Been Traveling for a Year Now. AMA
- Thread starter BeerNuts
- Start date
Congrats. Really in awe of what you accomplished. Most people who are working their asses off today are dreaming to experience what you just experienced, but I think very few actually will.
I know it sounds cliche but you can lose money that you made but you will never lose the experiences that you acquired. (And isn't the point of money - after fulfilling your basic needs - to gain more experiences?)
Many in this thread look down upon you for losing your steady affiliate marketing income and seeing you go back to 9-5. But in the end, it depends what you really seek in life. Laboring behind your computer for years on end, just watching the digits in your bank account go up while hoping one day (which never seems to materialize!) to take a break from it all is easier said than done and it requires a completely different mind-set than letting loose and daring to do something that most never will.
Kudos to you for - at the very least - trying something new! +rep'd. Also bookmarked your blog. Your interest of travelling the world (on a budget!) closely resonates with mine.
I know it sounds cliche but you can lose money that you made but you will never lose the experiences that you acquired. (And isn't the point of money - after fulfilling your basic needs - to gain more experiences?)
Many in this thread look down upon you for losing your steady affiliate marketing income and seeing you go back to 9-5. But in the end, it depends what you really seek in life. Laboring behind your computer for years on end, just watching the digits in your bank account go up while hoping one day (which never seems to materialize!) to take a break from it all is easier said than done and it requires a completely different mind-set than letting loose and daring to do something that most never will.
Kudos to you for - at the very least - trying something new! +rep'd. Also bookmarked your blog. Your interest of travelling the world (on a budget!) closely resonates with mine.
Check out this site Cheap flights to cities of the world
They let you put in your location and then list out flights to everywhere based on price. You may not have thought about visiting a certain place but their could be a crazy deal going on.
Also check The Flight Deal | "Just because it's a great fare doesn't mean it's a great deal" they post great flight deals that they figure out from the Matrix software and then tell you how to get that same deal.
Personally I fly with miles since I racked up a ton with my affiliate business before. I have 150k British Airways miles and 80k American Airline miles. I use miles for the major flights and then look for domestic or regional carries for short travel. For example my flight from Hong Kong to Osaka, Japan was on Peach airlines and only cost me $50 OW.
Glad this thread is still going...
A bullet vacation just doesn't do it but leaving my current place does...
Everything is gone to piss and and rebuilding yet AGAIN with all these connections fails me.
Where to go to live like Ed Norton's Hulk?
Hamster wheel life is beyond nauseating.
Talking Jason Bourne...except no agents on my tail.
Just another life. A reset. Not here. Not America. Don't want (essentially barring a few exceptions) any of the people, things, relationships, nothing currently in possession.
A bullet vacation just doesn't do it but leaving my current place does...
Everything is gone to piss and and rebuilding yet AGAIN with all these connections fails me.
Where to go to live like Ed Norton's Hulk?
Hamster wheel life is beyond nauseating.
Talking Jason Bourne...except no agents on my tail.
Just another life. A reset. Not here. Not America. Don't want (essentially barring a few exceptions) any of the people, things, relationships, nothing currently in possession.
^ Good luck Bro. Seriously this time.
I was just interviewed this week about living the location independent lifestyle (3 years now). When I was asked about the best part of it, I without a doubt said that it was the ability to surround myself with positive people, other entrepreneurs, and others just kicking ass at life.
I'm in Asia, and like most I mostly hang out with other location independent expats. Talking about brain productivity hacks, the latest search engine news, or paleo style eating is just a normal daily conversation. It's hard to say that about most places back in the US.
Remove the bad influences, replace it with good.
I was just interviewed this week about living the location independent lifestyle (3 years now). When I was asked about the best part of it, I without a doubt said that it was the ability to surround myself with positive people, other entrepreneurs, and others just kicking ass at life.
I'm in Asia, and like most I mostly hang out with other location independent expats. Talking about brain productivity hacks, the latest search engine news, or paleo style eating is just a normal daily conversation. It's hard to say that about most places back in the US.
Remove the bad influences, replace it with good.
Please PM me your rough plan for the next 2 months. Our paths may intersect.
What do you mean by location-independent though? How long are you staying in each place? Do you get temporary apartments or stay in hotels?
Didn't see this thread the first time around, read it from start to finish. Awesome story, it really hits home since I was in a similar position back in April '12, but went the other way. Added your blog to feedly.
How have things have been going since you started this thread...did you get a 9-5 while you're rebuilding, or are you still traveling? If you did take the 9-5, any specific reason you chose that route over baselining somewhere in SE Asia and picking up freelance work?
Is there internet access on the basecamp trek, or are you pretty much out of contact with the outside world until you're back (not that its necessarily a bad thing)?
How have things have been going since you started this thread...did you get a 9-5 while you're rebuilding, or are you still traveling? If you did take the 9-5, any specific reason you chose that route over baselining somewhere in SE Asia and picking up freelance work?
Is there internet access on the basecamp trek, or are you pretty much out of contact with the outside world until you're back (not that its necessarily a bad thing)?
Its been 6 months since I got back from my trip and I have been selling all of my assets and working on a few projects that generate income. I was staying with family to save cash. When I got back from my trip I had $200 in my bank account and now I have 13k. Main income is from a product of mine called Local Scraper thats making almost a part-time income.
Since I had arranged a Working Holiday Visa to Australia back in May of last year I decided that was my plan. I still get to travel and I still get to work. So I am currently writing this from Sydney Australia. I arrived here just 2 days ago. I will be looking for a normal 9-5 here and contacting recruiters over the next few weeks. Anyone in Sydney want to hang out or have job contacts?
I decided this over SEA because as much as I love the 3rd world its not always the best place to live. I know guys here live there, and I will be visiting the area soon. But since I have never been to SEA yet it did not sound like a good idea to just move there no matter how cheap it was. Also the Visa situation could mean some day I might not be allowed to go back to my own home. US citizens can get a 90 days in Thailand if they get the Visa before they leave the US. I read that this was not extendable. Also now you only get 30 days if you enter via plane, and 15 days via ground (bus/car/etc). So every 15 days I need to make a bus visa run? I need to visit the area and meet some of the people living there before making that kind of choice.
As for basecamp there is internet at some lodges and cafes along the way. Its very slow and very expensive since its all satellite based. Every few days I checked emails and kept things running but nothing more. The main idea is to completely disconnect and enjoy the nature so you wont miss the internet at all. But we do run businesses so you can check to make sure nothing has exploded. It would be stupid to hike with a laptop or ipad due to the extra weight so your limited to work you can do on a public computer.
Historically I stay for 3-4 months in each spot, although I just spent the 9 out of the last 11 months in Vietnam (moving back to Spain in 2 weeks).
I almost always get apartments if I'm at a place for more than 2 weeks. It changes based on where I am in the world.
Western Europe - It's a huge hassle to get an apartment in most places, but luckily AirBnb makes it super easy to get a fully furnished apartment, or to share an apartment with others. You'll pay a little more compared to a traditional apartment rental, but the lack of headache and the freedom of optionality makes it worth it.
Everywhere else - Serviced apartments. These are particurally high quality in south east Asia. They come included with daily made, laundrey service, and a completely serviced ready to go apartment. No long term commitments usually.
That was pretty much my thought process...I want to disconnect, but I'd still need to check in a few times to make sure things didn't explode. Thanks for the info.
Just get a 90 day visa from the Thai Embassy in Australia and you have to do a visa run every 45 days if I am not mistaken. That 13k $ you have saved up will last you 8-10 months in Thailand/Vietnam, but only like 3 months in Australia?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk