Jonathan Lockwood is a wonderful case study for those thinking of taking the plunge and picking up everything to go live and work in a new country. His story is one that is becoming all too common but rarely executed in such a smooth fashion. His use of a digital assistant, an online expat network, a concierge service, and other resources for the transition made for some interesting experiences that we can all learn from.

I met Jonathan a year ago at Jim Karger's compound in San Miguel de Allende in Central Mexico. We had a great discussion about his decision to leave the US as well as the journey he was on to find his new home. He told me that his decision was a reluctant one but after his own awakening process he felt compelled to go beyond the borders of the United States to look for happiness. By doing this he could not only be able to live in a beautiful exotic location but lower his tax burden and live a freer life at the same time. I found his story to be so relevant to others in his situation that I did a video interview with him about it at that time.

After the interview he, like me, decided that San Miguel de Allende was the place that he would like to call home (at least for a little while). For the year leading up to his arrival we talked over the phone and with one visit he was able to find the new house he would be living in. He is now fully settled in and I thought it would be a good time to go over his trip and see what were some of the lessons that may be helpful to others thinking of doing the same.

James Guzman: Hi Jonathan, it's great to finally have you down here in San Miguel de Allende. Let's first get into why you chose to leave Phoenix in the first place.

Jonathan Lockwood: It started with a series of awakenings. At 38 I realized that the religious organization my family has been devoted to for four generations?and that I myself had been promoting?was, for lack of a better term, a cult. It was a bizarre experience most people can't fully relate to. While it was very difficult, since admitting it meant being fully shunned by my entire family and former community, it also turned out to be the best thing that's ever happened to me.

JG: Wow, that doesn't sound like a pleasant experience. How were you able to come to see it as such a positive thing?

JL: Realizing my life was built upon a completely false foundation of beliefs wasn't something I easily recovered from. I think life-quakes like this wake you up in a lot of ways. I began to see all sorts of areas in which I'd been deceiving myself, particularly in the area of authoritarianism. Libertarian messages began appealing to me. I read Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and they made a huge impression on me.