Australia: Pre-Planning

I’m going on a trip - a really big trip. I have wanted to travel outside of the states for a really long time, but I was always too busy or too broke to make it happen. This year, I prioritized travel and I’m making it happen. Why this year?

I knew I was burning out. I found myself relating to Julia Roberts’ character in “Eat Pray Love” a little too much. I figured the best way to shake things up, would be to go to somewhere that no one knew me. I wanted a low-stakes opportunity to be a version of me that I don’t know yet.

I chose Australia for a few reasons. They speak my language (they speak it in a better accent, but still, my language). I have extended family nearby if things get hairy. It’s a country that you have to commit to get to, but the journey is worth it. There’s so much to see, and the coastline is insane.

I picked the city on a whim. I watched an interview where someone spoke about the city and said that the ocean called them home. I love the ocean, and it’s where I feel at home. If everything else was new, I wanted the ocean to be familiar. The town has a population of 7741 people (7742 in two days). After further investigation, I realized I could bike and walk everywhere. There’s more than one coffee shop where I can become a regular. I’ve done a lot of research, but I still don’t know what to expect. That’s the way I like it.

I chose to spend the bulk of my time in this town. When else will I get to be a big city girl in a small beach town, looking to find herself? @Netflix, please have your people call my people. I want to slow down and appreciate this time, because I don’t know the next time I’ll have a month off and to myself. This could be the best or worst decision of my life. Isn’t that exciting?

The decision may have been spontaneous, but you know me. You know I’m a planner. I started a google sheet immediately, and developed a budget. I don’t travel internationally a lot, so the budget was the most daunting part of this experience for me. I calculated flights, lodgings, food, activities, and miscellaneous expenses.

Flights: I set up a flight alert to find a time to purchase and a time frame to actually take the trip. Originally, I calculated flight costs by taking median of most expensive to least expensive flights. I ended up booking my flights with points, which was kind of incredible and cost-effective.

Lodgings: I knew I wanted a private house or apartment for the month. I chose Airbnb, because I was familiar with the platform and they had thorough details and reviews. I narrowed my location to walking distance from the main strip of shops in town and to the beach. Once I had a general location, I filtered rentals by features like wifi, kitchen, and laundry. I knew these things would be essential for my extended stay. I created a list of top three choices, and budgeted based on my ultimate decision.

Food: This was kind of a random number, but I budgeted about double my average food budget for a month at home. I have no idea if this will work, but I built in some slush funds in case my numbers are way off.

Activities: I researched various activities in town, from surf lessons to pottery classes to bike tours and facials. I got costs from local websites and included them in my budget.

Miscellaneous Items: I used this section to budget for things like the visa application and the crazy amount of sunscreen I expect to purchase. I added a couple of hundred dollars and rounded to an even number to build a cushion into my budget for random things along the way.

To pay for the trip, I purchased the “big ticket” items first (like flights and lodgings). I essentially put aside money each month to pay myself back for those items. It helped to know exactly what I was saving for. I continued saving until I covered the entire budget for the trip, so I wouldn’t have to dip into other savings. The goal is to have fun, not break the bank.

If I were to do it again, I would include a budget line for the things I needed to prepare for the trip. There were many random expenses before I stepped foot into Australia (like the perfect neck pillow or headphones or manicures). In my next blog, I’ll detail my packing list and preparation for the actual journey.

I plan to write a number of blogs about this trip. I hope you’ll follow along!