Living Abroad: What we learned from a year of travel

Cynthia:  In the midst of a pandemic we left behind our safe, predictable lives last March to reimagine our retirement by becoming global explorers. I’m sure a lot of people thought we were crazy.

Edd:  They probably also believed we had some kind of detailed plan for our travels. The truth is we knew we were going to Mexico for at least a month. We booked a one-way flight to Mérida and our accommodations there. The rest unfolded one stop after the next.

C:  Hmm—putting it that way, yep, sounds like we were nuts! To be fair, we did have a general itinerary. But since we were scouting locations for our website, we wanted to give ourselves maximum flexibility to stay at each place long enough to gather the info we needed.

E:  That “plan” worked out for the best since the four original destinations grew to six, and we ended up staying in Mexico for 2 ½ months. Let’s talk about some of the things we learned during our adventure.

C:  Wow, where to start. Well, I want to congratulate you for getting a lot better at choosing our Airbnbs. That first place in Mérida was super-cheap and looked good in the photos, but…

E:  Especially when you’re staying in a room with shared common space like we did, pictures don’t always tell the whole story of the residence or the hosts (and their unmentioned pet). The main tip I would pass along is this: if you’re unsure about anything, ask the host before booking. Aside from that one, we stayed in some really nice places, including a few top-notch hotels.

C:  Yes we did, and I thank you for your hard work making that happen. But your scheduling was, shall we say, a bit overly aggressive.

E:  No doubt. Sometimes what seems great in your thoughts doesn’t mesh with reality. Packing and moving as quickly and often as we did was exhausting. Now we know to stay longer in each place going forward. Speaking of packing, let me give you a shout out for agreeing to downsize our luggage.

                              Before                                                                     After

C:  Honestly, it wasn’t easy. But traveling with carry-on luggage and a backpack was so much better. Skipping the check-in lines and walking out of the airport without having to wait for bags is incredibly liberating.

E:  It made moving from place to place easier too. Sometimes we actually left most of our stuff in the suitcases. We did unpack for longer stays, but often had trouble finding things because at every location they were in a different place!

C:  One final point on the subject of packing: When you’re not returning home between destinations, there are no decisions to make about what you’re taking to the next place. You just repack everything you brought. For me, that one aspect of this style of traveling simplified the process.

E:  You’ve come light years from the old days of taking way too much stuff just to be sure. 😉

C:  What can I say—I like options. In our last conversation we mentioned how we forgot we’re not teenagers anymore and wore ourselves out.

E:  Oops…my fault.

C:  There just wasn’t enough downtime scheduled. That won’t happen again. Otherwise, I can’t say we learned very much new about ourselves or each other.

E:  Well, since we’ve been together our entire adult lives, at this point there shouldn’t be many surprises. The past year did reaffirm that we’re pretty darned good at being expat experts.

Within a day of arriving at each new location we had scouted the neighborhood and were comfortable with our surroundings.

C:  And because of your keen interest in food, you made sure we always knew where to get something to eat.

E:  The museums and other attractions can wait. I want to first check out the closest restaurants and grocery store. 😋

C:  Being a successful expat also requires flexibility. We seamlessly pivoted from our normal daily routine when Mérida turned out to be hotter than we ever thought possible.

E:  We usually get a lot of our errands and running around done in the afternoons. But there we went out early in the morning and later in the evenings to avoid the oppressive midday heat and humidity.

I’m awarding you the gold medal in flexibility for figuring out how to wash clothes in a trash can at Playa del Carmen.

C:  Hey, sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. If people are under the impression our Mexico adventure was without challenges, the blog we wrote about our first month of travel is a reality check.

E:  Before we end, I want to mention something important that our travels last year reaffirmed. Wherever we go in this world, including the States, we find people to be kind, generous, and helpful. Sure, there’s the occasional knucklehead, but overall we encounter friendly folks who are genuinely happy.

C:  Aren’t we finding those qualities in other people because we believe you attract into your life the kind of energy you express? You just described how we try to conduct ourselves.

E:  Indeed.

C:  Let’s close this chat with something else we already knew. Travel forever changes you. Experiencing new people and places gives you the opportunity to broaden your perspective and worldview. To be more tolerant and understanding of different cultures.

E:  That certainly has been true for us over our 12 years as expats. I’m looking forward to planning where our travels take us in the coming months.

C:  Me too. It’s exciting!