My husband Calvin and I have always talked about traveling, but were spending our 20s getting settled into careers, making a home for ourselves, and of course enduring a pandemic. This year, we both turned 30, and it felt like a "now or never" moment. I took a leave of absence from my job teaching high school social studies, and Calvin quit his job as a watchmaker with Swatch group so we could go abroad.

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We have set ourselves a budget, bought a one way ticket, and plan to stay abroad as long as we can! We are starting in Dublin, Ireland, and hope to make our return trip to Seattle through Japan. Along the way, we are pet sitting through Trusted Housesitters, which allows us to stay for free in people's houses in exchange for caring for their pets. Otherwise, we are trying to balance our budget with taking advantage of every opportunity for new and exciting experiences.

 

I will do my best to document them here and on my Instagram @my_great_wide_somewhere. Follow along and send us your recommendations for what we should explore!