The Expat Almanac: Sell it all. Pack a bag. Hit the road.

Well into their second fifty years, Louise Lague and Tom Lichty abandoned everything that was comfortable and secure, packed one bag each, and embarked on an adventure that lasted a year. They let their apartment lease expire. They sold their car—and almost everything else. They said goodbye to young and old and hit the road. How did they prepare? What did they take? Where did they live? How much did it cost? What if there was a medical crisis? (Spoiler: there was.) What did they do when the year ended?

Louise Lague embarked on her first solo adventure at age three, after getting bored in her front yard. Her terrified parents kept her on a leash for thirteen years, then took her to Europe for the first time, which she found mindboggling and generally awesome. She can no longer count how many times she's been back, but never before for more than a month. A journalist, she wrote for Time Inc. magazines for twenty years. Her work has also appeared in O, Self, Glamour, and the New York Times travel section. Tom Lichty dabbled in the wine exporting business for years, not to make money (he didn't), but to travel (he did), and discovered that travel is like a fine pinot noir: adventurous, savory, and somewhat addictive. He is retired as a graphic-design consultant and university lecturer. Over half a million copies of his books have been sold. Interspersed with legitimate employment, he has been a pilot, a radio announcer, a tugboat operator, and a newspaper publisher.