Desk for the Day: Three Months Into the Adventure!
August 7, 2024 was a milestone for this sabbatical. Three months since we landed in London to start this new chapter in our life. Time is really flying. We have had so many instances where we have looked at each other and just said, “Can you believe that this (city/country/activity/etc.) is happening?!? It seems so long ago that we were first planning this!”
In a lot of cases so far, this is true. We set this plan in motion at the end of 2023 and a lot of the initial planning, getting us through the summer, was done in February or March. Still a long way to go. Still so many experiences to have and memories to make together and with friends old and new.
The image/video for this “Desk for the Day” was taken on August 7th while on the train from Zurich, Switzerland to Munich, Germany (to see Adele!). We thought this milestone deserved a little different format. Below are the questions that we get the most from people both back in the US and that we have met along the way and shared what we are doing. So we thought we would answer some of these questions and share some of what we have learned from our experiences so far.
Adele-World : An 80,000 seat capacity open air venue designed specifically for Adele's engagements in Munich, Germany throughout August. Every show is sold out.
What have been the highlights so far? What has been your favorite stop?
This is a really hard question, but the number one we get the most. We usually answer by saying that every place has had its own personality, and things to learn or experience. I think the learning along the way is that to compare them is like comparing apples and puppies. They are all good, but for very different reasons. That said, we agreed to make a call for what is one highlight for each of us and why
Jeremy — Paris and the Olympics
We LOVE Paris. It’s easy to choose this city as a highlight for so many reasons, even without the Olympics. The food, the culture, the history and just the overall beauty of the city never disappoints. We stayed in and explored different parts of the city than we had last time we were there almost 15 years ago. Everywhere you go, there’s something interesting to see, eat, drink and just experience.
It was something else being there for the Olympics. Logistically, I think the city did an amazing job organizing the games and helping people get around to the various event locations. It will be interesting to see how Los Angeles deals with this in 2028 because there just isn’t the public transportation infrastructure that Paris has.
It was also kind of a trip to think back 40 years ago to the 1984 Games in LA. Jeremy was lucky enough at the age of 6 to attend a number of events. Most of the memories are hazy, and just sort of strange snap shots of things, but he remembers distinctly attending Track and Field, Velodrome Cycling and Handball (which he thought was fake and/or out of a dream for a lot of his life until not too long ago he caught a match in one of the recent Olympics, and it all came rushing back! 😂). We have a whole post on our time there and the experience of the Olympics, but this was definitely a “pinch us” moment that we will cherish.
Valerie — France! I love France!
This is really hard for me. I have loved each experience for different reasons. I agree with Jeremy that Paris for the Olympics was really special, but not my favorite so far. Top three for sure, but maybe not in the top spot. The first adventure that comes to mind is the two weeks we spent wine tasting in France. The wine, the food, the accommodations! It was a dream trip filled with so many memorable moments. We already wrote a few blog posts about it, so take a read of those adventure if you haven’t already.
We had to also give a special shout out to Montenegro and all it's beauty (and lovely people!)
What are some tips you can share for anyone who wants to take a sabbatical?
YOU CAN DO IT! Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t. Regardless of your stage in life, it’s doable and we think everyone should do it. Jeremy also posted some thoughts on resources for taking a sabbatical on his professional blog, www.thelongcommute.org. More American companies need to adopt sabbatical policies, or at least entertain the conversations with their people about taking one. They might not all be a year long, but any extended travel time where one can learn from local cultures is a gift.
On a similar note, we often hear comments as we are talking to people like, “When you are finished with this and back to reality…” We understand that this is not for everyone, but it IS reality. It’s our reality. This is not vacation. We have doctors appointments, go to the grocery store, work and pay bills, just like everyone else. We just do it in different countries!
We continue to find communities of like-minded people online (check out www.thesabbaticalproject.org), and in our travels who have chosen to do something similar, and it’s really refreshing to not feel like this was such a crazy decision after all.
You will want to do everything. Try not to feed into that temptation. Three months in, and we are tired. We have had such amazing experiences (none of which we would ever give up) and shared many places with some of our favorite people, but it all got packed into “summer vacation.” Most people, especially Americans, take their time off in the summertime when kids are out of school, but this Digital Nomad lifestyle has to come with a different mentality altogether, and it wasn’t until we were in the midst of it all that we realized this. We have loved catching up with people in new places, but packing up and traveling every 4-6 days is as exhausting as it is exciting. We are planting ourselves at the end of the summer for about a month to settle into a community and recharge before heading toward Australia/New Zealand/Southeast Asia for 2025.
If you have to leave your job to do this, don’t forget about health insurance. Especially in the US, if there are lapses in coverage you could lose coverage for pre-existing conditions. We can’t say we love the company we ended up with for international health insurance, but we kind of had to take what we could get because these coverages are international and they don’t have to follow a lot of the rules and regulations in the US. Let this be a red flag to all those who think less government regulation for companies, insurance in particular, is a good thing.
Ironically, the other question we get the most is, “Where to next?”
Here is a preview of the rest of the year for us. Beyond this, who knows?!
August - Scotland and Ireland
September - Greece; Istanbul, Turkey and Budapest, Hungary
October - Portugal and Morocco
November - We are parking somewhere in Europe for 30-ish days. We are undecided where. Florence, Italy tops the list currently.
December - Leaving Europe! Heading to Dubai and then on to Australia to relax for the holidays and the new year.
Also, we get asked where we have been and it takes a min to remember where we have been at this point. Here is where we have been so far! (Here you go Meggan!)
You can always follow along in images in the Photo Gallery
May - London, Belgium and the Netherlands
June - France: Champagne, Bordeaux, Avignon and Wales
July - Spain; Nice, France; Montenegro; and Croatia
August - France (Olympics); Zurich, Switzerland; and Munich, Germany
So this is our 3 month update! We both have never felt so free, creative and able to be ourselves. It has become so cliche to say these days, but we really do feel like we are living our best life.
Where To Next?
