Recently, we had a potential opportunity present itself for another global move. While the prospect of picking up and starting over in a new place is usually daunting to most people, it excites me in a way nothing else can. However, I am choosing at this time to stay rooted and practice gratitude for the amazing life I am building here in Ecuador.
We have more than enough here in Ecuador. Taking on another job and moving to this new locale would not change our financial equation or trajectory. And while the prospect of more travel would have been exciting, there is so much left to explore here in Ecuador and South America.
The decision to no longer pursue this opportunity came down to practicing gratitude. I reflected on all the changes in our lives over the last year or so and remembered the frenzied state I had originated in. Ultimately, I decided it was best to stay for the following reasons.
- Our physical health: our health has greatly improved since cutting back on our working hours and living in a very walkable city. In addition, we have access to high quality care with very little to no wait time. It’s hard to give all that up for a maybe.
- Our mental health: we are in a really good place. We cannot take our mental wellbeing for granted. It has not always been so simple to achieve mental clarity and simple happiness. My husband and I have both had severe struggles with mental illness over the years. It seems dangerous and irresponsible to abandon our clean mental space for a big adventure that could carry new risks and stressors.
- Our financial stability: we are more than equipped for the long haul. Between our part time incomes and our assets working in the background, we project we will have a very healthy retirement that allows us to live life to the fullest. The potential move would require full time work without a lot of financial benefit due to the cost of the location.
- Our daughter: Eleanor is starting to integrate here in Cuenca. She loves her friends at school, her Spanish is blossoming, and she loves her ballet class. While adding a third culture and language to her repertoire could be very beneficial, it is not worth the stress of adapting to a new place at such a young age. I want to offer her plenty of opportunities, but not at the cost of her stability.
We have a lot to be grateful for here in Ecuador. Sometimes we just need to take a minute to recognize how far we have come in the last year and how much our life has improved. This kind of drastic improvement is not guaranteed on the other side of another move. So here we will stay with more plans to explore Ecuador!
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