Tag Archives: leaving the united states

May18

Leaving the United States, and the travels afterward.

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Wednesday, 01-May-2024


Everything I’ve been writing has led up to this point.

Everything I’ve been generally planning for the last 5 months, and specifically planning for the last 2 months, was in preparation for this singular moment.

Planning, preparing, making ready and laying the groundwork for one simple action – stepping out of a car, hefting some bags, and walking up to a plane.



Let’s start at the beginning, a bit of a recap.

In 2021, I gained my dual citizenship between the United States, and Austria.

In 2022, I applied to various universities around the world for their MBA programs. I was accepted to Trinity College in Dublin, and deferred my admission until 2024.

Around October of 2023, I gave my manager at Raytheon an ultimatum – I get promoted by the beginning of January, or I leave.

In January of 2024, I still hadn’t gotten a promotion.

In mid February of 2024, I turned in my 2-weeks notice. This was somehow a complete surprise to my manager.

March and April of 2024 are spent relaxing and preparing for my imminent departure from the United States, for at least a year but likely longer.


Now, what exactly is my itinerary? Well, I’ll be visiting:

  • Nuuk, Greenland
  • Reykjavik, Iceland (and the rest of Iceland, via camper-van)
  • Oslo, Norway
  • Stockholm, Sweden
  • Helsinki, Finland
  • Tallinn, Latvia
  • Riga, Estonia
  • Vilnius, Lithuania
  • Warsaw, Poland
  • Krakow, Poland
  • Prague, Czechia
  • Vienna, Austria
  • Marseilles, France
  • Cassis, France
  • Zermatt, Switzerland
  • Stuttgart, Germany
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • Dublin, Ireland


Each country and city will have a different amount of time that I’m there – for now, I’ll keep that as a surprise for those following along… but it varies between a two evenings in some places, to two weeks in others. There’s a sort of method to my madness, regarding duration, though I’d have a challenging time fully explaining it in retrospect.

The key is that I spent time confirming it, and until I have reason to doubt my previous self… well, I have a simply massive document detailing where, when, how, and why I’m going to each place. How to get there, where I’m staying, what I’m doing (in some cases). Mostly, I’m excited to explore and decompress. To let myself stretch out, explore new places, and meet new people.

It will be glorious, but the first step is the simplest.

I stepped into the airport.

May17

Staying in Portland ’till the end (or the beginning)

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From Friday, 27-Apr-2024 through Wednesday, 01-May-2024


After my home became my apartment, and after my apartment became an apartment, I stayed with a friend. I had a few spare days to get things done before I stepped onto that plane – a few days left open to finish last tasks, and as a buffer in case previous tasks took longer than anticipate.

I had to put my car into storage, I had to lock down a few details with handing off the apartment keys, and… that was really it. A few odds and ends that I wanted to do, but… mostly just waiting.

Thankfully, my friend Bri was amazing throughout the whole exciting and chaotic event. She valiantly hosted me, drove me back after I locked the door on the Mustang (after putting it up on jacks, disconnecting the battery, and adding in fuel stabilizer). She went to dinners with me, helping me check those last boxes of places that I wanted to visit… and helped keep me out of trouble with a few final trips to the climbing gym in town.


It was lovely – and honestly a key part to packing up and saying goodbye to a home. Keeping time to feel the emotions, and having a friend nearby (if possible) to help navigate those waters. And of course, keeping time for things to go sideways, so they can be ironed out without anxiety or rush.

We even got to go to El Gaucho, finally – An amazing steakhouse that I’ve heard of, and had been meaning to go to… but never quite had the reason to take the leap.

It went well.