Departure Date
The “Million Dollar Highway” just outside of Ouray, Colorado. (November 2021)
Anyone who hangs out with Michael and I frequently or has kept up with recent blog posts knows that we’ve been planning to take a “sabbatical” (a.k.a. gap year) so that we can travel the country and do the full time #vanlife thing. We’ve been talking about it for about three years now. And even though I had four goals I wanted to accomplish before we cut loose and hit the road (see link to recent blog post above), the fourth goal has been delayed by forces beyond my control. And we’re not willing to put our larger life goals on hold for it forever. But we’re not ready to leave just yet. We still have a lot of upgrades to make to the van (which are ongoing), and some health things we want to get taken care of while we still have great insurance. Plus, extra time to figure out what our plan is and save up some more money is definitely a good thing. So we signed another year lease on our apartment, which is through July 31, 2023.
And that’ll be the end of our Lexington chapter. I think I’m planning to have my last day at my job to be June 30, 2023, and letting my boss know that right after the winter holidays. Six months’ notice should be plenty of time to work through HR to hire and train my replacement and show them the ropes. June 30th is the end of the fiscal year for my workplace, and also falls on a Friday next year, so that feels serendipitous. That’ll give me a month to pack up our apartment and figure out what the heck we’re going to do with all of our stuff, as well as give me as much availability as possible to spend time with our friends before we hit the road.
Having a little over a year to plan for our departure makes things a little smoother all around, as I serve on multiple committees and boards that I can step down from without cutting a term short and leaving my fellow volunteers scrambling.
With our only expenses on the road being (essentially) gas, insurance, food, and fun activities, I think I’ll have enough money saved up to make the sabbatical a full calendar year. But Michael and I have yet to sit down and actually make a budget, which we’ll be doing in the next few weeks, so we can plan appropriately. If worse comes to worst, I can always get a part-time job, or we can cut our “funemployment” short and get back to the grind.
Where we end up after the sabbatical ends depends in part on what happens while we’re on the road and where I can find a career-job, but the plan is to stick to the southeast and get closer to the mountains and whitewater places we love (western North Carolina, east Tennessee, etc.).
It’s crazy to have an actual date on the calendar now, after so much time dreaming about how we could make it happen. I’m stoked that we set our minds to it so long ago and have put in the work and slowly checked the boxes that have allowed that dream to come to fruition. Departing will be bittersweet. We love Lexington, we love our community, we love our friends and the life we’ve built here. I love my job too. Saying goodbye will be hard. But it will be worth it, and we’re excited about the next chapter.
