Today marks the first Monday in about 15 years that Nick and I are both unemployed. The last time was when we decided to quit our entry-level jobs in NYC, keep only what would fit in my station wagon, and drive slowly to try out a new life in Austin. The vibes are similar. We need to get rid of a bunch of stuff and we have no idea what the future holds, but we are optimistic that it’s something worth moving towards.

Life is a little more complicated now. We have more stuff, we’re planning a more complex adventure, and there’s a new (and slightly unpredictable) person in our party. I’ve been waking up with a mix of about 80% giddy excitement and 20% holy-shit-what-if-this-is-a-mistake energy. Luckily this is a ratio I live for; life would be boring without that 20% looming.

Other than quitting jobs and getting duplicate passports, the only other thing we have taken action on is using credit card points to book three one-way tickets to London, leaving in April. So we have between now and then (exactly 99 days, but who’s counting?) to do some serious preparation.

First step: make the to-do list. Here’s what we’ve got:

Downsize

• Sell my car. Figure out if it’s worth paying to fix the scratch on the front or sell as is.
• Ruthlessly Marie Kondo everything in the house
  • Clean out closets, drawers, garage, etc.
  • Sell what can be sold (books, baby gadgets, toys, electronics, furniture, etc)
  • Donate the rest
• With what remains, find storage (including where we can leave Nick’s truck)

Prepare house for rental

• Determine if we will rent it out for the year or do short term rental. We like the flexibility of short-term rental (it means we can come home at any time) but realize it might be too much stress.
  • If we choose short-term, get permits from the city and find Airbnb “co-host” to manage it while we’re away
  • If long term, find realtor to help us with legal documents & find a tenant
• Convert Millie’s bedroom from a unicorn rainbow princess palace into something more flexible (sorry girl)
• Take photos of the house
• Find lawn/yard service

Financial

• Put together resume and portfolio, so that I can find a job upon our return
• File 2024 taxes
• Unsubscribe from a million things
• Cancel car insurance (and research best option for insurance when renting cars)
• Create budget spreadsheet that will help us track spend while traveling
• Research if we have the optimal banking and cards set up

Technology

• Download, set-up, and get familiar with technology we’ll need to rely on – Alipay / WeChat for China, Wise for currency exchange, maps, etc.
• Research & sign up for the best international phone plan
• Upgrade my phone (I’ve had my current iPhone for >5 years, a personal record)
• Get a Kindle & load with reading list

Healthcare

• Have all annual appointments: dental, physical, ob-gyn, eye exam, dermatologist
• Get all necessary travel vaccines
• Get “just-in-case” prescriptions (nausea, antibiotics, etc)
• Figure out plan for other prescriptions
  • I take a bi-weekly injectable med for arthritis that needs to be refrigerated. I need to either find an alternate figure our how to transport it. This has been a big stressor for me while planning!
  • Get a year’s worth of contact lenses
• Insurance
  • Research and sign up for international health insurance
  • Figure out what back-up coverage we need here at home

Trip planning

• Complete our itinerary
  • Nick has been planning this in great detail but we haven’t had a chance to sit together and go through it. I’ve set up a daily planning meeting for us (cool fun wife alert) so that we are continually chipping away at it. We will focus on one country per day.
  • As we solidify the itinerary, I will budget against it more granularly, which will probably lead to trimming it down some.
• Apply for Visas
• Book anything that needs to be booked far ahead of time
• Contact family & friends abroad with dates for when we expect to visit
• Get global entry
• Finalize packing list & strategy (I’m sure this will be a whole post on its own)

It still hasn’t sunk in that I get to spend my days this year doing this instead of “real” work. I woke up this morning excited and grateful. Now let’s get to it!