I Moved to Bali. So what?

When people ask me why I decided to leave the USA I tell this story:

When I was 18 years old I decided to travel abroad, so I bought a two-week Eurail Pass. The pass allows a traveler to easily move between countries in Europe as well as sleep on the trains, all for one price. After two weeks I wrote a letter to my parents (no such thing as cell phones in 1975) that I’m going to stay in Europe for as long as possible.

(Photo somewhere in Belgium. I was given a tent and a backyard for the night by this woman and her husband)

I spent a total of five months abroad, visiting 14 countries including Kenya and Tanzania. I had a budget of about $1,500 from teaching tennis in Brooklyn, NY.

(Mrs. Rainbow and I outside of Nairobi, Kenya)

The part of the story that is relevant here is that having traveled to 14 countries at the age of 18 I met some very lovely people (although to be fair I was robbed once too). But overall the uniqueness of each country and the folks I encountered made me promise myself that someday I would live abroad.

I’m 60 now. And so there’s no time like the present.