i have received so many emails from curious readers wondering how we moved to south america, i thought i would finally address some of the questions here. (sorry it’s taken me a while, and thanks for being patient!)
at first, i answered some of you, but after a while it was hard. because when so many of you ask how, i’m finding that everyone has different ideas of how.
like, is there a job involved? your husband must have some job offer, right? well, no.
then, do you have family, friends there? no.
well then, you must have…some outside reason, besides just wanting to go, right? nope!
but that’s how we’re used to thinking, right? (we includes me.) we believe that life goes from point a to point b, in the way that tradition lays it out for us, and dreams are just for occasionally thinking about when we glance at an exotic postcard that sits on our desk, where we work in a job we loath for 60 hours a week. dreams are for later, for storage, for when we can “afford” them. you know, after we have achieved wealth or x amount of cars or square footage or whatever. (those things are nice, and i do think that they are worth working for to some degree, it’s part of enjoying life after all!) but why is that a first priority? stability, yes. success, yes. happiness, yes. working like a dog to have just another thing while letting yourself become unhappy and shelf dreams, no. not for me.
some of you want to know how because you have always wanted to do the same thing and want to know the details. with that, i don’t really know what to say…
because really, when it all boils down to it, i decided it on a whim. and it worked out, ridiculously easy too. moving here was just as easy as relocating somewhere within the states actually, just a longer plane ride.
i mean, really, it was all on a whim. we didn’t have one BIG reason saying, do it because…xyz. even though families move to other countries all the time for jobs, military transfers, peace corps, missionary work, humanitarian work, etc. that’s acceptable. but because you WANT to? strange, right?
i think the lesson to learn is that trusting intuition is something most folks are scared to do. the what if’s take over and safety and the comfort of what you already know sounds more appealing than going through the pain of learning new things. new customs, new traditions. i thought that the timing may have not been right until now, but maybe it had been “right” this whole time and i couldn’t understand that until after i took the plunge.
i realized that yup, there was a fundamental flaw in my priorities and decided to do something about it. i just evaluated what i believed and realized that i didn’t need to wait till my children were all grown (or before i was “tied down” in a marriage, insert my previous excuses here) to fulfill my dreams of traveling. i’m learning that the life that we are building together is a vehicle which we can steer how we like. we can go off the road and find beautiful vistas outside the city. or the country. i remember standing outside of our home before we left virginia, feeling ready. it was windy that day. all around us, our neighbors were living their routines and i was packed ready to move to south america.
i’ll never regret my decision to move us down here because it has confirmed that i am the innovator of my life. and what i want out of it doesn’t have to be shelved for “later” while a series of thursdays run together between chores and obligations.
there are thursdays here, sure. we live a pretty normal existence, but we are living it in the setting of one of our dreams. and you know what? something funny happens once i’ve taken a big risk like this, i look back at the four months we’ve lived here and realize it wasn’t really that difficult at all. and i feel more capable, in general. i feel like i could take on a lot more, and i realize just how much courage i have…and i wonder how much more i may be unaware of. where does that come from? i want to spend my time finding out. and i would do it all over again, with enthusiasm.
i can’t assure you with all the details before making a move abroad, i don’t know how your kids might adjust (though i can tell you that max loves school here) and i can’t tell you where you will find a place to live (we stayed in a hotel for a couple weeks until we found a sweet spot) and i can’t tell you that you will be met with a perfect experience (maybe i’m just too easy-going, but i haven’t had a rough time here at all.) the main thing is this: if your intuition is nudging you to go this way too: then do it. you don’t need to know all the little details, they will fall into place, after all, they are just details. some three million people in montevideo are all enjoying a way of life just fine, and we are too.
i really love to hear from you and i hope i answered some questions. and i hope you feel more encouraged to listen to your intuition, whatever it may be telling you!
my goodness jenny! i can’t believe i’m the first to respond:) i am so proud of your leap of faith and admire you so much! horray of being the innovator of your own life! i want to savour this post when i have more time… running off to work now.
love,
mati
Beautiful Jenny!
love, love, love!
Hi, I’ve been passively reading your blog for a while now. I always enjoy your entries and I felt compelled to comment today. It’s very inspiring that you did make the move because for a lot of us it would seem like such an impossible task. Good luck with it all! PS. love your work
Oh this post is just hitting the spot for me right now jenny….this is something I am really wrangleing with right now {have you guessed?}. I feel like for once home might be somewhere else, and I am getting so caught up in all the thoughts of ‘does connection, humour, living even actually ever transcend language? In my darker moments I feel certain that it might not, but then I think perhaps if it did you are just letting it’…you know? I like the idea of actually driving your own life….I like the sound of that too.
anyway – I am looking into French classes. I like your spirit of ‘lets see’ and ‘why not’…..sometimes that just makes all the sense in the world.
yay for sunsets and running off into them. xx
Inspiring post and a good reminder not to put life off for no good reason. :)
I think it’s great that you aren’t waiting for “something” in order to live your dreams. Obviously it still takes a leap of faith since you never know what will happen, but I think that making the leap is the most important part of the process. My friends recently moved back to Austrailia, and they just can’t believe they waited so long (first time for her hubby to live somewhere out of the country, but they are loving every bit of it). If it’s in your heart to do something, like you said, don’t just stick it on a shelf for later. :)
i think it’s great you moved down there simply because you WANTED TO. we did the same when we moved to NYC a couple years back. people have millions of excuses for NOT doing things. we just decided and made it happen, as you did. bravo!
i think the question i had ages ago, and still have now, for you is how you make the day to day work. like, bottom line things, such as a job! does your husband (or you?) have a job which allows for remote work? or did he find employment there? or perhaps you are independently wealthy…ah, how wonderful!
i ask, because even though one should go after what they want, the bottom line does need at least some attending to so that all the other stuff is possible… :D
Right on! I just made a huge leap myself with many of the same thoughts and things are turning out far better than I ever dreamed. Very happy to hear the why more than the how, especially this “…the life that we are building together is a vehicle which we can steer how we like.” Indeed.
Yeah, that is wonderful…. BUT what about money? Not for things but for surivavil? You know what never mind. I just remembered that things have a way of working out. Ask me about my “How I ended up in Brazil for 18 months” story and you’ll see how right you are.Parabens! Voce e’muita legal and tem muita couragim!
However did you get Marcus to agree?
Beautifully said Jenny!
I get the same questions especially from people i have just met. Most think we are here on a working visa or that my husbands job brought us here, erm… nope it didn’t and it was my qualifications that got us here, yes me! a woman! a mother! How shocking! We are also asked if we have family here and they are shocked to learn we do not. My parents have always been the type to say “you can’t do that”, “You won’t”, “You’ll be back” and to tell you the truth, it makes me all that more determined to make my dreams work, of course they don’t always but that’s life. It was an easy decision for us to make to leave the UK and move to the other side of the World, it just took some time for visa’s. You’ve got to live life now, what’s the point in waiting? What are we waiting for? Let’s go for it!!
Thank you for taking the time to answer this! You are an inspiration :)
Like tricia above I’m also wondering about the financial/job aspect though, which is my main concern with doing something like this myself, I don’t know how we would make a living! I’ve just imagined I would have to work really hard here at home for some time and save up, and then be able to be away for a few months…
i am often moved by my heart and it looks like you are too, though for me it does take some head work to figure out the logistics still. sometimes everything just falls into place; sometimes it doesn’t so we have to figure it all out. as they say, faith comes before the miracle, right!
oh yes, yes to everything jenny! i love this post so much! thank you for these wonderful
words. hugs to you my friend!
i have been reading your blog since last year and i am one of the one wondering why you have moved away suddenly. now i know :-). you write so well ! best of luck for you and your family in uruguay.
i’m from Brazil, btw :-)
i just stumbled upon your blog today. i have never “known” anyone to do such a thing. I hope you are enjoying this new venture. be well and congrats on having the wisdom to follow your dreams.
oh, this is so meaningful in general but especially now that we are thinking of moving in a couple of years. i have to say, we are thinking about it {and maybe too much}, but providing, mostly for fiona, is a priority so we feel we have to plan carefully.
i am still not sure where {buenos aires, florida, portland?} but i am trying to let all of the thinking go so i can listen to my intuition.
i love to hear about your life and how you live it, you are so inspiring, jenny!
this is fabulous honey. wow take some pics for me!
this is a beautiful post from the heart jenny. i can’t tell you how much i enjoyed reading it. i have some thoughts i’d like to share with you so i think i’ll send along a little email. xo
i’m giggling.
how many times have i been in your shoes…haha…i can still hear the echoes of the frustrated “well…why? I know it’s because you want to, but why?”
because is just because, i do because i do, and if not now, when?
i admire people on both sides of this question. those who can..fly. those who can’t…root. there is something incredibly simple and wonderful about both.
but i must admit, one who flies can still root – we carry our loves with us in a cherished terra cotta pot, just large enough to not alert immigration…and we maintain those roots with the tender and loving care.
wishing you well on your travels *)
wow, thanks everyone! i’m so pleased that this resounds with you, it’s nice to hear all your feelings and ideas about it too.
Thank you for this post. Your courage has inspired me.
So inspiring! This is exactly the reason why I have you listed as someone who inspires me. I know from moving only cross-country that it’s exhilerating and can be a bit lonely at times, but ultimately is such a time of growth and there’s just something amazing about listening to what’s in your heart.
“Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage, these are the makers of the after-world, the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful becase they have lived…
Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.
**Dreams are the seedlings of realities.**”
-James Allen
The world is beautiful because dreamers take steps into the dark.
I, too, am completely inspired by your set-up, jenny and have similar questions about the ‘practical’ issue of how to pay the bills. Also, how do visas to Uraguay work? Are you guys on any time limitations? (I hate to distract with such practical questions, but I’d love to know for my own sake as I plot a similar adventure….)
Such inspiring stuff. I don’t really feel the urge to move to a different country right now, but when and if I do, I’ll definitely go for it on your advice. You guys sound like your having a ball over there.
i’m so happy reading this, jenny!!
Good for you Jenny because you are so right. I’ve been travelling and moving around a lot and when I got married to Bo he was actually forced to do the same (being the kind of person you described) and he loves it! It’s just a matter of getting up and doing the things that fit you best. We made so many mistakes on the way and we cried and yelled and lost some money but it was a blast and I think it will be like this forever just because we aren’t scared to fail or to loose our face or to be poor for a while and don’t have a big house or expensive car. It doesn’t matter, dreams matter!!
okay…about the financial aspect/practical details – the only change we made was reorganizing our priorities. we have a good plan among all the whim you see here. but really, the point in sharing how or why we did it wasn’t to explain how we could “afford” it, and it certainly wasn’t a job that made it possible, it was US and our decision to do what we wanted to do. that fear that there must be some outside source to provide some kind of security is just really unnecessary because we were just willing to figure it out, and things fell into place in a most pleasant way.
personally i don’t really think all those little details are really that relevant or for sharing online, but if i saw any of you offline it would be no big deal. :) we certainly didn’t go broke. we didn’t have to be filthy rich. we’re just living in another country, having a blast because we want to…..
it’s easier than you might think.
Asi es, nada mas maravilloso y enriquecedor que vivir tus suenos. Vivir en otro pais es la mayor riqueza que puedes tener y para toda la vida. Te felicito por atreverte y servir de inspiracion a muchos.
Una chilena que crecio en Brasil y ahora vive en California en busca de sus suenos tambien.
Saludos
Patilu
I’m a friend of Francie and Josh Walker and thinking about moving to Guatemala. I have been talking to Francie a lot about my move and she told me to read your blog. You are so right. We do need to stop working for a life and just start to live. Thanks for helping me realize what I already knew.
You are strong.
Awesome! I’m glad that your dreams have turned out to be just as wonderful as you thought they would be. It is amazing what we can make happen with a little research, planning, and tweaking of our mindset. As others here have said- you are an inspiration.
[...] My good friend from High school moved to South America with her family. This is her post about why they decided to go-here. pretty amazing… [...]
Inspiring! You’re a free spirit. :)
[...] You describe your spontaneous move to South America with great elequence. It seems very romantic and adventurous? How does your reality compare with what you had hoped [...]