Please tell us a little about your background?

We are Australians who retired after a number of years in the Public Sector. I spent 40 years with the Australian Defence Department (20 in uniform and 20 as a civilian) and my wife worked for Veterans Affairs. We retired about 2 years ago and decided to head overseas.

Why Kuala Lumpur?

We started off on our travels to Asia and then caught up with our daughters in New York. We then moved on to Las Vegas, Memphis, Cancun and finally ended up in Kuala Lumpur. We had been to Asia a number of times during our working lives, but had no ties to Asia.
English is understood by nearly everyone in Malaysia. There is a great diversity of entertainment here, including theatres, bars and clubs. Unlike some other countries Malaysia actively encourages foreign residents to relocate here under the Malaysia My Second Home program (MM2H).

Are foreigners able to stay long term there?

As an Australian we are issued 90 day Visas on entry. You can leave the country after the 90 days and come back in.

Is Kuala Lumpur a good country to travel from?

Kuala Lumpur is the home of Air Asia and flights are very cheap. It is one of the benefits of being in Kuala Lumpur (KL). We have been to Singapore, Macau, Thailand, Indonesia and are off to Cambodia on Wednesday.

Do you have Malaysian health insurance or are you using travel insurance?

We are travelling on our international health policy without incident.

Can you give us a rough idea of your monthly living expenses in Kuala Lumpur?

I have attached some links on accommodation, cost of living etc.

Do you still maintain a house back in Australia?

We maintain a home in Randwick, Sydney. We live off the rental proceeds.

What are the drawbacks of living in Malaysia?

Malaysia is a Muslim country and hence Pork is expensive.  Alcohol is also expensive; I miss a good Australian beer on tap.

Can you offer any advice or recommendations for people considering retirement abroad?

The internet is a great tool for research. No country is perfect, you just have to find the one closest to your expectations.

Related posts:

1. Retire Young and Travel the World, Interview with Wendy Justice
2. Can you Retire on $500 per month?
3. Retire Young in Costa Rica – Interview with Author Nadine Hays Pisani

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 not in a hurry to tick off a list of countries.

What made you decide to begin a nomadic life?

I wouldn’t say that my nomadic lifestyle was a decision, rather it has been something that has evolved over time. My original goal was to become self employed doing a job I enjoy which I could do anywhere. At first I would travel for shorter trips, then the trips extended to the point where now I am traveling full time.

Do you have a home base somewhere that you return to?

At the moment I have no home base. When I first started out working for myself in 2003, I had a home base in Melbourne. I averaged around 6 months away and six months at home, while keeping the place I lived at. In 2010 I moved out of that house so I am now without a fixed address.

If you had to choose one country to live, what would it be?

Tough question! I think I will always call Australia home but lately I have been gravitating towards SE Asia whenever I want to stay put for a while. So out of that region I will nominate Thailand for its food, lifestyle, cost of living and good internet service.

How do you earn an income now?

I run a number of commercial travel websites which earn income from the following sources:

• Affiliate sales
• Google Adsense
• Direct Advertising

I have done web design and search engine optimization in the past for other sites, but currently I am working exclusively on my own sites.

Do you make much money from your website?

Without going into details, I make more money working for myself than when I was working for someone else, which is a satisfying feeling. I have had periods though where I wasn’t making much money at all. This is all part of the life of being self employed, a stress which is not for most people.

What is your approximate travel budget for a year?

I don’t really keep a travel budget as it is more of a living budget now. I am aware of my outgoings and I keep my expenses down by not paying for internet or staying in expensive accommodation. I recently kept track of my cost of living for a month for when I was living in Mexico as an example of how you can live well on a small budget. I spent $850 in one month while living in Playa del Carmen. This was a living budget, and not a travel budget, which has different considerations such as transportation and short term accommodation costs.

Are you getting tired of traveling?

I’m not tired of the traveling lifestyle, though I manage this by breaking up my travels with breaks in one place. As much as I love travel, I also love the work that I do as well, which is a good incentive to stay at a home base for a while rather than continuing on to the next destination.

Have you had any serious problems on your travels?

I have been denied entry to two countries in Europe for not having a visa (oops), been in a hotel fire and have had numerous flight delays and cancellations (I’m looking at you Eyjafjallajökull!) but nothing too serious (touch wood).

How do you deal with administrative issues like banking, bills and health care?

This is something that has evolved over time as well. Most of my banking is online now. I have opted out of paper statements and get e-statements instead. I have the occasional payment with cheques (yes some companies still use cheques!) so I have them sent to my parents who manage my banking as well as my quarterly business tax statements. I still maintain health care in Australia, and for travel insurance I am currently using World Nomads.

Do you have any advice for people considering long term traveling

Whether you are travelling as a working nomad or just taking a year off work to explore the world it is a good idea to start simplifying your life before you go. Get out of debt if possible and wind down any monthly standing payments like TV subscriptions. Get rid of unnecessary mail subscriptions and get anything that can be done online set up.

As for making a travel plan, I find you don’t really need one. Once you are on the road you will get into adventures that may take you destinations that weren’t on your original itinerary.

Links
Nomadic Notes - James Clark’s Blog
Follow James on Twitter
Nomadic Notes on Facebook

Related posts:

1. Chiang Mai – The Digital Nomad Capital of the World
2. Interview with Entrepreneur and Digital Nomad Corbett Barr
3. Interview with Digital Nomads from Never Ending Voyage

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 right around the corner for us, so we avoided making any large purchases. We knew that this was something we were going to do and it was important enough to us that we never got the sense that we were sacrificing anything. The actual preparations were very time-consuming. We needed to decide which of our possessions we absolutely wanted to keep and got rid of everything that we could – we had huge yard sales! We shopped around for the best options for getting cash from abroad – all cash cards are not alike – and applied for ones that wouldn’t charge us for cash withdrawals or foreign transaction fees. I learned everything that I could to make our savings generate as much income as possible, and totally rebalanced our finances to maximize the return, while still keeping some of that money in growth-producing investments. We had to figure out what to do about our mail. We had to convert all of our business to online – banking and bills, that sort of thing. I scanned every document that I thought we could possibly need and saved it in my email, so that it would be accessible from anywhere in the world. There was a lot of preparation involved.

Please tell us about your travels.

My first real trip abroad (excluding Canada and Mexico) was to Germany in 1980, where I lived for 2 years. I returned to Europe in 2001, and by then, I had developed quite a taste for international travel. In 2003, we took a vacation to Thailand and Cambodia. It was wonderful – I had always wanted to see that part of the world. When our short vacation was finished, I was so sad! I promised myself that next time I took a vacation, it wouldn’t end until I was ready for it to end. So when we left our jobs in 2005, we had no obligation to return. We initially went to Hong Kong, with the idea that it would be our first stop on an around-the-world trip. We went to China, then to all the Southeast Asian countries. It is now 2011, and we are still busy exploring Southeast Asia! However, quite a few other countries still have my interest, and we hope to visit them in the next year or two – India, Nepal, Turkey and northern Africa are a but a few of the areas that we’d still like to see.

How long do you typically stay in one location?

Until it isn’t fun anymore! We stayed for 2 years in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and have been in Vietnam for almost 1 year now. We enjoyed living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, but tired of it after only 3 months. We stay in furnished apartments when we settle in an area, and pick up very few belongings along the way, so it’s easy to leave when the time comes. When we are on the road, we usually stay in a town for a week or so unless it is just a transfer point like Bangkok or Saigon.

Can you give us a rough idea of your yearly living expenses while traveling?

It differs greatly depending on where we are, of course. Vietnam is nice because the cost of living is very low here. We can live very comfortably for under US$1,000 per month. Kuala Lumpur was more expensive, but even there, we spent much less than we would have been able to had we stayed in the US. We’ve never lived anywhere in Southeast Asia that has cost us over US$1,500 per month to live a comfortable, middle-class life. One of the biggest expenses of a traveling lifestyle is the traveling itself – trains, planes, buses and boats can get expensive and you are never going to find the best deals, negotiate the best rates or really get a sense of where you are if you are only in a place for a few days. A young traveler we met in the mountains of China once shared his philosophy with us – “Always stay in a place for longer than it takes you to get there.” We think that is pretty good advice!

Do you earn an income at all now?

Yes, I do. When we first started traveling, we would send travel journals to our friends and family. People really enjoyed receiving them, and more than one person suggested that we consider writing professionally. We submitted an article about our travels in Tibet to Escape Artist in 2007, and they published it and paid us for it – we were very excited! Since that time, we’ve sold a few articles to other publications, but mainly we write for Live and Invest Overseas, where I hold the title of Asia Correspondent. Now when we travel, it’s always a combination of adventure and business. I look at is as a part-time job, putting in maybe 20 hours a week, though that varies considerably. Working for them, I’m always in search of ideal retirement spots, so it satisfies my desire to travel and helps to support our lifestyle, too.

I am also available for consulting – both with Asian living/retiring and preparing to retire, on a fee-per-hour basis. If you’re interested, please email me at: WendyJustice (at mark) gmail (dot) com.

Can you share how much you earn from travel writing?

I was very fortunate to get into the Live and Invest Overseas publication network, as travel writers generally are a starving group and it is a very competitive business. Let’s just say now that we are making enough to support ourselves living abroad, but not enough to get rich. However, it works out well, as our savings can grow since we can supplement most of our living expenses through writing.

With all the writing you do, why don’t you have your own blog?

Good question, John. I guess I just haven’t gotten around to it yet! Almost everything I write gets published and it’s been adequate to support us, while still giving us enough free time to relax and explore and do the things that we enjoy doing. A blog might require more time than we want to invest at this point.

Does your husband work while you are traveling?

Yes, he’s the “man behind the scenes.” He’s my copy-editor and has a great eye for catching grammatical and content errors. He’s also great with a camera, so if I write an article, he does the photography to go along with it.

Do you have children?

I have an adult daughter. I think she thinks that I’m nuts. She is very rooted with her house and family, isn’t interested in traveling much further than 100 miles from her home and doesn’t understand why on earth I would choose to live this life!

Do you keep your investments and primary finances in your home country?

Yes, I maintain a US brokerage and bank accounts. I experimented once with a bank in Singapore, but wasn’t comfortable with the differences in banking rules. I go back to the US every year or two, although at this point, it feels more like a second home in a foreign country to me.

How do you deal with banking, health care, travel insurance, doctor visits, etc?

If I need cash, I use an ATM locally. I have a debit card from Fidelity that assesses no fees at all and reimburses any foreign ATM fees that I’m charged. Charles Schwab, incidentally, offers a similar debit card for their brokerage customers, and I believe that E-Trade does, as well. Health care costs are so much less in this part of the world. When we first started traveling, we took out a travel medical policy with AU$100 deductible. But it never paid for itself, even though the premiums were quite reasonable, because pretty much every time we received any medical care, the fees were less than the deductible. So now, we don’t have any health insurance at all. So far, had we taken a policy, the premium would not have paid for itself. I had an eye infection a few months back, and saw a specialist here in Vietnam who charged me US$2.00 and gave me appropriate care. Even in Kuala Lumpur, a visit to a western trained, English-speaking doctor costs less than US$10.00. If I was in the US and had a serious medical condition, I would prefer to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Bangkok to receive treatment. Not only would I save thousands of dollars, (even with the airfare) but I think that the care that I would receive would be superior – and this from a nurse-manager retired from the US healthcare system! I would say the same for dental care, as well – it’s cheap and of a high standard.

Do you and your husband have any regrets of not continuing your careers?

In a word: no! This is the best thing that could have happened to us.

Do you feel retiring at 50 was too young or too old?

I know many people who work until they are in their mid-60s or older, then retire and before they have a chance to travel, tragedy strikes – an illness or infirmity. And they never realize their dreams. When the kids are grown, when social security begins, when I pay off my mortgage – there’s lots of reasons why people wait. But if you wait too long…If I could do it again, I’d retire earlier. If I need to, I’ll work when I’m old!

Will you settle down in one country someday?

I can’t answer that one yet. I’m a traveler. I love staying in one place for a few months, but then I get restless and want to go elsewhere. If I was to settle permanently, I’d consider Vietnam because it’s inexpensive and I love the Vietnamese people and Vietnamese food and can speak a bit of the language now. But then, another area may beckon… If I had medical issues, I’d like to be somewhere with better health care – Vietnam is still developing in that regard. In that case, I’d consider living in Thailand.

Can you offer any advice or recommendations for people considering early retirement and/or long term travel?

People have so often looked enviously at me and said, “I wish that I could do what you’re doing.” I know that few, if any of them will ever actually take that plunge. They think that they can’t afford it – they need a million dollars, or 5 million, or whatever. Few people realize how affordable it can really be to live this kind of lifestyle. You can definitely retire comfortably for well under a million dollars, assuming that you have no debts. If you invest wisely, two people should be able to make ends meet comfortably with a nest egg of US$500,000 – especially if you know that you’ll be getting social security or a pension at some point and you head to an area with a low cost of living. Keep in mind that “low cost of living” doesn’t mean living in a dirt-floor hut! In Vietnam, we can live a solidly middle-class lifestyle on a budget of about US$850 per month – that’s living in a serviced apartment a five minute walk from one of the prettiest beaches in the world, eating almost all of our meals out, renting our own transportation, everything. I’ve written quite a bit on this topic – for more information, please see the Live and Invest Overseas website at www.liveandinvestoverseas.com to view some of my top picks for retirement as well as some detailed budgets on various Asian destinations. I’ve also written several detailed reports on various Asian destinations – Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Thailand; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Bali, Indonesia; Vientiane, Laos; Hanoi (and soon, Nha Trang and Hoi An), Vietnam. These feature-length reports were published in the Overseas Retirement Letter. If you’re interested, you can purchase them through the Live and Invest Overseas website. Finally, if retiring young is something that you really want to do, your determination will make it happen. You can come up with a dozen reasons why to postpone it, but in reality, the only thing really holding you back is yourself. We’ve met quite a few couples with young children who have moved to Asia. Some people drift around teaching English or working odd-jobs to support themselves. If you want it badly enough, you can make it happen.

Links to Articles by Wendy Justice
Perpetual Retirement (Why Would Someone Live Like This?)
Chiang Mai, Thailand (Super-Cheap Living)
Retire Young and Travel the World
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Retire to Malaysia $1,223 Per Month
Hua Hin, Thailand (Top Retirement Choice in Southeast Asia)
Vietnam (An Unexpected Welcome)

Related posts:

1. Retire in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2. Retire Young in Costa Rica – Interview with Author Nadine Hays Pisani
3. Everything You Need to Know to Travel Around the World: Interview with The Siracusas

The Secret of My Success

In a recent email, a reader of this blog asked me how I became so successful. He read in one of my posts about how I moved to Japan on one week’s notice with no job, no work visa and only $1000 to my name and later became a jet-setting global rock star celebrity. (Okay, I added the ‘jet-setting global rock star celebrity part ‘ for added effect. )

Here is the Secret to my Success

The short answer is … I am not successful. Most people, myself included, tend to glamorize or even exaggerate successes and hide set backs or negative aspects of their lives. Don’t believe everything you read or hear because you are only getting the positive side of the story.

I am not rich. I am not famous. I am not particularly smart or talented either. I am just an ordinary person that is not afraid of hard work. When I arrived in Japan more than 13 years I worked a lot to save money and pay down debt. I worked two English teaching jobs and a bar job.

A couple of years later I started teaching private students in my apartment. A year after that, I took those students and opened up my own English school. My wife and I worked 50 to 60 hour weeks for close to 10 years. For several of those years we lived in the same building as our school. We were able to save 50 to 80 percent of our gross income. Our secret was work lots of hours and don’t spend much money.

After several years of frugality, we started to grow tired of working so many hours and started working less. We hired other employees, bought a new car and house. Spent lots of money on furniture and started traveling several times a year. We were just burnt out from working so many hours for so long and we thought buying all the things we wanted would make us happy. Well it didn’t. The happiest times of my life have always been when I had no money and was working insane hours to build a business or work on a project of my choosing. The struggle to achieve is far more rewarding than the actual achievement. More money and more things are nice when you have nothing, but after a certain point they become a burden.

Get Out When the Getting is Good

As you can probably tell, my wife and I should have sold our school several years ago when sales peaked and our expenses were minimal. If we did sell at that time, we would definitely have had a lot of extra money in the bank. We both knew about 4 years ago that it was time to move on to something else but we kept procrastinating and making excuses.. We told ourselves that we had a great lifestyle with a good income and lots of vacation time. Why change when everything was so comfortable?

Finally, enough was enough and last spring I made a public declaration on this blog that we were going to leave Japan and change our careers within one year. It was that deadline and announcement that gave me the fortitude to actually follow through on the plans. I can honestly say that blogging has changed my life.

Three years ago we were spending about $5000 per month on living expenses, now we can get by anywhere on about $2000 and much less in cheaper countries. We are getting back in shape and starting to eat healthy again. I am running regularly and playing a lot more guitar. We are also just starting to get back to work on our other business projects. We aren’t making much money and we don’t expect to for a while yet, but it is nice to see new projects slowly come to fruition.

The Future is Bright but a little Scary Too

We have our fears and worries as well. We have enough savings to last for many years, but we don’t want to blow all of our cash either. We will need to work again, but we want to do it on projects that we are excited about.

We don’t have fat corporate pensions so we are thinking about our retirement and also worried about what will happen if one or both of us has a major accident or illness. Our biggest fears are not finding rewarding ways to spend the rest of our lives. We want to do interesting things but we are afraid that we are getting too old or we don’t have the right experience. (We are 40 and 41 years  old.)

Overall, we are extremely happy about where we are in our lives but we also have a lot of regrets about all the things we could have and should have done. We can’t change the past so all we can do is make sure that we are putting in 100% effort everyday into everything we find important in life.  I just want to end each day knowing that I lived as much as I could have.

Am I successful?

I don’t have a house in the suburbs with two SUVs parked in the garage. My essential possessions can fit in two bags on an airplane.  I don’t have a prestigious career or major accomplishments behind me. I am not successful by any of the popular metrics of society. However, I am happy. I now know that material possessions will never satisfy me so I don’t want them anymore. My wife and I are both healthy and we were fortunate enough to be born in rich countries with good parents. Everything else has been a fantastic bonus.  I want to be fully alive each and every day and I am doing that now. Life is good. We live in amazing times.

Are you successful? Please share some of your accomplishments in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Interview with Successful Nomadic Entrepreneur, Dan Andrews
2. Interview with Entrepreneur and Digital Nomad Corbett Barr
3. 16 months into Location Independence

We are Leaving Japan!

It has been a few months since I have written about my progress of achieving my one year goal of leaving Japan. I didn’t have much to report so I spared you the boring details, however, now my goal is much, much closer.

Step One – Mission Accomplished!

The biggest challenge my wife and I had in order to begin our new nomadic lives was to sell our business in Japan. We just received the money for the sale of our English school so now the hard work is finished. That was the only major obstacle holding us back and now that it is complete there are only small details and preparation left ahead of us.

We have to stick around and train the new owners and teacher, but we will be free from all obligations a couple of months ahead of schedule. We are leaving!

Japan is a fantastic country, so don’t get me wrong. We definitely plan to return regularly. However, running the same business for a decade was growing tiresome and we are definitely ready for a change.

Step Two – Rent Out Our House

The next step is to decide whether or not to rent out our house or to keep it as a home base. This is still uncertain although we are about 90% leaning towards renting it out. It would be great to have a place to keep our things and have somewhere that is completely ours. At the same time, it is a little foolish paying for a house when we are not going to be here for most of the year.

Also, keeping the house would definitely encourage us to spend more time at home which defeats the purpose of getting rid of our business in the first place. This is definitely not our dream house so we don’t have any special attachments. It makes much more sense to rent it out and earn a little income from it, rather than keeping an expense. Okay, I am 95% certain now that we are going to rent it out.

Step Three – Get Rid of the Car

The next project is selling our car. We have a great vehicle with very low miles but owning a car has made us lazy. It is too easy to drive rather than cycle or walk. I love the convenience of a car, but I really miss cycling everywhere like I used to in my university days. Hopefully, we won’t have a need for a car for a long, long time. I haven’t started to sell it yet, so I am not sure how long it will take.

Step Four – No More Stuff

After that, there are only minor details to take care of. We will have to store, sell or give away all of our stuff. Some things like my guitars and bicycle, I will never part with so they will have to be kept somewhere. The rest are just possessions that can be disposed of. My wife and I have a fairly minimal existence but buying a house has led to a lot of lifestyle inflation. The more space you have the more you try to fill it. I am not looking forward to cleaning out our house.

Step Five – Decide Where to Go

We still haven’t decided about where we are going to go first. Maybe Thailand, that seems to be the headquarters of many of my blogging colleagues. Thailand is a good stop over on the way to Australia, however I am not a big fan of Bangkok; It is just too crowded and polluted. We also plan to visit Canada soon because of a sick relative and to spend some time with my 90 year old grandmother. We will wait until early January to decide.

The Future

We have managed to save up a decent amount of money from running our own business. We are not rich enough to retire but we can survive for many years without an income. That means my wife and I can focus on the projects and businesses that we want to work on.

I am really excited to be able to have the time and money to invest in several projects that were neglected over the last few years. The future looks great! Hopefully, I will get a chance in the near future to meet up with many of you.

Related posts:

1. My One Year Plan to Change My Country and Career Part 2
2. We Did It! One Year to a New Country, Career and Life.
3. My One Year Plan to Quit my Job and Move to a New Country!

Sailing to the Ultimate Lifestyle Design

Buying a boat and sailing the world is perhaps the ultimate nomadic lifestyle. You bring your accommodation and transportation with you around the world. There would be no plane tickets to buy, and no need to search for a decent place to stay. George Horning has purchased a boat and is planning to begin a sailing lifestyle in early 2010. George shares some of his thoughts on his upcoming adventure here.

Why buy a boat and get into sailing?
I have always had a love for the ocean. I love being around it. It brings me a sense of calm and clarity. I moved to Santa Barbara a couple years ago for just this reason at a time in my life when I really needed that. That is what lead to me to consider living on a boat and being around water all the time. Given the cost of living here in Santa Barbara, CA, it is actually about the most affordable way to own a roof over your head. Now I am just taking it a step further with the moving to Tonga. I was offered a great deal on a nice boat, and I jumped on it. I don’t like the direction this country is headed in, so I have no problem trying to make my own destiny somewhere else. I have no background in sailing, other than being out on sailboats and thinking it was awesome, and how lucky some of these people were to get to do this everyday. That is part of the adventure!

You bought a boat without even having all the money lined up, that is a big commitment. What is your thinking on this?
My thinking was, given my current financial situation, and knowing myself and how I deal with money, that this was the best option for me. I am buying the boat from a gentlemen I met via an article he wrote online. I contacted him and have had hundreds of email conversations back and forth. He left California for the South Pacific about 10 years ago, and never looked back. He has encouraged me along the way, and been sort of a mentor to me. Yes, I am concerned about making the payments along the way, but I want this more than anything and I know it will all work out. I read things constantly that continue to fill me with this belief. I have surrounded myself with people who are excited for me and encourage me. I have ended relationships with people who are negative and petty. I have bigger fish to fry. I have always been reactive in my life, now I am being proactive and it feels amazing.

How are you going to earn a living once you start sailing?
This is the question that keeps me up at night. I am trying to do whatever I can to make myself as visible as possible on the Internet, for a number of reasons. I want the exposure. You never know what opportunities might pop up if you put yourself out there. Like this interview. You never know who might read it and what might come my way. I am going out there with enough to live for about a year, maybe more. So I am giving myself time. I also need a break from everything in my life, so I am giving myself time for that as well. I plan on using the boat to do day tours for tourists. Yes, I know this is not a real original idea, but I have researched it extensively, and it can be done. I don’t need much to survive out there as far as money. Basically boat maintenance (which can add up I know), and food and fun. I have had plenty of money in my life, and I have had next to nothing. I think everyone should experience having nothing at some point in their life. It isn’t that bad, and it is liberating in a way. Not much to worry about. Food and shelter. Real basic. I lived in my Jeep Grand Cherokee a couple years ago for 6 months. It didn’t change my mood one bit. And you really get to know yourself and what is important. I know first hand that money is a necessary evil, and nothing more.

How much money do you think you will need to buy the boat and cover living expenses until your business gets going?
I sort of don’t want to say how much I am buying the boat for, but if you look them up online (J boat, J33), I am paying far less than what they go for. Living expenses will be covered with savings until I get something going with day tours on the boat or who knows what else. I am not worried about that right now. Getting out of here is the focus. The rest will work itself out. You have to believe this in order for it to happen. My girlfriend is coming with me as well, and she will have some money too. Like I said, at least enough to last a year.

Do you think living expenses on a boat are more or less than more typical traveling?
Well, after the boat is paid for, I won’t have much to deal with other than eating and making sure the boat doesn’t sink. “Typical” traveling is different for everyone. I can live super cheap and be fine. I can realistically live for $10/day out there. The boat has solar panels for power, so no bill there. I won’t have a phone (I hope), so no bill there either. No docking/slip fees out there. And obviously, no money paid out every night for a place to sleep. So I am thinking this will be pretty cheap, all things considered. I am not trying to go there and do nothing. I am far too young for that. I am just not trying to make a million dollars a year at the cost of my freedom and time. I am looking for a lifestyle balance. I think this term is overused these days, but that is what I am doing. I wanted warm, near water (preferably warm water), and a calm pace to life. And preferably as few people as possible. Tonga definitely fits that description.

What are your biggest fears right now?
My biggest fears? Well, being out in the middle of nowhere with no money and a broken boat is right up there. But seriously, I don’t really have too many fears right now. My current work situation is not the most stable, so my biggest fear is not having work and still owing on the boat. I won’t have it paid off until December 2009 at the pace I am on. The biggest worry I had was saying “yes” to buying the boat. Honestly, once I got over that initial “what the hell am I doing” feeling, it has been nothing but exciting every day. I can’t wait to get out there, and if I had the money today, I would be gone tomorrow.

Do you have any backup plans in case things don’t work out as planned?
Nope. A backup plan leaves room for failure. What is the worst that could happen? I have a hell of a story to tell, and I have to come back and get a job. It really doesn’t leave me in too different of a situation than I am already in. And at least with the boat, I will always have a roof over my head. And by the time I pay for it and make the few repairs it needs, it will be worth more than I paid for it. I am looking at it as a “can’t lose” situation. I am not really giving anything up to follow my dream.

George’s Next Life Blog
Follow George Horning on Twitter

Update
Here is a link for a similar boat for sale for $29,500.

Buy a Boat and Learn to Sail; 5 Lessons for the Perfect Lifestyle from TravelersNotebook.com

Related posts:

1. Interview with Digital Nomad Carmen Bolanos
2. Interview with Entrepreneur and Digital Nomad Corbett Barr
3. Travel on $500 per month, Interview with Digital Nomad Raam Dev

My previous articles, Retire on $500 per Month and Rent for Less than $10 per Day rely on stable low priced rental properties around the world. With more people traveling and living abroad, I feel that it is inevitable that rents will increase around the world. While purchasing property in a foreign country has its risks, it can greatly decrease your monthly living expenses. For example, my mortgage in Japan, is close to what I was paying for one room in a shared apartment when I first arrived more than 12 years ago.

Matadorlife.com had an article, “What Can $150K Buy in Real Estate Around the World,” while that was helpful, I wanted to see what could be bought for much less. I chose the arbitrary figure of $50,000. Anyone can afford $50,000 after a couple of years of hard work and sacrifice so I felt that it was a good amount. Even in Canada, I know of many houses that are much less than this price in my grandmother’s home town of Kamsack, Saskatchewan. There are limited stores and winters are harsh, but there is a beautiful lake only 7 km away. If you can put up with shoveling snow all winter, the summers are amazing.

Here are some properties around the world for less than $50,000.

Imus Cavite, Philippines
105 square meters. House. 2-bedroom, 2-bath layout plus a study or den (2 floors),  conveniently located near churches, schools, hospitals and shopping malls. With Carport and balcony.
2,099,000PHP (US$44,466)

Bangkok, Thailand
52 square meters. Condominium. 1 bedroom, 1 bath and 1 balcony, near major hospitals, schools, universities, and airports. Five minute walk to a full size golf driving range with a spa and health center.
1,720,000 BHT (US$50,455) (The cheaper units sold out during the time I have been researching this article.)

Elhovo, Yambol, Bulgaria
570 square meters. House. Located in a peaceful village, large rooms, two-storey house, toilet and bathroom in a separate building outside beside the house, with garage and a garden.
26,600 EUR (US$34,652)

Piedras Blancas, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Ecological Tree Homes. This beautiful farm is located on the base of an almost 6,000-foot primary rainforest mountain on the South Pacific Coast of Costa Rica and is bordered on the North by Río Piedras Blancas and Río Bellavista to the South.
US$ 49,500

Ujsor, Bodony, Hungary
94 square meters. House. Beautiful mountain view, two bedrooms, fireplace and central gas heating, established with vegetable garden, fruit trees and flowers, Only 30 minute drive to Gyongyos and 40 minutes to Eger. Close to all the services of Eger and Gyongyos, yet in a quiet and private area with clean air. (John’s note: Eger is a great small wine city in Hungary. I would love to live there for part of the year!)
29,000EUR  (US$39,556)

Texas, USA
2 bedrooms and 1 bath with a nice kitchen and a single garage, a well and is fenced on 3 sides. Really nice and well maintained
US$45,000

Dixie Hills, Atlanta GA, USA
Great location, close to downtown & airport, accessible to Marta and Train station. Kitchen with tile floors and counter tops. 3 bedrooms, hardwood floors, huge living room and laundry area. Cable ready. Ready to move in.

Dominican Republic
Apartment. Nice kitchen with space for a dining area, a full bathroom with access from the kitchen and the bed-sitting room. Large balcony where you can see the Atlantic ocean. Close to the beach and close to town.
US$46,000

Altinkum Aydin Province Turkey
120 square meters. Apartment. The apartments are being built on an already well established road in the popular Hunters Valley area of Altinkum. Positioned just off the main road with all amenities close by, the location is ideal especially as the beach is only a 5 minute walk away. These thoughtfully designed and well built apartments will have a communal swimming pool and garden, and off-street parking facilities. The development is due for completion in May 2010.
GBP £34,500 (US$49,640)

Gorna Oryahovitsa Veliko Tarnovo Province Bulgaria
180 square meters. House. Two storey fully renovated house on the shore of the Yantra river – a natural border of the property. The property is situated in a village 22km away from the ancient historical town of Veliko Tarnovo, 10km away from Gorna Oriahovitza and the airport. One hour drive from Russe, the Danube River and Romania. One hour and a half from the Romanian capital Bucharest and the airport there.
€30,000 (US$42,463)

Sicily Gibilaro, Italy
75 square meters. Three storey townhouse, staircase is in marble, in good condition. Roof is in wood with an attic which can be converted into a terrazza with a panoramic view, semi restructured and is ready to move into straightaway. With spectacular views around the valley of the river Platani, many shops, pizzerias, restaurants and an air ambulance service. 30 mins away from the beach (Seccagrande/Eraclea Minoa/San Giorgio). Access to the main towns of Agrigento, Sciacca, Palermo. 40 minute drive away from the spectacular Sicani Mountains and its picnic area.
€22,000 (US$29,943)

To Buy or Not to Buy
Buying a house in a foreign country can seem incredibly risky and arduous, but it is not hard to find examples of expats who have been successful. I managed to buy a house in Japan. It can be frustrating when the buying process is so different than what you’d expect in your home country, but it is completely feasible. Some countries are riskier and more difficult than others. Do your homework and find a reputable real estate agent to assist you through the process. Your inexpensive retirement home may turn out to be the best investment you have made.

I love to travel, but I can’t live out of a backpack for 12 months of the year. The ideal situation would be to have two or three properties around the world and rotate between them with a little traveling in between. It would be great to connect with like minded couples and share properties, but I know that it is hard to trust strangers with your personal things. However, if you are interested in some type of regular home share agreement please let me know. Also, I am on the look out for an inexpensive place in a interesting country, so if you have any advice please leave it in the comments.

Please give your advice, suggestions or comments below!
My wife and I have a one year plan to move to a new country and find new careers, if you are interested in hearing more about our progress, please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter.

Related posts:

1. Travel full-time for Less Than $14,000 per Year
2. Interview with Bali Guest House Owner, Mike Henry
3. Interview with World Traveler, Robert Fitzsimmons

10 Months to Leave Japan

Two months have now passed since my wife and I committed to our one year plan of leaving Japan and living in a new country. We are still ten months away from making this latest major lifestyle change but our excitement for future opportunities seems to grow day by day.

Progress Report
Not much has materially changed in the last month, except for my way of thinking. I have changed countries once, and know how liberating and amazing the experience can be, so it is not like this is entirely new to me. But it is difficult, in the same way it is difficult for others making drastic changes in their lives. Uncertainty is damn scary. And the older you get, the harder it gets because risks have much greater consequences.

It is hard to give up a good income, and leave your own house and material possessions. When you are just out of university, you have nothing to lose so it is easy to backpack around the world and put off your career ambitions for a year or two. But what happens when you start getting the lifestyle you wanted? What do you do after you have the money to travel, can buy anything you want and do anything you want, but are still unfilled? There is far more to life than the things you own and the things you can buy.

This past month has helped me realize that there is little reason to have unnecessary attachment to my “things.” We can always buy a new leather sofa, espresso machine, computer monitor or anything else my wife and I may want. I would love to get rid of my car just because I know it makes it too easy to not cycle or walk as evidenced by my physical deterioration.  I still want my guitars, but the rest of my possessions are just replaceable things.  I believe I have grown somewhat in this respect.

House in Japan
We would love to keep our house in Japan, just so that we can have a place where we can return to regularly. I have said it before, but it is worth saying again, Japan offers the best quality of food and is the safest country in the world. No other country in the world compares to the quality of fresh, seasonal food Japan has to offer. If you want to live longer, take up a traditional Japanese lifestyle.

There is a small chance that we can share our house with another couple who will take over our English school. Otherwise, we will still have to decide between renting out our house or keeping it vacant for a majority of the year while we are in other countries. Renting the house out will be good for our bank balance but it will be difficult to return to Japan for extended periods because we will not have a place to stay. Keeping the house here will mean that we will be spending more time in Japan and will have to restate my claims that we will be “living in a new country.” I made a commitment that I am advertising to the world and I don’t want to break it.

Sell Our Business or Not?
This really is the most important decision we have to make and the most difficult. We can hire a teacher and manager to run our English school in Japan, but the remaining profits will be marginal and it will still require administrative work and entail risk and liabilities of trying to run a real world business remotely. The difficult part is that it is a school for children. It is not really a business and I don’t want to look at education just in the profit or loss sense. Keeping it self-running will allow us to return to Japan with minimal expenses and even work and earn a decent salary while here. On the other hand, it would be great to free ourselves completely from the obligations of running a school so that we can focus on future opportunities. We have a teacher and manager seriously interested in working for us, so this decision has to be made soon. We are still completely undecided on this issue.

Future Income
In the last month I have connected with many people who have been able to make long-term travel work. Perpetual travel is no longer a dream, it is a real possibility made all the more probable by the number of people I found doing it. I know we can survive from a variety of means that I will make clearer in future posts. People like Nomad4Ever, HoboTraveler, and TheProfessionalHobo are proof that perpetual travel is possible if you keep your costs low enough.

Don’t Make Money Blogging
While it is obviously not impossible to make money blogging, I am quite certain that I do not want to pursue that route. The time, effort and traffic required to start making just a pittance are not worth the investment in my mind. WorkingNomad said he only made $550 over a 4 year period. I have to agree with Chris Guillebeau when he says, “Adsense ads suck.” Anything easy to do is easy to copy and there is no sustainable business model in something that is easy to copy. I am going to focus my efforts on businesses that are harder to start, and therefore more defensible.

There are people making money blogging and writing ebooks, so I don’t want to discourage anyone.  NomadicMatt says he makes more than $3000 per month from his travel websites and NerdyNomad says she was making more than $1000 per month back in 2007. Of course, there is the world famous Chris Guillebeau who estimates that he will make $48,50o in 2009. You can make money if you are willing to put in the work. However, my recommendation would be to focus your efforts on something that you truly have some advantage in.

How to Become an Overnight Success
I am now starting to see the results of what all respectable internet marketers have been saying all along; the key to success is still good old-fashioned hard work. I still have a lot more to learn and do, but it is encouraging to see steady increases in traffic. Here is some advice you have surely heard before:

1. Post comments on many other blogs.
2. Write guest articles for other blogs.
3. Post on your own blog several times per week.
4. Write high quality and well researched posts.
5. Connect with people on social media sites.
6. Promote and support your readers and they will reciprocate.
7. Twitter is amazing! I know, it may seem like a waste of time at first but it really is a great way to connect with people.

Ten more months to reset our lives. I am no longer afraid of giving up my current income and way of life, my wife is a little hesitant but she is up to the challenge. We are excited to have the opportunity to do bigger and more challenging things. The absolute worse situation is that we lose our life savings and have to get jobs or start a more traditional business to earn enough to live again. At least we will have several years of doing the things we want, where we want. Even total failure will be worth the experiences we will have over the next few years.

Previous Posts – One Year Plan: Month 0 |   Month 1

Please give your advice, suggestions or comments below!
My wife and I have a one year plan to move to a new country and find new careers, if you are interested in hearing more about our progress, please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter.

Related posts:

1. My One Year Plan to Find a New Country and Career – Mission Accomplished!
2. My One Year Plan to Move to a New Country (One month later)
3. My One Year Plan to Quit my Job and Move to a New Country!

Christian Skoda in Boracay

Christian Skoda spent 14 years of his life working for a large corporation. About six years ago, he decided to get out of the rat race and begin a new life as a perpetual traveler. Christian has lived in Singapore, Thailand, Bali, India and most recently, the Philippines. He shares some of his experiences in this interview.

Please tell us about your current life now. Where do you live?
I’m currently in the process of moving to the island of Negros, in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Before I lived 6 months in Goa/India, 2 years in Bali/Indonesia and 8 months in and around Phuket in Thailand. Before that I was working for 3 years in Singapore, which I enjoyed very much, as it gave me the opportunity to explore the surrounding countries during extended weekend trips. Asia is simply a region of plenty, I just can’t get enough of it!

How do you earn an income?
From my previous activities, I have several passive income streams, like rent, dividends and interest. My motto is to generate income in hard currency countries and spend in lower-cost-of-living countries. Therefore – Asia is the right place for me to live. I simply love it here, the people, the climate, the food – and, of course – the lower costs of living compared to Europe, Australia or the US. I also try to make some money blogging, although that is so far not more than some pocket money. I also don’t want to stress that too much, as to not scare away my readers with too many ads and affiliate schemes. So all in all, writing a website is more to keep my brain juices flowing and not drying up.

What do you like and don’t like about your life now?
I love that I am completely free to do, what I want to do. I can wake up at noon, go to bed every day in the early hours without any regrets and spend my days without justifying my activities to anybody. Usually, it’s a pleasure to live in foreign countries and dive into new cultures, try out new food, chat with friendly people and explore the natural wonders of our beautiful planet. I was never less bored than during the last couple of years.

Do you have any regrets about your life now?
Yep, I regret not having worked in foreign countries earlier. I had several opportunities before to work for my employer in other countries, thus earning a good salary with the safety net of a long-term employer and having the opportunity to explore new cultures and regions at the same time. As maybe plenty of other people, I too was afraid of change. I thought that the risk is too high or that I wouldn’t cope and would have to come back defeated. All those fears are completely unfounded, as everyone anywhere is cooking his/her tea with the same water. If you are young, skilled and hungry – you can make it and outperform your peers almost everywhere – not only in New York, as the old tune goes. You are in a much better position to adapt, you will always do your best, compared with people stuck for much longer in the same place and you will most likely succeed!

How much savings would an average person need to be able to move abroad and live like you do?
That really depends on your choice of lifestyle, your savings/investments and if you work or not. I found for myself that I’m even more happy, the less material possessions I own. Wherever I roam, I try to reduce my belongings, which currently fit in a larger travel bag and a small backpack. Who needs a house, a car, too many electronic gadgets, expensive toys, suits and ties anyway? Happiness comes from the inside, not what you patch on yourself from the outside. If you can give up on all those ties to the material world, you can live very basic and frugal, yet very fulfilled. My budget is something around US$800 per month, sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. I gave up calculating, as it was fairly stable over the last couple of years. I admit, that this lifestyle  probably isn’t for everybody, but that’s simply the way it is.

What were you doing before you became a JetSetCitizen?
I was working for 14 years in sales and customer-related functions for a large European outsourcing company. While that basically gave me a nice title and salary, as well as a chance to travel and see the world; it also put a strain on my personal life, health and especially relationships. When I try to remember the most remarkable moments of this time of my past working life, it is like somebody pressed a fast forward button. Everything is some sort of blur, with only a few positive spikes standing out. This thankfully changed completely after I quit working, so I’m 100% convinced that I did the right thing in the end.

Why weren’t you happy before? What was missing from your life?
It’s not that I was completely unhappy. Like other people every day, I was just completely driven by my job and work life. This might be okay for a while, but it burns you out easily also. And aren’t those not the best years, when we are the youngest and fittest – wasted somehow for some corporation instead of your own self-development?

Being on the road for 4 days a week, I used to wake up in a hotel bed in some city somewhere in Germany. At a point in time, I had to first check my calendar to remember which town I was in. That was somehow an epiphany to me. Also two bosses of mine died of heart attacks, one in his mid 40′s, the other in his early 50s; both having a similar job as mine. Counting the years, it was clear to me, that I had to do something to not end up like them, hehe!

What sacrifices and risks did you make in order to get to where you are today?
Sacrifices? What do you mean? To not having a steady 9-5 job, a big house, a guzzling SUV car, a 2+2 family? I see it the other way around. Living the corporate life before, I sacrificed too many things for far too long. My right to happiness, self-fulfillment and walking our earth as long and wherever I want to. Who is happy with 3-5 weeks holiday a year anyway? Who is sacrificing? I’m happier and healthier now than at any point in my working life before, so the times of sacrifices are definitely over.

What advice would you offer for others pursuing similar career objectives?
If I could start all over again, I would try to plan way earlier – to save money, maximising my income while still working, reducing/downsizing my expenses and working a job which would give me the chance to explore the world and earn money at the same time. Multinational companies offer the best opportunities here in my view. They have foreign subsidiaries and sometimes expat packages to ‘ease’ your pain, when living in a foreign country. Even with a local deal you will probably be way happier than rotting over many years in a cubicle in your home country. If you have the chance, try as many different countries as possible before taking the plunge of moving (semi-)permanently.

Nomad4Ever Web Site
Follow Christian Skoda on Twitter

More Interviews
Interview with Marie Teather – Came to Japan to teach English and became the Editor of an expat magazine. Now traveling Europe.
Interview with CartoonSmart Founder, Justin Dyke- Sells great video tutorials for Flash and other web related topics. Moved to Virgin Islands and returned to the U.S.
Lifestyle Design Interview: Richard Graham- English teacher turned global nomad. Sells self-made CDs and promotes them around the world
JetSetCitizen Interview 1: Trevor Stefiuk- Musician in Australia- Musician who moved to Australia, went back to school and started a new career doing what he loves.

Related posts:

1. Interview with Guatemala Expat, Chris Mueller

Cebu City, Philippines
US$106  per month  (5,500PHP)

Jomtien Beach, Pattaya City, Thailand
US$263 per month (9,000BHT)

Goicoechea, Guadalupe, Costa Rica
US$300 per month

Sihanoukville, Victory Beach, Cambodia
US$250 (including utilities, TV)

Dehivala, Sri Lanka
US$212 per month (25,000LKR)

Krakow, Poland
US$264 per month

Hanoi, Vietnam
US$300

Missouri, USA
US$300

Antigua, Guatemala
US$240 (with internet)

Advice
When looking for an apartment or house rental in any country, you will most certainly find better and cheaper accommodations if you start your search when you arrive. Most internet searches bring up vacation rentals which are considerably more expensive than other apartments and are often priced by the day or week. Also, owners savvy enough to professionally market their properties online will generally ask for more money. When you arrive in the country, check local publications aimed at foreigners and if you are going to be renting for an extended time,  try real estate agents.

Foreigners are often taken advantage of so knock on some doors and comparison shop before you decide. Make sure you make explicitly clear what is included and what is not. You don’t want to be surprised with extra bills for TV, utilities or internet.

Remember that if your entry visa expires and you have to leave the country, you are not always guaranteed re-entry. If you are leaving the country, it probably is a good idea to stop renting and bring your valuables with you.

Finding the right place to stay can seem overwhelming but it really isn’t that difficult. Most landlords will be very helpful and trustworthy. Ultimately, your accommodations play a very small role in the quality of experience you have in a new country. Your apartment is just a place to sleep, get something safe and in a good location but save your money and invest in new experiences.

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My wife and I have a one year plan to change our careers and move to a new country.
If you are interested in hearing more about our progress, please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter.

Related posts:

1. Want to Visit Japan for Cheap?
2. Can you Retire on $500 per month?