taking the leap, flying the coop
For those who don't know yet, I'm leaving the country for two, hopefully three months next Tuesday, August 17th! I'll be living abroad for the hell of it and working remotely from Croatia, Italy, Turkey, and hopefully Austria. I'll be back for the holidays, mostly around Texas but also New Orleans and probably San Diego.
If this fall goes well, I'm going to do the same thing next spring in Chile, Peru, and Colombia, bridging the gap between two major trips with my dad (Antarctica in February and Argentina in May; trying to squeeze Brazil in there too but we'll see).
After that, I plan to spend a month in several other parts of the US: Miami is the most definite, Alaska is a possibility, maybe New York or Asheville, or somewhere in Hawaii, California, Montana. TBD!
This upcoming year and a half or so is going to be literally all over the place. The superficial, arbitrary goal is to inch closer to setting foot on all seven continents before my 30th birthday next year. However, on a more meaningful note, I intend to use this time as an opportunity to do more with less (living out of a suitcase (okay fine, two suitcases and a backpack)), reflect deeply (journaling daily), read the classics (on a kindle instead of toting my library around), and test my mettle by being well out of my comfort zone basically all of the time.
I'll be posting a lot on my Instagram accounts, but this time around, the goal is to create and document rather than gain a following and earn approval. For the social media averse, I feel like I’ve finally got this blog looking and working how I want it, and I plan to do a weekly newsletter for subscribers on this site. Every weekend, I'll send out my week in review, upcoming week's itinerary, budget breakdown (for those who are curious but mostly to hold myself accountable), and best photos. You can subscribe on the blog, but do check spam because they might end up there if you don't confirm your subscription.
I'll be available mostly by internet chat apps, including WhatsApp and the usual myriad messaging services that come with every social media platform.
Many thanks to everyone who has helped me in the planning process and logistics coordination, from being a sounding board for my crazy ideas, helping me move out of my apartment, cat-sitting Mila for 3 months, to connecting me with people you know on the ground so I'm not completely alone in unfamiliar places. I appreciate you all!
Cheers,
J
