The Lede: How (were we able to do it?)

We’ve gotten so many questions about this trip. We’ve therefore decided to tackle all these “how” questions in a FAQ format.

1. You rich or something?

The first question that many people must have (but are usually too polite to ask outright), is how a couple of 28-year-olds can afford to do this. We’ve had people ask us if we maxed out our credit cards, or if we have a trust fund. Neither. The answer is two-fold and really very simple. First, we saved assiduously. While we don’t exactly live like students anymore, we did live off (less than) one income. I drove a car I’ve had since high school. We avoid the mall like the plague. And I squelched Jordan’s (perpetual) yen to buy an ice cream truck off Craigslist. (“But it has a dedicated sprinkles tray and hot fudge reservoir. Hot Fudge Reservoir!!).  We also love debt about as much as Paula Deen loves a Brussels sprout. We paid off our cars and student loans pronto. We leave with no debt. Second, we were so fortunate to both have great jobs that allowed us to save up this much money in a relatively short amount of time. Basically, a good amount coming in, and not much going out. That’s it.

 

We should also mention here that Jordan has been traveling for work every week for nearly 5 years.  He’s built up a pile of Delta and hotel points, which will come in handy.  For example, we booked our plane tickets to Thailand almost entirely on points. We plan to use the hotel points judiciously, probably only in places where hotel rooms are expensive, or when we want a “break” from guesthouses/hostels.

2. But what about your house?

We don’t have one. Or, rather, we rent. Once we realized this pipe dream may become a reality, we did a 6-month extension of our lease, ending on the month we left town. As for our stuff, what we didn’t purge before the trip, we put in long term storage.

 

3. What about your dog?

Oh Heidi, our little ball and chain. She was the one thing we were really unsure about. Asking anyone to watch your pet for an entire year is a big ask. Thankfully, my wonderful parents agreed to keep her. We owe them so big!

 

4. What are you doing with your cars?

A little divine intervention here, I think. I sold my old reliable Saturn to some friends. The ultimate mommy car finally has a mommy driving it.  I was sad to part with it, and held a sort of perverse pride in driving the crappiest car at my firm’s parking garage.

My parents are driving Jordan’s car while we’re gone. Gifting it over to them also allowed us to drop our car insurance entirely. (Sweet!)

 

5. Speaking of insurance, what if you break your arm or get sick?

This was the first question my boss at The Firm asked me when I gave my notice. God bless him — what a dad question! We arranged my final day at The Firm (partly) to take advantage of The Firm’s and COBRA continuation coverage if we should need it until we leave. While we’re on the road, our travel insurance policy covers medical, dental, evacuation, and other things. Once we get home, we’ll either get jobs with coverage or go to the open market.

6. Are you going to keep your cell phones?

No. AT&T generously waived our contract termination fee since we’re leaving their coverage area. Out of contract iPhones fetch a surprisingly high price on eBay, so that gave us money to buy new phones when we get back, with money left over to put in the trip fund. We’ll Skype/Facetime/Google chat with friends and family while we’re gone. We might buy a cheap prepaid phone on the road, if we find we need it.

7. How long are you going to be gone?

I’ve started to dread this question. When we divulge that we plan to be on the road for a year or so, people are always completely aghast. I don’t blame them by any means, but its just as incomprehensible to me that we would walk away from it all just for a one-month jaunt.  That said, we may be eating our words eventually.  If we need or want to come home early, we will.  If our money, stamina, and wanderlust continue unabated, we’ll keep going.

8. What are you going to do when you get back?

The short answer is that we’re not sure. Jordan will likely go back to his independent consulting gig, if he can. As for me, this is the question that kept me up nights when we first started discussing this. If you know lawyers, you’ll know we tend to be a pretty risk-averse group. The idea that this may be career suicide occurred to me more than once. The notion that we’d be begging to live at home and spending our days serving French fries (the McDonalds working at McDonalds — how droll) was another recurring nocturnal fiend. But here’s the truth. Jordan and I will return home, younger than 30 years old, with great work experience and an exciting tale to tell, one that allowed us to work on our writing and photography, solve problems and think on the fly. The chances that we’ll both be out of work for any long length of time are very small. But my risk-averse lawyer nature will out. We have a comfy crash pad of money to return to and we plan to start sending out feelers a couple months before our return to the States.

9. How did your families / employer take the news?

 

I think everyone was pretty shocked.  Jordan’s parents thought we were joking at first.  As for my parents, I think my Type-A accountant mother may have a little hippie in her somewhere, because she was thrilled.  We’re lucky, though, to have parents that support our decision, even though it’s not something they would ever want to do.

At The Firm, the attorneys and support staff were surprised (I got a “Well, I’ve never heard that one before”) but were genuinely supportive, excited, and intrigued.  Our decision seemed a little less controversial in Jordan’s world.  As an independent contractor, people routinely take some time off between projects.

10.  Where are you going?  What are you taking?

See our Itinerary and Packing List posts for the answers here.

Got other questions?  Leave a comment or shoot us a line.