One spring day
One afternoon this past spring, sitting on a marshrutka traveling from Rustavi to Tbilisi, I thought:
If I want, I can spend one year in a different place in the world for the rest of my life.
Really slow travel.
So where will I go?
You'd think the first question would be, where do I want to go?
But it's not. Here are some questions that come before:
What do I want?
Climate, geography, culture, vibe, demographics, recreation, access to local, regional, international transportation, access to family/friends, challenge ...
What do I need?
Income opportunities, cost of living, standard of living, access to health care, access to internet, level of perceived safety ...
Are there deal breakers?
Too hot/too cold, too big/too small, too homogenous, no nightlife, community's politics, human rights, crime rates, language, too remote/not remote enough ....
What destinations are on my general list of places to explore in the future?
For example, here are places that are on my current list. Some of I've been to before and others are new to me:
For me, at this time, the primary drivers telling me where to live next are:
Access to family. I feel the need to be within fairly easy access to/for family for the next one or two years. I define "fairly easy" to mean within a day or two's drive or a flight less than eight hours. The flight also needs to be reasonably economical.
Climate. Not too hot and not too cold.
Geography. I want to be close to mountains.
Cultural and language diversity. I want to be able to continue with EFL and also to enjoy intercultural experiences.
Money. The cost of living must be relatively low and there must be income opportunities.
The need for family access rules out all but:
I could make a weak argument for Guatemala, if I were interested in living in Guatemala City, but I'm not. I'd want to live near Lake Atitlan, which knocks it out of the accessibility category, both in terms of flight costs and multiple-transport transfers. Quito, Ecuador, a beautiful city and perfect climate, wouldn't be too terrible for flight time, but the cost would be prohibitive.
So between New Mexico and Mexico, which?
See Rootless Relocation, Part 1b: Where?
One afternoon this past spring, sitting on a marshrutka traveling from Rustavi to Tbilisi, I thought:
 |
| To Tbilisi from Rustavi via marshrutka |
If I want, I can spend one year in a different place in the world for the rest of my life.
Really slow travel.
 |
| Between Lalibela and Addis. Ethiopia |
So where will I go?
You'd think the first question would be, where do I want to go?
But it's not. Here are some questions that come before:
What do I want?
Climate, geography, culture, vibe, demographics, recreation, access to local, regional, international transportation, access to family/friends, challenge ...
What do I need?
Income opportunities, cost of living, standard of living, access to health care, access to internet, level of perceived safety ...
Are there deal breakers?
Too hot/too cold, too big/too small, too homogenous, no nightlife, community's politics, human rights, crime rates, language, too remote/not remote enough ....
What destinations are on my general list of places to explore in the future?
For example, here are places that are on my current list. Some of I've been to before and others are new to me:
- New Mexico
- Mexico
- Colombia
- Guatemala
- Ecuador
- Ethiopia
- Yemen
- Syria
- Iran
- Libya
- Rwanda
For me, at this time, the primary drivers telling me where to live next are:
Access to family. I feel the need to be within fairly easy access to/for family for the next one or two years. I define "fairly easy" to mean within a day or two's drive or a flight less than eight hours. The flight also needs to be reasonably economical.
Climate. Not too hot and not too cold.
Geography. I want to be close to mountains.
Cultural and language diversity. I want to be able to continue with EFL and also to enjoy intercultural experiences.
Money. The cost of living must be relatively low and there must be income opportunities.
The need for family access rules out all but:
- New Mexico
- Mexico
I could make a weak argument for Guatemala, if I were interested in living in Guatemala City, but I'm not. I'd want to live near Lake Atitlan, which knocks it out of the accessibility category, both in terms of flight costs and multiple-transport transfers. Quito, Ecuador, a beautiful city and perfect climate, wouldn't be too terrible for flight time, but the cost would be prohibitive.
So between New Mexico and Mexico, which?
See Rootless Relocation, Part 1b: Where?
