We did it. We worked our asses off and saved a lot. After years of longing to travel South America, we finally begin our journey December 10th with a direct flight to Cartegena, Colombia. We cut out concerts, fancy restaurants, and vacations. We went into our boss’s offices and said thanks but no thanks. A combined $140,000 income, comfortable life, and a nice apartment gone in an instant. Vanished.

Here we are now. Former ex-pats, now newlyweds, who met abroad and are itching to get back.  Michelle and I were English teachers in South Korea when we fell in love. The food, the kids, the culture, and all of the wonderful people we met was a heady elixir that helped bring us together. Despite a bit of  difference in age and background, we discovered our dissimilarities and interests fit together like kimchi and rice. We loved our lives there but also wanted to return to America to start our careers and “real life” together, Michelle as an engineer and I in sales.

We got lucky and ended up in Madison, Wisconsin. Michelle working for a major glass manufacturing company and I at a tech start up. Despite the chilly winters freezing my delicate southern bones, we quickly fell in love with the place. Picturesque rolling farmland, a bustling restaurant scene, diverse music, great beer, and alllll the cheese were more than enough to meet our needs.

Deciding to leave our lifestyle behind was not an easy decision. We worried about our future like most newlyweds. Should we be buying a house? Did we save enough money? How will this impact our careers? Not to mention, we would again be leaving our new home and friends behind. At the beginning of our journey, we don’t yet have all the answers but together we decided – forget the house, we’ve saved enough, lots of people take sabbaticals. If we were giving anyone advice on doing this it is that you just have to bite the bullet. Set a goal, stay focused, and when you reach that goal, just go. Pack those boxes and peace the fuck out.

That is exactly what we did. And we’re off…..