Responsibly Irresponsible

How do you define irresponsible?

We’ve been back for almost eight months now…and we’re more than ready to leave again. We came back knowing we weren’t going to settle back into our old lives. It’s next to impossible, really. I don’t know how I could return and sit at my desk day after day after day after day, knowing that this time last year, or two years ago, or five years ago, I was in Chile, or Nepal, or Turkey, or Vietnam. I know it seems as though some people step out like this and then return to normal, but they must be plotting in some way. Maybe they are going to step out and start a family, or try out a new facet in their career, or quietly plan further travel…but I’m sure they are plotting!

We knew that travel was going to be a spring board for us; the whole plan stemmed from the idea of moving abroad but not knowing how to do that. And we realized as we traveled that, what seems so huge and incomprehensible at first, was more than manageable once it was broken down into digestible pieces.

And so we are going to move forward with our original idea of moving abroad. But it seems irresponsible to up and move to Europe after gallivanting around the world for a year. What about working and saving….and retirement? After all, we’re not getting any younger! It would be irresponsible to not think about our future and plan accordingly. I don’t need a lot to be happy but I would rather not be living in a cardboard box in the park when I’m really old.

Well, we’ve come up with a plan. I call it being responsibly irresponsible. We will move to Europe…but not quite yet. However, we also will not stay here and settle in again; there is too much of a risk of losing momentum and never leaving.

Operation Responsibly Irresponsible involves moving elsewhere in Canada, saving money and researching how to make the big move. Moving away from Victoria will keep us challenged and still give us a chance to save the money we feel we need to continue. We’ll use the time also to figure out where in Europe we can emigrate to and what we’ll need to do to get there. A roundabout way to get to Europe perhaps…but our way none-the-less.

Where in Canada would we move? Well…anywhere. We’ve been job searching across the country; the first place that offers us a (comparable) job will be our new home. Yep, that open. We may end up in a large city or a small town; in the mountains or on the prairies; near east coast ocean or mid country lake. Wherever it is, it will not be here and therefore will be a challenge. We won’t know anyone; the weather will be different; the jobs new.

It’s exciting and we’re looking forward to it.

Remember, OneGiantStep is often made up of many small steps. What are you doing to take a small step towards a big dream?