This post is different than anyone I’ve written before, and I’m not sure how to start. This time I’m not writing about a vacation, but rather an attempt at a completely different lifestyle.
Kelly and I have been talking about “doing something different” for a couple of years now, and that “something different” revolved mainly around a warmer climate, a more relaxed lifestyle, and bringing our jobs with us. In 2017 we bought a small sailboat and learned to sail on it. We watched lots of YouTube channels of couples who, in their own unique ways, managed to live on a sailboat and make that a sustainable life choice rather than a temporary vacation. We read blogs and books and we bought a slightly bigger sailboat compared to the first one, and we learned a bunch. There is a book called “Get real, get gone” by Rick Page and Jasna Tuta, and in the summer of 2019 we decided to really get real and put our home up for sale. Then things went fast.
The apartment sold, and we had a move out date to plan around. My last day at work was set to the end of October and we started getting rid of almost all of our belongings. One shouldn’t underestimate the undertaking that it is to minimize everything you own into what you can carry (plus a few boxes). I would say we had a fairly normal amount of stuff for a couple living in a one bedroom apartment with a large storage unit in the attic. I don’t want to think about what it’s like to do the same process with a whole house! It’s hard physical work to haul everything up and down stairs and to the charity and to the recycling station, but more than anything, it’s mentally exhausting. Stress, decision fatigue and moments of anxiety have been our companions on this mental journey – but with an idea of something better being up ahead and worth struggling for.
So what’s the plan moving forward then? The first step is going to Gibraltar and meeting up with Ryan and Sophie, a wonderful couple who did get real and did get gone last year, and have been cruising the Mediterranean this year. We’ll sail with them on their passage to the Canary islands. They will drop us off there and continue on their journey south, and it’s possible that we stay in the Canaries for a while, resting after a very intense few months, soaking up some sun and doing some remote work. After that, who knows?
The good thing about this is that there isn’t a right way or a wrong way of doing things. You don’t have to sail around the world, you don’t have to start from where you happen to be from, you don’t have to have a schedule or exact itinerary, and you don’t have to do what anyone else is doing. It’s possible to make plans as you go and do what feels right for you.
All change is hard. And most things that are worth something comes with a cost. The cost in my case is some loss of comfort and security, and above all missing out on time spent with friends and family. But I hope there will also be massive gains. Adventure and travel. Freedom to make up my own schedule and my own routines and figure out how I want to live my daily life. New experiences and new friendships. And I’ll still have comforts and I’ll still have my friends and I’ll always have my family as well. We’re not moving to Mars 😉 . And we’ll happily receive visitors once we’ve found our new home!
Hubble Adventures 