The Idea - To sell my house and contents and travel full time.

At various points in my life I had the thought of doing this, and actually did it for a while back in 1987. Most time when I would think about it, I could come with all sorts of reasons why doing it was not a practical idea, but as I look at those reasons now, I see they were basically a fear of setting off into uncharted territory. Sure, I will have to work out some details, but I am not the first person to do this and it may take some work, but I believe it will be worth it in the long run.

Several people have asked what prompted the idea this time. Well, it all began April 10th with a quick trip to New York. On the bus up to New York I was reading Eat, Pray, Love so my mind was already tuned to the idea of travel . I got off the bus and began the walk to my hotel, a short hike of about three and a half miles on the westside. Almost immediately I had a deviation on the route to check out an interesting church I hadn't noticed before. Sts, Cyril and Methodius and St. Raphaels, a fine stone covered, twin-towered, French Gothic Building.

As I was headed to the church, I was thinking how my travels never seem to follow a direct route, there is always something that catches my eye and makes me veer off course. It was then that I noticed that I wasn't depressed, something that while not debilitating, had been an issue for me. Thinking back on my travels I realized that depression was never an issue when I was traveling. No big deal. So I checked out the church, which fortunately was open for services.

As I continued on my way north, I began to think more and more about how much I enjoyed travel and would enjoy doing more of it. Almost immediately I realized that it would be difficult to travel for extended periods since there was the issue of a house in Baltimore to deal with. While I have been fortunate over the years to have friends to watch over the house in my absence, I knew that I would not be comfortable asking them to do it even more often.

So the first question was “which makes me happier, home ownership or travel?” Well, that was easy, home ownership while it has been great for me, isn't that important to me. I did a quick thought about renting it out, but I'd still be dealing with upkeep. I can always get another place to live, and it also leaves me open to relocating to another city.

The second question logically follow the first, “what do I do with all the stuff inside the house.?” I still possessed items from my very first apartment in San Francisco in 1973. Since I don't need all the space I currently have, some of it was clearly surplus to be disposed of, and some could go to storage. That was simple to decide, and sorting between storage and disposal could wait,

I was beginning to think this was a very good idea, but slowly the little doubts arose. “What about mail?” “Doctors and medications?” Before, I had let these become barriers, here I saw them as an obstacle course. Others had dealt with it, so it was possible.

So I had a couple of days in New York to think about it and by the time I returned home the idea had taken hold of me. When my neighbor who I have always relied on to shovel snow, rake leaves and generally watch over the house told me that he and his wife were moving, I saw that as a sign that I had made the right decision.

It's comforting to know that months later I am still very much at peace with my decisions.