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“You guys are going to Europe for 4 months?! That sounds wonderful, but… isn’t Europe expensive?”
“How are you going to work the higher cost of European travel into your budget?”
“Will you have to miss out on some amazing European restaurants and eat more peanut butter and jelly?”
Since sharing our big 2016 travel plans a few months ago, various forms of these questions have been sent our way.
I prefer strategic lifestyle design to tactical spending plans like a budget. We aren’t going to limit our European gastronomic experiences with an artificial spending ceiling. (Thank you United States Congress for the inspiration!)
Certainly Europe will cost more than budget destinations like Thailand or Guatemala. So how will we pay for it?
US citizens living abroad are not required to purchase health insurance as outlined in the Affordable Care Act, often affectionately referred to as Obamacare.
The definition of “living abroad” is clear; nomads such as ourselves are limited to visiting the US for no more than 35 days every 12-months, else we are required to purchase minimum essential care insurance policies on a Health Exchange.
Were we actually in the US, we would do just that. But these policies provide no coverage for routine care Internationally, let alone across multiple States, which makes them effectively useless for our lifestyle. Thus the purpose of an exemption.
But limiting visits to the US to 35 days every 12 months seems awfully restrictive. If I wanted limitations in life, I would just get a job. So what is going to happen when we visit the US later this year for 2 to 3 months?
For 2 months at the tail end of 2015, we called Chiang Mai, Thailand home.
We quickly settled into a way of life that revolved around yoga and Crossfit, afternoon swims, walking among the temples, and exploring the vast food scene.
Christmas and New Year’s Eve were special nights out on the town, as were the dual Thai festivals of Loi Krathong and Yi Ping.
As we explored the city we met a diverse and exciting group of new friends, and shared our favorite places with visiting friends and family.
We enjoyed a high quality of life with a surprisingly low cost.
Wow, 2015 has come and gone. And what an incredible year it was, too!
As is customary, last January we resolved to make modest life changes. Then the biggest life change of all took precedence as we became parents in April.
Around the same time this modest blog underwent explosive growth as our story was shared in mainstream media around the globe. In a few surreal moments we’ve even been recognized by readers in the wild.
Without a doubt it has has all been a grand adventure. What do we we plan to do in 2016 to keep things exciting?
We’ve recently hit the road again with an open-ended itinerary.
First stop: Chiang Mai, Thailand.
In our wild and care free days without a child, we would just arrive at a new destination and hunt for housing. We’ve found some incredible apartments in multiple countries this way. This time around Google did the heavy lifting, finding us a new studio service apartment 5 minutes from the Chiang Mai Gate.
For $375/month, we get everything on our list: roof top pool, well equipped gym, outdoor space, regular cleaning service, kitchen, great shower, and central location.
