Catching up on post from the excellent blog of Dr. Networth, I was pleased to discover an introduction to another fine Canuck from Ontario, Dr. Matt Poyner. Matt's a fellow emergency physician, so I already feel we share some DNA.
A year ago Matt had every reason to live a typical doctor life: home ownership, four young sons ages 7-11 (is there such a thing as Irish quadruplets?), great spouse, stable job.As far as he knew, he'd hit life's jackpot.
Let's grant the American bias that in Canada physicians generally earn less than their U.S. counterparts (and disregard Matt's comfort at knowing he will never go bankrupt from a medical catastrophe, nor worry about how to pay for rising health care costs). Point being, one year back finds Matt just as tethered to his reality as you are to yours, if not moreso.
But he gets these crazy ideas in his head.
The idea that his kids are young, and there's a finite window of time they'll want to spend with their parents.
The idea that he and his wife have health and wanderlust now, but those gifts cannot be taken for granted going forward.
The idea that being high earners and savers has cushioned their finances, and they could absorb the costs of a year of travel by using some of that cushion.
He can't seem to shake these ideas, and neither can his wife. They decide to act. They sell the house and everything in it except for a minimal amount that will reside in their parents' basement during their travels.
They talk to their children's teachers about their crazy idea, and are promptly encouraged to pursue it by educators who are (to their surprise) entirely supportive of their worldschooling plan.
Finally, they finalize the packing list for their backpacks, buy airline tickets to Iceland, and go.
It would only be fitting to end with a quote from Dr. Poyner, taken from a blog post as he reflects on his risk-benefit calculus in deciding to leap:
The benefit of familiarity is predictability. The price is stagnation.
And lest you think it all sunshine and unicorns, here's some more candor from the good doctor:
Family travel is a huge decision with lots of logistical hurdles; raises troublesome financial considerations; involves tons of uncertainty; can strain and strengthen relationships at the same time; will challenge your perceptions about a lot of things; and is often fun and full of interesting experiences.
But I interrupted you. I believe you were explaining that you could never do something like this...why, exactly?