Options

I've always been a big fan of keeping your options open. Make a plan, but build in a divergent path and decision points. For peace of mind, this is worth it to me. But, it definitely adds a bit to the cost of doing something. Of course, if you need or want that secondary path, it saves a lot!

When we moved to Costa Rica (JulieAndRickInCostaRica), we took baby steps. There was nothing we could not undo, and undo easily. That let us free our emotions and minds to fully experience life there - it was great, and definitely the right thing for us to do.

Likewise, when we moved back to the states, we plunged in some ways, but also took it slow. We got our driver's licenses and registered our car. But we started with a 6-month lease, and rented a washer and dryer. We knew long before our 6-month decision point came that we wanted to stay longer; we went for it! We switched to a year lease, and bought our own laundry equipment :-)

And now? We have been in Albuquerque for just over a year, and only TODAY bought a REAL bed! What was our path to this bliss? We first had a *very* easily transportable bed consisting of 2 twin air mattresses, 6 footlockers, a plywood platform, and 1 king-sized foam topper. It worked well for us, but had its problems (mainly, it was a mold magnet, and had temperature control issues). Once we were sure we liked Albuquerque, we decided to try out a real mattress  - we went to a place that had a no-questions-asked return policy :-) and found a queen mattress that felt good. We gave it a good month to make sure we liked it (using our kludgey king platform), then went on the hunt for a frame. Which we got today! Yay!

Baby steps.

However, I will say that most of the time we did not end up veering from Plan A. We paid extra for the insurance of our alternate path and, in effect, let it lapse. So I have had the thought that perhaps, just perhaps, we have allowed for too many options. Maybe we need to take the plunge a bit more often...