Well, it's that time again: bidding season is here. Life in this type of lifestyle revolves around two things: spending a year to a year and a half getting acclimated to a new culture, country, time zone, language, food, custom, weather, etc. and spending the other year to year and a half researching and planning for your next life with a new culture, country, time zone, language, food, custom, weather, etc. The time spent in between the two is kind of like what I imagine Purgatory to be like: a darkish, fast-paced existence where you're praying not to get sent to hell! This "purgatory" appears to be our home base for the next couple of months, meaning nothing will be finalized until then.
When not busy at work, my hubby and I spend our days researching various places that are on the list of "possibilities." Some of these places are completely polar opposites from where we are now--by that I am also referring to the polar opposite of this side of the world. Right now, we're looking at mainly the South Pacific.
Two of the options are calling to us and both for completely different reasons. Both are third-world countries; however, one is more more developed than the other. I guess, compared to the lesser known of the two, choice number one would be more like "second" world: a place where there are skyscrapers and shopping malls and cheap travel to other exotic locations,etc. But the cost of living is still cheap enough to let us save a good bit of money if we don't, in fact, make very frequent use of that "cheap travel to exotic locations." The reasons we most want to go to choice number one are the fact that there is no doubt I'll be able to find a job and there will be TONS of inexpensive things to do with the kids.
Choice number two is almost like the great unknown. It's a newish, developing country that has seen hard times but is quickly (so it seems) overcoming them and in the process of developing a very new democracy. This place is not exactly the "Wild Wild West"; however, it is intriguing. We'd be on a small island in the Pacific. The expat community seems small but very close-knit from what we can tell. There are many small kids there, good schools, decent housing, etc. There's supposedly amazing deep sea diving and snorkeling, etc. Cost of living is NOTHING. From what I can find on the internet, hostels are like $5/night. I wouldn't stay in one, but that is a pretty decent point of reference. It's a consumables post, meaning I'd have to do two years worth of peanut butter, olive oil, and granola bar shopping before we'd ever leave the States. It's also language designated, which means we would have to spend the better part of a year back in Washington learning a very difficult language. Then there's the anti-malarial drugs we'd have to all be on, etc. I know you're probably thinking, "Why would you even consider going there then???" Yeah, I totally get that attitude; it would not be an easy tour for us. There's the possibility we'd be absolutely bored stupid for two to three years. And it's a fact that Ophelia and Tennyson, our cats, would have to be in quarantine for up to six months. And it's a fact that we would have to obtain a right-hand drive car with 4WD. I mean, the cons are quite numerous. BUT...the kicker is...if we go and stay for three years, we can come home and put a very significant down payment on a house. You see, there are SIGNIFICANT financial incentives for doing hardship tours. The harder the hardship, the more significant the incentives. I have to say it is tempting.
So, I guess to bring my initial thoughts full circle, I'll say this: in our case, going from "Purgatory" to hell won't be quite an unwelcome challenge. There is so much good that can be done there. So much. But, choice number one is the one we're fighting for; it's what our family would really and without a doubt thrive in. But I have to say that something about choice number two is just calling to both of us...
