What is safety?

Today I am processing safety. I think more than anything I wonder about what that means. I have read the US Travel site's warnings... kidnapping, theft, murder, nothing that looks good! And then there are so many posts which I think has the ring of truth in them. ... If you are a decent person who doesn't do stupid things you'll be as safe as anywhere in the world.

I worry more about the feelings of culture shock. It can be fun to have to negotiate new things, but after awhile you just want to get up and turn the tv on with a cup of coffee. There is a reason everyone looks forward to coming home after traveling.

The thing that nags at me is related to safety... How many more years of living in a way that I am not comfortable with is safe? Unlike my husband, my answer is that all of the risks are acceptable when compared to the stress of another nine years in my job. And can I say here in public that I have some inner fears and doubts about the safety of the US? I think there are perils ahead that make this last recession look like a walk in the park. How long can my savings be guaranteed by a government that owes more than a trillion dollars? I want to stay out of politics, but I have to say that things just don't look all that stable.

I think safety is one of relationships but it is easy to think it is your town or your nation. I am not sure how to separate all of the this out. Our brains are trained to fear the unknown. Am I afraid of the unknown or reality? I can't help but compare the way I am finding out about Ecuador to the way I might be finding out about the US. It would be easy to find dramatic accounts of unrest here in our country. My memories of the sixties are filled with images of great distress. Crime happens all of the time here in the US. How do I find out about the difference between what is around me and reports in a place I know nothing about.

What is bothering me is the inability to find out about the consequences of every day events. Yesterday, one of my actions was to actually write to one of the people who is blogging about living in Ecuador. I was quite surprised by the kind response that was sent to me, so I shared my plans I am making for a trip to Ecuador which included getting a rental car. Here is a quote: " 3. If you should be in an accident in this country - ALL parties immediately go to jail while the officers process the information. Then you have to pay to get out of jail - usually a couple thousand dollars. This usually take from 2 weeks to 2 months." All I can say to that is YIKES and YIKES some more! Let's see... I have been back-ended twice, back-ended someone else twice, and once I was in a quite serious situation with a head-on collision. That would, worst case scenario, put me in prison so for for 10 weeks and in debt $10,000 beyond the ordinary cost of whatever the accidents included.

How do you find out about the little details like this prior to making a decision? My reaction to the car problem? I think buses and taxi cabs could become the way I get from one place to another, but I am not feeling good about it. How would you just get up and go gold panning and be sure you can get home? Can you imagine having to carry all of your groceries home all of the time on a bus. Yes, I know. Many people do. I have never had to and it is quite clear to me that I am glad. This is the most serious stumbling block I have yet to encounter. What else is out there?

Cindy

What am I thinking!

July 28, 2010
It is a warm morning here in Maine, the one week anniversary of catching a few moments of an episode of House Hunter International which featured a couple looking for property in the Dominican Republic. I am not a tv watcher, I usually lay with my feet in my husband's lap totally immersed in my own space which I affectionately call Cindyland, opting instead to Google. I was rather lost, not really wanting to work on school plans, not wanting to work on much of anything to tell the truth, so I Googled Dominican Republic Real Estate and started clicking. It didn't take long to find out that Ecuador topped International Living's List of top places to retire.

Now, as surreal as this is, I can retire. I just finished my 24th year of teaching here in Maine and I can get a check for the rest of my life. The trouble is that it is a SMALL check. It is just like when I began my job. A long time ago, I was a college graduate with a job and I could have groceries and a car but no housing, or I could afford housing but not eat or drive to work. That is what my current retirement status is... I can pay my rent or have a car and eat, but I can't do all three. Life journeys bring you to interesting places. Mine has not brought me to owning a home and having a huge bank account. It also has not been a story of being destitute and miserable.

Right now I am exploring getting out of Dodge, so to speak. What if I could take my small retirement check and be able to afford a nice apartment, good food, a car, a motorcycle and enjoy a bit of travel without working any more? But... I know that this opportunity comes with the negative reality of moving away from my children and becoming part of a new culture and a new place! I don't know what to think yet but I am thinking that I just might go! I decided to keep a diary of the process and invite comment from anyone else who might be reading this in order to keep track of my thinking and reflect on what just might be the most drastic change of my life.

So far...

Safety is my first concern. Things don't seem good if you read the government's travel warnings. Costa Rica's report is much more positive yet it is ranked only one point higher on the International Living list. Much of what I am reading on the Internet and watching on YouTube is that you are essentially seen as a target by those who have less than you. Duh! Who can blame someone who has little to take interesting objects such as cash, jewelry, computers and phones that are out and about with little supervision. I don't see this as troublesome. Of course a vendor will let you pay $3 for a $1 meal. Buyer beware. Essentially, I think these are real concerns but I am not very troubled by them.

My second concern is not related to moving to a foreign country. What does a person do when they are retired? Do I want to retire?

My last concern is simply being alone. I don't see friends and family that often, but what would it really be like to leave? My four breakfasts out with Kathleen suddenly seem to occur fairly often! I know everyone will be as close as email, and most of my interactions occur over the computer... but, my daughter is just down the road. If I leave, that isn't true. An email from her to go apple picking couldn't come with an invitation like it does now. Family game nights that we only have three or four times a year would stop.


These are actions I have taken:

1. I have started to downsize for the second time. I am working on my porch, back room and storage space.

2. I have my passport.

3. I signed up for a workshop on my retirement benefits in August, only a few weeks away.

4. I contacted a person I know who lived in Ecuador. Lots of positive things were said.

5. I put in for five personal days in February so we can travel down and see the place for ourselves. This would happen if I continue to work for the next year.

6. I got a subscription to International Living.

7. I bought a book about retiring in Ecuador.

8. I bought a book about gold panning in Euador.


At this moment, I am 95% sure I am going to go. I think I will leave as quickly as next summer. All I need to do is participate in one of the volunteer programs to teach English as a second language. They will help me negotiate all of the necessary protocols and I will merge into a support network that I can somewhat trust. When I think about the stress of 8 more years of working going is the hands-down winner. Then, I start to think... A Stranger In a Strange Land...

Cindy