This update is from the executive recruiter in the construction industry who flirted with the idea of fleeing to the affordability of Ireland or Iceland. Original post here. The reader writes:
Not long after I wrote you last April, it was announced that we were losing our dental insurance, our matching 401(k) contributions, even our parking passes. There was another round of layoffs across the board, from recruiters to admin and IT staff. The company was trimming fat wherever it could. The problem was, they were starting to cut into muscle! I still have great love and respect for the company, and its leadership, but the whole atmosphere was just depressing in a Glengarry Glen Ross kind of way. And that's no fun. So in July I made the leap: unplugged the headset, rented out my house, and left to travel around South America. (I'm single, mid-thirties, no kids).
Five months later, and I'm still here in Peru . . . trekking in the Andes, exploring the Amazon, having all kinds of weird and wonderful experiences. I suppose I'll have to go back and get a real job again eventually. I could go back to headhunting, but last month one of my former associates told me they are considering filing Chapter 11. So for now, I am merely living for the day. I get by without a lot of frills, and I don't even have health insurance . . . but life is an adventure again, and it's pretty freakin' great.