the underlying components and mechanics of [these communities] are the same,” John explained.

The smaller, slower way of living in Playa Flamingo helped the family reach their goal of reconnecting.

“Our life back in LA consists of a lot of sports and a lot of sports on the weekends … so our family would be split up quite a bit,” Sarah added.

However, the usual difficulties of family life still arose because “parenting is parenting, no matter where you are.”

“You could be on the most glorious beach, or in the mountains, or in the Palisades, and you are still going to have the same parenting challenges that you have anywhere,” John said.

But he said he is still grateful for these difficulties because he sees that these low times make the higher points of life just that much better, and allow the family to bond over shared feelings and frustrations.

Sarah and John want people to know that an experience like this is more than doable for other families, and every challenge that they faced on their journey was worth it in the end. Getting out of their comfort zone allowed them to expand their definition of home and get clear on their values as a family, and individually.

The Gibbons family shared hopes of inspiring others to follow their hearts and do things that may scare them. Looking to the future, Sarah said: “We’re always planning adventures.”

Next summer, they plan to spend time abroad, then will evaluate what works best for their family, adding they can “definitely see a world” where they return to Costa Rica.

“The process of the experience, not just the end result, is incredibly rewarding,” Sarah concluded.