This was REALLY great, Amanda!
I am one of those "If you want practical freedom just while you are alive" folk...but I venture a guess that's largely b/c I am an urban girl who's DONE. One-eightying on ALL THE THINGS will do that.
But you're right.
I really DO love this country too! For ALL the reasons you described. And, thankfully, in the past few years I've been able experience some of the more "free" parts of our beautiful land and how great those who live there are, which DOES make me feel slightly less "stuck."
BUT
Like you, I have a son...and I want him to have options IF SHTF. He has family in Switzerland and Australia, but those are first-world. I aim to carve the path for a second-or-third-world option.
Ideally, we can have "feet" in as many places as possible, still feeling free and safe wherever we hang our hats. I would like that...'cause I really like it here, too.
P.S.~
Your formatting skills herein are KILLER. You really figured out how to use it to effectively put YOUR voice to text. Well done!
Thanks, I think formatting took 2/3rds of the effort LOL, but considering the whole thing took about 3 hours total to flesh out and format, that's not too bad.
I really appreciate your perspective here so that others can see and think of everything.
I like to think of this as "home base" but it's really -- like my husband Tom says -- a launch pad. I want to travel and see the world and maybe even spend months in other places some day in the future when my son is older.
I love the whole earth for what immense beauty I know it has to offer, and I have no assumption that somewhere else is necessarily better than right where I am. :)