Travel is often very selfish. Most people land in a foreign country, rush around sight-seeing and escape again without getting a real glimpse into the people or culture. There is a different way. Adam Pervez, is choosing to spend his two-year world adventure volunteering in rural communities while getting immersed in local cultures and forming meaningful connections with the people he encounters. Perhaps the more you give to foreign cultures and people, the more you will get in return.
Please tell us about yourself.
I am 29 years old and hail from Cleveland, Ohio, USA. I studied electrical engineering, worked for an oil services company in the Middle East, then went to Spain to get an MBA (Masters in Business Administration), and then accomplished my “dream”… working in renewable energy in Scandinavia!
What was the driving impetus to quit everything to travel?
The quality of life in Scandinavia was amazing. I lived in Denmark and life was good and easy. But it just wasn’t for me. I found myself full of anxiety and stress. I’d feel pressure in my neck, my eye would twitch, and I kept getting sick. My…
Finding comfortable and affordable accommodations is one of the most difficult aspects of long-term travel. What if you could find quality, furnished apartments and stay for free? House sitting might be the answer. Professional house sitter, Teresa Roberts, author of the book Finding the Gypsy In Me – Tales of An International House Sitter, shares her experiences house sitting around the world in this interview.
Please tell us a little about your background?
I was born and raised in the United States. I sort of grew up on the road. You might say that I inherited the gypsy blood from my father. Most of my adult life, I lived in the state of Maine. That is where I raised my two kids. For about fifty years, I was in school. That’s the truth! I was either a student, a classroom teacher, or a principal of an elementary school. No matter which category, I have been on the school schedule for most of my life. I made a decision not too long after my youngest graduated from college to retire early. I was fifty-four years old. I actually still enjoyed…
Most people are surprised at how inexpensive a travel lifestyle can be. With a modest and consistent online income, a life abroad is probably a lot easier than you think. This interview with Matthew Karsten, of ExpertVagabond.com, is a great case study on what is possible.
Please tell us about your travels.
I first began traveling long-term in November 2010. Before I left for good, I took a “practice” trip in Mexico for 5 weeks to see if I’d like it, and to learn about any logistical problems that might pop up (mail, banking, internet, etc.). After that I flew into Guatemala and have been working my way South through Central America for the last 10 months.
What made you decide to begin a nomadic life?
There really wasn’t a single big reason, more like a combination of many. I was bored with my life. I moved around a lot, and it was something I actually looked forward to doing. I guess I just couldn’t stay in one place for too long before I started wondering what it would be like living somewhere else. I think I was just born with a nomadic gene.
It is hard for most people to imagine what it is like to constantly travel. Most imagine that great riches are required, but from my own experiences and those I have interviewed, a travel lifestyle is probably much easier than you imagine. Digital nomad, James Clark of NomadicNotes shares his story of creating a life of constant travel in this interview. By keeping his expenses low, he is able to fund his travels through various advertising driven travel related websites.
Please tell us about your travels.
My first trip abroad was a brief holiday to Hawaii which activated the travel bug. I took some annual leave holidays after that, but I found that even saving up 2 months of leave from work wasn’t enough time to explore in a time frame I wanted. My long term travels began in 1999 when I moved to London on a 2 year working holiday visa, where I used London as a home base for travels around Europe. So far my travels have taken me to over 40 countries across North America, Europe and Asia. I still have much of the world to see, but I am…
We often hear expressions like “the journey is its own reward,” yet most of us tend to live jumping from one achievement to the next. We often think that everything will be so much better when we graduate, get a job, get a raise, buy our own house, get married, pay off our car, start our own business, or retire. We talk about living for the moment, yet remain focused on the next accomplishment, purchase or life milestone.
Benny Lewis shared this great video recently that puts this in perspective.
Instead of looking for the next mountain to climb or goal to cross off your bucket list, how about just enjoying what you are doing now?
Do you have to wait until you are 65 years old to retire? What would it take to quit your job and travel the world? How much money would you need and what would you do to prepare? Wendy Justice answers those questions and offers some great advice in this interview.
How did you come to the decision to retire at age 50?
I wish that I could have retired earlier! It wasn’t until I was 50 that I felt that I had enough funds accumulated to afford relinquishing my full-time nursing job. Even then, I looked at it more as a sabbatical than a permanent lifestyle change. To me, working was always intended to be a means to an end – in this case, becoming a global traveler.
What did you do to prepare to retire?
I have always lived frugally. I don’t like being in debt, and that helped a lot when it became time to retire – my first piece of advice to someone considering this is don’t even think about it unless you’ve settled all your obligations first. The last year or two that my husband and I were working, we knew that retirement was…
I have written previously about how my wife and I need routine in our lives. While it is great to live in new countries, constant travel is very time-consuming and stressful. We have been consider setting up roots again and having a more stable lifestyle.
The big problem with settling down is that it costs a lot of money. It actually costs a huge amount of money to have a normal western lifestyle.
Here is a rough breakdown of monthly expenses that we would expect to incur if we permanently relocated to my home city of Calgary.
Mortgage on an average starter home: $1800
Property taxes: $200
Utilities: $350
Telephone, Internet: $150
Cell Phones: $200
Car Payments: $300
Car Insurance: $100
Car Maintenance and Gas: $200
Furniture and Household Items: $500
Clothing: $200
Food: $500
Entertainment: $500
Total $5000
The North American Idea of a Normal Lifestyle
We don’t have to spend that much money of course, but it is hard not to when all of your peer group does. Expenses of $5,000 per month are normal for a professional couple in Calgary. It doesn’t matter how independently minded you…
Careers, debts and children seem to be prime reasons for delaying dreams to travel the world or begin a lifestyle design journey. It is difficult to change your life when you have substantial obligations. Difficult? Yes, but definitely not impossible. The Denning family has found a way to make a nomadic lifestyle work with five children while traveling across the Americas in a vegetable powered truck. Read about their story in this interview.
It sounds like you did very well with your real estate investments?
Real estate was a great tool for helping us to break out of the ‘9-5’. We began investing in it while my husband still had his corporate job. We purchased rental properties, and later ‘flipped’ homes. The additional income it provided instilled confidence and helped us make the leap to quit my husband’s job and pursue the life of an entrepreneur, which eventually led to a life of travel.
It has been about 16 months since my wife and I left Japan and almost two and a half years since we made our commitment to change countries and careers. Here is an update on how our life has changed since we decided to give up our old way of life.
Visiting Canada
We are back in Canada now until the end of summer. My wife’s six month visa expires in September so we have to go somewhere before then. We still haven’t decided where or for how long.
Overall life is good. We really have few complaints. I am doing some part-time marketing consulting work with a few companies which more than pays for our living expenses. We have time to regularly exercise, read a lot, meet new people and generally do anything we want. With the exception of my terrible marathon performance last month, I would even say that life is perfect.
Many people wonder how my wife and I can afford our location independent lifestyle. Savings are part of it, I also do some part-time consulting. However, the key ingredient is that we don’t spend much money. This is a difficult concept for many to grasp: you don’t have to work much if you don’t spend money. My wife and I cut our expenses to about a quarter of what they used to be, now I have the flexibility to only work on projects I care about.
Long-term traveler, Roni Weiss has perfected the art of frugality. By keeping his living expenses extremely low he can maintain a travel lifestyle that is only a dream to most. Roni shares his story in this interview.
Please tell us about your travels.
My first big solo backpacking trip was in 2004, two months in Western and Central Europe. It could have been longer, but I chose not to bring a laptop, something I changed two trips later. Sharing hostel computers is for the birds. Now, I have been to 70+ countries, including every country in Europe, as well as every continent except Antarctica. 40% of the countries in the world.
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I have written previously about how my wife and I 
It has been about 16 months since my wife and I 
