We are a family of four from Chicago about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Bill retired in June after a 37 year career in education, so we had been thinking about the next phase of our life for quite some time. With 2 young children, we decided that we needed to find a more affordable way to live. We want to take full advantage of our unique opportunity to watch them grow. We looked into moving out west to greener, cheaper pastures. However, in March, we literally looked at each other and asked, "What are we doing?!" The world, we feel, is our oyster and we don't want to set any limits on our experiences just yet.
We began exploring overseas options to try to find a more affordable and exotic way to live. After some research, I quickly ruled out Central American countries (much to Bill's dismay) - cheap & beautiful = good, unsafe = not so good! Knowing that we wanted the kids to have an opportunity to learn another language, we started researching areas in Europe and were surprised to discover that Spain is still relatively affordable. From this discovery, a plan (of sorts) was developed.
We sold our beloved Michigan Avenue condo, put the majority of our possessions (except what would fit in backpacks) into storage, said goodbye to family, friends and the only way of life any of us have ever known and are hitting the trail. After a month in Caye Caulker, Belize and then Mexico for Bill's son's wedding, we will make a brief stop back in Chicago to reorganize and then will head to Spain. We don't know exactly where in Spain we will land, or how long we will be there, but that all becomes part of the adventure.
Right now, our "plan" is to find a lovely spot along the Mediterranean coast to set up a base from which we can travel and explore. Though we will likely enroll the kids in some sort of school so that their spanish acquisition will be easier, our hope is to use the world as their classroom. I am a former teacher, and Bill a former school superintendent, so we should have the education piece pretty well covered. We all have a great deal of learning ahead of us!
Follow us as we navigate our way through the Spanish Visa system, learn a new language, discover new cultures and find ways to become more globally minded human beings!
