The Good, The Bad, and The Border

The Good, The Bad, and The Border

This is the one where it all starts to feel a little too real. Our last night in the United States is an RV park in McAllen. Not a big goodbye. Not a moment. Just…sitting there with our last Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza and a quiet sense that we might not fully be ready for what we’re about to do. We’re trying to get rid of a g*n we absolutely CANNOT take across the border. We’re making a last-minute decision to bring someone we barely know into the plan. And we’re both pretending we feel more confident than we actually do. Then we wake up and start driving. The Mexico border is not what we expected. Construction at the crossing. Four hours pulled over on the side of the road. Some maybe not-so-legal paperwork shenanigans. Armed guards. The wall. And then—we cross. No fanfare. No fireworks. Just a dusty road and a sketchy looking mechanic shop.  And we realize we've been holding our breath for days. Weeks.  There's an exhale. Tears. And the overwhelming realization that the hardest part is still ahead. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595114/fan_mail/new] Follow Burn the Blueprint on Instagram for updates, behind-the-scenes, and whatever happens next. You can also find more of our life at Leaving La Vida Loca.

The Long Way Out

Buckle up babies, this is a LONG one. Welcome to our Farewell Tour of the United States. Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas.  In this episode: our first fuel up, camping at DISNEY, figuring out the stinky slinky, Leyla learning how to record voiceovers for multimillion dollar companies from an RV closet, the most incredible Florida sendoff, our last US Christmas, and emotional family goodbyes Also: battling semi trucks on the highways (it's a real thing), some seriously UNHINGED zoo visits, driving up a literal mountain, outrunning tornado warnings and a polar vortex, frozen pipes, poop pyramids, questionable haircuts, paperwork CHAOS, and the decision that started the clock and gave us a deadline to cross the Mexico border. Then, a week before we leave the country--we realize that we might actually need help.  Because it turns out...we might be a little in over our heads. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595114/fan_mail/new] Follow Burn the Blueprint on Instagram for updates, behind-the-scenes, and whatever happens next. You can also find more of our life at Leaving La Vida Loca.

Burning it Down

Buying the RV made it real. Posting the video made it public.  After that, everything rolled downhill. Marketplace chaos. Selling the house. Quitting our jobs. Watching the safety net disappear. Realizing we’d boarded a train we couldn’t get off and it was moving FAST.  In this episode, we talk about blowing up our lives in real time. Letting go of everything familiar. Getting wildly confident opinions from people who did not own passports. And that specific kind of panic that comes with committing before you feel ready.  We didn’t have a plan. We had the concept of a plan.  Hit play to hear the moment the rubber met the road. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595114/fan_mail/new] Follow Burn the Blueprint on Instagram for updates, behind-the-scenes, and whatever happens next. You can also find more of our life at Leaving La Vida Loca.

The Beginning of the End

We didn’t wake up one day wanting to leave the U.S. We just slowly realized we didn’t want to stay. COVID. Losing our jobs. The political climate. Feeling stuck in a life that suddenly felt way more stifling than it used to. Then one trip to Belize. And a very uncomfortable feeling we couldn’t shake when we got home. In this episode, we talk about the why. The first trip. The moment it clicked. Leaving Belize already homesick. Getting pregnant after years of infertility. Buying land we’d never seen. That low-grade panic where you realize you might be starting something you actually have to see through. We didn’t have a plan. We had the concepts of a plan. This is where it started. Get in, losers. We’re leaving the USA. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595114/fan_mail/new] Follow Burn the Blueprint on Instagram for updates, behind-the-scenes, and whatever happens next. You can also find more of our life at Leaving La Vida Loca.

Burn the Blueprint Season 1 Trailer

This is a podcast for people who looked around at their life and thought, wait… this is it? We’re Leyla and Trevor. We left the US, moved to Belize, and started over with a toddler, two dogs, and no safety net. Burn the Blueprint is us talking honestly about what that choice actually looks like while you’re living inside it. No answers. No polish. Just real conversations. Real Life. Real Wild. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595114/fan_mail/new] Follow Burn the Blueprint on Instagram for updates, behind-the-scenes, and whatever happens next. You can also find more of our life at Leaving La Vida Loca.