So many things have happened to bring us to this point.
One of the first things to occur was the realization that, without knowing it, we had changed and drastically at that. The lives we were currently living did not fit the new people we had become. And we decided that we were over living reactively. It was time (more than time) for us to learn who we were and what we really wanted out of life.
Trust us, figuring this out was painful in the extreme. It meant really bringing to light our weaknesses and inner demons just as much as recognizing our goodness and strengths. While laying our hearts and souls bare may have been painful, the next part (actively figuring out how to move forward with a sustainable lifestyle that we could be happy and content with) was excruciating. Not because we lacked options but because we knew we could accomplish just about anything. It was overwhelming. There were too many possibilities and we needed time to narrow everything down.
Before this moment, we had always had something in front of us (school, work, a guy, etc.) but 2014 brought with it a break from all of that. For the first time in our lives, we changed it all – different cities, living situations, boyfriends, work; you name it, we changed it. We called it “hitting the restart button.” While it needed to happen for both of us, it still left us with a situation that we were unprepared to handle. Suddenly we were left without a concrete direction to follow and it was eerie in the extreme. The only thing that we could really understand was that we wanted to travel more. So, as our fear of the unknown threatened to swallow us whole, we grasped the concept of traveling with both hands and planned our very first trip abroad (see our articles: Greece: The Mainland, Greece: The Islands, Italy: Rome, Italy: Florence, and Italy: Venice). We’ve traveled extensively since we were children (a singularly large Thank You to our parents! :D) but that ambitious trip would become the defining factor that changed the very course of our lives.
Yet we had to start slow, giving the idea of traveling as a lifestyle a chance to grow and develop. So we did what many others do: we worked and traveled when the time and funds became available to us. And so much good came out of that decision. The different work experiences and various levels of knowledge gained alone was invaluable. And every major trip we undertook (see The Trips of a Lifetime) helped shape an idea of the future we wished to have.
Eventually though, it became clear that the lifestyle that was common for most was not going to be an acceptable situation for us. We knew we wanted something vastly different. There are other forms of work and other avenues for income. People do it all the time so why were we limiting ourselves? Because it was easier, there was less fear associated with it, and it was more socially acceptable? Those were certainly not reasons to continue as we had. After that epiphany, the seemingly crazy idea of traveling abroad indefinitely (or as we like to call it “The Endeavor”) turned from a hopeful fantasy to an inevitability.
However, “The Endeavor” did not flourish overnight, it took years for it to come to complete fruition. It started as a germ of an idea, a wistful hope, a dream. At first, we didn’t take it seriously. It was too big an idea, too impossible to be successful. But, as with all things that intrigue us, we did our homework. We never expected to find what we did: that not only was traveling indefinitely an option, but there were others just like us who craved traveling and had found a way to sustain themselves in the process. This discovery inspired us so completely that we almost bought a one way ticket right then and there!
Then, unfortunately, reality set it. We both had decent jobs, were in committed relationships, had pets, friends, and family that we would miss, leases for our apartments, and so on. You know, fully established lives. The details started weighing us down and we’ll freely admit that we needed time to process not only the idea of traveling indefinitely but also how exactly we were going to accomplish it. We had no intention of burning through our savings (which had been difficult to gather in the first place) or of going into debt. Nor did we want to put ourselves in a position of having to go home, metaphorical tails between our legs, because we lacked the resources to remain abroad.
Choosing this new life was actually the easiest part. We were excited when thinking about all the aspects (both good and bad) of what this fresh undertaking would entail. In fact, we latched ourselves to the idea the same way a drowning person grabs for a life raft. In a very real sense, we were ready.
So now we were going, and that decision alone opened the door for a flood of other problems that had to be resolved before ever stepping foot on a plane. And we realized that sometimes life is just like a sickness – it needs to get worse before it can get better. The five months prior to our departure were a combination of insane busyness and distinct heartache.
In the end, we did the only thing we could, the only thing that would ensure the success of this new life – we got to work. Pulling on every emotional and mental reserve we possessed, we threw ourselves at every barrier standing in our way with a single-mindedness vaguely alarming in its intensity.
We knew instinctively that there was a right way (and a wrong way) to go about things. Although it might have been easier on us personally, we knew we could not leave without completely closing out all the aspects of our current lives. However, we needed to do this in a respectful manner, to give the lives that had taken us to this point a proper funeral, so that we could create something new — a fresh life unhindered by any negativity and with the support of those we cared about. We could have done this alone, we chose not to and that has made all the difference.
With the support of our family and friends behind us, we quit our jobs (completing all of our individual projects before leaving), ended our relationships as best we could, finished the leases for our apartments and moved. We also sold or donated most of our belongings and organized everything that remained for long-term storage, put non-ops on our vehicles, and canceled insurances and memberships of all types. In addition, we updated every bit of our medical (including a dozen travel shots each), took care of our pets (making sure they were current with the vet and asking our mother to watch them while we were gone), gathered the necessary supplies, and so much more.
While consumed with all of this, we also planned the route for our first nine weeks abroad. This included flights, lodgings, transfers, special visas (this was primarily for Russia and was a nightmare in and of itself), and buying advance tickets for the excursions we had no intention of missing. We did this for each destination: the Canary Islands of Spain (Tenerife & Lanzarote), Portugal (Lisbon, Évora, & Sintra), Morocco (Marrakech, the Sahara Desert, Casablanca, & Chefchaouen), Russia (Moscow & Saint Petersburg), and Finland (Helsinki). Needless to say, we’re ambitious when we travel.
All of that alone would have been enough, but we also had to explain ourselves to our family and, not knowing when we would see anyone again, say our goodbyes.
Even with so much going on, we had one thing that certainly made achieving our dreams that much easier. In truth, we have been exceedingly lucky. Our whole lives, we have had the love and support of the most amazing people we’ve ever known. Others are not so fortunate and it was this very love and support that has given us the strength and courage to travel the world indefinitely.
In the end, everything worked out exactly as it needed to. It wasn’t what we expected, but it allowed us to move forward into the unknown without restrictions or reservations. This, in turn, brought with it the one thing we want most in this life: FREEDOM! Freedom to choose our locations, our work, our adventures, our days. Freedom to make this life all our own.
Fortunately we’ve succeeded, as testified by the fact that we’re writing this post in a Cretian cafe while overlooking the shores of the Mediterranean. There’s very little that can top the feelings of calmness, awe, and happiness that we managed to make it to this point. To those reading this article, please know that no matter who you are or where you find yourself, life really can be an adventure, you need only the courage to set a course you truly desire and then enjoy the wave of amazingness that follows. 😀
