Well hello, everyone! If you’ve made your way here, then by now you know at least the bare minimum about my upcoming, life-changing journey around the world. That’s right, I’m taking a year abroad to live in 12 cities in 10 countries. That’s a new city every month!
So, you read that and you’re like “Whoa, is she for real?” The answer is “HELL YEAH!” And I want to use this blog to take you all with me in spirit.
Now that we have the first question out of the way, I want to take this first blog post to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about this trip I’m about to take. Hopefully, at the end of this, you have a little more understanding about this whole ordeal. So, let’s get to it, shall we?
Wait, what are you doing?
I’m traveling the world through a program call Remote Year. You can check out their website for more details, but essentially, what they provide is housing, co-working spaces and travel between countries on the itinerary that they put together. My “tribe,” as they call is us, is named Earhart. I was stoked about that, because Amelia Earhart was pretty great Lady. There are 50 of us traveling together to every city; ages 23-53. Every city has a city leader and we have 2 program leaders who travel with us everywhere we go.
How did you hear about them?
Facebook! Can you believe the digital age that we live in? I saw a Facebook ad and thought, “That seems awesome! Let’s try it!”
Where are you all going?
Here is the basic itinerary for the program:
1) June - Split, Croatia
2) July - Budapest, Hungary
3) August - Lisbon, Portugal
4) September - Hanoi, Vietnam
5) October - Chiang Mai, Thailand
6) November - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
7) December - Buenos Aires, Argentina
8) January - Córdoba, Argentina
9) February - Lima, Peru
10) March - Medellín, Colombia
11) April - Bogotá, Colombia
12) May - Mexico City, Mexico
I have never been to any of these places. NICE!
Rachel, I know you’re a hoarder. What are you doing with all your stuff?
HA, great question. I sold, stored and donated all my stuff. It’s amazing how many things I had collected over the years. My Dad has been an absolute rock star in helping me move and vacate my apartment. I reduced what I will be living with to a single duffle checked bag, a carry on a tone and a backpack. I may or may not have packed an equal amount of camera equipment and clothes. Go ahead, guess how many cameras I brought with me :)
Does Remote Year cost money?
Yup, it’s a $5000 down payment followed by $2000/month for 11 months, for a grand total of $27,000. Plus, I’ll need to eat and stuff. Or that’s what they tell me at least.
How are you paying for it?
Well, my employer, Trilix, has been incredibly generous to keep me on at a reduced capacity. I’ll still be editing great client videos, but occupying less of the Producer role that I held with them in Iowa.
I also hope to pick up projects along the way and even shoot some stock footage. Can you say residual income? I’ll also do a Vlog and maybe that can bring in a couple of bucks here and there. Who knows?! The world is my oyster.
But enough of this money thing! What else you got for me?
So, this seems awesome, but why are YOU doing this?
Well that’s a really big question, isn’t it? I plan to dive deeper into this question and answer in an upcoming post but I will see if I can boil it down quick, right here. I was feeling a bit stuck before. I had a good job, good friends, and family close by, but I was feeling really restless. I felt like I had gotten lazy in my life, and was taking the easy road. I wasn’t being fulfilled creatively, and I really wanted to dedicate more time to projects that I managed and felt passionate about. Whoa, epiphany! I think I just stumbled on the real short answer. I was searching for more passion. When this opportunity came along as way to really explore who I am and what I am capable of creating, I couldn’t pass it up. But again, I will go deeper on this subject soon.
What are you hoping to get out of this?
Growth. Plain and simple. I want to grow in my editing and producing ability. I want to grow personally. I want to clear my head and be inspired again. I want to get healthy in body and mind. And finally, I want to meet awesome new people everywhere I go and check things off my bucket list with them. Sounds fun, right?
I think that’s bulk of it for now. Thanks for stopping by my blog. It is my hope and expectation that I will update this blog, at least once but hopefully twice a week. Early in the week, I want to tackle big issues. The “whys?” and “how’s?” of this trip, and later in the week I will tackle what I’ve been up to on this journey. Feel free to ask me any other questions you might have. I’m an open book.
Now, let’s YanSEE YanDO this thing!