After traveling the world on and off for two years between different jobs, James and I were ready to settle down again and create a home.
I can remember sitting at a camping ground in the middle of Europe (we spent 2 months living in our tent travelling Europe) and writing down places we could consider calling ‘home’ for the next few years. James and I each made a list and took turns reading off one suggestion after another - some more doable than others!
We had a few obstacles in our way that limited our options - the main one being that James and I are from different countries. I am from the USA and he is from New Zealand.
In the end British Columbia, Canada and Bali, Indonesia were the top of the list. James had work opportunities in BC and a contact that could sponsor both of our visas and Bali was a location where, jobs depending, we could both obtain work permits to allow us to legally live in the country.
Once we had narrowed it down I went straight to the bookstore and bought Lonely Planet British Columbia and Lonely Planet Bali and stayed up night after night reading and dreaming of what the next few years could look like depending on the location we chose.
I am a beach girl - always have been and always will be. I grew up in a beach town (Virginia Beach) and could walk to the ocean every day. I love the mountains too, and James is a real mountain man - with a love for skiing and radical mountain biking. Before our travels James and I had lived in Queenstown, New Zealand for 3 years - the most amazing mountain town.
So tossing and turning and mulling it over we decided to go for Bali - a new place to call home by the beach, with views of Mount Agung and Mount Batur in the distance.
Once the decision was made we were all in - we were moving to BALI to try and find jobs, swim in the ocean and drink coconuts on the sand! Of course, it’s not as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 but after a few months of living in Bali we had found a long term rental, secured jobs with proper work permits which gave us resident status, and the best bit … found our forever dog Scout!
