As an adult, especially over the past few years, I have been an avid reader. As a teenager, most of my reading was sports related and consisted of the local sports section and Sports Illustrated. The two books I remember enjoying most as a teenager were the Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis.1 While reading…
According to World Standards, about 35% of the world population drives on the left-side of the road, and the countries that do are mostly former British Colonies. This point of contention has created an on going debate with opposing countries that often refer to their side of the road as the ‘right’ side, as in the correct way to drive. While this interesting little nugget of information is quite fascinating,…
The beauty of residing in Auckland is the ability to experience the city vibes of New Zealand’s largest metro and its main attractions. A variety of shopping and dining options are available for city seekers in search of a easy going nightlife, cafes and live music. But there’s more to Auckland than the cosmopolitan city that its known for. The major hub is within driving distance to stunning beaches and scenic hikes all within an hour…
We are excited to share with you our new YouTube series, How We’re Living, an on going update of our semi-regular routines to highlight accommodations and everyday responsibilities like grocery shopping and budgeting throughout our travels. The Retro Caravan We sold our house to live in an RV camper. Correction, we sold our four bedroom, two bath, finished basement and fenced in property to live in a caravan nicknamed Alpha and…
We made it! Since our arrival to Auckland, we caught up on much needed sleep for the first few days. Not so much from the sixteen hour time difference but from a lack of sleep over the last few months. Planning for a life transition was a full-time job and we had our fair share of late nights, early mornings and a whirlwind of tying up loose…
Up, up and away we go. After many sorrowful goodbyes, our one-way ticket from New York to New Zealand couldn’t have been any smoother. Many assumed that we flew through LA to reach our destination however we actually flew from Toronto to Vancouver, which was a five hour flight, then onward to New Zealand for the last fourteen hours of our trip. We were not looking forward to being…
Mom, Me, Dad, Lucas, Shakira (niece), Andrea (sister), Ava (niece) Preparing for long-term travel can be incredibly exhilerating as the days, months and years leading up to your departure come to fruition. The realization of your perfectly hatched plans inch toward your personal deadlines as the details become solidified. All of the countless research hours, the detailed spreadsheets and careful planning creates a level of comfort on this nonconventional journey as…
Saying goodbye is hard and there’s no way to get around that. When you’ve spent your entire life in an area, the entirety of your family still lives in the area, and you’ve gone to college and built your professional reputation in the area, the level of difficulty of saying goodbye is basically God level1. So why then did I say goodbye to The ROC?2 Because…
As you can see, we are still trying to wrap our heads around this crazy adventure. Since this site aims to chronicle our journey, we thought we’d start from the beginning by introducing ourselves and to share what exactly prompted this life change. For those who know us, we do not have a serious bone in our body. Like any couple, sometimes we’re on the same…
When we started talking to people about our extended travel plans, most people thought our unconventional decision was made lightly without much thought to how we would prepare ourselves to live in another country. We cannot stress how far from the truth that is. In fact, we created multiple to-do lists, spread sheets and laundry list of calendar reminders to organize our travel plans for the next several…