7 Signs I was Ready to Live Abroad

In response to my post 8 Things I Wish I Knew When I was 22, some people said they were thinking of traveling and wanted to know whether they should take the leap. While I want to tell everyone, “Yes, go, do it now!” I know that the traveling vagabond route isn’t for everyone.

When I finally made the decision to go, it seemed like the stars had aligned. Where before I had seen obstacles, now it was clear, I could actually do this.

Here’s are the 7 Signs I was ready to live abroad:

1. I had my finances under control. I had cleaned up my credit, paid off most of my debt (besides some low interest student loans), stopped spending my entire paycheck and began saving. You don’t have to be debt free to travel, but having accounts go to collections while you’re overseas will only haunt you later.

2. I had been saving over 50% of my income for almost a year. This meant overhauling my lifestyle and quitting some dangerous consumer habits. I cancelled my cable, stopped eating out for lunches, stopped making new purchases, sold my house, got a cheap apartment, and got rid of one of our two cars. These changes not only help you save, but prepare you for a simpler lifestyle when traveling.

3. I was no longer afraid of missing out on stuff. One of the things I’ve heard via comments and private email is people wondering if they will ‘miss out’ if they travel long term. There was certainly a time in my life when I did worry about this… missing out on things my friends were doing or passing up opportunities. But somewhere along the line, it just clicked. I was already “missing out” on the most amazing adventure of my life, all because I was playing it safe.

4. My relationships are stable and I’m not running away. My husband and I have been married for almost five years. Long ago I eliminated toxic relationships from my life (including some family). I have the support of friends and family, even if they do think I’m slightly crazy. The last thing I have in my life is any drama. You don’t need to be married to travel (obviously) but I would think twice before making any big life changes in the wake of a nasty breakup or in the middle of a tumultuous period. Travel may be the best cure for a broke heart or it might leave you devastated in a foreign country without your support network to help you through.

5. I had a way of making money. Luckily for me, I fell into a career path that lends itself to working remotely as a freelancer. If for some reason I run out of money, I could always pick up freelance work. This option is becoming more popular, with everything from customer service, to personal assistants to information technology to graphic design being done over the Internet. Otherwise, options like teaching English, working in food service, or being an Au pair may be a good fit. Unless you can self fund the whole trip, having some kind of work lined up can do a lot to propel your plan forward.

6. I moved from day dreaming to planning. When I was in college I studied Spanish, German and French. Guess what my plan was? That’s right, travel and live abroad. While my friends went to Europe after school, I never did until much later. At that time, I was still in the day dreaming about travel phase. It wasn’t until I put aside the romantic thoughts of eating baguettes in Paris to actually researching and planning a feasible trip that my plan became real.

7. I honestly couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do more. At 31 years old, most people around me are settling down and starting families. I’m just not feeling that right now, and the idea of moving to suburbia and 9-5ing it makes my skin crawl. If you can’t imagine anything better than traveling or living abroad, you can forget #1-6, because you will find a way.

Are you thinking of living abroad? Are you already doing it? How did you know you were ready to take the leap?