Yup, China. We’ve been back in the states since 2014. Every so often though, we take a peek online at what might be available overseas. We’d had some close calls, some tropical island adventures, some wintry playgrounds, but until now we’ve yet to pull the trigger on anything. And then, China. You know the place right? Largest population in the world, Communism, the Great Wall, crazy language differences like – 我喜欢乌龟, and of course, delectable food choices. There were many questions, pros and cons, but ultimately it came down to two main things:
1. Does this move benefit the entire family?
2. Is it a financially smart decision?
We were able to successfully answer yes to both these questions. So, at the very beginning of August, we’ll be flying around the world to experience something brand new for the foreseeable future. Alanna and I will be leaving our jobs at the end of June, then use July to visit family, get some much needed R&R and to make final our travel preparations before heading out to southeast China.
For those of you reading this blog for the first time, he’s a quick recap of where we’ve lived since 2007:
North Carolina
Illinois
United Arab Emirates
North Carolina again
New Jersey
Ecuador
Iowa
North Carolina again
Yeah, we get around. A lot. I like the life though. Possessions used to be such a big deal to me. You name it, I wanted to be cool and own it. Gadgets, DVDs, swords, memorabilia, I collected it all. Then, I met this really awesome, smoking hawt chick. Her name is Alanna. She became the peanut butter to my jelly, the Abbot to my Costello, the Tweedle dee to my Tweedle dum, and to keep the China theme, the Yin to my Yang. This Alanna chick? I married her. Now, while she too had possessions and baggage of her own, she always seemed to value experiences more than stuff. Sure, you can go on vacations and buy all kinds of cool souvenirs, but its the memories of what happened when you go rather than the trinkets you collect that make the difference. So, slowly over time, Alanna helped me go from
Possessions > Experiences to Experiences > Possessions.
I tell you all this to try to explain our WOL – Way of Life. The reason we pack up, move around a lot, is because we love the experiences that it creates for our family. We’re all more well rounded as human beings for this. Do we have a huge house? No. Do I have a cool man cave? No. How does our 401(k) look? Hahahahaha. I don’t care though. There are two things in my life that matter most to me – My family, and the amazing experiences I’m privileged to have with them. Everything else just aint that high on my cool radar.
