Throw caution to the wind and move to a foreign country!??

Question

Alright, basically I have always had this dream of living on a beach. I now have a friend that shares in this dream and has a plan for how we would support ourselves in this type of adventure. I currently have a wonderful job and am in a great city, but a part of me truly wants to just throw it all out, and start jumping around the world for a couple years.

I spent a month backpacking around China this past June and absolutely loved it. Basically i guess what my question here is, is what do you think?? Is leaving a good situation to go explore the world as unresponsible and dumb as it seems? I mean, who does that right?? I'm not running from anything, just thinking about fulfilling a dream regardless of the societal stigma associated with this free-thinking approach to life!

Answer 1

Even if you can't go around the world for a few years at a time, you should try to work SOMEthing out. If it's such an intense dream, you don't want to regret not having done it later in life. If your job is as great as you say, though, you should really try to compromise into, say, lots of small vacations. Keep the job and the dream at the same time. :)

Answer 2

DO IT!  If you don't, you will be kicking yourself in the *** for the rest of your life saying "What if."  Sure, it can be challenging, but the rewards of living in another country (and I mean LIVING, not just visiting) far outweigh the negatives.  Opportunity to learn another language, make friends from around the world, experience things you could never experience in your hometown, live out your dream.  It is neither irresponsible (unless you have a kid or something, but even then...) nor dumb, and loads of people have done what you want to do.

What kind of skills do you have that can support you while living overseas?  If you know how to surf you can always be a surf intstructor.  Spend about $2000 and get a divemaster certifaction, and you will be in demand in any tropical place around the world to be what is essentially an underwater tour guide.  Teach english.  Sell your car, rent out or sell your home/apt, save some money, and go!