An Opportunity to Reboot My Life

[LoneAspen]

Go for it!

Think about it...years from now, when you reflect back on your life, if you don't do it, you'll say, "Gee, I wish I hadn't stayed put, and had traveled the world."

But if you do it, you'll NOT say "Gee, I wish I had just stayed put and not traveled the world."

GO FOR IT!

 

[Katsmeow]

What? No contrarians? How uncharacteristic of this group.

In all seriousness, I think it is because he wants to do it, he can do it and there is no real reason for him not to do it. Of course, he should do it prudently (most notably getting a handle on how he will handle any medical problems while away, that kind of thing).

Now as far as the idea itself I personally know that for me I would absolutely hate the kind of thing he is talking about. It wouldn't appeal to me at all and I could list lots of reasons why not. But, all of that is just personal preference. In his case, he wants to do this so why not.

 

[PERSonalTime]

Go, go, go! And have fun, fun, fun!

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

You left out Putin annexing Florida...

. Thanks.

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

Do It. Choosing to buy a one way ticket out of the US was one of the best things I ever did because it started a journey of personal growth. For me, slow travel or travel from base camps is preferred to the pace of 2 week vacations.

There is something liberating on several levels about getting rid of most of one's stuff. For me, it was clear what was worth keeping and what was time to let go of.

Having a base camp of friends / family or your own apartment makes it psychological easier to leave, as does a RT ticket. OW tickets encourage slow travel. Take your pick.

Schengen visas (~EU countries) allow 3 months in any 6 month period. Those 3 months don't have to be contiguous.

Are you familiar with the Lotus Eaters, described by Odysseus in Ulysses? Rebooting your life outside your home country can lead to the same bliss the lotus eaters found. Friends and family back home often consider that an unfortunate development. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus-eaters

 

[KingB]

You left out Putin annexing Florida...

And China annexing Hawaii.

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

Thanks for all the comments , folks!
Yes, the favorable rent was a golden handcuff. I'm finding local rents for a decent one-bedroom apartment (~700 SF) going for ~$1000+. Then I need to add in other stuff I currently get but is included in my rent here--such as utilities, satellite TV and WiFi internet. Not to mention the vast & safe parking.

I've been spending the past few days looking at apartment rental sites. That's been a real eye opener. These are great tools that were not available to me when I was last looking for a place to live over 30 years ago. (There are some ugly, dreary apts/condos out there, compared to where I currently live, based on the photos online. Unless you wanna spend much more--like some $1300/month and more. Depressing.) I haven't actually gone out to actually view options yet. I may do that next week. That will give me a better idea of life may look like outside of this old home of mine.

As I mentioned, there's no rush to move, but I'm looking at options well in advance. When the time does come, I suppose I could do a 6 to 12 month lease, get a feel for things, downsize a lot more in this meantime, plan most of the logistics for that European trip, and consider doing the long trip the following Spring. Hmmm.

Thanks again, all!