Go Abroad for a Good Long While, Oh Yes You Can

Summary

The website content discusses the author's experience of living abroad in Italy with their family and the subsequent creation of their award-winning book, "Let’s Leave the Country! A Guide to Your Family Year Abroad," offering tips and inspiration for others considering a long-term adventure abroad.

Abstract

The author recounts their transformative year in Genoa, Italy, emphasizing the profound cultural immersion and cherished memories gained from living abroad. After returning to the U.S., the author compiled their experiences and those of others into a book, which serves as a guide for families planning a year abroad. Despite the unfortunate timing of its release amid the Covid pandemic, the author is now sharing excerpts and tips from the book to inspire future travelers. These "Save it For Someday Tips" cater to those who dream of living abroad, whether in the near future or someday down the line. The author advocates for extended travel as a means to foster deeper connections with the world, promote environmental respect, and strengthen family bonds.

Opinions

The author believes that living abroad offers a unique opportunity to experience a culture beyond what is accessible to tourists.
They suggest that extended travel can lead to a more responsible and respectful engagement with the planet and its inhabitants.
The author posits that the experience of living abroad can be life-changing and can lead to personal growth, increased empathy, and a broader understanding of life.
They assert that traveling for more than the conventional two-week period allows for a deeper and more meaningful experience.
The author holds that embarking on such adventures with family can enhance familial relationships and create lasting memories.
They endorse the idea of planning for future travel adventures, even if they are not immediately feasible, to keep the dream alive.

Set yourself up for an epic travel adventure down the road…

Village of Boccadasse in Genoa, Italy. Photo by ©maudranos from Getty Images via Canva.com

This summer my family will travel back to Italy and we can’t wait to bask in the country that became home for a while. The year we lived in Genoa gave us countless treasured memories. Beyond the beautiful patina and culinary delights, we were able to scratch well below the cultural surface of Italy in a way that tourists only dream about.

After my family returned to the US from our year abroad, I interviewed dozens of people who experienced a similar adventure. Some went to a single country, others traveled continuously for an extended period. Several created a hybrid travel/live experience.

Some stayed less than a year; others stayed longer. A few made a permanent move.

All had a life-changing adventure.

The result is my award-winning book, Let’s Leave the Country! A Guide to Your Family Year Abroad, which happened to be published a few weeks before Covid came on the scene. (Not such great timing for a travel adventure book!)

Now that much of the world is opening up (for reals this time, fingers crossed) I am thrilled to be sharing tips from my book that I hope will inspire anyone who harbors even a distant fantasy of living abroad for any length of time.

Over the coming months, I’ll be publishing the Save it For Someday Tips from my book, served up with some explanatory context (Follow me if you want to get notified when they post.).

These very short excerpts supplement each of the ten chapters in my book, and are written expressly for those who aren’t quite in planning mode but who want to keep a fire lit on the idea of a prolonged adventure abroad.

While the book itself is a guide for those ready to set their plan in motion, the “Save It For Someday Tips” are perfect for anyone who is thinking “I want to experience life abroad, but maybe in a few years, or someday…”

L: peeking out over Via Cairoli in Genoa; R: hiking Cremolino in Piedmont w/image of book. Photos by author.

Travel these days is more complicated, and even tinged with a question of environmental morality. Yet, I believe knowing the world more intimately instills in us greater respect for the planet and her people, ultimately pushing us toward becoming better.

And exploring the planet well beyond the typical two-week format we’re conditioned for can be a more responsible way to do it. In my view, travel should be deep whenever possible — not simply eye-candy and souvenirs.

Organizing extended time abroad is a gift that will paradoxically make your world bigger and smaller at the same time. With eyes open, it will make your empathy deeper and your understanding of life greater. And for anyone who creates this experience with a partner or kids in tow, it will make your family closer.

I hope these tips will inspire you to dream big and see more of the colorful planet we all call home.

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