I’m not sure exactly when I started thinking about becoming an expat.

Maybe it was when a client told me about how he planned to take an international assignment in South America once his kids were out of high school. Maybe it was when someone gave me the book Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World.

I started reading blogs about people living the expat life.

My brother moved to Mexico to work at Maya Palms Resort in Mahuhual. And while Mark’s expat lifestyle has pros and cons, I envy that he took the chance to pick up and move to a foreign country where he didn’t even know the language.

Somewhere along the way I read that a couple can live really well in parts of Mexico…with a cook, driver, maid…for $25,000 per year. There are other countries that are even cheaper.

The idea of being able to live somewhere with a low cost of living, meaning I could make a lot less money but still live well, plus travel and experience new cultures simply excites me.

I haven’t figured it all out.

I am not set on where I will live or for how long. I’m not necessarily planning to pick one place and move there forever. Maybe I’ll stay for 3-12 months in a place and then try someplace new…or come back to St. Louis for a bit. Or maybe it will never happen. I can’t really see doing it alone, so I need to find someone who shares the dream.

All I know right now is that I hope it happens. I hope I find a soul mate, or maybe a best friend, who can pack up and go.

And in the meantime, I will keep reading and will use vacations to help pinpoint possible expat locations.

I’ll share more about what I learn in this blog from time to time. Maybe my expat dreams will strike a spark in you too…and we’ll cross paths someday somewhere in the world.

Disclosure: This blog post contains advertising. If you click the link for the book and decide to buy something at Amazon (the book or something else), I will get paid a tiny amount of money which will help me get closer to my dreams.