I’m sitting in a bedroom in an apartment in Loano, Italy listening to scooters fly by and the sounds of tourists in the distance. I’ve been here a month now and don’t have any plans to return to the US for another month. Or two. Or three. Most people plan long-term travel trips for months, if not years, in advance; their trip is something that they are truly passionate about and know it’s the right decision for them. But for me, I’m not quite positive how I ended up here in the first place.

 

At the end of December 2010, I quit my job. Not to take a long trip, but because I was so unhappy at work that it was starting to affect my personal life. It wasn’t an easy decision, quitting my job without another lined up; however, I knew it was the right decision. I had been considering it for quite a while and had decided to definitely do it a few months before I gave my notice. I still keep in contact with people at the company because the job was interesting and I had great co-workers. But the reality is, the job wasn’t right for me and that made all the difference. I had the support of family and friends, so I left. I moved most of my belongings into a storage unit in Chicago and moved my cats in with my parents. I soon followed my cats.

 

My plan was to visit family around the US, volunteer at the Jane Addams Book Shop, apply for library jobs, and start a travel counseling business and blog. I also signed up for an online digital photography class and read books about starting a business and social media. I did all this and was very happy and relaxed for three months. I found me again.

Desktop 300x187 How Did I Get Here?

My Life, January through April 2011

 

Then I started getting lazy, to the point where I wasn’t accomplishing much. So in mid-April, I moved back to Chicago to live with a friend and work part-time. Having a set schedule motivated me to concentrate on my business and blog and apply for more library jobs. Then, in early May, I randomly thought,

 

Once you get a full-time job, how often do you get the chance to travel for months at a time? Rarely.

 

I wasn’t very serious about taking another long trip. I didn’t book any flights nor did I research destinations. I didn’t want to dip into my savings for a trip because I had saved the money for something else. I thought about selling my car and working my way up from Chile through South and Central America. I also thought about going to a random country and finding an ESL teaching position. I had taught ESL for three years in Japan so I knew I would like it. I also considered living with a family in Europe. Since the first time I set foot on the continent in 2002, I had wanted to live there. I found a company that connects English speakers with families in Europe and applied for a position. I never truly expected something to come out of it.

 

I continued to apply for library positions and was hoping that I would have a job lined up by early July. Finding a job was my top priority, traveling was second. Then in mid-June, I found out that I was matched with a family in Italy. I had made no serious plans to leave the US. For two weeks, the family and I emailed back and forth, but I still didn’t buy a plane ticket.

 

At the end of June, after receiving a few more “no’s” from library jobs that I had applied to, I took the plunge and bought a one-way ticket to Europe leaving July 10th. Luckily, I had enough miles to purchase the ticket for free. But to say the least, the following two weeks were a little crazy. I had to:

  • Pack up the rest of my belongings
  • Buy travel insurance
  • Call my credit card companies
  • Transfer money to the correct bank account
  • Set up Couchsurfing for 1 night in Munich and 1 night in Milan
  • Buy a train ticket from Munich to Milan
  • Make copies of all of my important info and give them to my parents
  • Visit my cats for a long weekend J
  • Buy a few items for the trip
  • Plan a going-away party in case I was gone for a long time
  • Plus a lot of other little random things

 

I was lucky, even though my long-term travel was last minute, the fact that most of my belongings were already in storage and I had quit my job in December made preparing for my trip a lot easier. I had crossed items off the Long-Term Travel To Do List without even knowing they were on the list.

 

This trip was and perhaps still isn’t my first choice. However, do I think it was the correct choice? Yes. I’m discovering a new area of Italy and I’m meeting up with European friends that I haven’t seen in years. I’m also visiting Belgium and the Netherlands later this month, two places that I’ve wanted to go to for a couple of years. Once I get a library position, I may not have the opportunity, nor desire, to travel for months at a time. Right now, I’m extremely happy where I am.