Free The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, Second Edition: Making a New Life Abroad by Rosanne Knorr

daily needs, economizing is easier once you’re away from the American culture. Sad to say, we Americans love to spend, but in many countries abroad the norm tends toward thrift, and people often take for granted that one must make do, fix things, borrow, and hand down.
    Margot in France has mastered the art of
le troc
(barter), which is popular among friends in her rustic
Drôme Provençale
village. Everything is up for exchange, from haircuts to clothes, trucks to computer work.
    Another key to managing costs is to carefully consider the things that really give you joy and those expenses that result merely from habit or boredom. Spend on what is vital to you and cut anything extraneous.
    How you cut costs will depend on your interests, budget, location, and willingness to buckle down. Here are a few methods suggested by runaways.
Transportation
    Become a one- (or zero-) car family . Many runaways survive without the costs involved in the purchase, gas, maintenance, and insurance for a vehicle. They use local transportation, not only more cheaply, but more conveniently. This is possible outside the United States because most other countries have extensive public transportation systems, making it easier to take a bus or train for excursions. Some expat couples get by easily without a car or, at the most, share one car between them, rather than the two considered essential in the States.
    Rent a car for excursions only . If you want a car for a trip, it’s cheaper to rent one for the length of a vacation rather than own a car and maintain it all year simply for two weeks of travel.
    If you need a car, buy one used and pay cash . You’re not out to impress anyone. You just want to get safely from one charming village to another, so look for a good used car. Pay cash to avoid finance charges and monthly bills. (This also helps keep you on budget when you see the full price of the car all at once.)
    We found a sturdy and sporty Citroën with 140,000 kilometers, or approximately 100,000 miles, with all sorts of bells and whistles for the equivalent of $3,500. Except for repairing a muffler, service was minimal. Two times we took it to the dealer for minor questions about an oil light and a rear light that didn’t work. Both times the dealer fixed the problem free of charge. That may not be the norm, but ours was a friendly village, and we were good customers!
Housing
    Down, down, downsize . You’re not housing a family, and you won’t have all your belongings from the States, so rent the smallest furnished apartment or house that you can be comfortable in. The smaller your home, the less expensive it will be for rent, heating, and other utilities. A small place should require less maintenance too, leaving time for travel and fun.
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    Our three-bedroom, 2½-bath house is in a good area, but we waited and waited for a good deal and finally got it for $80,000. Now prices have gone up. But our daily bread is still just 45 cents a loaf
.
    —Anne, Albufeira, Portugal
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    Buy cheaply and renovate . If you’re handy and like puttering around, find a house in need of work and put in sweat equity. If you buy in the right location and use your talents to fix a home up, you could increase its value and even come out with a profit if you later sell or rent it. Just remember that purchasing a house incurs up-front costs that must becovered before you benefit from any increase in value. Buying a home is a serious decision and one you should make carefully, knowing that you will most likely stay in a location for a minimum of three years.
    Exchange houses . Find a compatible person who wants to live in your area in the States for several months or a year and exchange situations. There are professional services that provide names of people wanting to exchange homes (for more information, see chapter 8 ). You can often set up private arrangements through friends of friends or messages via the Internet. Naturally, you’ll check