30 Days in Edinburgh, Scotland

Today begins a great adventure for my family and me: We’re going to live in Edinburgh, Scotland, for 30 days! 

I know, you’re like…what again? Better start from the beginning here.

First off, I’ve always wanted my children to experience other cultures before they reach adulthood. My wife and I want them to be well-rounded, empathetic, compassionate people. One of the best ways to do this is to be surrounded by different people and cultures. Living in the U.S., this can be difficult.

Second, we were seeking a large amount of time for our family to simply be together. With a large family – we have 5 kids – there’s always something pulling at our time together: sports, birthday parties, family commitments…sports… :) By living in another place for an extended period of time, all of those things go away, allowing us to just be together.

Once the idea was fully formed, and I had properly sold my wife on the idea, we needed to pick a place. I’ve always wanted to go to Edinburgh, as everyone I know that’s ever been says that its amazing. And we wanted to pick an English-speaking country for our first trip like this (yes, my hope is every few years we do this.)

So, we leave today and come back in early August. The goal is to truly live in Edinburgh. We aren’t going to take too many trips outside of the city, because the point isn’t to simply see a lot of places, but to experience one place deeply. That said, we’ll take a few short trips while there.

Oh, and we will be in a 3 bedroom, 1 bath Airbnb, right in the heart of Edinburgh. We will be stuffed and on top of each other, but that’s kinda the point.

I’ll be working a few hours a day while there, and hopefully finishing the first draft of my book. My goal is to get up early before the rest of the family gets up, be productive for a few hours, and then have the rest of the day to explore and be together as a family.

I’ve decided to blog the experience, and I’ll try to do so without attempting a Scottish accent ;)

If you have tips and suggestions for what we should do while there, please share them!