Recently I posted that my wife and I were moving to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Well we’ve finally arrived and are starting to feel settled in. It’s time to bring my blog and podcast silence to the end. Thank you for your patience (if I can be so presumptuous to assume that anyone noticed my absence).
I want to say thank you to the dozens of people who emailed me with well-wishes for this new adventure in our life. It’s cool to feel connected to so many people through social media. In addition, I’ve had several people from Buenos Aires who listen to my podcasts who emailed me to meet up. That is a pretty amazing phenomenon to me.
I’ve had a number of people express interest as to why we chose to move abroad and specifically to Buenos Aires. So I wanted to post some information about our decision and how podcasting and internet business helped get us here.
Ever since Melanie and I got married we’ve wanted to live abroad. Employment, our previous rock band or school have always determined where we’ve lived until now (Salt Lake City followed by Manhattan).
When Melanie finished grad school last Spring, the possibilities were wide open to us. We had nothing tying us to NYC (other than friends and a bit of family of course). Even though we love NYC, now is the ideal time to live abroad since we still don’t have kids.
The main reason I got into internet business (and then more specifically podcasting) is because I can do it from anywhere. As long as I have an internet connection, I can create and publish online content. I can can connect with my community and work with my students/clients. This kind of freedom is a key element for me to have to feel fulfilled in life.
I always encourage people to decide what they need for fulfillment and to pursue it. One of my life pursuits is to provide information and encouragement to help others achieve their life vision.
In the spirit of freedom of location, we started looking for a place to live abroad. Our first choice was Paris since I have lived their before and Melanie wants to learn French. Unfortunately the current conversion rates for the euro put a damper on that. We wanted to live in a country where the US dollar would go a long ways allowing us to really enjoy the experience there.
Reading the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss planted the bug in my ear about Buenos Aires, Argentina. We started our research and quickly realized why Tim likes it so much. In the end we chose Buenos Aires for several reasons.
- We have a brother-in-law from Buenos Aires whose parents still live here.
- We have a few Spanish speakers in our extended families now and thought it would be useful to learn the language.
- Argentina is just a great country with lots of interesting things: plains, mountain, a city much like Paris, rain forests, huge waterfalls, etc.
- Buenos Aires fits the urban lifestyle that we prefer right now.
- The USD goes a long way here. Last weekend I had the best steak I’ve ever had for $8 USD. The subway is 30 cents USD per ride! Granted, this kind of currency leveraging requires that you have a means of making money in US dollars or something of equal or greater value. Internet business and my podcasts allow for that.
- It has only snowed here once in the last 90 years.
We’ll see where things take us next. We plan to be here for the next several months, then I will be back in the U.S. for the New Media Expo in August (gotta see all my podcast buddies ;).
The move here tool a lot more time and energy that expected, but it has been an incredible experience so far. You can expect more content from me on a regular basis now that we are settled. Stay tuned for more soon.
Have you lived abroad? Where did you live? Where should Melanie and I live next?
Photo Credit: Crisfer
February 19th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Congrats on the move! I’m anxious to hear more about Argentina. I’m currently waiting for my passport to appear with the plan of doing some short-term traveling. Totally jealous that you got to completely relocate. I’m glad circumstances worked out to allow for such a cool experience.
February 19th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
love hearing about everything!!! will be following you both (and salivating) thru your amazing adventure!
February 19th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Hey Jason,
Nice to meet another North American transplanted to South America. I’ve been in S
February 19th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Congrats on following your dreams, Jason. I’m an avid listener of your podcast, and love your email newsletter. Keep `em coming!
regards,
Fred
February 19th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Congrats! Argentina is awesome. The people are beautiful and you will fit in there like a glove!
Good Luck and keep posting!
CC
ps. The firepit gang wishes you well!
http://www.firepitfriday.com
February 19th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Italy or Portugal or Greece are the cheapest countries of Europe to live. Thailand, Vietnam or Indonesia are amazingly cheap, friendly and beautiful places to live.
You know the Bush family recently purchased lots of land in Paraguay. I wonder why, really.
Have fun,
Jena
February 19th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
so happy to hear about all of this! great Jason and Melanie!!! I’m a huge fan of yours although I have not met you yet. You played a bit part in me stepping into becoming a podcaster. Your stuff is awesome!
I consistently send folks your way for the learnings ;)
Where should you guys live next….BARCELONA!!!!! That city is unbelievable. I adore it!!!! I would certainly love to live there!!!
have a great time in Argentina
many blessings to you
February 19th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
You are living our dream! We plan to keep working on things and moving to location independence, too. Congratulations!
Malia Russell
http://www.homemaking911.com
February 19th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Hi Jason, As you know I am a long time Jason Van Orden fan and thank you for getting me started in Podcasting. You are a fantastic teacher and have the patience necessary to clearly explain new concepts to your less than knowledgeable pupils (I will never master WordPress!!). I would like to take this opportunity to wish Melanie and yourself a very happy sojourn in Argentina—enjoy it all when you can because babies are fun but tend to cramp ones style.
Kindest regards
Stanley Dalnekoff
PLT Consultants
New Haven CT
February 19th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
@Britt, Fred, Kathryn, CC, Stanley, Malia,
Thanks for your kind words!
@Elsie,
Living in Barcelona would be spectacular. We will already know some Spanish. Let’s hope the euro exchange rate gets better.
Thanks for your kind words.
I’m glad to hear I have been able to help you get into podcasting.
@Jena,
Those are all great suggestions. After having French and Spanish, Italian wouldn’t be hard to learn. Greece would be wonderful. We definitely have Southeast Asia in our sites. We’ve heard lots of great things. Thanks for the input.
@Richard,
We are not huge sports fans, but we’re going to get into the spirit of soccer while we are here. We went to see the La Boca stadium last week.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Congratulations Jason! Glad to hear you’re doing so well. Still following you – and I’m planning on adding some video casts in the next few months, so you’ll be the one I turn to for help…
February 19th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Hey Jason and Melanie, congratulations! I wish you all the best – Argentina sounds wonderful, especially in terms of the exchange rate and quality-of-life.
I wouldn’t recommend Tokyo for either of those things, but I would recommend it for the small expat community, and for immersion in such a different culture that you get to test all your assumptions about being whoever you are…it’s mind-blowing, in good and bad ways.
Since my ex-parent company closed the studio, I’ve gone independent, and, as soon as I can, I’m going to sign up for your course, because I’ve heard great things about it.
anyway, all the best to you!
February 20th, 2008 at 5:35 am
@Cory,
That would be great if you did video casts. Sounds like you’re up to some exciting stuff.
@Terri,
I definitely want to visit Tokyo at some point. My sister and her husband live in the south of Japan right now. The growth that occurs when living in a different culture can be tough, but definitely invaluable as you say.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Great to hear you are getting settled in and loving your new for-now home. I’ve been following your Twitter feed and love to hear about your adventures. Can’t wait to see what your new IBM design will look like!
Best wishes and hope to see you in August… I’m going to my first New Media Expo.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:29 am
@Chris,
That’s great that you will be at the expo. You’ll love it. We’ll see you there.
February 24th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Jason,
Congrats on the move! Freedom is awesome when you actually use it!
One topic I cover in a recent post on travel is evacuation insurance. Not sure how you feel about staying in Argentina if you get seriously sick. If you get insurance before you leave (too late) the cost is about $300 a year if you claim that you are “traveling” for the year. If you are an expatriate living abroad, the cost is about $900 a year for the whole family. An air ambulance flight from Argentina would run about $60,000 and the wheels don’t leave the ground until the money is in the account. To see who I recommend and why, go to my recent travel post at http://www.Jim.MD
Dr Jim
February 26th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
That’s incredible! Hope to hear more about living abroad. I started learning Spanish and even started a blog about it. Check it out, hope it helps. I’d be interested in hearing how you’re learning the language. Wayne
February 27th, 2008 at 11:40 am
@Dr Jim,
Good advice. We did get insurance before leaving the U.S.