Smorgasbord Of Updates

Over the past few weeks we have made our way into the thick of putting this plan into action. We have been hustling on a variety of fronts, none of which are noteworthy on their own but may be interesting collectively. Up to this point everything was conceptual; mostly research without a deadline. Lately though we’ve been executing pieces of this plan that we can’t reverse. We’ve crossed the event horizon and the only direction now is the gap year singularity.

I Quit My Job

It’s hard to predict what the feelings will be for something as big as quitting a job. I expected a rush or mild euphoric feeling, but it turned out to be as opposite as it gets. The first hour after I gave my five week notice I felt really on edge. Not quite a sense of doom, but definitely anxious. After that I just felt sad. In hindsight I should have expected that feeling. This has been a really good job for the last 15 years. It allowed us to pay off our house, got us through the bulk of our kid raising years, and provided enough to invest for this crazy plan. I’m also leaving behind many really good people.

Most of my fantasizing about quitting came during high stress periods during tight deadlines. In those times it’s natural to think it will be a euphoric experience. I’m a few days past giving notice now and I’ve settled into a good spot mentally. I recognize I need to move on, and I have a deep appreciation for this job and my entire career.

House Prep

Our house has always been in good shape, but we have still been very busy getting it ready to rent. We have made several fixes and enhancements to get everything in tip top shape. The biggest project was adding railing to our basement stairs, which we had previously removed. The last homeowners slapped up the ugliest railing I had ever seen and we just wanted it gone. We loved how open it was despite it not being code compliant, but we can’t make that choice for a rental. It took me forever to plan and build, but I think it turned out nice for never having done this before.

The railing was the biggest time drain, but we had many more things that also added up. We had to fix the washing machine so it wouldn’t leak on bulky loads, patch and paint many surfaces, purge many items around the house, and depersonalize the house for pictures.

First Leg

We also nailed down the first leg of our trip, which will be Costa Rica. On our budget we showed Lima as the first stop, but we ultimately thought Costa Rica would be an easier transition as we learn Spanish. Also with these first two months we won’t have any home-schooling to do, and Costa Rica sounds like more fun.

There have been small puzzles as we make our location choice official. One of those is that nearly every country requires proof of onward travel. That requires us to figure out our second leg before leaving for our first leg and so forth. That means either losing flexibility by locking in our exit from each place, or paying more for refundable/modifiable tickets.

Mock Packing

We are packing very lightly, with each of us taking just one 35L backpack. After making lists of everything we need to take and buying the missing pieces, we did a trial packing run. It worked pretty much as expected. The backpacks are full but not exploding.

Grocery Burn-Down

Groceries are getting a little tricky now, where we can’t buy anything in bulk that will take more than two months to eat. It’s going to increase our grocery cost over these final two months, but it’s better than throwing away a bunch of food. As we near the start of our trip, we will probably be eating some weird stuff in an attempt to empty the cabinets.