bitofarambler

if you want to go back, then going back to college is a good move and a good investment.

Lemmy is a much nicer environment overall, so i moved here

wow that is crazy, your dad's actions were crazy I mean, I'm glad to hear you came out to him and severed that tie.

"Parents have no hold over you, not really. If they don't deserve your presence, don't allow it."

can't agree more with you here.

sorry to hear that.

you certainly don't have to travel if you dont want to, I just like people being aware of the option, but I'm not following one thing:

How does disagreeing with and being alienated from your family make traveling less of an option for you?

people usually ship their belongings by sea or air(ocean freight is cheaper and slower, but I'm not sure by how much with Costa Rica being so near) with a company like DHL, I've used them and found them to be a reliable international shipping company, FedEx and UPS are also options.

I wouldn't worry about customs taking your stuff, especially if you have insurance or tracking or anything like that on the ticket, and especially with a wealthier country like Costa Rica where paper trails are more important.

I've actually never heard of customs taking anything legal in real life from anyone who's shipped belongings overseas(my friend's yak jerky got confiscated because it's illegal to import a lot of international meat products into the US) so I personally don't believe customs pocketing things is very common.

Legos aren't apparently valuable on their face and with the paper trail of receipts/documents I wouldn't think you have to worry about anything getting lifted by customs. plus, if you add some fragile notices and insurance on there the agents responsible for transporting the packages will be a lot more careful, for sure.

living outside the country good buddy

yup, it's called the Schengen area:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area

you do not have to be rich to live in Europe, Europe is much cheaper than the states, especially in the situation you're describing as a long-term traveler.

i haven't myself, but i became friends with a chilean couple who traveled around the world according to berry season, Australia, Italy, Germany and so on picking berries, living in free housing while saving for a house back home.

they seemed pretty into the lifestyle, or at least willing to trade a few years for traveling and a house.

Three big ones are:

1. There are lots of international families, so they'll have company, support networks and infrastructure.

2. There are tons of safe, affordable countries with easy access to good education.

3. Native English speakers are all but guaranteed jobs as ESL teachers, so the parents will have access to available, steady income abroad.

A lot of people don't know about international schools, which is where most international families send their kids.

Other than the first two points, there are not many differences between my individual and family advice. For many families, moving from the US to a country like Thailand means safer, more affordable lives with a better quality of life.

at this point, visas are very easy to get in general, but Thailand is still one of the easiest and is one of the friendliest and most affordable countries around.

if you're a US citizen, you have visa-free travel in Thailand for 60 days.

if you need a visa, go to the evisa website, thaievisa.go.th, fill out the form, pay the fee, they'll email you the visa in a couple days.

I usually recommend Thailand or somewhere in Southeast Asia as a first destination. good food, great healthcare, cheap living, great people, beautiful environment, and they're very used to travelers so there are local and expat support systems nationwide.

another nice thing about Southeast asia is that there are tons of other friendly places close by.

it's about as easy to live there as anywhere else, but the support systems and the country being very used to travelers might make first time travelers more comfortable.

oh PS thailand has a lot a lot of really good all you can eat buffets for 3 to 10 dollars per person.

if anyone has any questions about getting out of the country, ask away.

I'm a long-term traveler.

kick their teeth in