When we think about living a long life, we think about exercise, nutrition, health. We think about where we live, although, maybe not quite as often, and I would argue that we think about where we live in respect to the kind of life we’re living even less.
When I lived my hustled up version of life in New Jersey, I was an overworked, underpaid teacher with thousands of dollars in student loan debt living in a very cozy (affectionately said) and high-priced 1-bedroom apartment with my boyfriend. I’m sure we dreamed of having a “real home” some day when we had kids but when we actually talked about how we’d be able to afford one, our brains would spin violently out of control and our hearts would implode with worry.
Our weekends were busy. Busy, busy, busy. Our days – even busier. We were up at entirely too early an hour, to commute through society’s (and our governor’s) blanket of blame where they rested their warm failures under. We would work hard not because of society but because it was in us and then go home and continue working from laptops. Walk the dogs. Finish grading. Make dinner. One last worksheet. Eat dinner. Shower. Go to bed. Think about lesson all night.
When we talked about kids, we laughed at how pathetically life would be to have kids under this kind of pressure. We would ask this question: if we get home at 6:00 and our kids go to bed at 7:00, does that mean we’ll only see our kids on the weekends? We’d never have an answer.
No money to buy a house. Busy, Under-appreciated. Absentee parents. That was the life we were headed for and it sounded awful. We’d say, “This is ridiculous” with utter disbelief at home much of a struggle it seemed to be for two college educated, working adults with good careers to live a basic life. And thinking of others who were in lesser circumstances was unbearable.
When Husband gave in to my pushing of teaching abroad he did so with one stipulation – that we would move to a place we could afford to live on one salary so that I could quit teaching and be a writer. If we were going to do this, if we were going to go… we were going to go big.
Would it be nice to own a house… sure. But you know what else is awesome, living in our apartment that our school pays for minus about $75 extra we put in a month. Busy? Sorta. Yes we still have office hours; Husband as a teacher and I as a full-time writer but we’re both doing what we love and in a school that appreciates and rewards their teachers. Teachers that aren’t to blame for society’s shortcomings and while I’m sure politicians here are just as smarmy as Governor Christie, they don’t blame teachers for every problem this nation faces. And kids? Oh these lucky, lucky kids with their very present, lucky parents who see them much more often than just on weekends.
Living abroad has given us an upgrade in life. It makes us healthier people who walk to school everyday and spend hours at the playground with our kids. We eat fresh, local fruit and vegetables and give gratitude for our happy lives almost daily. We still say, “This is ridiculous” but in a different context, in an “Everything is awesome” Lego Movie kind of way. In an “…everything is awesome when we’re living our dream” kind of way.
We live simply: less stress, more fun and time only for the people and things we love. That’s the secret to long life.
Photo Credit: The Secret to Longevity