Joy Gillard

Hi there, I'm Joy. My husband Chris and I are Canadian expats who are living and thriving in beautiful Costa Rica.

We made the leap (totally unprepared) after having spent a week here looking into the purchase of a sailing charter business. Since I had never sailed before, it was a big learning curve for me... and I'd like to say I was getting the hang of it...

But then Covid 19 happened and turned the world upside down. Living in paradise during a global pandemic isn't the worst thing, especially since after the initial panic (resulting in a border closure that lasted 9 months) the Costa Rican government reopened to tourism, with some pretty stringent restrictions that made sailing for a living impractical.

So, we did a pivot. These days, we sell real estate with Coldwell Banker Jaco Beach. Chris is the talker in the family... and I'm the writer. This blog is my chance to shine... and to tell everyone all the helpful things that we have learned in the last 6 years.

I hope you enjoy it.