You Guys Are Doing What!?!

We receive questions about what we are doing quite frequently.  We realized that we have not done a great job outlining our plans and wanted to catch everyone up to speed on what we are doing for the next year.    Below are a list of questions and answers that have come up.

·      Where are you going next?...and after that?...

o   Paris, France is our first stop.  We will live on the east side of Paris (in Montreuil) from February 11 – May 11.  It is a modest town house near one of the biggest parks in Paris (bois de Vincennes).  There is a convenient Metro stop near the house which will be our main source of transportation.  We will be around 15 minutes away from the Eiffel Tower which is on the west side of Paris.  Below is a picture of the 1905 house that has been recently renovated.

o   London, England will be a little vacation from May 11 – May 17.

o   Edinburgh, Scotland is next.  We will live in Lithe which is right on The Shore in a tiny apartment from May 17 – August 9. Below is a view of our street from the apartment.

o   We have not booked anything after the above mentioned dates; however, our loose plans are to live in Italy, Spain, or Germany from August 9 – November 7.  Then live in Croatia from November 7 – February 5.  This is subject to change based on our experiences in Paris, the connections we make, our source of income, and more.

·      How are you able to do this?

o   In 2010, we sold our house in Athens and began renting a town home.

o   In 2011, Kelly secured an adjunct teaching job with Georgia Virtual School teaching science and being a special needs consultant.  In 2012, Bobby began teaching online as well with Georgia Virtual School teaching social studies.  We do not know from semester to semester how many students will be assigned to us, but so far we have had good work and are trusting that this will continue. 

o   With our house sold and a way to make money, we decided to sell almost everything we own and make the commitment to save as much as possible and start traveling.  So far, in the 6 months we have spent living on the beach we have not regretted making this decision. :)

·      What are your long term plans?  Are you coming back to Georgia?

o   This is a hard question as there are so many variables that will affect our plans.  We are planning around 3 – 6 months at a time and will just continue to do so providing we do what is best for our family.

o   We love Athens and continue to have strong roots there.  We love the beach as well.  We don’t know where we will end up permanently!  One day at a time!!

·      What about language barriers…do you speak another language currently?

o   We are wanting to learn as much of other languages that we can.  We currently do not speak French but are eager to learn and know that being immersed in the culture will help us tremendously. We have begun to watch introductory lessons on YouTube as a family which has been fun.

There are more questions to be answered like are you concerned about safety, what is something you each hope to gain from this adventure, how did you get to this point where you decided that this was a good idea; but I will have to save those for another post.