Rosanne Knorr - The Grown-Ups Guide to Running Away From Home: Making a New Life Abroad

Copyright 1998, 2008 by Rosanne Knorr
Front cover photo 2008 by Medioimages/Photodisc

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except brief excerpts for the purpose of review, without written permission of the publisher.

Ten Speed Press
PO Box 7123
Berkeley, California 94707
www.tenspeed.com

Distributed in Australia by Simon and Schuster Australia, in Canada by Ten Speed Press Canada, in New Zealand by Southern Publishers Group, in South Africa by Real Books, and in the United Kingdom and Europe by Publishers Group UK.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Knorr, Rosanne.
The grown-ups guide to running away from home : making a new life abroad / Rosanne Knorr. 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Summary: A primer for midlife adults who long to live or retire in another country, featuring information on choosing a destination, readying finances, settling in abroad, and keeping in touch with stateside friends and family; advice is interspersed with anecdotes from the authors own adventures and interviews with other experienced expatriatesProvided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN: 978-0-307-80776-2
1. Retirement, Places ofForeign countries. 2. AmericansForeign countries. 3. RetireesLife skills guides. I. Title.
HQ1063.K65 2008
646.79dc22
2007044780

v3.1_r2

To Jenn, for inspiration, love, and laughter

For sharing advice and tales from their adventures, I want to thank the following grown-ups: Frances Aronson, Anne and Bob Berra, Mary Campbell, Treasa Campbell, Sue and Jim Chambers, Pam and Steve deLyra, Douglas Gilbert, Claire Larson, Judy Lawrence, Margot Milner, Dave and Susan Oswald, Ben Ott, Maria-Eugenia Ott, Shannon Roxborough, Peter Vaughan, and Dana Wood. Thanks, also, to the shy who didnt want recognition. Other than that, if Ive forgotten anyone, please forgive a poor memory.

The first edition of The Grown-Ups Guide to Running Away from Home earned praise for the practical tips and inspiration that helped people plan an adventure overseas.

To keep this book relevant, our revised edition reflects changes that have taken place in the world. It updates the numerous resources available for planning a sabbatical or retirement abroad and adds new information on advanced technology, especially in areas such as communication and travel services.

Every care has been taken to ensure this version is accurate as well as inspiring. Its designed to help you explore the many options available for revitalizing your adult years with a long-term adventure abroad.

This book provides an excellent base and overview, but it cannot substitute for the professional assistance of accountants, lawyers, tax experts, travel agents, and other specialists involved in making a transition overseas. You must make informed decisions based on your specific personal and financial situation.

To the best of my knowledge, this material is accurate. However, regulations related to living abroad change, as do resources, locations, phone numbers, and other details. And costs can change depending on inflation and exchange rates. As you make plans, investigate fully and carefully. Neither I nor the publisher can take any responsibility for the outcome of actions you take after reading this book.

Many thanks for readingand may running away provide you with fascinating experiences, fulfillment, and happiness beyond your dreams.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Helen Keller

Long, long agobefore career ladders and children and homes with mortgages to be paid on a regular basisI dreamed of sipping wine at a French caf with a view of the Eiffel Tower or waking to the day in a whitewashed cottage on a Greek island. You can fill in your own dreams. We all have them.

But for most of us, the travel through life follows a practical path. As we reach middle age, its our childrenthe students in high school or collegewho participate in a year abroad. We see them and say, I wish I could have done that. Then, one day, my husband and I asked, Why cant we do it now?

Midlife is an ideal time for adventure overseas. The empty nest provides the opportunity to run away from the humdrum habits of several decades and create a fulfilling second life. As my husband commented: Ive done this life. I want to have another.

We ended up living in a French village where we discovered new tastes in food and wine. We met fascinating people and explored different cultures. We learned a new language, studied art, and biked vineyards. And our French home served as a European base, the jumping-off point for driving trips to Italy, Spain, Portugal, and beyondeach trip a new adventure in itself. Best of all, we saw it all for ourselves, with a freshness and spirit of adventure that put new sparkle into our life. After spending years raising our kids, we became the kids we wanted to be. You can take that literally.

One wonderful result of our adventure was the realization that gaining knowledge of the world is the true fountain of youth. Like children, we discovered the world again, after all these old years of living. We didnt worry or wonder just what it was wed do with the rest of our lives. We were certainly not bored. No, we were too busy comparing the latest wines with our neighbors, exploring medieval churches and museums, participating fully in town life here, while planning the trips to nearby regions and countries. Our life was full and, as the French say, agrable. We did what we wanted when we wanteda dream that we had never thought could become a reality but proved to be amazingly easy to accomplish.

You too can achieve this freedom. Enjoy a year, or more, of life overseas. Relish that feeling of discovery. Its not just for the young. And when you return to your old lifeif you choose to returnyoull bring new interests and an intriguing mystique home. If you return to work, youll add an international perspective to your career.

Running away from home as an adult does take more planning than it does for a younger person. When we were younger we had nothing to lose if we took off for a year or more. We didnt have jobs, or at least not ones that paid enough to matter at that point. No children or elderly parents to be concerned about. No home with a mortgage, filled with stuff. Any belongings we did have could be stashed at our parents house until our return.

But we are the parents now. We have the houses packed with the accumulation of a lifetime. The mere thought of arranging a year off is intimidating enough to make anyone want to plop back in front of the TV with an old movie and a beer.

In our case, though, the itch for adventure was still there at ages fifty and sixty-one. We needed to scratch the itch while we were still young enough to negotiate old-world cobblestone streets, or we would forever regret not doing it.

So we searched libraries and bookstores. We made idiots of ourselves asking people if theyd ever lived overseas. Many people answered in the affirmative, and we grilled them on how they had arranged the countless details. Their input helped make this book possible. (Some of their attitudes and comments are reflected in quotes scattered throughout this book.) We discovered a range of attitudes toward living this type of adventure. The brave souls simply up and went. The not-so-brave (or less foolhardy), like us, talked it over and over. But they still dreamed.