It seems appropriate to start this blog with some background information about me and why my husband, Dan, and I have decided to leave behind our life in San Francisco and go on this trip.  I am originally from San Diego, California and I moved to the Bay Area twelve years ago to attend college at UC Berkeley.  I instantly fell in love with the Bay Area and when I graduated from college in 2009, at the peak of the financial crisis, my only clear goal was to figure out how I could stay here now that I was leaving the shelter of school and facing the reality of having to fully financially support myself.

The first few years after college were the best kind of struggle.  I scraped together a string of temporary jobs, moved across the bay to San Francisco and began building a life here.  In 2011 I started dating Dan and in 2012 I started working for a great nonprofit.  Slowly but surely the chaos of my early twenties started to fade into the comfort and stability of my late twenties.

Fast forward about five more years and Dan and I were engaged, planning our wedding and about to turn 30.  All of a sudden real ‘adulthood’ seemed imminent: our friends are having babies and buying their first homes and it felt like we were on a similar path.  And this is when it hit me: I have never taken a real risk in my adult life.  I made the decision to stay in the Bay Area when I graduated and since then I have let momentum carry me along.  And don’t get me wrong- my life is good.  I have a wonderful husband, a cute little apartment in an incredible city, great friends and an awesome job.  But, while I’ve watched my friends move to different states, go to graduate programs in the Midwest and move across the country to follow their dreams, I have still never really experienced life outside of California.

Long term travel is something I’ve always wanted to do and something Dan and I have talked about over the years.  Then one night I panicked because suddenly it felt like if I didn’t do this soon I might never get the chance.  I confessed this to Dan and to my surprise his response was “OK, let’s do it then. Let’s leave at the end of the year and go travel.”  And just like that the fantasy stared to turn into a real plan.

So that’s how we got to this point.  I know this experience will be challenging but a challenge is what I’m looking for.  My life in San Francisco is comfortable and getting outside my comfort zone is hard for me.  I’m not a big risk taker but I know that taking risks and seeking out new experiences is how you grow and I’m expecting a lot of personal growth on this trip. I feel incredibly lucky to have a partner who is willing to do this with me.  We’ll see where this adventure takes us!