Not long after I returned from our trip and M and I split up, I was on the hunt for a new roommate, which believe it or not, is really difficult to find in your 30’s. Everyone is pretty much married or living with a significant other already and although I’d have liked to live alone, it didn’t make financial sense. So Kelly introduced me to her friend Jill who was in a similar situation as me; we checked out a few places together and settled on a duplex only a few blocks from my previous house.
I had always been apprehensive about moving in with someone I didn’t know that well, as I’d had some negative experiences in the past. My favorite was a guy named Brian who was unemployed, never cleaned, and sat around our apartment smoking weed, watching porn, and playing the ukulele all day. Thankfully, Jill and I hit it off immediately and I truly enjoyed getting to know her via our late night chats over boxes of wine (don’t hate, they make some really tasty boxed wine these days). It only took a few weeks before we were besties – I couldn’t believe I had finally found someone that loved Blind Melon as passionately as I did.
Of course, ‘the trip’ came up multiple times during our discussions. I think Jill had always had a desire to travel, so she asked me a lot of questions about how we did it, how much it cost, what hostels were like, etc. Finally one evening she informed me that she too, was thinking of quitting her job to do some extended travelling and perhaps even find a job abroad. I spent the next several months convincing her that this was the greatest idea in the history of ideas – and after a year of amazing fun roommate times, Jill quit her job, sold her car, put her stuff in storage, and bought a one-way ticket to Costa Rica.
As bummed as I was to be losing a fantastic roommate, I couldn’t have been happier for her and PROUD that she was doing it alone. Jill’s been gone a little over 4 months now – she’s been to Costa Rica and Panama, from where she sailed down to Columbia, and has just wrapped up a month of living with a host family and taking Spanish classes in Cartagena. She’s living the dream and has plans to work her way across South America, eventually settling in Argentina to find a job.
Jill also has a blog about her travels. Part of me is selfishly writing this post in the hopes that those of you that read this blog will follow the link and read hers – in turn encouraging her TO WRITE IN IT MORE OFTEN. Yes Jill – I need to hear more of your stories in order to live vicariously through you. DON’T DISAPPOINT YOUR NEW READERS!!! I know I’m being slightly hypocritical, since I obviously suck at keeping up with my own, but I’m officially trying now.
You can check out her blog here:
Love and Miss You Jilly!
Sisters Astray 