Bon Voyage!
Greetings from the Windy City! As I write this, Sarah and I are waiting to board our flight to Asia for a two month trip exploring Hong Kong and Japan (…but mostly Japan). Traveling for an extended period of time is an idea that has been percolating for a while for us.
At the end of our Tokyo Disneyland Winter Trip Report, I remarked that we still had a lingering desire to spend time abroad living like locals. We had been talking about doing exactly that, and trying to make it happen before any significant life changes precluded it from being a viable option. Around that time, we started getting serious about the idea, running through various scenarios that would enable us to be gone for a while.
However, we’ve had the idea even longer. While many of my friends studied abroad in college, I couldn’t afford to take advantage of that opportunity. By the time Sarah would’ve been able to go, I was already in law school, so that was a no-go for her. For both of us, not studying abroad was a big regret post-graduation…
That regret was affirmed the first time we traveled to Europe in 2012. During that trip to London and France, we rented a flat in Paris and prepared some of our own meals with food from the local market. This gave us a taste of what it might feel to live, even if briefly, like locals in a foreign place.
That planted the kernel of an idea in our heads, and although it was more of a romanticized “what if?” notion than anything else, it persisted. (We likewise had a romanticized “what if?” notion about moving from the Midwest to California, so perhaps this was an inevitability.) Now, we’re fortunate that we both can work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection, so figuring out the logistics and the costs would be the most challenging part.
Sometime in the summer, we started to get more serious about the idea, and began pricing out how much it would all cost. As our two favorite cities in the world are Paris and Kyoto, we wanted one of those cities to figure heavily in the plan. (Paris isn’t in Asia, so you can probably guess which route we chose.) Thanks to Airbnb and hotel points we’ve accrued, it was less expensive than we anticipated, so we decided to go for it.
Fast-forwarding to the end of September, we packed up, put our things into storage, and drove back to Indianapolis. After spending the last few weeks there with Sarah’s family, we left today for Asia.
We’re really looking forward to revisiting Hong Kong and Tokyo, and also exploring new cities in Japan. The highlight for both of us, though, is spending a month in Kyoto, where we found a deal we couldn’t pass up on a studio apartment (at $30/night, it’s more like a glorified closet!). As we’ve noted numerous times, it’s our favorite city in the world, and we’re looking forward to getting to know it better, slowing down to experience its nuances, and (of course) eat.
It’s exciting and, frankly, a bit intimidating. There’s a lot that can go wrong, and it’s a bit disconcerting to know we’ll be away from home for so long. I guess on the plus side, we’ve had a lot of travel snafus lately, so either we are due for a pleasant stretch. Or, all those cancelled flights and changed itineraries have better prepared us for whatever comedy of errors might ensue on this trip.
While traveling, we’ll be working remotely, and I’ll also continue with regular updates here and on DisneyTouristBlog.com. We also intend upon doing weekly condensed ‘trip report’ style posts about what we’ve done and what we’re doing. Hopefully with some quick (read: poorly edited) videos, too. We’ll probably do the first one after the Hong Kong leg of the trip, and hopefully a trip report post every week thereafter. Nothing is set in stone yet–the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, so I’d rather not make promises upon which I don’t deliver. (If there’s anything you’d like to see in these, let us know!)
That’s about it for now. We appreciate you following along in our adventures, so thanks for reading this rambling post about our plans, and hopefully, joining along for the rest of the experience! We’ll be posting updates on social media throughout the trip, so if you want to see real-time updates prior to our trip report posts, you can see what we’re up to by Liking TravelCaffeine on Facebook, following our Instagram accounts (Tom / Sarah), and our Twitter profile.
Your Thoughts
Have you ever spent an extended period of time traveling (or living) abroad? Care to share any anecdotes from your experience? Any tips you have for us to make it more enjoyable or memorable? Specific types of content you’d like to see in our trip report updates? Any questions? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
I’m very excited to follow along! I’m interested in hearing what routines you develop, what parts of normal, daily life turn out to be very different over there and how you have to adjust.
Hi Tom,
I was to Japan in 2004 when my daughter was there for 6 months as a junior in high school. I made it an excuse to visit her in Tottori, and of course had to see Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea. I like hiking the mountains of New England, where Mount Monadnock is the send most climbed peak in the world. I hear that Mt. Fuji is the most climbed. Do you have any suggestions please, on how to add Mt Fuji to my next visit to TDL?
Mount Fuji is not all that easy to visit from Tokyo Bay. The most common route departs from Shinjuku Station, which is a bit convoluted. We’ll have a post on it soon!
Tom, I’ll look out for that post. Thank you.
I am so looking forward to your adventures around the world. You’ve come such a long way since the disboards, right? Stay safe and can’t wait to read the first entry.
Mike D.
Wow, what an exciting, albeit somewhat scary, opportunity for you guys! Can’t wait to see/hear about some of your experiences. Do you plan on stopping at Mt. Fuji at all this time? Safe travels and have a great time!
Following along! Very excited to hear about this. I didn’t study abroad in college so I could graduate a year early, and while it’s not a regret of mine (less college debt!), I have toyed with the idea of living abroad in the future.
I’m interested in logistical details — what did you pack, how did working remotely work out with such a major time difference, etc.
I guess I don’t regret it in that sense, either. I worked throughout college in order to incur minimal debt along the way, and while that sucked at the time and I “regret” not being able to do more with friends on certain occasions, I don’t regret the end result of having minimal debt upon graduation. Same goes for studying abroad.
Things worked out fine in the end. Had I never had the chance to travel extensively at relatively young ages, I might look differently at how things played out. Either way, it’s a chance to fulfill a college ‘dream’ of sorts! 🙂
This is awesome! I can’t wait to follow along on this adventure! I have been following along since you first started your trip reports on WDWMagic. Hope you guys have a great time!
I can’t wait to read about your adventures! I think the things that would stress me the most would be stuff back home—leaving pets and my apartment and such. Safe travels and have a wonderful time!!
Sounds like a terrific opportunity. Looking forward to the reports
Very happy for you both! You’ve inspired a lot of people to look beyond Orlando and Anaheim, often using Disney as a starting point but diving deeper into the culture beyond. Amazing that you’re taking things to the next level and spending a few months abroad.
I never studied abroad myself and also wish I had, but perhaps over the next 5 years I’ll take an extended trip. Until then, I’ve got plenty of travel inspiration to keep me going. First stop: Japan for a week over Thanksgiving. TDR (only for 1.5 days), Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara. Can’t wait. Here’s to being in Japan at the same time as you!
That’s been our goal with sharing our travels in Europe and Asia at those Disney Parks. Frankly, if it wasn’t for those parks and World Showcase, I’m not sure we would’ve been motivated to see more of the world, so I view this as ‘paying it forward’ in its own sort of way.
Hope you have a great trip!
Ahhh how exciting! I also work remotely and have been thinking about Japan for years (thanks in part to your blog!). I’ve really been wanting to go for a month to make the most of it, but since I’ve never been I am intimidated! I look forward to learning more from your reports!
Have the best time 🙂
Oh Man! Have a great time. Had hoped to see you at the DVC DL event.
Have fun! Looking forward to all the stories during and after!
Enjoy the trip! I friend of mine from high school is about a year into a 3-year stay in Shanghai. I enjoy reading about their exploits as Americans immersed in a foreign culture. It has been a beneficial experience for them (and they have the added challenge of two elementary-school-aged children).
It can get really frustrating living in a different culture at times no matter how much you’ve traveled abroad. Just remember to take a deep breath and know that it’s just different. Also after a month or so you might be craving some homestyle stuff totally normal. Good luck and enjoy!!
What a great adventure! Can’t wait to read all about it.
Praying you get snowed on in Japan! Haha. I think this would be cool to do in retirement, but you have to have the means and health (including the basic requirement of still being alive) so it’s great to take advantage of your opportunity now. Enjoy the adventure!
“Praying you get snowed on in Japan! Haha.”
Others might see this and think that’s a mean thing to say, but THANK YOU. I am really hoping we get some snow. It seems unlikely, so my expectations aren’t too high…
Congratulations on living this one out. I think once you try other places on, it’s an inevitable desire. I hope it’s an amazing experience for you both!
Enjoy!
wow, this sounds like a fantastic trip!! so glad you are getting the opportunity to do this. I am looking forwards to following along with the trip reports!
That is fantastic!
Congrats and have a great time! I look forward to reading of your adventures.