It’s time I start to plan this escapade to move abroad. I feel the need to throw caution to the wind a bit; I don’t want to over complicate this, especially as it tends to be a fairly complicated thing to do.

First off, I don’t want to limit myself to a single country, I imagine living and working in a few countries over the course of a few months.

Secondly, I imagine I’ll be coming back to the UK once I’m done but I’m not opposed to the idea of staying a bit longer if it makes sense to do so.

Thirdly, I don’t want this to be a big holiday, I want to live in these countries, not just play “tourist”; I’ll get bored if I do that for too long. I will do a bit of tourism though, take some photos and write a journal.

Last time I wrote about this, I mentioned a few places that I’d be interested in living in:

• Norway
• Sweden
• Korea
• Japan
• Switzerland

I’ll update this list as I start to think more about what I want to do when I get there. And also, it’s worth considering that I might want to stay in the first country I move to, so it better be my No.1. But honestly, I don’t think anyone can predict their ideal home without living there first.

So what do I want to do when I get there, wherever it is?

There are a few options that I can think of:

• Remote software development
• Teaching English
• Writing, producing and performing music
• Writing novels
• Making games
• Enjoying myself

It’s quite scary in a way to see all of these possibilities but I must remember that whatever I do, it doesn’t have to be a fantastic success! I want to focus on doing something and do it without thinking too much. I’ve done way too much thinking about what I’m doing in the last few years, I reckon it’s time to be a bit reckless and let go a bit.

And it’s not like any of the things listed above are guaranteed to tick all the boxes. Some boxes are a requirement, e.g. the “earn enough money” box.

Boxes for ticking:

• legally permitted to work in country
• people roughly my age + interests to socialise with
• earning enough money to live
• renting a place that is affordable, social
• lots of forest to walk around in
• plenty of amenities nearby
• plenty of stuff to do
• expat community

Good. This feels like a good list. OK no more thinking. Next, I will look at places/jobs that tick the boxes.