Pre-trip: Our Blueprint

How are we doing this?!

I mentioned in my first post that there's rarely a good time to travel, as there is always something going on and things to miss out on. So how did we decide that now was the best time to go?

The plan was hatched back in February. I was working for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. I was in month 6 of a 22 month apprenticeship to become a Workers' Compensation Adjudicator 2. It was a very competitive hiring process, and the journeyman card I would have received after 22 months would have opened many doors for me. The problem was, I hated it there, and I didn't particularly like any of the doors that were going to open. I enjoyed my coworkers, but the actual work wasn't for me. A sea of cubicles. Phones ringing. Chairs squeaking. Speaking to people on the phone when they are at their absolute worst. Overhearing the person in the cubicle next to me take a call from a suicidal worker. It sucked! I needed fresh air and less walls.

All this stress got Tawnie and I talking about things we really wanted out of life in the next ten years or so. The big ones were a house, maybe kids, a college degree for Tawnie, a career or two, and travel. I still don't know the order all these things are going to happen, but at the time we decided travelling would be a lot easier without a mortgage, kid, and career. We didn't want to travel right away though, because we wanted time to research our destination, we wanted Tawnie to take more French classes, and it's fun to have build-up before you travel - something to look forward to. 

We settled on September because that would be in between quarters for Tawnie and it matched up fairly well with our apartment lease. Meanwhile, I quit my job and very quickly began working for a landscape install company. It didn't pay great, but I didn't miss a paycheck between jobs and it got me back in shape.

But isn't travelling expensive?

It depends how you travel. We decided to use a site called helpx.net. There are thousands of people looking for helpers to work on their farm, bed and breakfast, or maybe just watch their house while they're out of town. In exchange for this work, they provide lodging and food. All we have to do is get there, which again, travelling isn't too expensive depending on how you travel.

Tawnie found us plane tickets on Norwegian Air from Seattle to London for $180 a piece. Granted, we won't get any checked bags, we might not get to sit next to each other, we'll have to bring our own food, and I suspect my legs are going to be quite cramped. But, if I can get lost in a book then it will be money well saved. Once we're in London we'll stay in a hotel for a whopping $200. That's our only frustrating expense, but we really wanted a location that would make getting to our flight the next day as easy as possible. Luckily, we fly to France for only $63 total and take a train to where our hosts will pick us up. All added up we're looking at about $623 plus 6 train fares (3 trains x 2 of us). Not bad. (How do you travel with only carry-on?! Coming soon, a blog post with our packing list).

Once at our destination for 3 weeks, our only expenses will be mostly small things like toothpaste, shampoo, soap, razors, any extra clothes we decide we need, postcards, and other things like that. If I was at home I'd have to pay rent which is more than all of that combined and I'd have a credit card bill for all that stuff I just listed, plus food and whatever other random things I decided to buy as we're constantly bombarded with society telling us what we need. We'll obviously be losing money while we're over there since we're not working, but it will be a minor leak that we should be able to quickly patch once we decide to come back home. The key is, we have no payments back home. We will only be paying for what is currently keeping us alive. No payments on a house or car. The egg we have saved up will certainly keep us afloat.

However, my parents also made this trip much easier. They just purchased a new house near us, and they are letting us store our stuff there - including our vehicles. They are also letting us stay there when we get back until we find a new place to live. Then we'll move our stuff out of their guest room so they can properly accommodate visitors. This makes our transition substantially easier. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Final Thought

I had a difficult time writing this post. I really didn't want to come across a certain way. I think as humans most of us have this drive that makes us want to do it all. If you're reading and this type of travel-on-a-budget isn't an option to you for whatever reason, that's okay! Look around you! Maybe you do have a car or house payment - that's kind of awesome! It's raining right now, and the trunk and sides of my Buick are filling up with water and the oil leaks or burns or whatever it does. I would love to have a reliable car, and I will one day, but then I'll have to be working and pass up opportunities like the one I'm about to embark on. Or a house?! I'm getting tired of having to question, 'hmm, should I call 911 on my neighbor?'. I am very grateful for the roof over my head, but it can be tiring living amongst so many people in an apartment complex. Lastly, maybe you have a baby! That's awesome! Have fun with the joy that comes with that!

All I'm saying is that this just happens to be our current path. I'm not saying this is the 'right' or 'best' path, it's just our path. We may get robbed and come home early with our tail between our legs, who knows? My last adventure, sailing down the coast, ended in personal failure. The goal was to sail the boat down to San Diego, which sounds pretty cool right? Well, it ended up kind of sucking. It was cold, wet, dark, tense, etc. and I only went about halfway. We're all just on our different paths, and if you die before you make it to France there is no reason for regret. Your path is better for you.