Why Could You Possibly Want to Move Abroad?

Years ago, when I realized, seemingly out of nowhere, that you could actually move abroad – I, at first, had my sights set on Canada, because it was the closest country where I wouldn’t melt. See, when you grow up and no one you know, no one in your family, absolutely no one has ever moved out of the country – let alone even traveled outside the country except to maybe Mexico (we lived in Texas) – the thought, the idea that you could actually move outside the country? Well, that never enters your mind. It just never occurs to you. But, when it does…. well… suddenly, that thought is always with you. Sometimes it’s nothing more than a passing fancy, just a little dream but others, you do a little research – see what’s exactly involved. And that, is what started it all.

The original idea of moving outside the US wasn’t fueled by anything like “this country sucks”. It was originally fueled by a desire to travel – to see what’s out there – to live a different kind of lifestyle. America’s work-home balance is so skewed, it’s not even funny as I’m sure many will agree on. You work insane hours to pay for a big house that society says you have to have, then you can’t even enjoy it because you’re working so much to pay for it. It’s a vicious cycle.

See, I grew up… what I’ll call mid-low income. My Dad was lower middle-income and my Mom was probably about… middle lower-income – without getting to much into personal childhood stuff. So, with my Dad, we lived in small neighborhood on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. It was pretty nice, we rented a duplex – I didn’t always have the nicest things, my clothes didn’t always fit right, and I was the kid that just didn’t have lunch money. For reasons – we’ll just say that’s how it was. With my Mom, we lived out in the country, miles outside of the small town of Bastrop, Texas – a bit away from Austin. Dirt roads, open fields, creeks, bare feet, hanging clothes on the line, no air conditioning, all of that. We lived in a 1969 single wide trailer in my grandmother’s back yard (I was born in ‘84… we’ll just leave that there). My Dad’s mother, my Grandmother, was wealthy – she worked hard, saved her money, was very frugal but didn’t mind spending when she wanted to, if that makes sense. My Mom’s mother was the kind of person who shopped at the PX, bought in bulk, used the same VCR tape three or more times, and made nearly everything from scratch for a long time until it got too much for her. So, I was around literally all aspects of money. From the high to the very low. I’ve been to the galleria in Houston, Texas with my Grandmother while she dropped hundreds (in the 1990’s) on my cousin and myself for school clothes each year… and a week later, I could be on the side of the road in Bastrop County helping my Mother pick up cans for money.

Now, it’s not saying my Mother didn’t work – she did, she worked hard and had a good job with the state as a legal secretary. She just had to pay child support to my Dad. And she had to pay a lot. About $900/month. Which was why my Dad was middle and my Mom was lower. I won’t go into the specifics, but that’s just how it was. And that’s not to say that my Dad didn’t work either – he was a truck driver, he worked too. 

Back to the subject at hand!

I wanted to live in a place where work home life was a bit more balanced. Where money didn’t rule every moment of every day. Where you didn’t have to have a million dollars – where it was completely okay to not have a huge ass house and a brand new car. Because that’s just not me. Give me an old house and a car with no note any day. I’ll take it over a three thousand square foot house and a high note any day of the week.

I hate money. It changes people, it makes people do insane things. I personally think we’d all live much better lives without it. But – that’s just me looking through Utopian glasses. Complete fantasy.

I want a simple life – I want a small holding,, a small homestead, I want to be as self sufficient as reasonably possible. I don’t want to be a prepper because I’m not prepping for anything – just wanting to live a much simpler and healthier life. And more and more, it seems like it’s harder and harder to do that here.