2017 was simply an unforgettable year. A year where we made some major decisions that are not only shaping the trajectory of our family, but each of our individual lives as well!
Frankly, the beginning of the year was pretty similar to others. Now that we’d been in Colorado Springs for 4 and a half years at that point, we had a daily routine that we’d grown accustomed to. For me, that routine was: wake up. Get ready for work. Drive to work. Work for 10-12 hours. Drive home from work. Have dinner with the family. Get the kids ready for bed. Relax with Jess. Watch TV. Go to bed. Rinse and repeat.
The Test
Starting in March and April, we started to think about what are priorities in life currently were, and what we wanted them to be. Is it weird that those two turned out to be very different? Once we realized that, we started to think about how we could structure our lives to focus on our desired priorities and values. For a while we had thought that a life focused on travel was unlikely and almost impossible for a family with young children. However, we started seeing families on social media not only demonstrating that such a lifestyle was possible, but achievable for us as well.
By the end of April, we thought of starting up a family Instagram account as a little test to see if we could grow a social media following. We had some family vacations coming up, so we had opportunities to take pictures and video not just for ourselves, but to share with friends and family. Jess is a phenomenal photographer, so she was able to make our feed cohesive and welcoming. And, engaging with the Instagram family travel community was fun as well. We received positive feedback and based on consistency and quality, we saw growth on our account!
Work Transition
June brought along a work transition for me. Back in November 2016 I applied and was selected to teach at the Air Force Academy, so this new environment was invigorating! I have a passion for teaching and education, and having the opportunity to interact with cadets became a true blessing. I was working crazy hours at my last job, so having a different, yet still rewarding schedule was a breath of fresh air. However, as I started teaching in August, we continued to see constant growth on our Instagram page, and we began to seriously consider the possibility of pivoting our entire life to one of travel.
The Decision
The more and more Jess and I discussed this potential life change, the more we realized that there would never be a good time to do this. We could always finds reasons not to do it. What about the kids’ educations? How were we going to afford it? What if it doesn’t work out? We starting creating plans to address each of these risks, and in September we made the decision. WE’RE GOING FOR IT! Notifying friends, family, and coworkers was stressful, and the (mostly) positive feedback reaffirmed our decision. We picked June 2018 as our full time adventure departure date because it would be at the end of the academic year at work, Santi would finish Kindergarten by then, and it would give us enough time to plan our trip, sell everything we own, and rent out our house.
The Hustle
September through December was a whirlwind of hustle. We built our blog and social media channels (on nights and weekends), dipped our toes in the world of brand collaboration, and spent time with friends and family during the holidays. We know that June 2018 will be here before we know it, and want to make sure we have everything in place to ensure a smooth transition to a travel lifestyle. To be honest, it’s exhausting juggling family responsibilities, work at the Air Force Academy, and The Jetsetting Family, but ultimately putting the hard work in now will put us in the best possible position to succeed with our future plans.
Final Thoughts
If I had to label 2017, I would call it the “Year of the Pivot.” After 9 years in the Air Force, we made the decision to pivot and venture into the world online business, digital/social media marketing, and full time family travel. We are pivoting from a life of stability and routine, to one of higher risk, but higher potential reward. It’s too early to tell what 2018 will have in store for us, but if all goes according to plan, at this point next year (2019) we’re hoping to have at least 6 months of travel under our belt, experiences that bring us closer as a family, and a greater sense of appreciation for a location independent lifestyle.
In the next posts, I’ll be discussing our goals for 2018 and the “one word” theme for this year. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
