Although I moved between various cities and states as a kid, and did an exchange program in college in Germany for about 18 months, I chose a rather stable path of residing in the same region my entire adult life. I travelled a fair amount for work and pleasure, but never quite took the leap of permanently leaving town.
This spring, though, after years of talking about it, my wife and & packed up everything and moved to her old neighborhood in Kawasaki, Japan. We came to take care of Hiromi’s father, as well as to deal with Hiromi’s own medical needs, and most importantly, to make it possible for our kids to attend school in Japan.
We live in a modest but roomy apartment facing the orchard-like backyard of the family that owned most of the land in the area for generations.
Right now, I’m doing a bit of freelance software development and related work, relying a bit on savings and on rent from the homes we’ve previously lived in in Seattle, and trying to figure out how to make a life here without turning into a standard-issue 80-hour-a-week salaryman. I spend a lot of time cooking, seeking good coffee, walking around the city, and writing code in Ruby and Elixir.