We’re at about 2 hours to go before our departure from Chicago. Can’t believe it — we’ve lived here for nearly a decade. What started out as a crazy idea 20 months ago is now happening. We get to live in a van! It’s all come together … we sold our condo, saved some funds, sold our boat, got rid of everything we could, put the rest of our stuff […]
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Thanks to a couple great friends and a brother’s conveniently timed trip to China, we didn’t have to resort to living in a hotel by the airport and commuting into the city like suburbanites. Instead, we’ve been able to thoroughly enjoy our last month in Chicago and save about $1600 at the same time. Right now, we’re staying at our friend Mark’s place while he and his girlfriend Kathi prepare […]
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The last big domino just fell: the van. We bought one. We’ll introduce you shortly. We can now leave Chicago. The preparations feel nearly constant. We had to take a break this weekend after wrapping up the van sale and just sit on a couch and relax for a bit. Moving continuously, winding down our jobs, selling our condo, buying a car, purchasing auto insurance, finding a car loan, web […]
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The date’s been set. We leave Chicago and start our adventure on October 1st. Once we’re doing this full time, we’ll be more disciplined about bringing you regular posts and interesting content. Aside from the typical travelogue, we’ll have a few regular features: Lessons learned: in the hopes that you can learn from our mistakes, or at least laugh at them. Today’s would be something along the lines of “beggars […]
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And just like that … we’re homeless. It’s wonderful. Boy, real estate ownership isn’t exactly a cakewalk. We learned some important, expensive lessons. photo credit: cdsessums | You can’t leave. Your home needs to appreciate by (at least) 10% for you to break even Yep, 10% — maybe closer to 8% in some cases. And by “break even” I mean get the money you put in when buying your home […]
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It’s here: closing day. Our muscles are tired, our storage closet is full, our wonderful friends are letting us crash at their place. Life is good right now, and it’s going to get better in a few hours. More to come later. It’s tough to keep a blog up-to-date while working a full-time job and packing and moving boxes every evening. Phew. That part’s over. Thank goodness. If everything goes […]
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We’re nomads in 4 days. 4. Four. Fore! Watch out. It’s happening. And while it didn’t seem like it’d come together after Saturday’s move-a-thon, it did. Sunday went well. Everything not sold, selling, or traveling is in storage. Almost. We’re 99% and that’s going to work. Now, let’s figure out where we’ll live in September. In October, we’re gone. After we buy a van, of course. photo credit: Living in […]
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We have a buddy visiting Chicago the day we [are scheduled to] close on our condo. Here’s what I replied when he asked how things were going: In September, we will be in either Wrigleyville, Old Town, Logan Square, or near O’Hare. Hopefully, we’ll find that out this week. As of today, it looks like we’re definitely closing 9/2. And by definitely, I’m mean probably. And by probably, I mean […]
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My buddy Joe showed me this article in the early days of Dappered.com. He always thought of the last line when watching the numbers rise in Google Analytics, “Go, You Fucker. Go.” And I can’t help but think about it as we go through showing after showing, waiting for a person to buy our place. Sell, you fucker. Sell. Our condo is a great place. It’s the best 2 bedroom […]
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I read the other day that reporting on the cost and casualties of war can sometimes lead to increased support and investment, because people don’t want the investment to be for naught, and the first thing I thought of was all my stuff. Not joking. Here’s why: People don’t make rational decisions. We’re influenced by a number of things and one of the most powerful is our aversion to loss. […]
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