Well...How did I get here?

So I've had a few blog entries recently that began with us renting out our home and leaving to travel. In this entry I will try to briefly talk about what brought us to our decision to leave Nashville. 

I have worked in the hospital operating room in one capacity or another for the past 23 years. It's stressful, but satisfying work. Although I still find it fulfilling I felt it was time for a break. Lu and I have always fantasized about living abroad, even independent of each other years before we met. We started planning in earnest about where we wanted to go and how we planned on doing it over the last six years that we have been together.  

Last April I was perusing a favorite website of ours, www.repositioningcruise.com, and I saw a 16 day Pacific Ocean crossing from Vancouver, BC to Tokyo, Japan. It was a 5 star Celebrity cruise ship and most of all it was ridiculously cheap. We researched and planned, and researched and planned, then we fretted and worried, and fretted and worried. Next we made appointments with different financial planners to see if this was even possible, and then after many sleepless nights full of personal revelation we came up with a fluid, ever changing plan together. 

1. We will rent out the house.  

Instead of selling our home in Nashville, we can rent it out and reap far more benefits than if we sold it. For instance we will receive an income from the rental. We will still have an appreciating asset in the house itself. We will have a nice tax deduction. On the con side will also have risk, but after consulting a real estate attorney, we felt like we mitigated most of that risk. 

2.  I will quit my job.

We have been saving toward this goal for years, so we hope there are no big surprises here. Calculated risks can have great rewards. Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say. 

3.  We will take the 16 day cruise to Japan, and then fly to Bankok, Thailand where we will "flashpack" around SE Asia for the year.  I know it doesn't sound possible, but 16 days of first class accomidations including a room with a balcony, chef prepared meals, a health club, cultural education, and entertainment will end up costing about the same as a grueling 18 hour flight, bad airplane food, and all the jet lag you could ever want. 

SE Asia is incredibly affordable compared to living in the US. Our money will go far and we will be able to see a part of the world we have never seen.  It will give us opportunities to volunteer and give back to the community, not just vacation. 

4.  We will get international travel insurance. 

International travel insurance includes health insurance, emergency medical evacuation, loss of possessions (theft), trip insurance etc...and it is insanely affordable compared to health insurance alone in the US. After a lot of research and blog reading, we chose Travel Nomads. It's about $600 every six months for both of us. Prescription medications can be bought abroad for a fraction of the cost we are accustomed to in the states. 

5. We will sell/donate/give away most of our worldly possessions. 

This was a tough one. Uncharted territory for sure. We took one step at a time. First we went to the garage and got out all of the old golf clubs, tennis rackets, a kayak, bicycles...and put them up for sale. Next I worked on my office and all of the years of tax returns, receipts,... We made piles of paper that needed to be shredded.  Lucretia did the heavy labor on the house.  She can tell you about that sometime. It was monumental.  The garage sale was epic. We couldn't have done any of this without the HUGE help from her sister, Torrie. 

The last time we moved cross country our stuff was broken and worn from the trip. At that point we decided that if we ever do a big distance move again we would unload everything and start over. 

We sold a kayak, motorcycles, travel trailer, piano, and my car. We are down to an SUV load of stuff and a shelf full of containers in Torrie's garage. BTW she's keeping our dog and cat for us while we're gone also. She's the best!

6. Let's take a "fair well to family" tour. 

We began in Nashville and went to Missouri to see my family.  Then the next weekend we loaded everything up and drove slowly to Texas, taking many breathers and side trips to visit friends and family along the way. 

So I guess that answers the question that the Talking Heads posed years ago in their song, Once in a Lifetime. "Well...How did I get here?" It's a good question for us all to ask ourselves occasionally so we can take stock and see if we are still on the right path. The path of our choosing. If you don't choose a path the path will choose you, and that might not be where you want to go.