Hypothetical Situation

Urban Sasquatch posed this time travel question on his blog a few days ago. At first, I meant to answer in the comments for that blog, but decided it would take up too much space.

The situation and rules are:

You have a year in which to prepare for this trip in any fashion you dub appropriate.

More still -- you can take approximately two hundred pounds of cargo with you, be it another person, equipment/books, money -- the list is infinite!

Now, the important part: It's a one-way trip!

Wherever you go, whenever you go, you will live out your life there until the day you die in whatever fashion Nature dictates.

1. Where/when do you go, and why?
2. How do you spend your year preparing for the trip?
3. What do you take with you?
4. What is your purpose?

I needed a few days to think it over and shush my practical side.

My practical side said, "When you start going back in time, each era will have increasingly inferior medical care." It glared fiercely at me, adding: "Don't mention diseases like AIDS and SARS. Without vaccines and antibiotics, you've got polio -- and tuberculosis. What about bubonic plague, huh? Huh? And if they know enough to operate, before the mid-nineteenth century, you won't get anesthesia. Think about it."

This is only an exercise in imagination, you know. We're supposed to have fun with this.

"Fun? You won't have much fun as a woman. Let's face it; in this time and place you have more rights and protection than any time in history. Go back far enough, even here or in Europe, and you won't be able to vote or own property."

Shut up.

"Oh, and speaking of going to other countries, have you even thought of the language problems? Remember all those years of French in high school? Can you speak it, really? You don't really have an ear for languages. And remember, go back more than three or four hundred years, and even English becomes a little tricky."

OK, so I never could shut my practical side up. But I did manage to compromise. It's still not happy. Anyway:

1. Where/when do you go, and why?

England, Regency period, c.1800-1830. Not too bad for women. Language not a problem; good literature (Austen, the Brontes), with Dickens to look forward to. Napoleonic wars, but England is peaceful. No big famines or plagues. Women have ditched the big powdered wigs and the fashions are comfortable. Interesting people and conversation. London's got a fairly small population and anyone worth knowing is pretty much there.

2. How do you spend your year preparing for the trip?

Learning as much about the times as possible, with an emphasis on investments and shipping. When I get there, I'll need to make as much money as quickly as possible. No point living in the past if you're not rich. The conditions below middle class were wretched in the city, and work from sunup to sundown on the farms.

Also, take a few nursing courses, learn as much as possible about herbs and natural medicine. Investigate if I'd be able to make a few simple antibiotics. Learn to bake from scratch, how they do laundry, etc. (I'm planning on getting rich enough for servants to do all that, but it's better not to be ignorant of household things).

3. What do you take with you?

A medicine case (I know, any pills would lose strength eventually, but it would give me a start). A few precious gems to sell for a start up stake, since you can't get gold. A few favorite books.

4. What is your purpose?

Do I have to have a purpose? To live well, to enjoy the company of the great thinkers and writers of the age. To stay one step ahead of the times.