How to run away from home - as a grown-up

BERKELEY, Calif. -- If early retirement and an empty nest have you yearning for a new adventure, consider taking your next cue from "The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away From Home: Making a New Life Abroad" by Rosanne Knorr (Ten Speed Press, $14.95).

The book, now out in its second edition, can help you think through the logistics, risks, and potential pleasures of living in another country for a year or longer. The book offers advice on downsizing, budgeting, packing, staying in touch, handling health issues, dealing with guests from back home and settling in to your new locale.

The idea may be especially appealing to baby boomers who spent years putting in long hours at work, raising kids and paying mortgages. "As we reach middle age, it's our children - the students in high school or college - who participate in a year abroad," writes Knorr in her introduction. "We see them and say, 'I wish I could have done that.' Then one day, my husband I asked, 'Why can't we do it now?'"

They ended up living in a French village and used their new home as a base for other adventures exploring Europe. "After spending years raising our kids, we became the kids we wanted to be," Knorr said.