Perhaps you've seen me drop hints elsewhere online about the ways I'm preparing to travel the world again. I don't know if I ever fully wrote about this the last time it happened back in 2012, so I might as well write about it now, since there are a lot of questions that go into planning for extended travel.
The most essential things to deal with are actually not the travel arrangements, but the everyday stuff of life like a home, bills, utilities, phone, furnishings, plants, equipment, etc. So here's how we're dealing with these things and getting everything ready before we leave...
FURNISHINGS
Nothing in our home is so precious it can't be replaced. If it was, we'd store it. We travel so much that we've designed our lives around having the basics as needed but nothing so precious that other people can't use them. Renters insurance is there in case anything catastrophic happens. This makes it easier to share our home with others and not really worry about what might happen.
UTILITIES
We made an arrangement with our sublet to keep all of the same internet and utility services and even the same cleaner so that nothing needs to be shut off, cancelled, or transferred to another name. All the bills will continued to be paid as part of the sublet agreement and keeping the same cleaner means being able to return to a home at the same standard of cleanliness that we appreciate.
PLANTS
We're leaving the plants. Plants are replaceable, even if they have been with us for a long time.
FINANCIAL STUFF
Making sure all accounts can be managed online is important. Making sure there's access to accounts internationally is important. Making sure we know the fees associated with international transactions is important. Thankfully almost all accounts and financial transactions can be managed online. We have yet to encounter any country that does not provide easy access cash through ATMs. We often get cash from an internationally serving ATM in the airport after landing in a country so that we have local currency before we leave the airport. Fees for local ATM currency are usually lower than using exchange services.
MAIL
When we're gone for more than 12months, it's no longer a temporary Change of Address, it's more of a Permanent Change of Address. We have a family member who has agreed to receive our mail and become our Permanent Address while we're away. We'll likely be back to the states once over the course of a year and we'll definitely be visiting our family during that time, so this is what makes the most sense. Since important accounts are managed securely online- most of the mail isn't really important anymore.
CAR
We don't own one in Manhattan. We got rid of the one we had after four months of living here. However, when we had a car we wanted to keep the last time we left for months of world travels, a family member gracious let us park the car at their place while we were away. We offered to let them use it as well as a second car if they wanted to insure it, but they didn't. We could have stored it in a storage facility or parking garage too as an alternative option.
PASSPORT / VISAS
We're making sure we have all of the important VISAs we need before leaving the country. This is exponentially harder to take care of while you're traveling, especially if it requires mailing or sending your VISA somewhere else while you're in a foreign country. We make photo copies of our passports and VISAS to keep in various places, and with family members, just in case anything happens. When a VISA isn't needed, but we're in one place for an extended time, it's also good to register a residency address with the consulate just in case anything crazy happens.
IMMUNIZATION
Before going to a country, we look to see if there are any local health or safety issues currently happening in the country. However, I don't think our country is any better half of the time, because other countries give their travelers hefty warnings about the weapons issues and diseases they may encounter while arriving in the USA. It's not like our issues aren't a serious concern when you compare our disease and homicide records relative to other countries. Water bacteria and tap drinking quality is generally the biggest caution to watch out for to avoid travel days lost to heavy illness.
PETS
We don't have any. If we did, we would likely ask friends or family if they could foster for a year. Travel is hard on pets- and needing to find good vet care when a pet eats something unpredictable while traveling is even harder.
KIDS
We don't have any. If we did, we would absolutely take them with us for the adventure and experience! Diplomats and military have to deal with this all the time, so they have more resources around using international schools and finding alternative schooling opportunities.
TRAVEL CALENDAR
We're planning to have at least one designated person in our home country that can access our travel itinerary information online just in case there are any issues and a consulate needs an emergency contact to speak with.
Think I'm forgetting anything with regard to leaving a home you'll want to come back to at some point? Have any lingering questions? Leave a comment and let me know!
Have a business you need to deal with? Check out How I Prepared My Business to Travel the World.
The most essential things to deal with are actually not the travel arrangements, but the everyday stuff of life like a home, bills, utilities, phone, furnishings, plants, equipment, etc. So here's how we're dealing with these things and getting everything ready before we leave...
HOME
We're subletting our place, fully furnished, for the entire year that we'll be traveling. This feels better than paying for it to sit unoccupied and unused. We first reached out to friends and colleagues to see if anyone wanted to live in our NYC apartment for a year. When that didn't yield any solid commitments, we then reached out to a local sublet message board online and found our ideal subletter there. We received 100 emails within 48 hours (it's a prime rate and location in NYC). We hosted an open house so we could meet people who might use our stuff. 30 people showed up. I gave them a form to fill out that listed all the arrangements we wanted to make clear. We found 6 stellar candidates we'd trust and ended up picking one that felt like the best fit. Freeing up this monthly payment obligation makes it easier to pay for accommodations and expenses while traveling. FURNISHINGS
Nothing in our home is so precious it can't be replaced. If it was, we'd store it. We travel so much that we've designed our lives around having the basics as needed but nothing so precious that other people can't use them. Renters insurance is there in case anything catastrophic happens. This makes it easier to share our home with others and not really worry about what might happen.
UTILITIES
We made an arrangement with our sublet to keep all of the same internet and utility services and even the same cleaner so that nothing needs to be shut off, cancelled, or transferred to another name. All the bills will continued to be paid as part of the sublet agreement and keeping the same cleaner means being able to return to a home at the same standard of cleanliness that we appreciate.
PLANTS
We're leaving the plants. Plants are replaceable, even if they have been with us for a long time.
FINANCIAL STUFF
Making sure all accounts can be managed online is important. Making sure there's access to accounts internationally is important. Making sure we know the fees associated with international transactions is important. Thankfully almost all accounts and financial transactions can be managed online. We have yet to encounter any country that does not provide easy access cash through ATMs. We often get cash from an internationally serving ATM in the airport after landing in a country so that we have local currency before we leave the airport. Fees for local ATM currency are usually lower than using exchange services.
When we're gone for more than 12months, it's no longer a temporary Change of Address, it's more of a Permanent Change of Address. We have a family member who has agreed to receive our mail and become our Permanent Address while we're away. We'll likely be back to the states once over the course of a year and we'll definitely be visiting our family during that time, so this is what makes the most sense. Since important accounts are managed securely online- most of the mail isn't really important anymore.
CAR
We don't own one in Manhattan. We got rid of the one we had after four months of living here. However, when we had a car we wanted to keep the last time we left for months of world travels, a family member gracious let us park the car at their place while we were away. We offered to let them use it as well as a second car if they wanted to insure it, but they didn't. We could have stored it in a storage facility or parking garage too as an alternative option.
PASSPORT / VISAS
We're making sure we have all of the important VISAs we need before leaving the country. This is exponentially harder to take care of while you're traveling, especially if it requires mailing or sending your VISA somewhere else while you're in a foreign country. We make photo copies of our passports and VISAS to keep in various places, and with family members, just in case anything happens. When a VISA isn't needed, but we're in one place for an extended time, it's also good to register a residency address with the consulate just in case anything crazy happens.
IMMUNIZATION
Before going to a country, we look to see if there are any local health or safety issues currently happening in the country. However, I don't think our country is any better half of the time, because other countries give their travelers hefty warnings about the weapons issues and diseases they may encounter while arriving in the USA. It's not like our issues aren't a serious concern when you compare our disease and homicide records relative to other countries. Water bacteria and tap drinking quality is generally the biggest caution to watch out for to avoid travel days lost to heavy illness.
PETS
We don't have any. If we did, we would likely ask friends or family if they could foster for a year. Travel is hard on pets- and needing to find good vet care when a pet eats something unpredictable while traveling is even harder.
KIDS
We don't have any. If we did, we would absolutely take them with us for the adventure and experience! Diplomats and military have to deal with this all the time, so they have more resources around using international schools and finding alternative schooling opportunities.
TRAVEL CALENDAR
We're planning to have at least one designated person in our home country that can access our travel itinerary information online just in case there are any issues and a consulate needs an emergency contact to speak with.
Think I'm forgetting anything with regard to leaving a home you'll want to come back to at some point? Have any lingering questions? Leave a comment and let me know!
Have a business you need to deal with? Check out How I Prepared My Business to Travel the World.
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