Ok it seems many people have many questions, so I’ll try to give the people what they want. To be clear: I’m not committing to any regular schedule, but I might just write a few updates along the way. Feel free to follow this blog, but DO NOT have any expectations as to how often there will be new content. I also make zero promises regarding the quality of the content. Deal? Ok cool.

Some of you know more than others, so this is the short version of how/why I came to be in Cape Town, and what might unfold in the coming year. My closest peeps know I have been talking for a long time about doing a year of remote working while traveling around the globe. It’s probably fair to say not many of them thought I’d actually do it, but here I am🤷‍♀️. Late last year the magic 8 ball of my life just came up “signs point to yes” and the planning began.

To be fair, I use the term planning somewhat loosely. I did diligently work my way through a giant checklist of things I needed to do before leaving. I did do ALOT of thinking about what to pack for a full year away (stay tuned for how that turns out). I did move all my personal stuff into storage, and my boys into my condo. And I did manage to schedule a ton of fun activities with awesome people into my farewell tour. Shout out to Sharon for hosting the wine tasting & charcuterie extravaganza, and to Andrea for organizing the Island tour!

But as far as planning my actual itinerary for the year… not so much. I’m starting in Cape Town with an organization called Remote Year. I’ll spend a month here with 30 or so other remote workers from all over. I haven’t met my roommate yet, but apparently she is a retired respiratory therapist from Florida. Can’t wait to see how that goes… fingers are crossed and I’m manifesting great vibes.

After the first month I have no official plans. I’d like to stay in Africa longer, but it will depend on finding people to hang with. After Africa I plan to go to Europe and visit as many wine producing countries as I can. Follow my Winestagram if you’re interested in that aspect of the journey😁. I would love to stay in and around the EU until the fall, depending again on who I meet, as well as navigating Schengen rules.

So basically all destinations and timing are TBD as I go – because that sounds fun and exciting in a maybe-I’m-crazy kind of way🤪. My only loose plan is to stay in warm weather all year, because packing 365 days worth of stuff into one suitcase is already insanely difficult without adding all four seasons into the mix. Oh and of course my other sort-of rule is to follow the wine… So as of October I may find myself in South America or even Australia if the budget allows.

Speaking of which, I’ll need to find a good balance between working enough to fund my adventures, while still finding time to really immerse myself and fully explore each place I visit. You may know that I’m happiest working about 15 hours a week, and that’s not likely to change. But maybe wanting to do all the things will help incentivize me to squeeze in a few extra hours here and there. That’s assuming I have work to do of course; if anyone reading this has a project for me I’ll probably be needing some new clients/contracts as the year unfolds (message me through LinkedIn). Or maybe I’ll just start a Go Fund Me page – who’s in?🤣

So why am I doing this, you ask? Short answer: because I can. I’m able to work from anywhere, my boys are thriving independent adults now, and in theory I’m financially stable enough to afford it (see above re having to work at least a little🙄). I love to travel and I haven’t done enough of it in the last two decades, so I’m making up for lost time. And also – stay with me here – I’m hoping to find myself. I won’t get deep into that, but I’ll be focusing on self reflection, discovery, and growth as I move through this crazy year. Getting my mental and physical health back on track. I’m fully embracing change, and I can’t wait to see all the awesome things that come into my life.

Ok that’s enough for now. Thanks for being interested to this point. And thank you to all the people who have supported me in doing this crazy thing❤️. Hope to see some of you along the way!

TL