Where will you go today?
GCC: When we were planning our own early retirement we had the good fortune to meet with people who had already blazed that trail. It was insanely beneficial, and I told myself I would always pay it forward. So when this young Canadian couple emailed to ask if we could meet to share all of our best life secrets (not that we have any), of course we said yes. Fast forward a few years now, and they’ve gone from nascent early retirees with an abundance of vim and vigor into a full on Millennial Revolution.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. –Mark Twain.”
This is the quote I copied into my final work e-mail. It was May 2015, I had given my notice, made up some bullshit excuse about taking a gap year to travel the world and “find myself”, and this was my sign-off to a company I’d given the last 9 years of my life to. But I wasn’t really quitting to travel the world for a year. I was walking out of the corporate world FOREVER.
At the age of 32, my husband and I were retiring with a Million dollar portfolio, enough by the 4% rule to sustain our $40K/year living expenses indefinitely.
But I didn’t tell my co-workers that. They’d find out about it more than a year later, on the front page of the country’s most read newspaper.
As soon as my co-workers heard about my resignation, they surrounded my desk, some looking concerned, others looking smug, saying things like:
“You’re QUITTING with no job lined up? Are you nuts?”
“Travel the world? How the hell are you going to pay for it?”
“Why would you quit? Don’t you like working here? ” (I couldn’t answer the question. I was too busy trying not to laugh.)
So the Mark Twain quote was my attempt at trying to appear worldly and brave, while justifying my reason for leaving without giving the real reason.
Despite the eye rolls and snarky remarks, I somehow managed to appear self-assured and confident on the outside.
But inside, I was a hot mess. Inside, I was terrified.
Even though the math backed up our plan and we had backup plans for the backup plans, I was still scared.
You see, I get scared pretty easily.
I can’t swim in bodies of water where I can’t see the bottom.
I can’t watch the horror movie The Ring with the lights off.
And don’t ever expect to drag me into a haunted house without bite marks on your hand and watching me run away.
When I was a kid, I was even scared of Disney movies—like Pinocchio. I was afraid his growing nose would poke through the TV screen and stab out one of my eyes. To this day I still flinch whenever I see a Pinocchio doll in the Disney store.
So in November 2015, when this scaredy-cat read that GoCurryCracker was in Thailand, a country that had just endured a bombing that killed 20 people and injured another 125, I was torn.
On one hand, I had been obsessively following this blog during my final year of work, daydreaming about gallivanting around the world and eating my body weight worth of mole, tacos, dumplings, and foie gras, all the foods that beckon me from the photos in GoCurryCracker’s travel posts. I desperately wanted to meet my world-travelling retiree idols, Jeremy and Winnie.
But on the other hand, a freaking BOMB just killed 20 people in Thailand!
I wanted to meet them but I didn’t want to literal die to meet them.
Somewhere in the back of my head, a niggling little voice kept saying, “Go! What are you waiting for! If you don’t go, you’ll regret it.”
We were in travelling in Malaysia at the time so Thailand was only a train ride away. But I was still humming and hawing over it for days, unsure of what to do.
Then this post came out from GoCurryCracker: “Our $375 a Month Apartment in Chiang Mai, Thailand” .
I bought a train ticket the very next day.
A $375/month condo with a pool?! The last time I remember paying that little for rent was for a moldy and rat-infested basement I had to share with 2 other roommates in university, one of whom tried to recruit me into a threesome with her creepy 40-year-old boyfriend. Ugh. So glad those days are over.
And so off we went to Chiang Mai, Thailand—risking life and limb to fulfil our destiny of–$375/month rent. And oh yeah, meet GoCurryCracker.
As it turns out, going to Chiang Mai was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made! Not only did it turn out to be my favourite city in the whole world, we got to meet the GoCurryCracker family in person and shoot the shit about retirement for hours! I even had the privilege of holding GoCurryCracker Jr, who immediately went to town on my hair like it was the world’s best chew toy. Who knew my hair could be so delicious?
After a week of nonstop eating, I thought Muumuus were the only wearable clothes in my future, but somehow I LOST weight. Apparently, in South East Asia, not working out and pigging out on an hourly basis somehow meant weight loss. Try it sometime. Forget the South Beach diet. The South East diet is where it’s at.
It is because of Jeremy and Winnie that we learned about the best places to eat in Chiang Mai, tips about world travel, and how to start a blog. Back then we didn’t even know what an affiliate link was. Jeremy graciously and patiently explained everything without any eye-rolling which is a huge feat, considering how clueless we were. (GCC: Shameless self promotion: How to Start a Blog)
Look at those cheeks!
I shudder to think about all that we would’ve missed had we just given into our fears and skipped Thailand.
We wouldn’t have discovered Chiang Mai, our favourite city in the world.
We wouldn’t have become friends with Jeremy and Winnie, whom we’ve kept in touch with on Facebook. And as a result, they inspired us to start a blog, reach out to other members of the FI community, and make a lot of new friends.
We wouldn’t have been brave enough to travel to other so-called “scary” places—like Mexico, Central America, Eastern Europe.
And I wouldn’t have gotten my Scuba Diving certification in Kho Tao as a result of Winnie telling me that she got it even though she’s not a strong swimmer. This helped a lot since I was terrified of deep water.
Meeting GoCurryCracker in Chiang Mai, our now favourite city, was the spark that ignited our curiosity and helped us overcome our fears.
And by discovering how little we could live on in Thailand while living a 5-star lifestyle, we found we could balance expensive places like Western Europe with inexpensive places like Eastern Europe, Central/South America, Mexico, and South East Asia, and comfortably live on 40K/year (now 3.4 % of our portfolio) with 100% success rate. This meant we could travel the world FOREVER.
So thank you, GoCurryCracker, for inspiring and teaching us all about what you could gain by overcoming fear.
And now, after being retired for 3 years and traveling to over 30 countries, I know places that are portrayed as scary by the media are rarely scary at all. And travel isn’t expensive, as the travel agencies would like you to believe. Things that you think are terrifying aren’t that terrifying in real life.
Since retiring and meeting GoCurryCracker, I’ve never once regretted any of the things we did since retiring! But if we had given into fear by not going to Thailand, we would’ve regretted it for the rest of our lives.
So don’t let fear stop you from living your life.
Whether you’re trying to get a better job, switch careers, follow your passion, travel to a place you’ve never been to, retire early—instead of thinking about what could go wrong, think about all the things that could go right. Think about all the opportunities and friendships you could potentially miss out on if you let fear take over.
Take it from a scaredy-cat who couldn’t come up with anything better than a quote from a famous dead guy for her last work e-mail, only to find out what he said was 100% true:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”
Maybe Mark Twain was onto something after all.
Great post. Because the news only reports the bad stuff the natural inclination for most is to brand certain places “too dangerous”. You never hear a story on a major news outlet that says “4 days in a row where no tourists were killed in Mexico… full story at 11”
I’ve been to over 40 countries including many third-world. In my experience most people are good and things are safe, but you still do have to have your head and wits about you in certain places and not do obvious stupid things. But, that rule is the same for here in America :)
Fantastic post! Since quitting my job in April of 2018, I’ve traveled to Guatemala (again)…except this time, I found an apartment for 2019. My dream of learning Spanish more or less fluently will finally come true. I have the confidence now to be an expat/slow traveler for life now. Since my arrival in Guate, I’ve experienced a tragic volcano eruption, climbed the highest point in Central America, summited Santa Maria Volcan, an earthquake and I’ve only been here 4 weeks. Next – The Camino in October – really stretching my wings and concentrating on low cost of living, highly enriching experiences. Chiang Mai will wait for a few years but I am so stoked that I could join this lifestyle. GCC and RetireEarlyLifestyle are my how-to manuals!
Haven’t been to Guatemala yet, but it’s on our list! I’m trying to learn Spanish too–I love how everything is pronounced exactly how it’s spelled–unlike English.
Good luck with the Camino in October! That is a hardcore challenge.
We did the Camino as the start of our new life after FIRE. Began in Paris and walked to Santiago. Took us 4 months as we went slowly and really enjoyed the process. It is life changing. Buen Camino.
So true, AF! If only the news would write more honest stories like “over a million tourist visit mexico each year and come back completely unharmed”! Good thing I listened to Jeremy instead them :)
Congrats on visiting over 40 countries!
I agree. Most places are very safe for tourists. We’ve been to Thailand many times and it was fine even during various coups. Tourists just need to be smart and avoid the trouble spots.
You guys are doing so well in early retirement. It’s very encouraging. Keep writing!
Thanks, Joe! Yeah, Thailand feels much safer to me than many of the other places we visited in the States and South America. The biggest thing to keep an eye on is the traffic. No way I’ll be driving or riding a motorbike there anytime soon, but other than that, perfectly safe.
When Firecracker and Wanderer were featured in national papers in Canada the most fun was reading the comments from haters and sceptics (hundreds of them!). My all-time favorite comment was from the person who scoffed at the idea of early retirement and said “They’ll end up back in their parents basement in no time.” That made me laugh out loud.
Ha ha, yeah, those comments were fun. I thought us Canadians were supposed to be polite–apparently not! And I’m sorry to disappoint that hater but looks like 3 years later and still no parents basement in sight :) Hopefully they didn’t become a fortune teller because they’re terrible at predictions.
I love that Mark Twain quote too. A few years back I traveled with 2 friends on a back roads trip through Baja. I was scared and so was my friends’ girlfriend. Me from Stockton California, a huge crime location, and my friend’s girlfriend is from Philippines. He just looked at us both and pointed — “You’re from STOCKTON! You’re from PHILIPPINES!” Ha, ha. So, as a joke, we kept doing a “head check”, to make sure our heads had not been cut off as we traveled down the dirt roads on a very memorable, and safe trip!
BTW, I am going to Greece for the Chautauqua. Week 2. I look forward meeting you!
LOL. Reminds me of the time our Airbnb host in Mexico asked us “you went to Thailand? Isn’t that dangerous?” I guess everyone thinks their own city is safe and everywhere else is a war zone.
You seem to have a habit of challenging your fears FireCracker. I think that’s a very healthy way to live.
Too often we get sucked up into all the negative stuff reported by the media. I think your living proof that sometimes it’s just better to go see for yourself how scary the world is.
I guess that’s true. I have a tendency to freak out but then do the scary thing anyway. Gotta ignore the media and not get sucked into the news–it’s never helpful.
i could eat my weight in foie! when i was younger i took every chance and risk. i’m better for that. when i here some folk’s bucket lists i think “is that all you want out of this life?”
Wow, good for you! I’m definitely not that brave. And oh yeah, foie gras—*drool*
Firecracker, you always seem fearless. Thanks for explaining how you became that way, thanks to friends like GCC and Winnie. I also think Wanderer might have helped with his Type B ways, since my laid-back husband helps me chill.
Can’t wait to eat and lose weight in Chiang Mai!
If you had met 2015 me, the word “fearless” would definitely not come to mind :P But I’m glad I got out of the scaredy-cat phase ’cause life is so much better now without all the fear.
Enjoy your time in Chiang Mai! Eat all the things!
Awesome story! We also loved Chiang Mai and could totally see ourselves living there one day. Funny to think you and Wanderer were our inspiration to start our own very small and humble blog, to work decisively towards FI and to start living the nomadic life in a not very distant future. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to meet and chat with you guys one day! :)
Would love to meet you guys too! Maybe in Chiang Mai :)
Agreed so much guys! You rock for diving into your fears. I resonate, being a 7 year world traveler. All sweet experiences unfold behind your fears….dive in!
Wow, congrats on 7 years of world travel!
I love that Mark Twain quote. I’ve printed it out and have it on my desk at work. I’ve got the financial numbers to work out, just holding back due to the healthcare challenges (wish I were Canadian!). You and Wanderer and Jeremy and Winnie have been our inspiration to travel the world more full-time. I feel that I am closer to getting over that fear and making the move. Like you wrote, I need to stop “thinking about what could go wrong, [and instead] think about all the things that could go right.” Well said.
“just holding back due to the healthcare challenges (wish I were Canadian!)”
Good (?) news. We’re actually in the same boat now, healthcare-wise. Since we’ve been away from Canada too long, we’ve lost our health insurance. No worries though. We bought expat insurance from IMGlobal (which is only around 90 USD per month for the 2 of us). So you don’t have to wish you were Canadian after all :P
Ah I will have to check them out. I have a pre-existing condition, which often makes some of these plans harder to secure.
When I read blogs about prople who achived Financial Independence, I realy enjoy to realize how those people can explore their potencials. When you have free time and no job stress, you can truly put your energy in the right place. It is inspiring to read your blog and see you are publishing books and doing what you love.
I am trying to deal with all my fears before the jump! I hope to be doing what I dream in one more year.
Thanks, ABM and kudos for being so close to your FI goal! The fears are completely normal and you will find that as you get out of the Matrix, the fears will diminish, day by day. Most of the scary things are all just built up in our heads. Reality is less scary.
Shivers…The Ring. Haha, that’s about as scary of a movie I can handle!
The Japanese are so good at scaring the pants off of us! Have you seen Ju-on (“the Grudge”)? Equally terrifying.
This is everything right here! Going against the grain, challenging your fears, and realizing the potential of your dreams. I’m so happy that GCC pushed you to start a blog, cause I’ve gotten so much crazy value out of your story. I’ve recently been faced with a big scary opportunity and have been paralyzed, not really knowing what to do about it. The MT quote and this post was just so perfectly timed as something that I needed to read today.
Thanks, Mrs. Wow. Feel the same way about your blog :) And analysis paralysis is something I used to struggle with A LOT. But once you start doing enough “scary” things, they become not so scary after all. Best of luck with your new opportunity!
I never would have pegged you as a scaredy cat. You seem very brave. :-)