Comments on: What Obstacles Have You Overcome To Travel The World?

By: Anil Polat

Anil Polat — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:16:49 +0000

In reply to Amerly Burkle. Amerly, thanks for sharing your story here. That's incredible and can imagine it was a tough choice. Did you get a job offer in Japan or just decide to give it a shot there?

By: Amerly Burkle

Amerly Burkle — Fri, 07 May 2010 04:10:55 +0000

I recently moved out of the US to Japan to live and work. It was an incredibly difficult decision – one wrought with a lot of back and forth and doubt. I think the hardest things were leaving my network of friends and family, my career path, and my beloved city. I was so comfortably where I was and I would have been perfectly happy living there for years to come. But I wanted more – I needed a challenge. I needed to get out my comfort zone. It helped that I had a lot of supportive friends encouraging me to take advantage of the situation. So I saved up the money, made the arrangements, and moved out here. The city will still be there, the long-term friendships that I established will continue on with the help of email and Skype, and the job will work itself out. I came to the conclusion that the place and the people will continue to play a part in my life, but I will have become a better/more enriched person because of this experience.

By: Anil Polat

Anil Polat — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:25:32 +0000

In reply to Dee Andrews.

Hi Dee,

Thanks for the comments – I think it’s easy to have a “fight the world and system” mentality until it comes to family, especially parents. In my experience at least, I think the desire to leave can often be seen as “what’s wrong with where you are.” Of course there’s a bigger debate on whether traveling long term is escapism but I don’t think it’s the case for everyone. Sometimes it’s curiosity, what’s over the next hill or what’s really inside of me, etc.

With a good plan once you go for it usually the reluctant ones hop on board with support. I’m looking forward to digging through your site to read more about your travels!

By: Dee Andrews

Dee Andrews — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:42:13 +0000

We overcame many hurdles to move abroad to Spain for a year. For my husband and I, we both had wanted to live abroad for many years so we were on the same page in that regard. We then had our two daughters to consider, ages 6 and 9 at the time. Jobs, finances, our house, cars, stuff, schools, family… all that you mention. Immigration became a big one too once we had decided upon Spain. The visa process can be very complex and expensive. Traveling instead of living in one place would help solve that though.

I think one of my personal biggest hurdles was telling my parents and trying to explain to them why a 40-year-old mom wants to leave the US and live so far away. They eventually accepted it though and one of my favorite experiences was showing my mom Spain and Rome. It was her first trip out of the US.

Change is so good if we can make ourselves go for it! Thanks for sharing your experiences. (And I agree about the support group being a positive thing; it is scary to embark on these adventures sometimes. Scary and exciting!)

~ Dee

By: Anil Polat

Anil Polat — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:37:10 +0000

In reply to JJ. Thanks for the comments JJ. I agree, it's a big decision because before any traveling happens there can be many doubts and outside voices and particular circumstances etc. that can derail your dreams. You get a lot of the 'don't go' side of things but it's great encouragement to hear the other side from people already doing what you hope to accomplish.