Short Answer: Maybe. Buckle up for the much longer answer. My original plan for this year was to move out of our apartment when our lease is up in July and stay in 2 monthly AirBnBs in Seattle. Then I would quit my job in September and go to FinCon (which I will no longer be attending because of the founder’s behavior here, here and here). Lastly, I was planning to fly to Australia and New Zealand.
My OG post-retirement travel plans looked like this:
Who wants to hang out around the 🌍? Let me know! Here are my current travel plans post-retirement:
Australia🇦🇺: 10/4-10/26
New Zealand🇳🇿: 10/27-11/11
NYC🗽: 11/12ish
Argentina🇦🇷: 11/20-12/20ish
Thailand🇹🇭: February-March 2021
Singapore🇸🇬: March 2021#ILovePlanningAhead— A Purple Life (@APurpleLifeBlog) January 22, 2020
Obviously with ‘Rona running a rampage around the globe, these plans need to be reassessed and since I’m a huge nerd, Plans A through ZZZ had to be created! Basically everything is up in the air, but I see three major possibilities going forward:
- International travel is possible
- International travel is possible with a mandatory 2 week quarantine
- International travel is not possible
Given my pessimistic nature, I had just assumed #3 was reality and was preparing myself to re-book everything for at least a year out if not more. My Mom is much more of an optimist, but even if travel is technically allowed to some places, that doesn’t mean we should go.
So I am planning for the worst, but hoping for the best. If international travel is allowed and it looks like it wouldn’t be reckless for us to do so, we will follow the above travel plan. However, I’m thinking the below is much more likely.
A 14 Day International Quarantine
One possibility is that Australia will institute a mandatory 14 day quarantine for all travelers coming from international locations, similar to what Taiwan did. If this is the case, my Mom and I have figured out how we can make that work with our current travel bookings. I would basically spend my last two weeks of corporate life working 2am-10am in Australia during a mandatory quarantine – now that’s a story for my non-existent future grandkids 😉 .
Since my job has always been remote, I can finish up my projects from afar and even do so during wild hours that align with Seattle’s time zone since we’ll be in lockdown and I won’t have adjusted to the time change anyway. GENIUS!
Similarly, if Argentina institutes the same requirement, I have already booked my flight and will be there for a full month – spending the first two weeks vegging on the couch with my friend actually sounds pretty fun 🙂 . We’re both serious homebodies and were planning to laze about a large amount anyway. We also have a bunch to catch up on since we haven’t been physically together in a decade.
So overall, if this is a requirement, I can work it into my current plans basically without issue.
No 2020 International Travel
But what if international travel isn’t looking good for all of 2020? Well, my main goals in retirement were (1) to spend more time with loved ones and (2) explore the world. If the second option isn’t available on a global scale, I am fully happy exploring my first goal.
My partner has been semi-jokingly talking about starting a commune of friends and family for years, and this is the perfect time to explore that idea by living near loved ones. I’m excited to be around our friends and family for more than a rushed 48 hours and explore what actually living near each other (instead of just visiting) feels like. I imagine it will feel slower and more like real life (in a good way) instead of a vacation where you’re trying to squeeze in as much fun and time together as possible.
We were already planning to live around family and friends throughout our nomadic travels – this just lengthens the time we will do so in 2020. If Australia, New Zealand and Argentina aren’t happening in 2020, I will move Australia and New Zealand travel bookings to the Fall of 2021 and move Argentina to the Spring of 2021.
Then, instead of flying to an international destination from Seattle, I will instead fly with my partner to Georgia to stay with or near his brother in a city that my Mom can visit easily. We’ll be there for a few months and then (if travel advisories allow) go to New York State to spend Christmas with the rest of his family.
At that point we would be approaching February, the month I currently have booked to explore Singapore and Thailand. If both of those countries are welcoming visitors we’ll continue with those plans, but if they are not…
No 2021 International Travel
If global borders remain closed for 2021 I will first move all plans (Singapore, Thailand, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand) to 2022 and then declare 2021 “The Year Of Domestic Nomad Travel!”
Our plans are still a little up in the air, but we’re currently thinking of spending the spring in the Southwest US, the summer in the Northeast US, the fall in the Southeast US and Christmas in New York before jetsetting to an international beach in 2022. For a new plan we didn’t originally intend it looks really fun. Even the ‘worst’ case scenario isn’t bad at all 🙂 .
Note: This drawing was inspired by my nomad mentors and fairy godmothers All Options Considered. They make AMAZING graphics on their blog to explain their plans and were even kind enough to share their template with me and I….still fucked it up. So please enjoy these hand-drawings instead and feel free to check them out if you’re looking for some actually awesome visuals 😉 .
MY RETIREMENT TO DO LIST
Alright! So despite everything going on, our lease is still up in July. We are still becoming nomads – whether that’s globally or domestically for the foreseeable future. So “I’ve got shit to do!” Let’s see how it’s going:
2020 Ongoing Monetary Goals
- Max my 401K ($19,500 + $450 match) – $8,868 SAVED!
- Set aside Year 1-2 Retirement money in cash – $13,700 SAVED!
- Max a Roth IRA ($6,000) – UNDER CONSIDERATION
- Overall save $52,000 before I quit in September – $22,568 SAVED TOTAL!
My savings are on auto-pilot right now. It’s not exciting, but it is sexy 😉 . I’m leaning towards not maxing my Roth IRA this year and instead just saving cash. Either way, I don’t have to decide that officially until August, but that’s where I am right now.
2020 Ongoing Life Goals
- Start buying nomad gear – IN PROGRESS
- Start reading books that have been sitting on my shelf forever before I donate them – IN PROGRESS
- Play PC video games – IN PROGRESS
I’ve continued buying up some nomad gear by purchasing more packing cubes, buying new earbuds (which sadly turned out to be garbage 🙁 ) and also getting my first wireless headphones, which are BALLER! I’ve had them for two weeks and I absolutely love them and their wireless capabilities. I thought I loved the cord life, but I was wrong. I’m a changed woman!
Reading is coming along nicely, but once again…not the books on my shelf. Oops! My library eBook holds are all popping up – it’s not my fault 😉 ! In addition to the books I mentioned in my last monthly update, I’m also now reading The Head Trip and Why Buddhism Is True to dive deeper into my dabbling in meditation that’s been happening sporadically this year.
I’ve continued playing video games to enjoy our gaming PC before we have to sell it and recently streamed Stardew Valley on Twitch with Felicity. We’ve decided to start doing that every other Saturday during quarantine. The next one is on June 13th at 9am PDT so feel free to stop by Our Twitch Channel if you want to see me accidentally burn down a farm (It’s on #FIRE 😉 ).
June To-Dos
- Get a Charles Schwab account for free international ATMs – COMPLETE!
Knowing that I had this monthly recap coming up kept me on track with this goal, so thank y’all so much for being my accountability buddies! I opened a Charles Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking Account to take advantage of the 100% ATM global reimbursement and no minimum balance requirement. Even if international travel is postponed, I know that many other US cities are not as cashless as Seattle, so I want to be able to get cash easily when needed without any fees: enter Charles Schwab!
I’ve only just opened my account with them, but the sign up process was straightforward and they even left me a voicemail after I opened my account to say they’re here to help, which I’ve never had happen before. I then received my fancy new debit card and need to decide how much I’m going to park in that account since I’ll have multiple bank accounts floating around.
Heads up if you’re looking to open an account – that application did trigger a hard pull on my credit report, which can drop your credit score a few points for about 3 months depending on your situation. Personally, I checked my favorite free credit score tracker Credit Karma and saw the hard pull had no affect on my credit score, but I wanted to give you a heads up regardless.
July To-Dos
- Get rid of basically everything I own 😬
- Cancel my WiFi service and return the modem to the store
- Set up Traveling Mailbox
- Set up IMG global expat health insurance
August To-Dos
- Live in an AirBnB for a month! – POST-CORONA CONFIRMED!
- Decide how I’m dividing money across my bank accounts in retirement
- Sign up for an absentee ballot so I can vote online for the presidential election
If international travel is happening, but with a mandatory quarantine:
- Move my flight to LA 2 weeks earlier
- Move my flight to Australia 2 weeks earlier
- Stock up on coffee for my weird upcoming new 2am-10am work hours
If international travel isn’t happening in 2020:
- Reschedule all Australia, New Zealand and Argentina flights, lodging and transportation to 2021
September To-Dos
- Give my notice at work!
- Live in a (different) AirBnB for a month! – POST-CORONA CONFIRMED!
- Change my taxable dividends to go into my checking account instead of being reinvested
- Transfer from Republic Wireless to Google FI
- Research the history and culture of all the places I’m traveling to this fall (if health and travel advisories allow)
- (After my last day) Transfer my 401K to Vanguard
We heard from our second Seattle AirBnB this month asking if we were still coming. Since they’re just across the river we said yes. They then asked if we’d be willing to move to their second AirBnB unit, which is on the same property. After checking with the AirBnB dwelling experts All Options Considered (they are really living up to that nomad mentor title) we agreed. So both of our places in Seattle are post-corona confirmed! We have places to stay until we leave Seattle at the end of September that will help us dip our toes into nomad life and I AM PUMPED!
Conclusion
And that’s it! I’m still here and moving toward my September quit date and August nomad life. Let’s see what the next few months hold. 16 Mondays left…
How has the last month been for you? Did you accomplish any of your goals?
Very cool. Looks like you got things planned out perfectly. It’s really nice that you can actually do some domestic traveling. The US is so big and diverse that moving between states is probably like going to completely different countries.
I still have high hopes for international travel in 2020. There are many “travel” bubbles forming around the world which will not require a 14 day quarantine. July seems to be the consensus around most of Europe. No one wants to miss out on the summer tourism.
My plans are still for December. Really hoping things calm down by then.
Cheers!
Yeah the US is huge and I’ve only seen a small part of it. I’ve only heard of the travel bubble around Australia/New Zealand – where are the other ones? Either way, I’m feeling grateful a 14 day quarantine wouldn’t derail my plans if it’s required. Fingers crossed for December!
From what I’m reading, the EU is planning to open it’s borders for internal travel. It would still mean international travelers entering the EU need some sort of self quarentine.
I guess we will just have to wait and see how this thing unfolds.
Ahh makes sense. And yes we shall see 🙂
I’m new to your blog, but I am excited for you. Also you play Stardew Valley … I’ve gotten so many hours in on my Switch since the lockdown!
Thank you! And that’s awesome – one silver lining of lockdown = more video game time!
Good deal. Is the expat health insurance essential? Sorry, totally ignorant, but I’ve often wondered. I’m fairly certain that Europe has universal coverage even for tourists, but I’m not sure on the other countries on your list.
Expat insurance is essential for me since our US health insurance is linked to 1 state at a time and I’ll be traveling through multiple ones so it wouldn’t be helpful. Expat insurance covers me globally and in all US states for catastrophic things. I’ll look into that about Europe, but overall I feel more comfortable with a bit of a backup.
Interesting – that was the first I’d heard of anything about the FinCon guy but I’ve always been skeptical of that organization. Hard to tell exactly what happened on the second two examples but the first seems pretty telling – his response to Black Lives Matter is to not watch the news? Because that will stop black people from being killed by police? And also, it’s the news’ fault?
Also, the universe keeps sending me signs that I should be playing Stardew Valley. Since I was a big fan of Harvest Moon back in the day, it has been on my list!
Why have you always been skeptical? Were your journalism senses tingling? Fair point – I have background for the latter two examples and should probably expand on the context. But yeah – his comments in the first link were shocking and shameful. I was previously on the fence about attending this year, decided to go to see my friends, then COVID hit and I didn’t think I could go without worry even if it was an in-person event and now this, which sealed the deal. I have a ticket (that I bought a year ago), but will not be using it or attending future events.
I wonder how many signs from the universe are me mentioning it on multiple platforms haha. But either way, it’s a fun game – let me know what you think!
I guess I’m skeptical of money making ventures that target the FI world – it seems counter-intuitive to me. I’ve talked about this elsewhere, but it seems like a con making money by targeting FI folks and teaching them how to make money. But again, skeptical, not saying definitely based on that skepticism that it’s bad. Just something seemed off about it to me, especially the video footage I saw in the FIRE doc (which I had similar issues with). But to your point, I took offense both to his comments about BLM and to his blaming the news. It’s one of the few points of disagreement I have with MMM – though I take his point about generally over-saturating oneself with news, I think it’s up to all of us to keep ourselves informed as citizens. I think it’s one reason people like our weekly paper — they can get all their news for the week in one fell swoop and then go about their lives. BLM is definitely something I think people need to pay attention to. Accountability has obviously been lacking in the Minneapolis PD and other police departments, and the lack of de-escalation training nationwide is a huge issue. Our local law enforcement went through this training, largely focused on dealing with those with mental health issues but it’s applicable to many situations.
And yeah, I bet you’re many of those Stardew Valley signs haha Also my friend Rie, a national touring and lecturing pianist, who was on my last podcast says she is playing it a lot and said I should too. It does look like a game I would very much enjoy though haha
I am WITH you! That’s why I’d never been before last year. When I went I was shocked to discover that my bubble had blinded me – FI people are a small subset of FinCon. It’s mostly traditional finance people trying to make money (vs us trying to save it haha). The FI people I hung out with were just there to do that: hang out, not go to talks or learn really (lol) or make money.
It’s definitely a difficult balance – I also want to be informed, but when I’m reading news all the time find myself becoming a husk of a person so I try to cycle it so I know what’s going on and can act accordingly, but am not in it 24/7 because it’s unsustainable for me. That’s interesting your local law enforcement went through de-escalation training – that definitely needs to be more widespread given the escalation that’s happening now.
A famous pianist?! They sound super cool. That recommendation definitely holds more weight than mine! Guess it’s time to start your farm 😉 .
Apparently this year’s keynote speaker for FinCon, a black woman, was offered $2,500 to deliver it – the year prior’s keynote was a white woman with a smaller platform and was offered $10,000; previous white male speakers were paid $50,000. This according to Tiff the Budgetnista, have not yet verified. Her response was I don’t even tweet for $2,500. (For the record, I will tweet for $2,500 if anyone is offering lol) Might be time to put on my journalism hat and really dig in.
BTW someone else mentioned the people selling you shit you don’t need phenomena. I like the idea of starting a conference that’s more about the social aspect. The challenge is, I think you need the thing to ignore so you can chose to be social instead of feeling forced to. Food for thought, anyway…
Yes, Rie is super cool! She came here from Japan and we went to the same U. Her playing is jaw dropping. Now she is a yoga instructor too and has a FB page called Wellness for Musicians. I like playing music but that world of practicing eight hours per day is not for me haha She has a small YouTube channel under her name, Rie Tanaka, if you’re interested. Yes, it might be time to start my farm haha
Yeah I saw that – someone asked the founder point blank on the FinCon Facebook group if he paid people different amounts and he skirted around it.
And haha yeah that sounds more like a hang out than a conference, which I am down for! We can just all meet in a party (free) and it’s BYOB if you want. Easy peasy! If you need something to ignore we can have people giving random talks on the sidelines, but I’m good just focusing on the hang out. I felt guilty paying money last year to not even do any of the ‘conference’ stuff.
She sounds super cool – I’ll check out her YouTube channel thanks!
I am really glad Tiffany – The Budgetnista mentioned this on the Brown Ambition podcast (a true gem – I have listened to every episode). This caused me to dig more and make a Twitter account lol for the first time to try and track the threads. I wrote a short blog post about the reaction from Twitter before PT deleted himself off the app (Can’t find him anymore). Simply stated, I will not be supporting FinCon – they can kick rocks.
I also feel you on what you are saying about these types of conferences.
Only 16 work Mondays left! So soon. I’m glad to see that Australia features on your backup plan and your backup plan’s backup plan.
Having done my mandatory 14 day self-quarantine when I returned to Australia in March, it feels like a weird limbo zone. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be so bad doing the 2am-10am work thing for two weeks!
I am looking like staying put in Australia for the rest of 2020, possibly with a side trip over to New Zealand for unfinished travel business that Covid thwarted.
…and yet it feels so far away haha. I’m over this 6:30am-5pm work schedule. I am le tired lol. Trying to keep the end in sight. And yeah I’m coming for you Michelle…and Australia haha. Working weird hours would indeed be a distraction from a limbo zone!
And yet, none of these involve you staying in Seattle 😩
😬
But seriously, I negotiated with Mr. APL (or whatever his name is…) to stay here a year longer than we planned so after I quit work it’s time for something new. We will be back though don’t you worry!
Exciting…it’s almost within reach now!
And I…am trying not to be really jealous of you. 😀
Yeah 3…2…1 eeek! And no need to be jealous – it’s possible I’ll be a ‘failed’ retiree and you can feel free to ridicule me 😉 . We shall see.
FinCon is DEAD!!!
It’s currently dead to me yes. A friend just messaged me that some major changes would need to happen for them to ever consider going again and I agree with that sentiment.
“Domestic Nomad Travel” is a good term – sounds like you’ve coined something modern!
I’ve wondered about your travel plans based on snippets I hear from you here and there on Twitter. I like your flexibility. My mom’s trip to Germany was canceled for this fall and she’s still kind of whining about it:)
Also, I think I heard you plan to retire Sep. 8th? That is my due date! I’m signing up for years and years of more work, but I still turn to your story for absolute inspiration and badassery:)
As for all that FinCon drama, I’m a little out of the loop but I support your judgement and can’t believe how ignorant supposedly intellectual spaces can be.
Haha and with that term I’ve left my stamp on the world 😉 . As for my Twitter snippets, feel free to ask me something point blank if you see me dropping hints 😉 . I’m sorry your Mom’s trip was cancelled – and am actually surprised since I keep hearing (but haven’t done any research) about Europe opening this summer.
9/8 is so soon woohoo! My original end date was 9/30, but since I’m not attending FinCon I might make it 10/2 while still giving my notice in September. TBD at this point and kind of up to the travel plans above. Trading years of work for a bundle of screaming joy doesn’t sound too bad 😉 .
Lots of uncertainty with the travel but good to see you are thinking through your options. I know one of your big wins with your trip was flying in the Apartment. If you can still travel but you can’t experience the Apartment, does that change anything?
We’re resigned to just US trips this year and probably only road trips. We’ll see what 2021 has in store for pulling out the passport.
How long does the expat insurance work in the US? I thought those plans only provide US coverage for a short time frame (maybe a couple of months)?
Haha yeah – doing my best 🙂 . If we can travel internationally the Apartment is already booked – I’m not sure of a situation where we’d be allowed to travel, but all Etihad flights wouldn’t to those same destinations? Let me know if I’m missing something. And if that did happen – that Apartment was the original reason my Mom wanted to go to Australia so we’d probably reschedule or make a new plan.
Expat insurance lasts as long as you pay for it and I was getting an annual plan. I’m actually talking to their rep this month so I can ask about any coverage limits like that. Thanks for the reminder!
I don’t know anything specific about Etihad, but I do know lots of airlines have grounded the A380 aircraft with travel volumes down, so there is always a chance that there could be a different plane on a given route. Lots of time before you travel but something to keep an eye on as you get closer to the date.
Will be curious what you find out about expat insurance. If it is something that would work for a full year (say all of 2021) in the US, that would definitely change things for us in the future.
Yep! Etihad actually released a press piece about how they were definitely keeping their A380s – I suspect because that’s their main selling point for non-economy seats. They also have invested heavily in their main airport having futuristic COVID checks and security measures. It’s really impressive. I guess they’re putting those $20,000 a seat charges to use haha.
I’ll definitely keep you posted! My understanding so far is that it’s better for emergencies (instead of normal use) in the US, but we shall see!
Good luck. 2020 doesn’t look good to me, but I’m hopeful for 2021.
Thank you! And yeah fingers crossed for 2021.
As they say, “No plan survives unmodified.” Good luck guys! 🙂
Haha exactly. And thank you!
I’ve been following your blog since you were on Journey to Launch and was even happier that you were planning to come to NZ! As a kiwi, it seems like opening our borders is something that has a slim chance of happening later this year. We’re only planning AU/NZ travel in Sept and that’s a big if.
Fingers crossed things work out for you with international travel.
Agreed 🙂 I would be very surprised if y’all open your borders to us silly Americans. Luckily I am completely happy with my backup plans. Travel can wait. I heard y’all are instituting a AU/NZ bubble – is that happening later in the fall and that’s why your travel is a big if?
2020 certainly doesn’t look good when it comes international travels. 1H 2021 might be a bit doubtful too. Definitely keep your options open. Domestic travel doesn’t sound all that bad. 🙂
Not bad at all! And rescheduling travel plans for later years are luckily not a concern of mine since I have the rest of my life to go! Trying to keep perspective and count my blessings 🙂 .
Does the U.S. have anything like ‘Gardening Leave’, whereby you hand in your notice to quit but don’t have to work your notice. Your employer places you on gardening leave and sends you home.
If you told them you were intending to be in Australia while working your notice would it be something your employer would consider. Especially once they realise the time difference.
Happens all the time in the UK, but usually to employees they wanted rid of anyway.
I think the travel insurance is a good idea, Europe’s health care system is piecemeal except to Europeans. It would be free to you only at initial point of contact. If you needed flying home you’d be covering that cost, not the health care system.
Gardening Leave sound delightful 🙂
In the US (at least in WA where I also live) when you hand in your notice your employer can say “see ya” and terminate your employment on that date if they don’t need/want you to finish any outstanding projects or work. They have no requirement or incentive to continue paying you if they don’t want to. The joys of “At Will” employment. I have heard of some people who have less and less work assigned during the remaining days but the employer wants them available “just in case”.
Exactly! I would love to see my employer assign me less and less work, but so far that sadly hasn’t been my experience. I’m cranking until the very end, have a hand off meeting on my last day and then drop the mic.
That is FASCINATING! I have never heard of Gardening Leave before and just read the Wikipedia page on it. Sadly my company/industry would definitely not do that. I’m bracing myself for them just telling me to GTFO when I give my leave and not even letting me work and get paid for my 2 week period. They’re ruthless – and don’t care if I’m working at 2am lol. I do that while not in another time zone.
Good to know more about the European tourist insurance situation. I suspected something like that would be the case.
Thanks for posting the links about FinCon. I was thinking about going next year and start getting more involved in person with FI but yeah I have no desire to support anyone like that. What an asshole.
It’s definitely not a good look and not something I want to support with my money or time. There are many events to attend if you’re interested in that though! Or you can do what I did for years: free meet ups! All the social hangouts without the price tag.
Ohh I love this! I am very impressed with how you planned everything, it something that I always want to do but never actually do (and ask myself later whyyyy).
As to your travel plans, fingers crossed that everything can go through. Hoping that no 2nd COVID wave comes surfing around the corner and surprises all of us!
Haha – on the flip side I basically have to make these backup plans or my brain doesn’t shut up. It’s awesome you can get by without it. Though if you want me to bother you about making plans I can do that – it’s one of my favorite things 🙂 .
I’m personally already bracing for a 2nd wave. Our country has not handled this well and is opening up early so I think we’re going to be 1918 all over again – hopefully that’s just my pessimism talking, but I wouldn’t be surprised at this point.
Keeping fingers crossed for your dreams to come true 🙂
If you want a personal advice, stay away from NYC during the winter. It’s SO COLD, even locals hate it (self included). This year the bad weather annoyed me so much I didn’t even go to see the Xmas tree. We did it last year and almost froze to death 😀
Ideally come in May. The city is absolutely lovely in full bloom and the weather is way better.
Haha no worries either way 🙂 . I’ve never had that kind of attitude about a ‘vacation’ before, but I’m happy to have that now.
Thanks for the heads up and no worries – I’m talking about NY State, not NYC. I lived in Manhattan for 4 years and yep the winters are brutal. It took me like 5 minutes a day to get into enough layers and then you just sweat on the subway lol. Brutal. I’m sorry you almost froze at the Christmas tree – AH!
Wow, great backup plans! We also are holding a sliver of hope about travel later this year, but okay if it doesn’t happen. All our 2020 international travel plans blew up already, so we’re on month #2 living in an Airbnb in the US. We’re only planning about 4-6 weeks out at the moment, and just trying to enjoy moving around the US. Keeping our fingers crossed for you.
That’s the best mindset (I’m not biased at all 😉 ). Love it! I’m sorry your plans already blew up. I’m still in the wait and see situation, but am making a decision soon. Love the perspective – I hope your domestic adventures keep being awesome and thank you!
Love how you’re always so detailed with your plans! Fingers crossed for you to visit Singapore in 2021. Which is doubtful. But at least there’s 2022! 🙂 Domestic nomad travel in place of international travel still sounds incredibly fun!
Haha I try. Why is 2021 in Singapore doubtful? Have y’all made decisions on when tourists will be let in? I haven’t heard anything yet. And yeah it sounds like a lovely time – I’m excited!
Oh! As in I just have a hunch that there’s going to be a lot of restrictions on travel to Singapore, which might extend to 2021, considering that we’ve been pretty aggressive in our COVID-19 measures. No decisions have been made so far, but I definitely will let you know if I do! Sorry to worry you with my comment being so unclear.
Ah – cool. Yeah I was expecting restrictions, which aren’t a problem for me (like quarantining 2 weeks or taking tests or anything else). I thought you meant your borders are officially closed which made me sad because I’me excited to meet you 🙂 . Thank you for the clarification!
I’ve mentally cancelled all travel for 2020. If I can’t have my SDCC then why am I even leaving the house?? 😣 Maybe a little bit kidding. But not a lot.
This has been such a weird year in so many ways, (and this past week painfully hellishly so), it’s almost a disincentive to want to venture out at all. And yet we’ve been home long enough I almost sort of miss having places to go – I desperately wanted to go back to Thailand and Japan for the first time and even Canada (all to eat authentic foods). So that’s us this month. Tired and conflicted. 😅
I think that mental trick is a great one – then if things are possible it’s a nice surprise instead of the alternative. Lolol fair on ComicCon. It’s totally fine if you’re not kidding. Tired and conflicted sounds like a totally normal combined response to everything that’s happening. I’m excited to finally see my family and friends again – when previously I was a little more excited to see the Great Barrier Reef or the bowing deer in Japan. This time has helped me regain my perspective.
I agree with the previous comments, perhaps 2020 will give an impetus to domestic tourism. Although Europe is already opening borders, but not for everyone.
Yep. I feel like other countries are too smart to let Americans into their borders given how we’re handing this situation 🙂 . And that’s totally fair so I’m glad I live in a beautiful country I’m also happy exploring.
Good luck on your voyage! I started blogging in 2008. And what’s funny is I lived in Queen Anne at the time, which it looks like you do, judging by your pic. I also left for the nomad life for 3 years. I traveled around Europe/Asia/Africa then returned to Queen Anne/Lake Union area (Dexter Ave) in 2011. Loved every second.
Congrats!
That sounds like a lovely adventure and Dexter Ave is a sweet spot. Thank you!