One Year Out:
I still have a little over a year left on my commitment to the State Department so now is the time to start figuring out next steps. Fortunately, Jahkedda enjoys the work that she's doing for the organization that hired her a few months back. Given that there is no physical location and all of the work is done virtually, that frees us up quite a bit geographically. We seriously considered a move to London directly following our time in the DR. And then after our time in Mexico, we were convinced that Mexico City was where we needed to be. After discussing what made the most sense for us career-wise and financially, we decided that maybe a move back to the US would be in our best interests. While London boasts a dynamic and multi-faceted economy, London is such an expensive place to live and the British haven't quite been able to pull themselves out of the recession just yet. Mexico City, on the other hand, would be a great place to spend a couple years, but it didn't seem to be the best place for my career goals, at least not in the short term. So, the US seemed to be the best place for us while we work on building a foundation in the new directions that our careers are leading.
As far as Jahkedda's concerned, although her job is virtual, being back on the East Coast would put her geographically closer to many of her clients, which provides opportunities for her to build her professional network.
As for me, I'm considering a move into consulting on climate change and sustainability issues. While London may have been an ideal place for such work, the East Coast also has many very interesting developments in that area. In an effort to slowly begin to make a name for myself in that industry, today I launched a new website focused on that arena, still under the address of my previous website, www.aarontyrellmitchell.com.
Five Years Out:
We still have our sights set internationally. Both London and Mexico City still maintain their appeal for us, and we're sure over time, we'll only add to the list. Although continued presence abroad is not looking like the best option at this point in the game, we definitely expect to live abroad again once we're more established in our careers. Jahkedda is well on her way to developing the type of work that can be done literally from anywhere in the world. It's now up to me to figure out how to add a component of mobility to my career so that we can live in a place simply because we like living there, as opposed to the job opportunities present. The goal is be ready to pack up and ship out in 2-3 years time, but that all depends on where we find ourselves at that point in our lives.
Ten Years Out:
Having lived on the East Coast and here in the Caribbean, we've learned that extreme weather is something that is best avoided. Neither hot and humid summers nor cold and snowy winters hold much appeal for us. The ability to maintain two separate residences in different parts of the world is the principle idea behind this part of the plan. To make this happen, we would need to clear any and all debt, so we created an Debt Reduction Calculator spreadsheet in excel (to wrap our minds around paying-off our ever-looming student loans in this lifetime). We'd love to be in a financial and professional position to have an apartment in DC or NY for the temperate part of the year, but be able to escape to South America or Southern Europe once summer becomes too oppressive or winter too unbearable. When you take away the need to make debt payments every month while developing careers without geographic limitations, much of the risk associated with living wherever you want simply fades away.
So that's the plan. We're interested in seeing how it all plays out.
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