The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, Second Edition: Making a New Life Abroad Read Online Free Page A
Author: Rosanne Knorr
months, a year, or more to explore new vistas.
Good Reasons to Sit Still
You should probably scratch any thought of living overseas if (a) you’ve never watched
National Geographic
; (b) you watched it but asked why they didn’t cover those women properly; or (c) you made your parents pick you up at summer camp after one night, and you’ve never been away from home since.
OK, seriously, there are times when your family may be growing or when the children may have specific needs or problems that can’t be handled at a distance. Other reasons not to run away include the following:
----
I admitted to a friend that I would have to give up some things Americans take for granted in order to live overseas. Her response was “I wouldn’t give up one thing to live in a foreign country.” Obviously, she was not-for-export
.
—Anne, Albufeira, Portugal
----
• You’ll need to deplete your retirement funds to fund living expenses.
• You’re a workaholic and wouldn’t know what to do with free time.
• Parents or other family members are ill and need your help.
• You love your job and your life just the way they are.
None of these reasons means you won’t ever want to run away. The timing just may not be right at the moment. If it’s a dream, though, start planning. You can still enjoy the pleasure of reading about, preparing for, and imagining your trip. The planning will also make the transition go all the more smoothly when you finally do take off.
You’ve Decided to Run Away; Now What?
Wait. Yes, even if you’ve made that exciting decision to try overseas life, the next most important step is to work out a plan. Like the Scouts, “be prepared” should be your goal, ensuring that you do all you can to make your adventure a roaring success. This requires waiting a minimum of six months, more likely a year or longer.
It takes longer to run away from home when you’re a grown-up with adult responsibilities. It took you twenty years or more to accumulate the life you have now. You can’t expect to shed it in a month.
Just because you’re waiting to make the big move doesn’t mean you’ll sit twiddling your thumbs. In fact, the waiting time will be exciting as you dream, prepare, and anticipate. Remember when you were a kid, waiting and hoping for a birthday present you were sure was coming? This is the adult version. Planning your adventure will give every day more zest.
The time speeds by, and you’ll need all of it to absorb the information you need to gather. In our case, it took us five years from the day we sat in a sidewalk café in France and one of us mused, “Wouldn’t it be great to live here for a year?” until we actually came back to live. But when we did, we felt comfortable with the idea and were prepared to enjoy it to the fullest.
What will you do with all this time? Plenty.
Study Destinations
You may already have a general idea of where you’d like to go. But you’ll need time to determine one specific area of a country or plan the travel to several different ones. Read about the specific area. Talk to people who’ve been there. Read travel articles. Rent CDs and videos. Read novels set in the area. The Internet is the greatest invention for runaways since backpacks. Travel and expat sites let you interact with experts and expats who live at your preferred destination or have just returned.
----
Many of my friends thought we were crazy for leaving the easy American way of life where everything works and trading it for hour-long lines in banks, potholes the size of moon craters, water shortages, and electrical failures. They don’t realize that people in Venezuela know how to live and enjoy everyday life. People make time to visit friends, go out every day, and they don’t worry … until tomorrow!
—Maria Eugenia, Caracas, Venezuela
----
Take a Test Trip
If you’ve chosen one specific place to live for a year or longer, make a preliminary visit. Of course, if
Good Reasons to Sit Still
You should probably scratch any thought of living overseas if (a) you’ve never watched
National Geographic
; (b) you watched it but asked why they didn’t cover those women properly; or (c) you made your parents pick you up at summer camp after one night, and you’ve never been away from home since.
OK, seriously, there are times when your family may be growing or when the children may have specific needs or problems that can’t be handled at a distance. Other reasons not to run away include the following:
----
I admitted to a friend that I would have to give up some things Americans take for granted in order to live overseas. Her response was “I wouldn’t give up one thing to live in a foreign country.” Obviously, she was not-for-export
.
—Anne, Albufeira, Portugal
----
• You’ll need to deplete your retirement funds to fund living expenses.
• You’re a workaholic and wouldn’t know what to do with free time.
• Parents or other family members are ill and need your help.
• You love your job and your life just the way they are.
None of these reasons means you won’t ever want to run away. The timing just may not be right at the moment. If it’s a dream, though, start planning. You can still enjoy the pleasure of reading about, preparing for, and imagining your trip. The planning will also make the transition go all the more smoothly when you finally do take off.
You’ve Decided to Run Away; Now What?
Wait. Yes, even if you’ve made that exciting decision to try overseas life, the next most important step is to work out a plan. Like the Scouts, “be prepared” should be your goal, ensuring that you do all you can to make your adventure a roaring success. This requires waiting a minimum of six months, more likely a year or longer.
It takes longer to run away from home when you’re a grown-up with adult responsibilities. It took you twenty years or more to accumulate the life you have now. You can’t expect to shed it in a month.
Just because you’re waiting to make the big move doesn’t mean you’ll sit twiddling your thumbs. In fact, the waiting time will be exciting as you dream, prepare, and anticipate. Remember when you were a kid, waiting and hoping for a birthday present you were sure was coming? This is the adult version. Planning your adventure will give every day more zest.
The time speeds by, and you’ll need all of it to absorb the information you need to gather. In our case, it took us five years from the day we sat in a sidewalk café in France and one of us mused, “Wouldn’t it be great to live here for a year?” until we actually came back to live. But when we did, we felt comfortable with the idea and were prepared to enjoy it to the fullest.
What will you do with all this time? Plenty.
Study Destinations
You may already have a general idea of where you’d like to go. But you’ll need time to determine one specific area of a country or plan the travel to several different ones. Read about the specific area. Talk to people who’ve been there. Read travel articles. Rent CDs and videos. Read novels set in the area. The Internet is the greatest invention for runaways since backpacks. Travel and expat sites let you interact with experts and expats who live at your preferred destination or have just returned.
----
Many of my friends thought we were crazy for leaving the easy American way of life where everything works and trading it for hour-long lines in banks, potholes the size of moon craters, water shortages, and electrical failures. They don’t realize that people in Venezuela know how to live and enjoy everyday life. People make time to visit friends, go out every day, and they don’t worry … until tomorrow!
—Maria Eugenia, Caracas, Venezuela
----
Take a Test Trip
If you’ve chosen one specific place to live for a year or longer, make a preliminary visit. Of course, if
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