We are Rachel and Al. In July 2021, we both retired from jobs we loved to begin the next great adventure in our lives. We hatched the plan as an interesting idea to talk about, far in the future: someday we want to live in a different country each year, for a full year, for ten years. Now the future is here! Our kids are grown and scattered, our health is still good. We seized the opportunity presented by an early retirement offer to fast-forward the time frame, sold nearly everything we owned, and here we are, exploring the world, one country at a time. If you’re interested in following along with our adventure, sign up below! If you want to learn more about us, click on About. If you want to learn more about the plan and how we launched it, click on the links to other articles we’ve written. And if you want to catch up on where we’ve been and what we’ve seen and learned along the way, check out our Blog and Photo galleries (above).
Latest Post
Northlands
When I think of “northlands,” I think of Canadian tundra. In New Zealand, people think of beaches. Growing up in the Northern Hemisphere, I learned early on that it’s just the nature of our world for temperatures to drop when you head north. But that was such a Northern attitude. When we drove north from…
Great Walks
Not all great walks are Great Walks. New Zealand has officially designated 11 multi-day hikes as a network of Great Walks, but there are plenty more that could easily qualify. The idea of a Great Walk is a multi-day hike in a highly scenic area on a well-maintained trail managed by the Department of Conservation…
Geothermal Explorers
Driving down Volcanic Loop Highway (yes, that’s really the name of the road), it may be unsurprising to see a large, classic cone-shaped volcano jutting up above a flat plain strewn with volcanic rocks, but it is still starkly beautiful. Hiking the Tongariro Crossing, an all-day trek that cuts between three volcanoes, the landscape is…
Seeing the World, One Year at a Time 