Moving to Mexico

Going to the Dentist in Canada vs. Going to the Dentist in Mexico

I had a dentist appointment at 11:30 this morning, so I left quite early to give me time to hunt down chia seeds at the mercado. I decided to start with a lady who sells nuts and dried fruit and whom I could pretty find blindfolded from the entrance by Tony’s on Leandro Valle. She had chia seeds… That was a little quicker than I’d expected, I still had an hour to kill, and I couldn’t eat. Dang!

I wandered around the mercado a bit and found the dividing line between the tourist and the local sections. The tourist section is horrible, with the vendors being incredibly aggressive and unpleasant. There are a few things I’d like to buy that I know I’ll get the best prices on at the mercado, but the vendors really turn me off. You can’t just browse and take in all the sights and colours. Very disheartening and I wish there was a tourist bureau I could vent to… My friend Janet made similar comments to me during our Monday ride. She said she felt “assaulted” and I don’t think she’s exaggerating at all!

But the local part of the mercado is wonderful to wander around in! That’s pretty much anything that involves food. I had a leisurely stroll through the butcher and fish shops, realising that, really, I could buy meat and fish there if I came with a bag full of ice for the trip home. I’d definitely get better selection than at the supermarkets. I found the coffee roasting place a few people have mentioned, ogled the cheeses, and made a mental note of what fruits and veggies I wanted to pick up after my appointment.

Around 11:00, I decided to go sit in the dentist’s air conditioned waiting area and read. She had a few English magazines, so they were fun to browse through. She’s punctual, so I went in at almost bang on 11:30.

So going to the dentist in Canada:

Dentist: MY GOD. YOUR TEETH! Why don’t you go to the dentist more often?!

Me: I can’t afford it.

Dentist (tutting): Can’t afford it. *snorts* It’s all a matter of priorities. *gets to work*

Me: It hurts…

Dentist: Stop whining. It doesn’t hurt. *finishes* That’ll be an arm, a leg, and half a hand.

Going to the dentist in Mexico:

Dentist: MY GOD. YOUR TEETH! What is wrong with your country that dentists care so much more about profit than making sure everyone can afford dental care???!!!

Me: I wish I knew. 🙁

Dentist: This is going to cost you 800 pesos total (66CAD). Can you afford that?

Me: Yes! Thank you!

Dentist (gets to work): Does this hurt?

Me: Yes…

Dentist: We’ll wait another minute. *waits* How about now?

Me: Can’t feel a thing!

Dentist: All done. Are you okay?

Me: Yup! *happily hands over the agreed upon payment*

My tooth badly needs a crown, but I’m not willing to commit to that kind of work at this time. My plan is to get settled in MĂ©rida next year/early 2017 and then find a dentist and orthodontist I could form a long-term relationship with and get my dental issues fixed, something I have to say I rather regret not doing before I hit the road in ’08, when my dental plan would have covered a good chunk of orthodontic work. But it was time to go and I went.

The dentist said I couldn’t eat for an hour and a half and I was ravenous by this point. So decided that I would get an agua fresca, which is rather filling, as a compromise. But first, I picked up some fruits and veggies. The vendor held up the mango I’d chosen and told me it was $29 and did I still want it? I replied yes and that I knew they’re out of season. She gave me a thumbs up at that and bagged everything up for me. Expensive mango, but I was in the mood and I never hesitate to buy fruit as a treat! I also got a really big jicama, which was less than $10.

Then, I picked an agua fresca vendor who had guava! I discovered guava last year and I cannot turn down an opportunity to have a treat made from it! The agua fresca was huge, with tiny pieces of guava in it, for just $17. Like most Mexican sweets, it was just sweet enough, and very refreshing!

Now, I have to get some work done even though I am really not in the mood to do so. Let’s see if I can finish in time to get my Friday night hot dogs!

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(Advanced) Voting Day

With all the shadiness, corruption, and fraud surrounding the last few elections (so bad that we’re getting an international observer this time around), I wasn’t taking a chance with not being able to vote in this one. So I took advantage of advancing voting this time around and headed to town today to cast my ballot…

Polls opened at noon, so I got in quite early to get propane first since I was turned away the last two times. The manager was there and was quite upset when I told her this, saying that her staff had been advised to call her if anyone needed propane. Someone is going to get a talking to!

I then went out in search of the polling station. It was buried deep in town with absolutely no signage except right on the door. It was only 11:15 and there was no one in sight, so I went for an early lunch. By the time I got back to the polling station, it was bang on noon. One of the returning officers works for the Willow Bunch Museum and knows me very well, so she had me witness the putting together of the ballot box. Then, I got in line to vote. There was only one person ahead of me and one person behind me.

Then, the fun began. Despite all the time I spent on the phone with Elections Canada and their confirmation, both verbally and on the website, that I’m registered to vote, I was not on the list today! I was registered on the spot and, just to make doubly sure that there wouldn’t be any issues, the lady who knows me also signed an oath to that effect and that there is no doubt that I was voting at the correct poll. I was then able to vote. All told, the process took a measly 10 minutes. I don’t know what it would have been like if there wasn’t someone there to vouch for me. And I can’t believe there was someone who could vouch for me!

The outcome of this election won’t change my plans to move to Mexico next year, but could very well be the deciding factor in whether I keep ties here (ie. Haven) or decided to tell this country to go fornicate with itself and put Haven on the market. I’m that fed up with the ever increasing gap between my values and that of the the average Canadian voter. If Canada and I were in divorce proceedings, which I suppose we are in a way, I’d cite irreconcilable differences.

The drive home was wonderful. I spotted a coyote in broad daylight who was not afraid of me. I took many pictures of him from several angles because he was blocking the road and I didn’t feel comfortable moving past him.

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Then, a short way up the road, I had to brake hard to let someone else cross the road. By the time I managed to get my camera up on my phone, this is all I could capture of him:

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(That’s an antelope (pronghorn), by the way!)

Today coincided with some of the most amazing weather we’ve had since I got home in May, very HOT and sunny. Wow! It’s downhill from here, though. No worries, I will be somewhere in Colorado this time in two weeks!

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Making Sense of New Mexican Visa Rules

Where I am right now in my life plan is that I want to go Mexico full-time next winter (although I am prepared to defer that one additional year if need be). So that gives me a year to get everything sorted out, including navigating all the new visa rules. It’s really hard to get advice right now because so many ‘old timers’ are used to the old system and really don’t know anything about the reformed immigration system. Another thing is that Mexico is getting more and more computerized, so a lot of these people just aren’t cognizant of just how strictly you need to follow the rules now compared to the old days.

This is going to be the first in what will likely be a series of posts as I figure out what I need to know to get to myself to Mexico permanently.

Here are a few of the things I need to consider:

Visas

The most pressing thing I need to figure out is how do I get to stay in Mexico for longer than 180 days and begin the path to citizenship? I’ve been getting a lot of conflicting info on that and false hope that I can get citizenship within about five years. Last night, I finally managed to sort it all out.

I read in several places that if I am self-employed with clients outside Mexico and can prove that I make a minimum amount per month, I can apply to be residente permanente (permanent resident), just as a retiree would, and be eligible after four years to apply for citizenship. This is false.

The visa I need to apply for is residente temporal (temporary resident). This isn’t as scary as it sounds. If you get it, you are allowed to stay in Mexico for a full year and then reapply for up to an additional three years. At the end of the three years (four total), you either leave Mexico or convert to a residente permanente visa, and then begin to the path to naturalization.

While the residente temporal path will take me a lot longer to get through, it will actually make it easier for me to get my foot in the door because the income requirements are so much lower and you only need to prove them for the past six months, not a full year. I am now making more than the minimum for both schemes, and, in fact, average at least twice the minimum for the residente temporal requirements. If I can show them a year’s worth of statements, not just the six months they ask for, I’m sure that will give me an edge.

I am also planning to do my interview in Spanish since I can answer the questions easily even without having researched certain terms ahead of time. Some of the questions I need to answer could be why do I want to move to Mexico and how will I support myself?

These visas can only be applied from at your home consulate, which, in my case, is in Calgary. So I need to plan to go there next fall. All this visit gives you is permission to apply for temporary residence when you get to the border. You can still get turned away.

Financial and Tax Matters

I really need to find myself a tax accountant who deals with people in my situation. Google is being surprisingly non-helpful in this regard. If anyone reading this has a tax account who deals with Canadians who move to Mexico, please send me their info!

It’s really unclear at this point what my tax obligation will be when I move to Mexico permanently beyond the fact that I won’t have to pay Mexican taxes. I may be able to be deemed a non-resident for tax purposes in Canada if I cut all my ties here, but I plan to keep my property, so I may not be able to. Needless to say, my next step really is to find an accountant.

I have some debts here that I need to pay off. It’s not realistic to think that I can pay them all off within the next year, but I can make a big enough dent to make a difference. So that’s going to be a priority for me as soon as I get to the lower Mexican cost of living in November.

Vehicle

I need to see if I can keep a legal vehicle here and my SK driver’s license while on residente temporal status or if I should get my Mexican driver’s license and have it be good here.

It is really difficult to bring a non-Mexican plated vehicle into Mexico and nearly impossible right now to have it converted into a Mexican vehicle. I wanted to buy myself a ‘new’ car next spring, but am revising that plan. You can’t have a non-Mexican vehicle on a residente permanente visa anyway, so I think I’m better off not even bothering bringing a vehicle into Mexico and buying one when I get there.

Housing

I’m planning to fly to MĂ©rida this winter to check it out as my possible initial home base for my new life in Mexico, if only to have a comparison point to MazatlĂĄn. I really like the idea of being down in the YucatĂĄn with all the history, MĂ©rida is a colonial city like Maz, it is easier to get to from Montreal, it is one of the lower cost ex-pat destinations (compared to, say, San Miguel de Allende or Lake Chapala), and it has enough of an ex-pat population that immigration services are nearby (no having to drive two hours to get a visa stamped).

Part of the trip will be to look at the rental market and possibly pick out my landing place for the next winter so I have a Mexican address for my visa application. This would involve a much more formal arrangement than what I have in Maz, with a 12-month rental contract and deposit. It will be a gamble to take if I don’t get my temporary resident status approved, but, worst case, I’d still get to use most of the 180 days I’d have as a visitor, so it wouldn’t be a total loss. If I go ahead and sign a contract, I’d probably aim to have it start January 1st of 2017. If I manage to get to MĂ©rida sooner, I could take a short-term rental.

Household Goods

I’m allowed to import so much ‘stuff’ when I move to Mexico permanently, but that amount will be seriously limited if I decide to fly rather than drive in. The truth is that at this point, I can pretty much carry with me everything that I need to start over in life and the rest is just stuff that can easily be purchased anywhere. Yes, some things are more expensive in Mexico, but it’s really not worth the effort to me to pack up a U-Haul with my dishwasher, tools, and washing machine, especially when I would still need them while here. I’m convinced that I can get it all on a plane by paying for excess luggage, a much cheaper option than having anything shipped.

Healthcare

Under a temporary resident visa, I would be eligible for Mexican government healthcare, just like I am eligible in SK. This is basic emergency care and I would also have the option of paying out of pocket for access to private clinics. I will have better access to both regular and emergency care in Mexico than I have ever had in Canada, so I’m not too worried about this part of the moving to Mexico plan.

Name

I’ve been thinking of changing my first name name legally to Rae for several years now and the more I dig into the Mexican bureaucracy and see how much paperwork I’d have to fill out, the more I’m convinced that changing my name before I apply for anything would be really helpful since my legal name on my passport and birth certificate is about a billion miles long and I don’t want to have to keep needing to spell it. Its accent and hyphen also keep causing me grief. This would, of course, delay applying for the visa.

I’m absolutely serious about going to Bulgaria next summer and think that I could start the name change process upon coming back and then apply for my new birth certificate and passport, which I’d need anyway since my current one expires in early spring 2017. This would mean delaying my visa request into the winter, so moving to a short-term rental in Calgary while I sort out everything could be the neatest solution to covering this gap.

A name change request for someone born anywhere in Canada but Quebec is easy. For a Quebecer, it is very difficult and just about impossible if you’re a resident of the province. I’ve spent a lot of time researching this and believe I may have found the path of least resistance in the red tape, so this might not be the impossible plan it seemed a few years ago.

Conclusion

My ‘I want to move to Mexico!’ plan is firming up as I collect more information. It’s no longer something I’m just talking about and researching, but rather actually making concrete steps in implementing. The idea of taking nine or ten years to become a citizen is a bit daunting, but I have to live somewhere, so why not there? It’s not like I’d be a prisoner of Mexico and unable to leave for holidays elsewhere (I’d just need to pay attention to the rules of how much I can be out of Mexico in a certain period of time to not lose my residency status). I’d also have a whole big country to explore and could plan to move to a different city every couple of years!

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A Life By Design

I tend to present my projects as faits accomplis, done deals, except to a chosen few who are cursed with hearing all the details about a plan. I’m not sure why I do it that way. Fear of failure, perhaps? Fear that if I bring my project into the light of day, the universe will strike me down for my pride and put stumbling blocks in my path? Who knows.

There’s a lot going on with me right now that I think I need to share because I have chosen to put my life out there with this blog. I know that I sometimes appeared scattered, jumping from one idea to the next, but I actually do have a plan for my life and it is coming together behind the scenes. I think it’s time to draw the curtain. When things come together for me, they tend to do so very, very quickly and I don’t want to feel that I need to explain myself with any future moves.

I’ll start off by saying that I have always known what I wanted to do with my life: see the world. Travel has always been the constant yearning and everything else has been but a balm on an itch. Science has proven that there is such thing as a wanderlust gene. If you look at my family tree on my mother’s father’s side, you will see the names of some of the greatest explorers in Canadian history. I am hardcoded for wanderlust. It truly is a biological imperative.

It took me a very long time to figure out how to see the world. I can’t count the number of hours I’ve spent tallying up how to pay the rent and the bills and maintain a certain lifestyle while saving up to take two or maybe three weeks, if I was lucky, to go exploring. I took a few trips, most notably to Scotland in 1998, and the more I traveled, the worse my urge became. It actually helped somewhat to not travel and focus on the half of me that is a stereotypical 1950s homemaker.

But then, the door to travel opened for me after my dad died and somehow, with a courage I did not know I had, I stepped into the unknown. Followed some of the most amazing years I will ever have as I traveled the continent on a super tight budget, seeing more of it than I could have ever dreamed of doing on four, even five times the annual income. I thought RVing could be It for me, the way to soothe my wanderlust forever, but, like an addict, I needed a bigger and bigger fix. After just about completing my Canadian and U.S. bucket lists, Mexico beckoned, but was just out of reach.

I thought that spending a few more winters in the U.S. while I continued to get my financial footing before going to Mexico would suit me, so the next logical step in my life was to get a home base. Some permanent travelers have friends or family they can always return to and where they are nearly indefinitely welcome, but that wasn’t the case for me. I had to find my own Haven, and I did. I think I knew deep down as I signed the property transfer papers that my RVing life was winding down, but it took those final two cross-continent journeys to prove it to me. I had an amazing final winter on the road, but the journey to a place I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go was fraught with difficulty… and wonderful encounters with generous people.

I was afraid when I landed here in the spring of 2013, afraid that this was going to be It for me because I couldn’t see a way past being here, and that fear mounted as my summer stretched into a winter and then a second summer. I was financially and emotionally at one of the lowest points in my life and so very weary, but this place renewed me. I knew that I finally had a well of infinite energy from which I could draw, that no matter where my life took me, I could return to this place and emerge renewed.

And sure enough, from my time here, where I could focus on monetary matters, the future became a little clearer. I got the contract that gave me the courage to head for Mexico, and we all know how that turned out (for those who haven’t be reading, Mexico was an amazing fit for me!). That contract did not pan out, so I was left in Mexico with just the contracts I’d had before, which I would never have thought would be enough to sustain me in so bold an endeavour, but I did just fine.

I figured out very early in my RVing life that working for myself was going to be the key to my freedom to see the world and there were a lot of false starts as I figured out what I could do from the road and find enough work to support myself. By the time that big contract came in late February of 2014, I was at my limits. If a big break didn’t come, I was ready to give up and get a job. So while the contract didn’t work out, it came at just the right moment, buying me enough time to get to Mexico and realise that I wasn’t ready to give up all my temporal freedom for the sake of a full-time job. I did consider a part-time summer job in Saskatchewan, however, and that’s rather the mindset I had on my way home last spring. But I’d built up enough of a buffer in Mexico that the urge didn’t feel as pressing as it had a few months prior. I knew I wouldn’t have many distractions this summer and that I could focus on getting better paying work.

Things came together for me as they always do when the time and place are right and my dream job fell into my lap. I still don’t want to say too much about it, but I am working for a company whose founder had the same dreams for his life as I do for mine, and fulfilled them, and so I know that I can always fall back on that if an immediate supervisor who doesn’t understand my lifestyle gives me grief when asking for a modicum of flexibility. In fact, much of what I proofread is relevant to the next step in my life journey and is helping me prepare for it. If that is not proof that I am firmly on my Path, I don’t know what is!

Let me backtrack a bit here to reiterate that when I bought my property, I expected it to eventually be a place I could retire to. I envisioned my future with the resources I had then. I don’t play the ‘if I win the lottery’ game, but plan with what I have and remain flexible if things change.

Well, everything has changed for me this summer because of this new client. I’m really pleased that I pushed the internet thing through as far as I did because it not panning it out was just the kick in the seat that I needed to stop clinging to old ideas I had about my future when so many doors have opened up to me. It’s a really surreal. I feel like I won the lottery without having realised that I was playing all along.

It was only seven years and three months ago that my old financial planner told me to go out into the world and play. He warned me that I would have years of misery as I built my new life, but that he was convinced that I would do better for myself financially than I ever could working my 35 years for the government and that I’d have a life to show for it all. He was absolutely right.

Why remain here in a (beautiful and wonderful!) Canadian backwater when I can work from anywhere? I am too young to be here puttering around and working myself to the bone. My second Mexican winter is upon me (in fact, I will be arriving this day in two months!) and it will be glorious, with all that extra free time and money available to me.

But what of next summer?

Even though my internet situation is greatly improved (and due to be blogged about), the severance has been made. I love this place and it will always be here for me, but it has played its role for the time being. I’m going Somewhere Else for most of the next summer. I need good internet, a time zone difference compatible with work, a super cheap cost of living, and a stable enough political situation. The answer is a country so far off my radar that I didn’t even know where it’s located until I pulled out a map! So here is my first big public announcement after all that bla bla bla: I intend to spend 90 days next summer in Bulgaria.

A decision like that always leads to new discoveries as I do research. Bulgaria is part of the Schengen Agreement, which comprises most European countries. Ninety days would be barely enough to see all of Bulgaria; what if I wanted to stay in Europe instead of coming back to North American so I could try another country? This question led me to the jackpot.

The gold standard in passports is to have one from the European Union. It opens up the entire European continent and all its benefits. It is also very difficult to get one unless you work in a specialized field or marry a national. I have tried for 20 years to figure out how to get myself a European passport short of marrying someone and the answer fell into my lap today. Just like that. It was one of those lightning bolt moments that makes me understand some of the trials I’ve been put through as it makes sense of a lot of my pondering.

Some European countries, like Spain, have a permanent residency scheme and path to citizenship for freelancers, folks with independent income from outside Europe… Of course, there’s a lot of red tape and it’s never as simple as it looks on a website, but the short of it is, you move to Spain as a freelancer, get your permanent residency, and then ten years later, sooner if you meet certain criteria, you become a citizen.

I could do that!

But here is where things get a little interesting. If you are a citizen of a Spanish-speaking country, you can get your Spanish citizenship in about two years rather than ten.

It takes about five years to get Mexican citizenship. On paper, it looks like I could get both Mexican and Spanish citizenship in less time than it would take to get just Spanish. Of course, I’m sure I will encounter tripwires with this idea/plan, but it’s one worth exploring. So discovering that I could get a European passport doesn’t derail at all my plan to get Mexican citizenship.

So from where I’m sitting tonight, with the resources currently available to me, I see myself back at Haven for about three months next year, as bookends to my Bulgaria trip, and then off to Mexico for as long as it takes to get my citizenship. It could mean being in Canada well into the winter as a good part of the permanent resident visa process must be done from your home country. But with the nearest consulate being in Calgary, I’d probably just get a short-term rental there while I deal with the paperwork so I wouldn’t be living in an RV in -40 weather again.

Once I have my Mexican citizenship, the next step would be to move to Spain and repeat the process there. And then? Who knows… I’ll be nearing 50 by then and could, in theory, retire at 55, especially if I choose to base myself in a country with a low cost of living, like Mexico. That will be the beauty of having all these citizenships, that I won’t have to base myself somewhere that I’d have to pay usurious taxes, which eliminates Canada and most of the European Union.

But Haven will always be here. I like the idea of finishing up enough work to have a rentable property here, just for a bit of added income, especially if the oil comes, as we suspect it will. I will always have this port of call in between projects. For instance, if I find that I can’t get everything aligned to go to Mexico right away, it won’t cost me much money to wait here, and the same for going to Europe. I am aware that I need to figure out a modicum of property management while I’m gone, however.

Some or none of this may come to pass. But many more possibilities exist where fewer were before. And long-term blog readers will remember that I talked about RVing till I was about 40 and then taking off to see the rest of the world. So rather than shaking your head at me with my grand ideas, take note that I’m four years ahead of where I thought I’d be… and I have a paid for property, not something I had factored into those dreams. When I want something, I make it happen. So don’t be so surprised next year if I do end up blogging from Sofia!

This was post was edited on November 4th, 2016, to add categories and tags. I am just grinning as I reread it, having come from four months in the Balkans, including 90 days in Bulgaria. I do talk big… but I get things done. 🙂

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Moving Forward

I thought I’d give a status update, an indication of where my head is in terms of Haven and future travel plans in response to some comments I’ve received.

Let’s start with Haven. My goal with this property is to develop it slowly over time so that when Miranda is no longer liveable, I will have a paid for home to move into. So converting the grainery into a liveable house is a long-term plan for me, but there are immediate things that need to be done to ensure that the structure does not deteriorate.

As for the property itself, I want it to be very, very low maintenance. I intend to be away from Haven during the winter months from now on and eventually take even longer trips that could see me away for years and do not want my neighbours to be stuck with the sight of a neglected property, nor responsible for doing my maintenance (it’s not like I can hire a landscaping company out here!)

So I am researching xeriscaping and beginning to collect hardscaping materials so that I can start pulling weeds and sod and replace them with plants that won’t grow out of control and/or inorganic materials.

I’m therefore spending a lot of money, time, and effort on Haven this summer because I am going away soon, and for a long while, and I don’t want to be overwhelmed when I get back.

Going away?

I had a thought for last winter that was too late to pull together after Neelix died unexpectedly. That thought was to drive to Mexico in my truck and rent an apartment for the winter.

I’ve come to realise that the only big bucket list item right now that is overwhelming anything else is the wish to live in another country for a while, one where the main language is something other than English or French, and with a different culture. Mexico is within reach right now and would definitely satisfy that itch.

RVing to Mexico is just too daunting a prospect, what with two vehicles and two borders. Plus, staying in RV parks wouldn’t really be living in another country, but rather living with a group of like-minded ex-pats. Renting an apartment in Mexico in a Mexican community is much more what I have in mind.

A few weeks ago, a blog reader sent me some information on apartment rentals in an area she goes to every winter, as well as leads on what would be the perfect apartment for me. I’m not quite ready to contact the owner of the place yet and make arrangements to rent (the size of the apartment being so small that there’s little fear of it disappearing), but I’ve started my research and am committed to leaving for Mexico in October!!!

So the cat’s out of the bag and you can all breathe easy now that you know that my nomadic tendencies are alive and well. 😉

There is a lot to think about, especially banking and internet matters.

I know that Scotia Bank exists in Mexico, so I will go to a branch in Moose Jaw and Regina to see about opening up a secondary account with them so that I don’t have all my money in one bank and so I can get help locally if needed.

Internet is going to be extra important now that I have my new amazing client that requires tons and tons and tons and tons of bandwidth a month. So I have to make sure that I can get in Mexico the 40 to 60GB of bandwidth a month I will need, reliably and without going bankrupt. And, please, no suggesting that I find a place with a WiFi hotspot I can tap into as I am not a thief. 😉

I am so excited about the winter ahead, even if the thought of leaving Miranda behind for eight months is more than a little daunting! But she has taken me where I needed to go and it’s time to continue my traveling adventures with Moya. I am so looking forward to an easy drive straight south through Wyoming and Colorado without worrying about taking a huge rig through all those mountain passes.

Eight months? Thereabouts. I’d like to tag a month in the States on both sides of the trip. There’s no problem taking my truck out of the province that long and a letter to SK Health will ensure continuity of my health coverage. I’ll have been in Haven eighteen months when I leave in October. I don’t think an eight month absence will be excessive, but rather a much needed mental health break. 🙂

So all that to say, I’m pretty sure my travels with Miranda are over. I want to continue blogging, but I don’t know yet if it will still be on this blog or if I’m going to start a new one. I’m not in a rush to make that decision since I am still living in an RV and will continue to write about RV life.

Right now, I’m about five years ahead of where I thought I would be today, but in an even better place than expected. Having a property I own outright never factored into the new life plan I put together in 2008. How secure this place makes me feel is incalculable. It makes me comfortable taking risks, making big plans, and continuing to live as I am determined to. This place is true financial security.

That my RV travels lasted five years instead of ten does not feel like a failure to me, but more like a triumph and a reminder that when I set goals, I move forward doggedly, obstacles be damned. And I’m most definitely in the market for a little travel trailer. Probably not this year, but likely the next. Maybe it’ll be the Miranda II. With me, who knows? 🙂

There’s lots of good stuff coming down the pipeline. So just remember that every post that has me expending energy into my property is a reminder that I am thinking of pulling out, not that I am getting rooted. Much as I love this place, and I do, it is a port of call, not a final destination.