Introduction

I don’t know that I’ve actually ever been on a train.

I suppose the subway in New York City counts. And I guess there was a trip to Boston where we stayed out a little ways and took one into the downtown area for a night. I reckon my total amount of time spent on a train can’t total much more than an hour or two, and that might be generous.

But after selling my house and nearly all of my belongings while also quitting what I thought was going to be a lifetime career, I will be soon traveling on many, many trains.

Traveling to Europe has always felt like one of those things that that’s really fun to dream about but never would be a thing that I actually do. My international travels consist of a Spring Break trip to Jamaica when I was in elementary school, another Spring Break holiday spent in the Bahamas a little later, and three family cruises on the same exact route on the same exact Disney Cruise Line ship.

Going to Colorado for the first time like an exotic adventure to me, especially when that trip also took me into the natural wonder that is eastern Utah and the Moab area.

I do love to travel. I really do. But I’ve always kept my expectations in check because I never had the means to do too much.

Hello insane post-pandemic housing market. Nice to meet you.

A quick glance at the Zillow estimate (it’s remarkably good!) really started the wheels spinning in my head, especially since I was also dealing with some other things that made me really want to broaden my horizons and experience other non-American cultures.

When I make decisions, they’re normally hasty but incredibly well-thought out. If I decide it’s time for a new car, I’ll probably have one in the next couple days, but it won’t be without thought and consideration. I just cram it all into a compact period of time and then go with it. And so while some folks may think I rushed into this decision, I give myself personal props for taking more than a month to make the choice official.

My initial inclination was to be roaming the streets of some European outpost by now, but I’m glad that I decided to push my departure off until after Christmas, recognizing that I’m quite fortunate that my parents have allowed me to crash with them in the interim.

As December 27th approaches, I’ll share a bit more about my time since leaving my job along with some of the things I have planned. I don’t know if this will be worth anyone else reading or not, but I’m going to enjoy telling the story, I think.

We’ll see.