Welcome!
We are a family of 4 Americans who decided to abandon our conventional life in favor of a simpler, more deliberate life in the South Pacific.
In July/August 2018, we quit our jobs, sold/donated/stored the majority of our belongings and moved to American Samoa. Bucky has a two year work position in American Samoa, allowing us to immerse into a new culture and way of life. We’re traveling the Samoan archipelago and the South Pacific as much as possible while here, taking advantage of this incredible opportunity.
As we were preparing for our move and letting people know the news, the majority of questions all focused on WHY?! Why would you leave family and friends and move halfway around the world? Why would you leave successful careers behind when you had just established yourselves? Why would you leave the mainstream normal and want to get rid of all your possessions? Why, why, why…trust us, the list is long!
The short answer to a long story: because life is too short to not take advantage of our good health and follow some dreams.
Our family has spent the last 6.5 years living and working in New Jersey. Bucky commuted into Newark where he worked as an attorney, with Meredith growing the farm business. We lived in the beautiful northwest corner of New Jersey, on a 25 acre piece of land where we owned/operated a pasture based livestock farm.
For a while we thought New Jersey would be our permanent home, but eventually the rat race of a commute into Newark, high real estate /taxes, and limited cultural perspectives had us searching for something more.
That something more would take us half way around the world to a tiny rock in the middle of the south Pacific; American Samoa. We are taking advantage of this new opportunity to enjoy so many aspects of life together as a family, as well as traveling through the South Pacific, hiking, snorkeling, and visiting some of the most amazing beaches.
Chasing Abandon
Abandon: to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses, usually without self-control
Rest assured that we haven’t lost our minds completely and thrown ALL caution to the wind! While we have not entered this new chapter of our lives without any restraint or self control, the balance needed to be shifted from our old life. Our hope is to chase down some dreams and make memories along the way, all while opening the eyes of our kids to other cultures and opinions beyond the little bubble we had been occupying. We have no idea where the tides will take us after our two years is over, and for now we are completely content living in the moment and enjoying this gift of adventure.
Check back often for photos and stories of our travels, as well as tips if you’re considering a move to American Samoa. We had a hard time finding much information on local life before moving, so hopefully our stories can help answers questions for anyone considering a move to the beautiful South Pacific.
Living Abroad Means Go With the Flow
The beginning of 2019 brought about some interesting employment changes for our family. Some day we may write about the details, or at least write about the flexible mind set that you need if you decide to move abroad. Too many things can be out of your control.
What began as a total implosion of the job that moved us half way around the world has resulted in us opening our own law office in beautiful American Samoa. Take a look!
Life Is An Adventure
While the road was a bit rocky, we are thrilled with the end result. Our new office has slowed down the travel posts, but rest assured we’ll be back at them soon enough.
Thanks for stopping by, we hope to see you here often!
Meredith, Bucky, Ty and Tora