What did surprise me was that except for a small percentage of respondents, people would choose “money” and “a fancy job title” over things like “happiness,” “health,” or “friends.” Of course, money can help us attain a degree of happiness, but it seems a strange end goal to me. Encouragingly, “family” was ranked among the top choices for what is “important to your dream.” You can see the complete survey results here or even take the survey yourself, if you’d like.

Interestingly, one word I didn’t see mentioned at all throughout the survey was “freedom.” To me, this is what the American Dream is all about, and is in large part what the country’s first immigrants found so appealing — well, that and lots of cheap land. Prior to the 19th century, most countries were still run like caste systems, giving little chance for success, wealth, or ease to any except those born into a family who already had it. The American opportunity to pursue dreams, avoid religious oppression, and obtain wealth regardless of social class was a beacon to many.

However, a lot of things have changed since those early days. Most countries now respect women’s right to vote. Segregation by race has largely disappeared, and discrimination against different sexual orientations and religions is even beginning to lessen (well, in some places). Most modern countries allow any citizen to own land, create a business, run for political office, and believe whatever they want without fear of losing their rights. True, there is no utopian society on earth, but we are progressing overall, and the opportunity for success — not just in the United States, but globally — is at an all-time high.

Perhaps the survey didn’t mention freedom because we’re so used to it now that we forget we even have it. It seems that somewhere along the way, the Dream has shifted from the freedom to obtain wealth, success, and ease, to actually having those things. Historically speaking, the average person is wealthier than ever, and it’s become increasingly easy to live our dreams, whatever they may be.

But many people are still stuck in caste age thinking, limited only by their beliefs. Some fear that our society is on the brink of disaster. Fiat currency is being devalued in every corner of the globe, and further inflation is inevitable. Employees are losing jobs and many businesses are failing. Our planet is being polluted and its natural resources used up. Health care in the United States is so expensive that insurance is required to get even the most basic care. Some of our freedoms are even being eroded, from unwarranted property seizures, to the illegality of selling raw milk, to the inconvenient and useless “security” procedures at airports.

It seems we have no control over these events and circumstances. Are we doomed, as the pauper of old, to play out our lives with the cards we’ve been dealt and never aspire to do or become more? I say No! With each challenge comes an opportunity to rise above it. Further, I believe that the “New World” that was once America, now encompasses the entire globe. The Land of Opportunity is all around us. With the advent of the Internet, it also sits right in our lap.

People will always be willing to give you something in exchange for something else of equal or greater value. I’ve created an online business that provides value to music teachers, and they gladly pay me each month for the service I provide. Most of these teachers live in the United States, but many of them live in other countries including Australia, Singapore, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Ireland, Panama, Brazil, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and dozens more.

This business has allowed me to live my American Dream, which at some point may include a big house and fancy car, but for right now, it’s international travel, time to pursue my passions, improve myself, spend time with my family, and help others achieve their dreams. I’m hoping that the book I’m currently writing about how to create an online business will help accomplish that last one.

People everywhere are looking for valuable solutions to their problems. Do you have a solution that could help someone — anyone — somewhere in the world? If so, then you may have an opportunity to start living your American Dream. There is no need to limit yourself to your country of birth, nor to the social class in which you were raised. Borders between countries are imaginary lines, not much different from the lines that stand in between our dreams and our living reality. You can cross those lines and start living your dreams today. No passport required.

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Note: I wrote this article to be published at the same time as several other bloggers who all decided to write about the topic of the “American Dream.” Please see the other posts on this topic below.

• Nancy from Family on Bikes – What is the American Dream?
• Lisa from Around the World in Easy Ways – An American Dream Fairy Tale
• A King’s Life (hers) – Redefining an American Dream
• A King’s Life (his) — Livin’ the not-so-American Dream
• Talon from 1 Dad, 1 Kid, 1 Crazy Adventure – The American Dream
• Lisa Wood from New Life on the Road – Living the Australian Dream
• Lainie from Raising Miro – Erosion of the American Dream
• Bohemian Mom — The Illusion of the American Dream
• Kimberly from Fulltime Families — Trapped in the American Dream
• Family Travel Bucket List — Bye Bye Miss American Dream
• The Great Family Escape — The Real American Dream
• Melissa from Break Out of Bushwick — Good Morning, America, Let’s Occupy Wall Street!
• Livin On The Road – To dream a little dream of … travel

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If you haven’t heard of Expat Alley, it’s a great resource for those interested in living abroad, and includes many interviews from other expats as well. The author of the blog, Tom, is also the husband of Maya Frost who wrote the excellent book: The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Education, and Get a Truly International Education. If you’re interested in providing your kids a more global education, or if you just want to save some money on college, this is a great book to check out.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the interview, which posted today.

Click here to read the interview with Expat Alley.

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Yep. That’s right.

Are we crazy?

Probably.

You’re kidding, right? But… WHY?!!

Isn't Costa Rica Beautiful?

Well, you already know how much we enjoyed our trip to Panama. True, that was more of a vacation-mindset trip than it was a “living in another country” trip, but we still experienced our share of culture, language, and grew closer together as a family.

We have been thinking all year about where we wanted to go next. We knew we wanted to stick with Spanish speaking countries, because we’re not yet satisfied with our current Spanish ability. We looked into Peru, Ecuador, Colombia…

But then we realized – Hey! We can fly almost free ($50/person each way) to Costa Rica, because my step-mom works for Jet Blue. Costa Rica is right next door to Panama, which we loved. It’s pretty well developed (yes, maybe a little touristy), but beautiful. Perfect weather. Laid back culture. Relatively low cost of living. Why not?

Lots of volcanos in Costa Rica - even active ones!

So, we’ve spent quite a bit of time the past few weeks researching about Costa Rica. I’ve posted messages on Costa Rica forums, and have been learning about the different aspects of the country. We probably won’t choose exactly where we’ll live until we get there – we’d rather see the place before committing to a long-term rental agreement, wouldn’t you? But we are narrowing it down to a few small cities and towns.

Finding a place to settle down permanently isn’t necessarily even our goal. We seem to be explorers by nature, and get quickly bored unless we’re challenged with new experiences and places. I’m not saying we’ll never settle down. Who knows, we may someday buy a place we love, and start collecting “stuff” again. But right now, we don’t really care about that. We want to live with less, and be mobile.

Selling Everything. Owning Nothing.

We’ve also realized how attached we can become to our possessions. And how, beyond basic comforts, they don’t really contribute to our happiness. In fact, our possessions can really weigh us down. Think of how much time and maintenance is required to own a house or a car, for example.

Recently, after reading a chapter in “The New Global Student” about families who have made the move abroad, or who sold everything they owned, bought a boat, and sailed with their family for a few years; we realized that a location-independent lifestyle – where we get the chance to explore new cultures as we want to, go where we want to go, when we want to go there, meet new people, and constantly be out of our comfort zones and growing – is a very appealing lifestyle for us. Change and growth can be fun! Especially when compared to stagnating in the sameness of day-to-day life.

So, as crazy as the idea still sounds, we feel great about selling everything we own – yes, even our new car – and getting a one-way ticket to Costa Rica. Well, we won’t be getting rid of everything. We’ll each take a carry-on suitcase with us, and we’ll put some things in storage as well. We’ll probably take a little loss on the car and the house (we just refinanced), but it will be worth it. Also, immigration laws won’t let us get a true one-way ticket, but we’re making it work.

We plan to stay until we feel like leaving, and then go somewhere else new – maybe Argentina, Brazil, India, China, Italy – who knows! But we probably won’t be coming back to the U.S. to live for a while (unless we want to). Of course, we’ll still come back to visit for holidays or other occasions. We may only want to stay in Costa Rica for 3 months, or we may stay for 3 years. Either way, it will be an adventure.

Renters by Choice

We plan on renting furnished apartments or houses wherever we go, so we don’t have any “baggage”. Our expenses could be so much lower, too (in many countries), than they would be in the U.S. so we could end up saving a lot of money – as long as we don’t treat every day like we’re on vacation, but actually try to live normal lives. Well, normal is relative, but… you know.

Of course our income won’t be affected, because I have an on-line business that continues to generate income every month, and I can run it from anywhere. This has been a great blessing to us, and we’re grateful it continues to grow.

However, you may be interested to know that there are many people doing the same thing, who aren’t Internet entrepreneurs. There are other ways to support yourself when living abroad. And in some countries, you can support your family and live like a king for under $1,000/month. (Note: Costa Rica isn’t one of them, although many locals live comfortably on less).

If you’re interested in reading about the experience of others who have moved abroad, check out some of these websites:

• http://locationindependent.com/
• http://jetsetcitizen.com/
• http://www.freepursuits.com/
• http://chrisguillebeau.com/
• http://away-together.com/about/
• http://www.zenhabits.net/
• http://www.nerdynomad.com/

A Change of Culture

We’ve also thought a lot about what we really want to gain from living abroad. One of the main things we want is a change of culture. Not that we expect Costa Rica to be perfect. No place is.

But to us, the suburban American culture we live in seems focused so much on money, competition, and possessions, over people, friendships, and becoming a good person.  Sure, that’s a stereotype and isn’t always the case. And life is what you make it. Also, a healthy dose of money, competition, and possessions can be beneficial. But I think an unhealthy focus on these things, at the expense of people and service, permeates our society, in the media, movies, news, and more, and it’s difficult not to be affected. We want a simpler, kinder, slower, focus-more-on-what-matters kind of life, and we find that easier to live in other places.

As one example, think of the fast-paced and hurried lives many modern families are now engulfed in, with kids enrolled in so many after-school activities, from sports and music to dance and extra classes to parties and playing with friends, not to mention homework. The hope is that we can give our kids every opportunity for growth and development and let them get a taste of everything that’s out there, and achieve their greatest potential.

I think that’s great. But I feel like in doing so, we may be giving up something more valuable. Parents can easily spend a good portion of their day simply driving their kids from one place to another, especially in larger families. And the kids are involved with so many activities, it’s difficult to really focus on any of them. Kids and parents can become over scheduled and stressed out, losing touch with each other and with life itself. Some families may be able to handle this pace, and it could work great for them. But it’s not the lifestyle that works for our family – we’ve tried it to some degree, and didn’t like it. I want to live my life more at a pace where if I pass by the proverbial rose, I won’t hesitate to take time to smell and enjoy and appreciate it.

Disconnecting and Slowing Down

I’m also finding that I, like many others, have a technology addiction that can be consuming. I think it’s great to connect with people through e-mail, and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter (and yes, even the phone if I have to). It’s great to be able to stay in touch with people who are far away, and we plan to continue using these tools. But I find that if I don’t take time to disconnect from everything electronic, for significant portions of the day (or week), I’m not as connected with myself – or with life – as I want to be.

For years, I was a constant productivity machine, always checking my e-mail, trying to make every moment count toward whatever goal I was striving for.  That’s great. It’s brought me some wonderful rewards. But I feel like it’s time to slow down. And I think I have slowed down a lot in the past year or two. I’ve realized that the more I live my life in such a way that I am in touch with how I’m feeling, the more connected I feel not only to myself, but to others, and to God. Do I really want to miss out on these opportunities for greater inner peace, more enriching relationships, and real personal growth, by constantly doing more, knowing more, and having more? I think not.

Like Panama, Costa Rica will be a catalyst for these kinds of changes in our lives.

What about the kids’ education?

As mentioned in previous posts, we plan on homeschooling our children. Their minds are so inquisitive right now, and we plan on exploring their areas of interest as far as they want to take them, in addition to teaching them reading and basic math, in natural ways (see Unschooling). But to be honest, at their ages (almost 6 and 4), I’m more concerned about our kids personal development than I am about their academic education. As they get a little older, maybe we can do something more formal, possibly even enrolling them in some foreign schools. If they want to graduate from college, there are plenty of options to do so internationally (and early), that are much cheaper than attending a U.S. institution.

Of course we’ll try to make sure they have the skills they need to survive in the world, how to think and make decisions, and make a living, etc. We’ll all probably end up being at least trilingual. But we’re more concerned about the kind of people they become. And the kind of people we are. We want to make volunteering a bigger part of our life as well. We’ve already contacted a few orphanages in Costa Rica for starters, and plan to do what we can to help. We’ll see where life takes us.

I still can’t believe you’re doing this!

In some ways, neither can I. It may also surprise you that Jen, not me, has been the biggest instigator of this move. I had several doubts and hesitations about it myself. And I’m not excited about all the preparation work involved in leaving. But we know we want to do it. The rewards are too great to pass up. Our lives have been moving in this direction for years, and we’ve finally realized that this is the next step we need to take. (Although we would never have dreamed of making a jump like this two or three years ago.)

And while we may be a little crazy, we’re also happy. We’re all of a sudden willing to throw out so many of the ideas our culture has taught us about what’s important in life, what’s a necessity to have, and what we’re expected to do. We’re re-inventing our lives, learning from experience, and trying new and exciting things. It’s invigorating, and we feel alive!

We probably won’t be leaving until January, 2010, because there is a lot to do to get ready for the move. We’re going to miss our family and friends here, but in this global age of blogs, e-mail, Facebook, and Skype, I don’t think we’ll seem that far away. And we can always come back. Or you can come visit us! And we hope you will.

If any of you are interested in having our “stuff”, we’d be happy to have you take it off our hands. Everything from furniture, to cds and movies, toys, electronics, decorations, and more, has got to go. But there are some furniture pieces we’d like to keep within the family. We’ve already donated more than half our clothes to charity. The toys are next, so act fast before they’re gone. Just let us know if you’re interested, and you can come take a walk through our house and see if anything strikes your interest.

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We have realized a few things, however. We definitely do not want to be in Salt Lake City for another one of the winter air “inversions” – it’s like breathing poison, and we don’t like it at all. We’re also not big on cold and snow. Maybe we’ll stay in Salt Lake and just leave for the winter, or maybe we’ll make a permanent move. We don’t know.

The past few weeks in Panama, however, it’s been so refreshing to be in small towns rather than big cities. They seem much friendlier and laid back. Maybe we’re just relaxed because we’re on vacation, but we think the people and climate probably have something to do with it as well. It’s also been refreshing to experience a culture that doesn’t have so much of the clutter of materialism and busy-ness that seems to pervade much of the U.S.

Don’t misunderstand. We love Salt Lake. We love the people. We love our families and like living close to them. I love the great library system. We like how the Church has a big presence there. We feel safe there (in most places). The mountains are beautiful. All the comforts of life are readily available. And there are a lot of other things we like about it.

But when we have the option to live almost anywhere in the entire world, I feel like I’m not taking advantage of a fantastic opportunity for me and for my family, if I don’t at least explore what it’s like in other places.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?

Jobs and schools are not a concern because I have a business that I can run from anywhere with an Internet connection. And we plan on home schooling our kids – a decision we recently came to that I’ll go over in another post.

But with so many places in the world, I feel like a kid in a candy store – how do you choose?! We’ve started to narrow down the choices a little. We like warm (sorry Mom, this rules out Washington), green, clean, safe, relaxed-pace, friendly people, and no more than 45 minutes from the nearest LDS Ward or Branch (http://maps.lds.org). So far we’re liking small town life, but not too small – it’s got to have at least a decent grocery store, high-speed Internet, kids our girls’ ages, and some basic activities or classes (such as musical theater or art). Low cost of living is a nice plus.

Okay, so that’s a pretty demanding list. Maybe no such place exists, but with a world this big, we think it does. If nothing else, we’re up for some adventures and trying new things. If we don’t like a place, we can always come back, right? :)

Do you know any places that might fit the bill?

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