Options

I ended my last post with the statement that buying this Landy could change our lives forever (beside the obvious satisfaction of driving a very cool car and getting into the local Landy club). Let me elaborate a bit:

We're not just planning a Trip. We're planning a Lifestyle. This will truly be "chucking in life as we know it".

You see, we may not come back to South Africa anytime soon once we start to travel. Not because we're millionnaires, but because there really is nothing keeping us here, except family - and we don't see much of them anyway.

There's a strong possibility that I could end up volunteering for a stipend somewhere, or using one of my many skills/qualifications to help out a community that needs it. The kid could end up working or studying in any country. We could sit and count birds for a year, in exchange for food and lodging! (or just food - the Landy's pretty self-contained...) (then again... there are plenty of edible plants and things out there, perhaps we'll just need space to park? a sufficiently-extended visa?)

I've started to develop a mind-set of living with open hands. Possessions are becoming less and less important, and the question of whether to sell or store is starting to become a non-issue. Granted, there are mementos (photos, things from my mom given to me after she died, my piano) and such - but really, we don't need everything we've collected over the years to have a happy life. We can leave the mementos with a relative who will appreciate them.

I have no house to pay off, nor do I have a car to pay off. I have no responsibilities to fulfil for years to come, nor do I have a career plan that involves working my butt off in one area to climb some imaginary corporate ladder. I can live on little, I can always find a way to make whatever money we need.

OR...

We could do a brief foray into the wilds, and return to the expected rut we currently tread. Which is definitely not very appealing, but would probably be more profitable.

So those are our options. I'm leaning toward the nomadic, the unexpected, the remarkable.

As I said, buying a Landy could change our lives.