You are definitely a voice of reason. It is still hard for me to get away from the “stuff” mentality. We keep changing our minds about what to do about the things in our lives. There are still 11 more months to go before my wife and I leave Japan, hopefully we will have a more minimalist existence by then.

Japan is a great country to return to. My wife and I really have to decide how many months of the year we are likely to spend here. Renting out the house would mean that we wouldn’t come back for a long time just because we wouldn’t have a place to stay. Keeping the house empty would force us to spend more time here. Both extremes are not optimal at this stage in our lives.

If you can be cash-flow positive and can find someone reliable to manage your home I’d rent it. That way you have the flexibility to come back to it later or simply keep it as an investment. If you’re 10 years into a mortgage you’re just starting to build equity so the value of each monthly payment will continue to increase. Be prepared for vacancies, repairs, and management fees. If you’re slightly cash-flow negative weight the estimated cost against the cost to sell then decide from there.

I’d store your things for a while but if you find you’re not coming back for a long time then I’d get rid of everything that can be replaced i.e. monitors, sofas, etc. Those storage costs can exceed the value of the items pretty quickly sometimes.

I’d probably sell the car. You can always buy another one – even the same model and color – when you get back. A car needs to be used and maintained so unless you have someone who will drive it periodically and get the oil changed you’ll be better off without it. Besides who needs all the expense for something you’re not using and can easily replace.