Moving Abroad Challenges: Chaotic Twists and Turns

One of the biggest moving abroad challenges during this entire process has definitely been the chaotic twists and turns we’ve encountered. If you’ve read the previous post titled Top Moving Abroad Challenges you’ll note that the idea of a timeline and plan was the last topic in the list of questions, but not one of main concepts highlighted in that post. Like the whole endeavor so far, this post is just one of the many twists and turns. It seems like the most pertinent topic for today.

What is the Timeline and Plan?

Bob (aka Dog) is somewhat rectilinear. He prefers structure to chaos. He functions well with a plan and prefers that to winging it as circumstances change. Over the last seven months Dog has worked on multiple plans. He’s sketched them out using various project management apps, google docs, etc. To his annoyance and frustration very little has gone according to plan. The timeline and any notion of a plan for this journey has changed time and time again. What Dog has been reluctantly learning is that everything with this process has been fluid, ever changing, and dynamic. You will likely find that if you decide to take a similar journey in the future you may need to accept flexibility as a concept. Dog is working on that. Here is a brief recap…

Plan A: Mexico

The initial idea back in November 2022 was to rent or sell the house, get rid of all our stuff, quit our steady jobs, find some means of remote work, and head south to Mexico. We thought we’d travel around Mexico, learning about the different areas, and see if we fell in love with any specific spot. At that point we would consider buying a small place and making that our home. The cost of living was less, the weather was nicer, and the idea of an entirely new lifestyle was really appealing.

Plan B: Cruise Life

Thanksgiving 2022 was approaching and Dragon unfortunately came down with Covid-19. Dog went to a friend’s place for Friendsgiving dinner. Upon returning home Dragon announced “I applied for several jobs on cruise ships.”. You can hear the squeal of the tires as the plans suddenly swerve with this new twist. Dragon explained that she would still like to continue her nursing career and cruise ship nursing may be just the opportunity to do that while still providing an opportunity to travel the world.

Dragon ultimately got a job offer from a cruise line to join their pool of nurses. You need to understand that the cruise companies really don’t provide a whole lot of information to new hires. In fact, they may have some of the worst communication Dog and Dragon have ever experienced when working with prospective employers. Assuming he would not be able to travel aboard the ship with Dragon, Dog shifted plans to build out his Tacoma with a truck bed camper and travel the U.S. solo for awhile while Dragon was working at sea.

Plan C: Mexico and Beyond

During the spring of 2023 Dog and Dragon waited to hear from the cruise company and attempted to make tentative plans assuming there would be an assignment forthcoming in the future. In April 2023 Dragon received a message from the cruise line stating they did not have an assignment for her… yet. This was an unexpected development. In the intervening months there were already renters lined up for the house, we had made plans to resign our professional roles, and the great purge of personal items was fully underway.

Resigned to no cruise life the tentative plan shifted back to Mexico. We wanted to remain in this hemisphere for the time being, but realized there was nothing preventing us from going anywhere that the cost of living was significantly cheaper than the U.S. As noted in our post Top 5 Reasons We’re Leaving America there are many options around the world and so many potential places to explore. Dog and Dragon bought one way tickets to Puerto Vallarta, booked an AirBnB for a month, and left the next destination open after that. In addition to the plethora of potential places to check out in Mexico there were many other potential destinations: Ecuador, Argentina, Belize, Costa Rica, Peru… Suddenly they were considering the far east as well: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines…

Plan D: Cruise Life Reboot

Departure time to Puerto Vallarta was rapidly approaching. Dog was leaving a semi-routine last medical visit when Dragon unexpectedly received an email from the cruise company telling her they had an assignment for her. Could she be in Norway on July 15? Stop the presses. Initiate new twist. (You can see the wheels grinding in Dog’s brain at this point can’t you?) Yes! Shockingly we both leaped at this opportunity. For some wild and crazy reason it seemed like the cruise life nursing opportunity was too good to pass up.

In keeping with the complete and utter terrible communication from the cruise company this notification was literally one sentence: can you be in random town in Norway on July 15 to join random ship? End of communication. New plan: looks like ship leaves out of Southampton, England roughly 10 days later so we’ll leave Puerto Vallarta early, return to Denver to swap out beach clothes for cold weather clothes, fly to England together for 10 days, then Dragon will board the ship and Dog will tentatively wander various parts of the UK and maybe beyond. There is an entirely different level of random, who knows what is going to happen involved at this point, but we’re now in full blown winging it mode.

Plan E: Cruise Life and Beyond

At this point it is June 15, the flight to Puerto Vallarta is June 23, and it is time to add another level of chaos and uncertainty.

Dog receives a new, unexpected twist to the scenario in the form of an email from his medical provider. It turns out he has an unanticipated result of a medical screening. His provider recommends a biopsy to obtain more definitive data. The biopsy is scheduled two-thirds of the way through the Puerto Vallarta trip. At this point Dragon has been scheduled to fly back to Denver early, fly to Miami for a mandatory medical screening, and then fly to Norway to board the ship as soon as she arrives. There will be no 10 day hang out time in Southampton anyway, so there is no reason for Dog to join Dragon on that trip.

In the meantime, keep in mind that we have both left our professional roles. Dragon’s existing medical coverage ends at the end of June. In order to continue the current recommended medical plan we will need to sign up for COBRA. While some of you (you know who you are) may be thinking of Destro and Cobra Commander at this point, that is different. New plan: Dog and Dragon both cut their Puerto Vallarta trip early to return to Colorado. Granted they are each doing so for decidedly different reasons. Dragon’s destinations remain the same. Dog will follow up on medical screening and reassess future potential plans afterwards.

Summary of moving abroad challenges: timeline and plan.

After multiple iterations and numerous reworks of the plan it is clear there really isn’t the potential for a solid known plan at this point. While Dragon has a clear destination, ongoing dubious communication and planning continue to infuse that plan with a level of unknown twists and turns. Dog’s attempts to come up with any sort of plan have been completely laid to waste. As indicated earlier, he is adapting to a radically new level of uncertainty amid a series of wildly unpredictable events. People keep asking what is the plan, when are you leaving, and what are you doing. Right now we really have no idea. There are a couple of known variables. Beyond that, there are a bunch of unknowns.

The lesson in all of this is that you need to be prepared to accept and cope with a multitude of uncertainties. No matter how much you want to have a plan there will be a variety of chaotic twists and turns that alter those plans. Be mentally prepared for things to go sideways, sometimes before the adventure ever begins. Dragon is decidedly more calm about this ever changing plan. Her advice is to control what you can, let the rest fall in to place.