Why We're Moving: Q and A

11/23/2015

My previous post, Why We're Moving, generated some readers' questions about our plans. here are my answers. If you have any more, feel free to ask!

How can you afford it?

This plan has been in the works for a couple of years. We read about and talked to other people who had done similar things, and used their plans to create our own. Here’s what we learned:

First, you need income that can move with you. Many professions offer these opportunities: writers, consultants, anybody who can telecommute. Can you take a sabbatical? Leave of absence? (Our local band director took a leave of absence, moved the family to Italy for a year, then re-settled in Oregon. Link below.) Thanks to the internet, most of Sam’s real estate investment business can be done from anywhere.

Second, deal with your house. You could just rent it out, but since the market was good and we wanted to relocate, we sold ours.

Third, think about how much money you put into your house every month: rent, mortgage, insurance, utilities, cable, wifi, maid, gardener, Home Depot trips, upkeep, toilet paper. Then add in your auto expenses: payments, gas, repairs, insurance. You probably spend a pretty big chunk of change on those things. We won’t have most of those expenses for a year--that contributes to the travel budget.

What’s your travel itinerary?

We own a short-term rental apartment in Hong Kong that we will commandeer for our personal use for the first 4-5 months. We’ll base there and travel around Asia and New Zealand. In late winter we’ll head for the Middle East and end up in Europe by April. We have chosen to spend longer times in fewer places, instead of having a whirlwind tour through too many countries to remember.

Will Kid 3 just run wild during his gap year?

Because it’s a gap year we just want him to maintain his current grade level. His only formal school books will be math and French. I have a long literature list for him, some that he’ll read and some audio books. Everything else (history, geography, art, architecture, music, current events) will correspond to the areas we visit. He also plans to start his own blog, which will require writing, photography, and whatever computer skills blogger use. (Homeschool geeks--I’ll do a more detailed post on this later.)

Just think of it as a year-long field trip.

What will we take with us?

We aren’t really furniture people. We’ve always had a high-traffic house with sturdy but cheap furniture, and we’re not too attached to any of it. Also, we don’t have an employer paying for our move, so we’ll just get rid of our stuff and get a furnished place in Paris (that’s what the Parisienne realtor I’ve been talking with advised us to do.) The only major piece of furniture we’ll keep is the piano.

My minimalist hero is my niece--she just moved to London with two suitcases and a box. You go, girl!

How are you organizing a big trip AND an international move?

For now, we are mentally dividing our possessions into four categories. Each person gets:

Category 1: One carry-on suitcase and one backpack. These bags contain clothing for one week, toiletries, and everything you need to amuse yourself (laptop, iPad, iPod, books, swim goggles, sudoku, crochet, cards, whatever).

Category 2: Two boxes to put in the Hong Kong apartment. These contain winter clothes, extra books, Caleb’s trombone, some piano music in case I find a church that will let me practice, and anything that we don’t think we can find on the road--Dove soap, Crest mint toothpaste (China has lemon Crest which is nasty).

Category 3: Things we love enough to pay to get shipped to another country: books, music, pictures, personal items, and some kitchen things. These things will go into storage until we find an apartment in fall 2017.

Category 4: Things we can let go of before moving. This includes most of our furniture, all electronics, fitness equipment, bikes, etc. If you’ve ever coveted any of my household possessions, speak up by May 2016 and you can probably come get it.

Will you teach piano?

Nope, we’re done.

How will we get a residence permit for France?

We’ll get a long-stay tourist visa for the first year, then re-evaluate after that.

How do we know we’ll still want to move to France after a year of travel? How do we know this will work?

We don’t. Then again, how do you know your plan will work?

When I was in high school, our beloved drama coach, Mr. Cody, had an exercise called Change the Scene. It started with two people improvising a scene. When Mr. Cody told a third student, “Change the scene,” that student had to enter and within one sentence change the whole situation. As the two improvisers listened to her opening sentence, they had to immediately adapt to the new scenario and run with it. One by one, Mr. Cody called each student in and the scene changed with every new actor.

That happens all the time. You’re just minding your business, and somebody changes your scene with one sentence. “I’m pregnant.” “You’re fired.” “Your test results are back.” “We’ve got to talk.” No use arguing, you’re in a new scene now.

We three Shaos are going to improvise a scene called Family on an Adventure. If the Great Drama Coach in the Sky orders a scene change, we’ll utilize our handy dandy travel insurance, get where we need to be, and throw ourselves into the new scene. With two kids in college, two elderly mothers, extended families on three continents, and a fluctuating international situation, anything could happen. Whatever it is, we’ll be thankful for the good and the bad and love each other through it.