New year changes

Clay is currently on a 12 day trip to Portugal and France. He's looking at the cities of Porto in Portugal and Lille in France to assess them as possible places where we may move in the coming year. Note that this post is early in January, not on April 1st. This isn't a joke, we are serious. I will be retiring in March. He has long wanted to move overseas to see and experience more of the world. If we are ever going to do it, this is the time. We are still young enough, I hope, to make a big change and be able to actively enjoy it. 

Why now? Well, like I said, I'm retiring in March, and we've been in our current location and its associated lifestyle for 25 years. Of course it's no secret that I've lost faith in this country, which seems unable to take even a small step forward without following it up with two steps back. There's a predominant culture that prides itself in ignorance, ugliness, and hate. We are ready for a change and this seems like the time. 

It will be a change. A big change. We realize that there will be things we don't like about it, but we hope and expect that there will be even more things that we do like, particularly the opportunity for new experiences and new adventures. If we really hate it, we can come back, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. There are a lot of things to be worked out, the when, where, and how. We are actively investigating myriad factors and options but unless we run into some insurmountable roadblock, we are moving forward. 

Here a few pictures he sent from Porto today: