The Decision

For a long time I've always wanted to travel to Europe, Asia, Australia, and really anywhere outside the U.S.A, but just never had the time off or the money to do so.  Well, the last year or so I've been saving some money and right around April I thought about the possibility of living abroad.  At first, I didn't think it was possible, but after doing some research and thinking things over I've decided to give it a go with my first destination being Thailand.  I'll be living in Chiang Mai which is in northern Thailand and is the second biggest city in the Country.

Why Thailand?  For starters, I know some people out there and they've been very helpful in my decision making/researching.  Also, it is dirt cheap to live there.  I figure I might as well start out cheaply to see if I can make it, and then work my way up.  Furthermore, Thailand is a beautiful county.  It has many mountains, beaches, and it's warm all year round!  So really the question is why not Thailand?  Poisonous animals aside it seems amazing.

oooooo pretty

Why am I leaving?  I'm young, single, have no debt, and not really doing much right now.  My job is ok... but just ok and nothing more.  Worst case scenario (other than being eaten by a snake, or catching a disease and dying etc.) I come back 4-6 months from now and I have a little less money and search for a job.  I'll likely be able to get my old job back or something comparable.  I'd rather be pursuing something I love rather than sticking around doing something I'm not crazy about for the rest of my life.

How can I do this?  I've saved (or will by the time I leave) enough funds to live out there for ~6 months without making a dime (and have enough for a ticket home).  From what my friends have told me it's pretty easy to find work and they can probably hook me up.  They speak varying levels of English there, all my buddy knows is "hello" and "thank you" in their native tongue and he's gotten by just fine for 7 months+ now.  If I can't do this, well I guess I'll find out and just come home and figure out something else to do.

When am I leaving?  Pretty much as soon as I get my travel immunizations (shots) done.  It seems right now that will be around September, but it depends how long I have to wait in between appointments and so forth. I'll be sure to have some goodbye parties before I leave.  I'm probably quitting work sometime in August and they have no clue right now, so in case you know somebody there it's probably best you not say anything yet :) .

After that?  I'm not exactly sure what my next destination will be.  However, I do know people in the U.K, Australia, Canada and Mexico.  So any of those options seem viable, but I'll probably be in Thailand for the first year or so.

Are you done typing yet? In conclusion, I know their will be a lot of adjustments to make and it will be very challenging.  I didn't just get up one day and decide to do this, it's something I've looked into doing for a while and it looks like I have a decent shot at making it work.  One of my main points is that 10 years from now I'll definitely regret not going when I had the opportunity.  It maybe a struggle coming back at first if things don't work out, but years into the future I'll have a great story, some good pictures, memories, and I can say I've lived without regret.... or I'll be homeless under a bridge somewhere, but I'll let future Robby deal with all that.