Three suitcases
We leave America to start our new lives in just 6 days! It's hard to believe that we are finally so close. It seems like an eternity since we started planning this just over a year ago. It has been a long hard road with many twists and turns and we never knew this was where we were heading but I guess our dreams changed as we changed.
We started off this journey planning on traveling around the US in an motor home for at least a year but we have since realized that this was not what we want so now we are heading down to Costa Rica to try the beach life for a while.
Just a few months ago we were like many other "normal" families, we lived in a 2500 square foot home filled with stuff and now we can fit our entire lives into just 3 suitcases! We have literally sold everything we own and are only taking our clothes and dogs with us. It sounds scary but to be honest it has been the most freeing experience of my life.
After downsizing I now feel that people get weighed down and trapped by the things in their lives. Things like houses and cars anchor people into lives they don't always want. At least the was the case for us, we found ourselves living lives we never really wanted and that was making us miserable. We were going through the motions of life but never really living, just existing. Always bored or always doing the same things with the same people is not the life we wanted to live anymore.
It was always about making money to buy the next thing we didn't really want or need. New cars, motorcycles, ATVs, boats, houses and even smaller things like going out to eat or going to the bar just to pretend we were happy when all those things we did just forced us to continue the cycle of working, being stuck and unhappy. We would go drink to forget or do drugs to make life easier to accept instead of doing what would truly make us happy.
We figured why go on vacation when we could just go live that life? I want to be a beach bum, that doesn't cost really any money at all. It cost a lot more to stay in the life I was living where I was completely unhappy, so why not try something new? Why are people so scared to move away from the things and people they know and experience different things in life? I always say the worst case scenario is ending up back where we already were. Back at "home" where we have friends and family to help support us and help us to start over. If that is considered failing, then isn't chasing your dream life at least worth trying? We thought so.
So hear we sit, all packed up and ready to embark on a new chapter of our lives. Its just us against the world and I couldn't be more excited. I know things will all work out the way they are suppose to so I am not even worried at all. Its an odd feeling but a great one. All I know is I'd rather try and fail than never even try to follow my dreams.
Best of luck for you future. I hope you guys have great time in US.
What you are trying to do is not easy. You need a lot of willpower to do that and I really appreciate that about you.
I am sure everything will be fine, don't worry we are here to support each other.
Thank you so much! The support of people like you actually helps us to believe we are doing the right thing. I always say the right thing to do in life is usually not the easy thing to do.. Not many people understand what we are doing but it seems like the people on steemit get it and that has been more helpful than I could express.. so thanks for the kind words and support.. hope you follow along on our journey!
its funny. I did exactly the same as you.
2 years ago I started to sell all the stuff to become a minimalist. but I was not enough so a quit my job. i did not sell my apartment but am renting it out.
then a moved to Canada. no plan really but looking for somewhere i can settle down
It's nice to read and read about others with the same idea. most of my Friends think it was a strange thing to do.
my life in my 2 bags.
That is so awesome! I love hearing about other people who have done the same type of things we are doing, its so inspiring to me. I think people have forgotten that life is about experiences and making relationships along the way. Some of the people who have touched my life the most have only been around a short time because we are all on our own journeys to figure out what life is all about. Things only slow that journey down. ;) Thanks for sharing, I hope to read more about your adventure in the future!
Good luck to you! My family did a similar purge when we moved out to the Pacific Northwest. Got rid of a house full of belongings and stuffed what we needed in a travel trailer.
Moving out here was a fantastic adventure. Like all adventures, it had its nerve-wracking moments, but it was all worth it in the end.
I wish you and yours a fantastic adventure all your own~
Thats awesome! Not many people do stuff like that.
There have already been some nerve-wracking days but we just keep pushing through. I know in the end it will all be worth it! thanks for your support! it helps to know other people have gone thru similar experiences and came out on top :)
I am so happy that minimalism is working out for you. You are so right about the importance of de-cluttering your lives. Basically, it is not the things but our wishes and undue meaning attached to them that weighs us down and clutters our life. We need to get a better understanding of what we really want and nurture values that actually make us happy. Once you can cleanse your mind, getting rid of the meaningless stuff becomes easier. Best of luck for this new endeavor and safe travels.
You are so right! So much clutters our lives which ultimately slows us from doing what we truly want in life. Cleansing our minds and bodies was our first step in this long journey and getting rid of our stuff came way later, but by that time it was an easy decision. Thank you for the wishes, I hope you follow along on this crazy journey we are about to embark on ;)
Wow, @moderndayhippie, you guys are an inspiration. We are creatures of habit aren't we? We fall into routine with what's familiar and comfortable, and we get stuck there. Because, what's scarier than the unknown? You guys are brave, and this is such an adventure and I really can't wait to watch it all! Thank you for sharing your journey!!
Oh thank you! That is why I started this blog, to show people that if you really want to follow your dreams then you just have to keep working towards them, no matter what. NEVER GIVE UP!
You are so right, we are creatures of habbit! The unknown is scary to us for sure, but not following our dreams while we have the chance would be the biggest regret of our lives so we figured, screw it, lets do it! LoL.. Thanks for following along.. I hope to inspire more people to follow their dreams.
This statement is so true:
Not only that, but they try to discourage you (or hope you fail). I hope that you have a great time and really enjoy life in CR. Do you have a plan of where you plan to land? Which beach? We were in Tamarindo at the end of our honeymoon and there were various beach bum type people there. ;) Ha. Do you have a tent or are you going to rent somewhere? I know it is going to be an experience. And you're right. If it doesn't work out, you can always just return home!
You are so right about the people trying to discourage us (and im sure hope we will fail) and that was our friends and some of our family, its crazy! Its sad people are like that, but we just decided not to have those people in our lives anymore.. More downsizing i guess you could say lol.. We are going to Uvita. We rented an airbnb for a month and have a bunch of rentals we are going to look at when we get down there so we can stay an extended period of time. I know things will work out, not worried at all about that ;)
Nice - I have actually heard of Uvita and it being pretty nice. Some of us expat Panamamamas are thinking about doing a girls trip in a few months and we're thinking about doing somewhere in Costa Rica. You'll be the CR expert by then - I'll have to ask you where we should go. ;) Yes, well..pretty much all of our family discouraged us...no one was really on board with our move. I had a few friends who were okay with it and some people said, "that's cool but you're crazy." Lol. I guess when you add five kids to the equation, it's a little on the crazy side. I'm sure you'll enjoy CR. It's so lovely there - and they have good food! Enjoy your last few USA days!
We do plan on exploring CR quite a bit when we get there so hopefully I should be an expert by the time you girls are ready for your trip and I would be more than happy to give you a few ideas on cool places to go and things to do. ;)
Five kids does make it a little more challenging for sure but that proves that anyone can do it if they really want it! I don't think your crazy at all, i think people who slave away at a job they hate for their entire lives are crazy! Trying new things and meeting new people is what life is all about, not jobs and things.
Thanks for all the support ;)
Oh so true! Working a job you hate is not the way to live life. We are pretty much always here all together in our family. Lol - working from home and homeschooling. ;) I know you'll love CR. It is great - enjoy!! :)
can't wait to heard all about it, may look to make a similar move in my future if things work out for you
Glad your following along bro.. I hope I can help to inspire you to follow your dreams, that is the point of my blog. If your anything like me then you have to at least try to chase your dreams or you will regret it your entire life! You only get one life, dont waste it, LIVE IT!
good job on finally chasing what you want! i'm also moving closer to the beach, although I haven't downsized nearly as much as you haha. But I also had the epiphany of why continue to chase something I don't really want, and I hope we both continue to live our best lives! Keep us posted on your move to Costa Rica!
Hell yeah, you gotta start somewhere, and to be honest we probably went a bit overboard but when you know what you don't want its easy to leave material things behind. I am excited for you and hope your move and new life is everything you dream of.. Remember, failure only happens if you give up.. otherwise its just a way to show you that you are on the wrong path so get up, brush yourself off and keep chasing your dreams!
I really want you to have the best life and I will be completely honest with you in saying that a change in scenes or lifestyle will not solve the problem although it is a great start. I am really proud of you for getting rid of the junk. I include you with the few people who intentionally live smaller and by doing so become great. You are healthy and blessed. You are free from the grip of drugs and commercialism but beware the demons will follow you. I've been in Jesus for years now but the vices of the world are always creeping up. A good environment is really important when you start off in a foreign country and a purpose for being there also helps. I think you will find both. Thanks for sharing your dream.
I don't expect a move to change everything, just a change of scenery and people. I feel america has gotten lost in consumerism and false ideals. I just hope that I can find a community that is more concerned with well being and health over money and objects. Drugs are not a problem for me, I enjoy doing them occasionally to get outside my normal mindset but they don't really get a grip on me anymore as my mind is strong now. I actually just quit smoking pot a few weeks ago and it was rather easy even though I've been a habitual pot smoker for over a decade because I grew (I have actually smoked weed for about 20 years now). When you don't feel the need to constantly escape then the drugs don't hold any power over you. I am excited to move and hearing from people like you and your experience with leaving the country makes me more comfortable with my own journey, so thank you for all the support and kind words.. ;)
I'm so glad you are free and I'm excited to hear your reports from Costa Rica. It is great for everyone to go beyond their comfort zone. Congratulations. For me it was around the second or third year of college I stopped smoking weed. THC is not physically demanding like other drugs but I stopped because the people I hung with started doing other drugs. In Costa Rica you are going to experience the high of a lifetime living pure off mother nature that doesn't have to be rolled up. The first three months will probably be a blast and then reality will hit. Don't give up when you reach the plateau but find some support and get over the next level because the air is much better up there.
I'm always thankful for you. But today my computer is acting weird so two comments came.
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