We are Rachel and Al. In July 2021, we both retired from jobs we loved to begin the next great adventure in our lives. We hatched the plan as an interesting idea to talk about, far in the future: someday we want to live in a different country each year, for a full year, for ten years. Now the future is here! Our kids are grown and scattered, our health is still good. We seized the opportunity presented by an early retirement offer to fast-forward the time frame, sold nearly everything we owned, and here we are, exploring the world, one country at a time. If you’re interested in following along with our adventure, sign up below! If you want to learn more about us, click on About. If you want to learn more about the plan and how we launched it, click on the links to other articles we’ve written. And if you want to catch up on where we’ve been and what we’ve seen and learned along the way, check out our Blog and Photo galleries (above).
Latest Post
#VanLife
Small, well-organized living spaces have always fascinated me. Think sailboats, motor homes, campervans, and more recently the trend of tiny homes. I love the way they make the most efficient use of space, how clutter is simply unacceptable, and, for the mobile ones, how they can take you to a different beautiful place every day.…
Watery Ways
Over 22 feet of rain falls every year in Milford Sound, on the southwest coast of New Zealand’s South Island. That is the height of an average 2-story house. There’s no particular “rainy season”—somewhere between 13 and 20 days each month are typically rainy, so when you book a trip on the Milford Track (New…
Kia Ora
“Kia ora,” the tattooed man with a wide smile greets us as we step up to the coffee counter. Kia ora (pronounced kee-oh-ra) is Te Reo Māori (Māori language) for hello, though can also mean goodbye, thank you, and I see and respect you—and you don’t need to be a native New Zealander to use…
Seeing the World, One Year at a Time 