Homeless?

Well, my landlord gave me notice in the fall and I had to move before Christmas. He said his daughter wanted to live in the suite after her marriage. This may be partially true and they might live there for a while, but he really wanted to jack up my rent. He had tried to raise it by $200 per month at the beginning of the year and I told him that he could not do that as it is against the law. So, I began to plan my next steps.

I have always wanted to do some extended travel and now seems like a great time to do so. I was going away for 6 weeks over Christmas and New Year anyway, so I put all my things in storage. I am finally able to sell my Grande Prairie townhouse. (It went on the market yesterday!) I don't have to maintain an apartment here in BC (so I won't have any ongoing housing expenses, just a much smaller amount for storage rental). I do have some personal and professional commitments in Canada until the end of June but after that I can be anywhere.

My work is now at the point that I can be completely location independent. I can work from anywhere that I have WiFi or other data services. My assistants are in the home with the clients, I do assessments, supervise a percentage of their sessions and see my own clients all over Skype, FaceTime, or WhatsApp. All three have end to end encryption and so meet the FOIP and other professional requirements for client confidentiality & security.

At the end of November there was an AMAZING seat sale with Qantas for flights to Australia so I bought a round trip ticket to Brisbane for only $700 CAD!!! I will spend 2 1/2 months there from August to October. When I came back from Mexico at the end of February, I found a room to rent in a house with a woman who knows some of the people at my church and I can stay here until I leave. I am now in the process of setting up insurance (health/travel, storage, etc.), permission to maintain residency in BC while away (can do so for up to 2 yrs less a day), in country transportation for Australia & accommodations, a travel sim card that can be used worldwide, as well as an outline of where I want to go after that.

The general plan is:

1. August - October in Australia: Brisbane, Cairns, down the coast with various stops to Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Coober Pedy, & back to Brisbane.
2. October - February (March?) in Latin America (north part): Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia
3. March - April: not sure
4. May - October in northern & eastern Europe 

It's exciting, scary, wonderful, and terrifying, all rolled up in one. SO much to do . . . and so little time. Just 4 months away!