The Little Things

I'm sure it's no surprise that quitting your job and moving to another country comes with a whole rollercoaster of thoughts, emotions, stresses and excitements... But as moving day gets closer, I keep being reminded of the little things I'm going to miss...and little things I won't.  

I will NOT miss:

• My alarm clock going off at 4:30am.  And then me ignoring it til like, 5:30 and then making a mad dash to get ready for work and my ass out the door.   
• Scraping my windshield at 6:00 in the morning when it's 29 degrees out.  (Today!) 
• Traffic. 
• Rain. 
• Traffic in the rain. 
• LAUNDRY!!!  The house we're moving into doesn't have a washer and dryer, but even if it did, we still wouldn't be doing it ourselves.  For just a few bucks we can have our laundry picked up, washed, dried, folded and returned to our doorstep pristine and perfect.  YES, PLEASE.  Since I'm super allergic to laundry, this is a major win for Mexico.    
• Chores.  Just like laundry, it's super cheap to have a maid visit your house up to 6 times per week... I don't have to clean toilets or mop or do dishes or even go grocery shopping if I don't want to!  Actually, it's considered rude to not hire a maid if you can easily afford one there.  And I'm all about supporting the local economy. 

Things I WILL miss:

• Rain.  (What?!  This girl is confusing.)  Yes, cold weather sucks...but I bet 365 days of sunshine can be a bit tiring too.  Or maybe not.  Time will tell. 
• Fireplaces, slippers and gettin' cozy on the couch on a frosty day.  Because, duh.  That's just lovely. (As I type this, I can hear Ty in the garage chopping firewood. Better enjoy it while I can.) 
• American holidays.  No Christmas tree hunting.  No pumpkin patching.  No 4th of July barbecues.  No Thanksgiving?!  
• American summer/seasons.  This is a big one for me.  One of the best parts of summer is that you're forced to miss it for several months and be reunited with its magic gradually after suffering through winter and surviving spring.  If it's summer year-round, won't that magic disappear?  I think so.  Climbing temps, shorter shorts, later nights, longer river swims.  Sigh...
• Eyelash extensions.  I'm a total tomboy and I'm super lazy about all things girly...but I'm totally addicted to fance lashes!  (Yes, I meant to say "fance.")  Lashes are awesome because they allow me to be even lazier than I already am.  Ha!  I haven't really worn mascara in almost a year.  I already have all my appointments booked through April.  I'm for sure gonna have withdrawals if I can't get my eyes bedazzled in Puerto Vallarta.
• Fuzzy Bloo!  Bloo is my 100-pound perfect gentleman of a fur baby.  His very curly hair will just keep growing and growing until he resembles an adorable, giant teddy bear.  But it will be too hot to let him grow out, so we'll have to keep it short, which is a travesty. 
• Pandora.  Why isn't Pandora available in Mexico?!  What year is this?? 

This is just a short list of the little things... It'll be really interesting to write a new list a few months after we move.  Stay tuned for Part Two later this year.  

All because of a Facebook post...

About 5 months ago, Ty was scrolling through Facebook and a post caught his eye... He has a high school friend who has happily lived, worked and flourished in Central America as an expat for the past decade.  He had posted a "For Rent" ad for a spare bedroom in his house.  For $250 per month you could live in downtown Granada, Nicaragua...the price included all utilities, WiFi and maid service...all on a stunning piece of property with breathtaking views in an always-sunny, happy country.  

We live in the Seattle area, where the housing market is outrageous, the traffic is a nightmare and the weather can get depressing, so he took notice... After scrolling through the photos and seeing how well his friend had been living all these years, he looked at me and said the now-infamous words, "Life's too short.  We're doing it wrong."  A two-hour conversation ensued.  We talked about the "what ifs" and the "maybes" and the "if onlys."  At the end of the night we asked ourselves, "Could we actually do this?  Is it really possible?" 

The next morning we were still buzzing... The idea of ditching the rain, alarm clocks and 60-hour work weeks for sunshine and hammocks felt all too tempting and magical.  So, the research began.... We spent a couple weeks diving into our finances, the housing market, the logistics of relocating to another country, visa requirements, the cost of living....we researched every little thing.  Amazingly, we came to the conclusion that retiring in our 30s and moving to sunnier skies was a very real possibility.  (Eeeeeeeek!)

Fast forward to now.  Five months later.  We are both winding down at our jobs, our Mexican visas have been approved, our adorable river house goes on the market in a few weeks, I've already started giving away my winter wardrobe....and we leave for our new home in 75 days.  (75 days?!?!)  Due to a series of fortunate events that I'll elaborate on in future posts, we'll be moving to our favorite little place in the whole wide world:  La Cruz de Huanacaxtle...a small fishing village of less than 2,000 people just 30 minutes North of Puerto Vallarta.  

I'm gonna be totally honest on this blog.  I know retiring at 30 and moving to a sun-soaked beach sounds amazing, but the closer it gets, the more terrified I am to embark on this adventure.  I'll be leaving my family, a job that I love and am very passionate about, my forever friends, a house that I just spent a year remodeling, and everything I've ever known... I'm worried I'll be homesick and lonely.  I'm worried I won't pick up Spanish quickly enough.  I'm worried I'll regret all of it.  But I'm also worried I'll love it so much that I never, ever want to come back... Confusing, right?  

Recently a friend asked me if I was getting excited, and I meekly admitted how afraid I was to move.  He said, "I'd be worried if you weren't scared.  It means you're alive."  And he's right... If you're dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough.

Feel free to follow us on our Epic Mexican Adventure... It's for sure to be a hilarious, exciting, scary, unforgettable ride.