This month marks one year since we made the decision to leave our jobs and chart a new course on life. We started this blog to document our planning process in hopes it could help future couples thinking about a similar adventure. As the year progressed we had many discussions on how much to put out into the world about ourselves. We were worried about alienating any readers and so initially took a very middle of the road approach about our personal beliefs and decisions. However, the longer we wrote the more we realized that our experiences, thoughts, and lifestyle would best be represented if we put it all out there for you, the reader, to explore. The result has been extremely liberating but also a rather scary. Letting people know more about you is always risky as there are sure to be those who do not agree with you or feel isolated because of your choices, beliefs, interests, etc. Here is a sample of some of our more open moments, which also happen to be some of the most popular posts on this blog.
- Is it Selfish to Not Have Kids?
- To sell or not to sell, that is the question
- Stepping out of a Career
- Doing it with the Lights On
Ultimately, looking back now on the last year of blogging about our upcoming trip, I must say that the more we reveal about our own lives and experiences the more rewarding this experience has become. I have loved the responses from our readers and the connection we have been able to make with others who share similar mindsets. Thank you all for a great first year and for embracing our lifestyle design musings.
This Thursday will be exactly 1 year until we leave Seattle and embark on our around the world trip. Looking forward I am excited to share more details about our planning process, hopes, fears, and anxiety about what lies ahead. We promise to explore all the details of our process and anxious to get your thoughts and comments to help guide the discussion.
Have you opened up to others publicly? Was the experience rewarding? What more would you enjoy learning about the process over the next year?
About Warren
I admire your decision to do this while you are still young and unencumbered by what society has deemed the norm. I will continue to follow your adventures and wish you all the best… good health, peace, safety and happiness.
Thank you for your good wishes, Wendy. After 20 years of accumulation, it is hard to think we are unencumbered, but as the year goes by we will eventually get there.
There are people far younger than us and far older than us doing the same thing, so I don’t think age is really a limiting factor. It’s all about making the lifestyle changes necessary to reach the goal, just as you would do for buying a home, raising a family, starting a business, writing a book, or whatever your dream life may be.
Tough work, and a huge mental shift, but definitely do-able. And now that we are only one year away from taking the leap, those small daily sacrifices are hardly noticeable!