by We are one year away from departure.
We created a high-level list of everything we need to accomplish before leaving on our trip. (Not sure if you can tell, but we LOVE to-do lists and planning!!)
Legal
- Set up an international cell phone plan for everyone (Google Fi)
- Renew Canadian passports for our two oldest kids
- Obtain a Canadian passport for our youngest
- Get proof of Canadian citizenship for our youngest
- Apply for visas for certain countries, if required
- Obtain a re-entry permit to avoid losing the Green Card when leaving the country for more than 6 months. Form I-131:
http://lawandborder.com/risk-abandoning-green-card-abroad-6-months/
https://www.uscis.gov/i-131 - Get driver’s licenses
- Get international driver’s permits (essential if you plan to drive in other countries. Really cheap (around 20-30$ at AAA), quick to obtain and saves a lot of troubles oversees!)
- Obtain transit pass A38 🙂
𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡𝑝𝑠://𝑤𝑤𝑤.𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒.𝑐𝑜𝑚/𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ?𝑣=𝐷𝑇𝑞𝑣𝐿74𝑑𝐴𝐸𝑤youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTqvL74dAEw
Finances
- Create the travel budget
- Keep 50% of the travel budget in cash in a bank account (Ally)
House
- Throw away 50% of the contents of the house
- Sell 25% of the contents
- Donate 10% of the contents
- Store 15% of what we want to keep (PODS?)
- Sell the house
- Negotiate a contract with a real estate agent
- Manage the transition (staging, painting, etc.)
School
- Get materials for world-schooling the kids during the upcoming year
- Make a high-level world-schooling plan
General
- Change mailing address to a virtual mail service
- Update the address on all bank accounts and credit cards
- Sell the Elantra
- Sell the Sienna
Medical
- Dentist appointments for everyone
- Doctor appointments for everyone
- Optometrist visits and updated glasses for everyone
- Update vaccinations for everyone
Employment
- Inform employer about the sabbatical year
- Secure job for return
Including the possibility of remote work - Research which city to live in afterward:
- Canada?
- United States?
- Somewhere else?
Travel
- Finalize the itinerary
- Build the budget
- Transportation
- Food
- Accommodation
- Activities
- Buy a high-capacity battery for laptop/phones
- Prepare backpacks
Still plenty to do—but that’s part of the fun!