August 6th, 2010 is the day that I left the United States to...

August 6th, 2010 is the day that I left the United States to move to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I did not know how long I would be there. I originally wanted to move to Barcelona, but ultimately decided on Buenos Aires due to the simple fact that the exchange rate on the dollar was 4:1. So in working remotely for clients, I only needed to keep 25% of my roster in order to sustain the same quality of life.

Professionally, I found myself getting even more clients in 2010, so I lived a very comfortable lifestyle.

Best of all was that I had plenty of bandwidth and had all the time and flexibility to wander the streets of Buenos Aires and fall in love with the city. Malia was my constance companion as we explored Buenos Aires and turned what was expected to be a few month trip, into a full time relocation.

I never knew that August 6th, 2010 that I’d be leaving the US for so long. I always expected to need to return one day to work there. But that day has not come.

It’s now August 6, 2020 and I have been living abroad for 10 years today. 10 years.

I met someone in Buenos Aires in 2011 and moved to Chile in December of that year. A year later, I was married and moved to Zagreb, Croatia for 2 years. After abruptly needing to leave there due to issues with my then wife’s career, we moved to Barcelona, Spain. And after 3 years there and the birth of my wonderful son, Alexander, we returned to Chile.

I’ve lived a lot of life these past 10 years since leaving the United States and I have no regrets. Everything happens for a reason and I was put on this planet to follow this trail around the world in order to bring Alexander into existence. Everything I did, all I do, I do for him.

I left the United States in 2010 and have been gone for 10 years. It just seems strange even saying that.

I miss my US friends, and with the pandemic this year, I miss my annual trip to the northeast to New York and Cape Cod, MA to visit my father and stepmother. I come back to the US at least once per year, and it’s always enjoyable. But after 10 years, I’ve adjusted to life abroad. It’s no longer a long trip, it’s my life.

I look forward to checking in here 10 years later to see where — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2DkY2YW

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2EZSBiv
via Stephanie White