The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, Second Edition: Making a New Life Abroad Read Online Free

or frightened by the changes, especially one who’s forced to leave friends in the middle of high school. In the latter case, you might be better off waiting until your child goes to college.
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    Our families think we have lost our minds, but since they were already on the West Coast and we were on the East, we didn’t see them often. I don’t know what difference a little longer plane flight makes
.
    —Claire, Algarve, Portugal
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    You’re fortunate if you still have your parents at midlife, but they may be your responsibility if they are very elderly or ill. Some people find other support systems and make periodic trips back to the States. Some take their parents with them. You may even find this to be a preferable and cost-saving alternative to nursing care. In some countries, such as Mexico or Portugal, it may be vastly less expensive to find good household help to care for the elderly. The other side of this coin, however, is the fact that older people can be intimidated by a move, have friends in the States, and not be able to adapt to a new environment.
    These are tough, sometimes heart-wrenching, decisions. Whether you will decide to leave while you have these responsibilities depends on you, your parents, and whether or not you have other family or caregivers nearby.
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    Do it. If it doesn’t work out, you can always go home
.
    —Peter, Saint Senoch, France
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Your Finances
    We once met an American writer who was being fed gratis thanks to the generosity of a French café owner until his financial situation turned around. We don’t suggest you do anything that will get you in this fix (even if the food was very good in this café overlooking the Seine!). After you read more of this book, figure out a way to have your adventure and eat too. It can be done. This is a matter of planning to save more and spend less.
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    The seed for our voyage was planted years before our actual departure. As we ventured farther from our home port on the East Coast of the U.S., we expanded our horizons and finally purchased a yacht we felt was up to crossing oceans. We bought her three years before our actual departure. These three years were filled with a myriad of organization plans, such as preparations to retire, sell our home, make sure our adult children were self-sufficient, ready the boat, study the entry requirements for various countries, and make sure our own physical plants were in tip-top order
.
    —Sue and Jim, worldwide cruisers
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    Most of us runaways found ways to live pleasantly within our means. We saved and figured out ways to cut the costs once we were settled in our new homes. Living as an expatriate means giving up a bit materially, but I haven’t met a long-time expat who minds. The adventure is well worth giving up an extra here and there.

Good Times to Run Away
    Certain times in life and certain situations are better than others for running away—or at least easier. These are the times when your life is in flux anyway:
    • Early retirement . If you’ve gotten a hefty early retirement package and you’re itching to go, then why not?
    • Between jobs . You’re out of work anyway. If you can afford a year break, then now’s the time to find yourself a new life.
    • Traditional retirement . No, you’re not too old. Retirement is that much richer when you have new experiences to buoy your spirits.
    • Moving homes/downsizing . If you’ll be selling the house anyway, you may want to take a break before buying another. In our case, we were ready to downsize to cut costs for early retirement. We did it. Except our downsized house was in France.
    • Planning an overseas job . Even if you don’t want to quit work, if you’re able to find an overseas position, you can have your adventure and a salary too.
    • A renewed spirit of creativity . Burned out and ready to try your hand at art or writing or whatever creative spirit moves you? Give yourself the gift of time with six