Who says Lifestyle Design is Easy?
My wife and I made it out of Japan. It has been almost one year since my wife and I made a one year plan to leave Japan and begin a new career. We did it!
Lifestyle Design is Hard Work!
It was a lot of work and will still require a massive effort to keep moving forward but we committed and made it happen. We sold our business and car. Got rid of most of our possessions. Cleared out our house and started to get it ready to rent out. In particular, the last few weeks prior to departure were extremely busy and stressful.
Getting all the necessary paperwork, finishing up everything in Japan and liquidating all of our possessions was a phenomenal amount of effort. It was much more work then we imagined. The last week was the most stressful. So many things had to be done that we were sleeping for only a few hours per day. After a couple weeks of sleep deprivation and a 9 hour stop-over in Tokyo, it took about a week to get back to a regular sleep pattern. I will be more regular with my blog posts and connecting in the future, Internet connections permitting. I have finally reclaimed my Twitter account after it was hacked. Again I apologize for all of those spam DMs.
We prepared for months to leave Japan, but we never fully realized just how many things needed to be completed before departure. My wife and I were hoping to spend a relaxing night at the airport hotel in Osaka before the night of our flight but we were busy packing, cleaning and organizing right up to the last minute. We didn’t make it to the airport until after 11:00 PM and had to wake up at 5:30 the next morning.
Actually, we didn’t even completely finish. Fortunately, my wife’s sister helped immensely in cleaning out the house and dealing with the real estate company that will rent it out. As with most things in life, it is great to get help. We couldn’t have done it with out her. Thanks Noriko!
Minimalism with a lot of Stuff
I would like to say that we managed to condense our life down into just a couple of bags but that would be a lie. We gave away all of our furniture, but we still have many boxes of personal possessions in storage at my wife’s parent’s house just in case we ever decide to return to Japan. It is too hard to eliminate everything from our lives.
We were about 20kg over-weight with our luggage but managed to hide it when boarding the flights. Thankfully, Japan and Canada are not as strict as the US for carry-on luggage. 
My Future Work
Now that we have finally recuperated it is time to get busy building the next stage of our life. It is such a strange feeling to be traveling but not be on vacation. This is our life now. We have a feeling of urgency to progress with our lives, yet we are no longer under any timelines or restrictions. I still haven’t come to terms with the notion this vacation is not going to end.
I am now blogging about business trends, idea and creativity at IdeaEconomy.net as well. If any of you are interested in those topics please make your way over to my new site. I would love some comments and encouragement.
I also am planning on changing the format of JetSetCitizen. There are many great blogs on lifestyle design and travel so I am not sure I want to continue writing about those topics. If there is anything you would like to read about please let me know in the comments or by email. I would love to hear from all of you even if it is only a ‘Hello!”
I hope to hear from you soon.
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Subscribe to JetSetCitizen! Note from John: I have been living abroad for more than 15 years now. In 2009, my wife and I made a one year plan to leave Japan, find a new career and live a nomadic lifestyle. We know that one year is enough for almost anyone to completely create the life they want. If you are interested in hearing more about our progress and reading interviews with real people mastering the art of life, please subscribe:
Kay 
Way to go, John. Congratulations on this achievement. Isn’t it amazing how many blogs there are now on this topic? I’m looking forward to seeing the next incarnation of your blog.
.-= Sharon Hurley Hall´s last blog ..Travel Foodie Memories =-.