[Phoenix]

^ Just work out what you currently spend a month, then put that into numbeo.com for the city you're interested in.

[262]

(10-23-2015 06:14 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

262, did you wait on telling your family and friends until the last minute? I'm asking because I haven't told anyone yet, and I know if I did, they'd try to talk me out of it.

I agree with Phoenix on this one. I told my close family and friends a year in advance, actually.

And yes, some of them will try and talk you out of it.

In fact, some of them will continually try. But I think it's better to tell them in advance because:

1) They eventually get used to the idea of you leaving.
2) They go from seeing that idea as a split-second decision to a well-thought out plan.
3) You get to test how badly you want to leave.
4) You get a chance to selectively tell some of them why, and some of them come around to seeing it your way.
5) Most importantly, they're less likely to try and STOP you from leaving.

Obviously at work, don't tell anyone until you actually quit, usually two weeks in advance. Aside from keeping the option of staying open, you also don't want anything interfering with your main income stream.

Also, when I did quit work, I only told them I was "traveling," and didn't bother to say the real reasons why or how I could afford it, unless asked. That's also how I told relatives and friends that I wasn't close to.

[Phoenix]

I said don't tell them...
1 & 2 & 4 don't matter because it's about your life, not theirs. You only get one and it'll only be your sorrow if you suffer from regret.
3 is up to your well-researched judgement, not the emotional appeals of self-interested friends or relatives who don't feel your pain and can only empathize with themselves and their own selfish interests.
5 is why you just say "long holiday". Your long-term intentions are your concern and property only, and any selfish individuals who would attempt to use psychological devices like guilt or shaming are easily bypassed and disarmed by this plausible semi-truth. If they ask "what will you do when you come back?", "oh I haven't decided, I just need a break, maybe I'll do X etc".

[CleanSlate]

I'm still leaning on not telling them until maybe a month or so before I leave. And when I do tell them, I'll pass it off as a "sabbatical" or a "break" so they don't get the idea that its permanent. It might help to play up my divorce, saying things like "yeah, you know, since my divorce and all, blah blah..."

[262]

I totally read Phoenix's post the wrong way. lol

Anyway, at the end of the day, it's up to you.

[CleanSlate]

(03-16-2015 08:16 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

- Start at least one new income stream other than my job, aim to make the first $1000 by the end of the year

Was just looking at the first post I made in this thread, and I had forgotten all about this little goal I made for myself!

As it turns out, I had already reached my $1000 target from income streams other than my full time job.

The money started rolling into my bank account in late August (or early September, if I remember correctly). It's the first of December, so that's 3 months... and a rate of about $300 a month.

It is a pittance compared to what I want to make. My long term goal is to make at least 10-30x times that amount, and it'll take some more time to get there.

2015 is coming to a close, and I'm looking ahead to the next five years. Since this thread is about to outlive its usefulness, I'm going to use my Five Year Plan thread as an ongoing journal towards location independence, traveling, and wherever that leads me:

thread-50615.html