Hello. My name is Eddie Neal. Welcome to The Neal World. I am a few weeks away from turning my entire life upside down by moving to Paris France.
I took my first trip to Europe in 1998. I spend a week there, visiting Amsterdam and Paris. Not a long time as vacations go, but long enough to give birth to the dream of living in Europe. For the past 10 years I have been working and dreaming and scheming to make this dream a reality. I pulled the trigger this past August and now have a plane ticket to Paris tacked to my wall. I leave March 2, 2009.
This web site is going to be my companion on my journey. I am starting slow but I intend to include a blog where I will write about my experiences before leaving for Paris and after I arrive. I want to capture the doubts and fears and obstacles I face and work through as I make my dream reality. Once I am on the ground in Paris, I will write about the challenges I face settling into life as an expatriate. I will also write about my discoveries in the City of Light, and then in France and Europe as I begin exploring further afield.
I also want this site to be a resource and meeting place for others interested in living abroad. As I work through challenges I will capture and share what I learn. And I hope visitors to this site will also share their ideas and information and experiences moving, living, and working abroad.
One of my challenges will be to create a work life that will support my new lifestyle. I plan to use my current software engineering and writing skills, but also intend to start giving customized tours of Paris. I have already learned a great deal about the city and its art and history during my previous 7 visits and it is my intention to get to know Paris like the back of my hand. I love Paris so much and believe it to be so much more than a series of monuments and museums. It is my desire to turn people on to the unique spirit and energy of the city and help them fall in love with Paris.
This journey will be the adventure of my life. I want to break out of the cubicle culture and recapture the magic of living life in the moment. I hope my experiences will inspire others to move past their fears and doubts and prior programming and to go after their wildest dreams.
My adventure is about to begin. I invite you to tag along.