picking up and leaving

How do you just pickup and leave the country with minimal risk?

Some people would say that there is something wrong with a person that can just pickup and leave everything behind. Others might say that it is one of the best things you can do for personal growth.This post is the latter!

 When I was sixteen years old I was givin the option to live with my parent and follow their rules or find another place to live. I chose to leave. I had no money, job, place to live and no clue what life was really like. I found some friends that were also interested at an adventure and we decided if we were going to be homeless we should be in a warm place so we picked Orlando Florida. I spent almost seven years there building a life for myself and am extremely happy I took the chance. I met people and I saw things that many have not had the opportunity to.

 I compare this to the same thought process as bungee jumping, like any extreme sport you have a high probability of getting hurt or at worst death and its the same with leaving your country. People say you could get robbed, lost, abducted, blah, blah and all the other bad things that could happen when you are not careful. Most people don’t look at the other (and most common) side, that you could have an amazing adventure, meet new friends that are awesome humans all over the world. You could see things that most people have only dreamed or read about on the internet or books. You can have extremely meaningful conversations and experiences with kind hearted souls that have truly learned what it means to be alive and to be human.

 You can just pick up and leave with no planning but that might not be the best idea for most. I think a little planning is a good idea, especially if you dont know anyone in that area or you don’t speak the native language.

Picking a location for most I think this is prob the easiest part. For me I get gut instincts about things and then I roll with it. One should pick a location where you have some friends or a support system. This is not always needed but its a good to have, especially if you are a first time traveler. Picking a date is hard, there are a lot of things to consider. Money is the first thing to think about. How much money will you need will be directly correlated to when you can make your jump. I use a website called Numbeo to get a good idea of what it costs on live in that city.

Next you have to consider what your going to do with all of the stuff you have. You really have only a few options here. You can sell everything you aren’t going to carry on you and go or you can store everything in a storage unit.There is a third option but it is super expensive, bring it all with you. I don’t suggest this option unless you are not planning on returning or you can’t live without these items.

Finding work in that country can be tricky and I’m still working on this one but I will write a full post once I have gotten a job locked down there.

The next thing is jumping. When I jump in late June or July of 2015 its going to be scary. I have a small support system down there of about ten friends. It will be good to have people there I know so that I can assimilate into the culture faster and look to them for guidance.