[Interview #011] Choosing time over money and living a FatFIRE nomadic lifestyle

This interview is part of our interview series, where we curate stories of regular people that decided to design a life they love. (click here to learn more).

Brad from ManOverseas.com

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Man Overseas (aka Brad) actually “retired” from work to become a full-time traveler (hence, Man Overseas). He grew up in Houston, Texas (USA) and attended Nicholls State University. We were in Chiang Mai last year when I stumbled upon Brad. My initial encounter with Brad was rather virtual and semi-random on Twitter. We quickly clicked and the next day I was invited to his great (yet super affordable) AirBnB rental in the heart of the Nimman area to record a podcast with him (FU Money, Investing & World Travel). I was really excited to have him as part of our interview series to feature someone that is living more of a FatFIRE lifestyle (versus a budget one) with a solid sense of humor, unique take on work and life philosophy and much more. And since #Covid2019 is top of mind for everyone, I wanted to know how this pandemic has been affecting his worldwide travels for him and his wife.

So without further ado, let’s hear from Brad, the Man Overseas himself!

Lifestyle change

What does a typical day in your life look like for you today? And how does it differ from your lifestyle before?

Brad: I don’t have a typical day. I get 7-8 hours of sleep. I spend a lot of time with my wife, do a lot of reading, writing, record podcast every 10 days, walking/hiking, thinking, meditating/praying, consulting, swimming, stretching and other “ing’s” as they come up.

Check out the infographic below to contrast how Brad’s priorities shifted before and after getting on his FI journey:

What led you to decide to change your lifestyle?

Brad: Having passive income to support my lifestyle made it an easy decision. But I didn’t intend to fully retire. I took a year off to travel the world—wanted to find out how much I could see & learn in a year. When it was time to return to “the grind,” I valued my time & skill set more than employers were willing to pay me. There’s a strong stigma [in the States] attached to those who take more than a few weeks off, especially if you use that time for something other than…more work. A few friends suggested that I emphasize work-related things I did during my time away, for example, real estate deals or volunteer teaching. I chose not to. I was candid in that I’m an oddball—I walked away from a lot of money during my peak earning years to see the world, read & think and do all the other stuff mentioned above. Worth every penny. 

Since you no longer have to go to an office to receive income, has the definition of “work” changed for you and can you explain what “work” project you are focusing on at the moment?

Brad: My “work” is indistinguishable from non-work [to a passerby]. Most of my writing/podcasting ideas come from books I read, going for long walks or just sitting and thinking.  I’m doing research for my first book, I record a podcast every 10 days and coach clients who want to FIRE someday on Monday mornings. 

My sole aim is to provide value to others. How has that changed? Before I would aim to provide value to others while ensuring fat paychecks followed. If I had to pick one “work” project that I’m focused on at the moment, it’d be ‘professionalizing’ my podcast and aiming to provide a better listening experience.   

What would you say were some of the biggest challenges to adjust to this new lifestyle?

Brad: Not seeing my friends back home as much I would like. Sometimes several days in a row my wife will be the only person I talk to.

What life philosophy has been guiding you through this journey?

Brad: “Do you want more time, or do you want more money?”. 

(You can find Brad’s other life philosophies on his Philosophies of Life’s article) 

Were there any challenges of going from seeing your spouse for a few hours to spending much more time together? Was there any adjustment you made to keep a healthy balance?

Brad: My wife & I had traveled across the Pacific for 5 months when we were dating. She didn’t know it at the time, but it was definitely a test-drive to see if we could live the life we’re living now. I figured if we could spend near 24×7 together without wanting to secretly scrub the toilet with each other’s toothbrush, we’d thrive as a power(less) couple. That is, those without big egos or high-paying jobs.

How long did it take you to become financially free? Why did you decide to reach FI? What were some of the challenges you had to face along the way?

Brad: It took ~10 years. I decided to pursue FI after a conversation with a colleague who had a bunch of rental properties, listening to Jim Rohn CDs, and reading The Richest Man in Babylon & Rich Dad Poor Dad. It sounded amazing: “the ability to live from the income of your own personal resources”. I faced rejection, a lot of rejections. 

What did your friends and family think of your plan to become financially free? What did they think when you announced to them that you will be quitting your day to day job and leaving the US to travel/relocate?

Brad: They thought it was great and thought I was crazy. 

Travel

How would you describe your travel style?

Brad: Somewhere between FatFIRE and Freshman 15 FIRE. Slow. We stay in one place for 30 days at a time, usually taking 1 or 2 getaways from our getaway.

If you could never travel again and could pick any city to be confined to, where would you pick? And why?

Brad: Prague. It’s an affordable fairytale city with excellent public transit and coffee shops from which I can work on projects. Also it’s close to many other great European cities.

How much stuff do you travel with? 

Brad: I travel with the TUMI – Wheeled Packing Case 49lb. suitcase (for our clothes), a Lululemon Lightweight 15″ laptop Backpack 22L for MacBook, notebooks, protein bars, glasses, Aviator sunglasses & the TUMI – Wheeled Carry-On Luggage carry-on suitcase (for physical books).

What’s something you pack that’s not absolutely essential but you like having?

Brad: Wife beater tees.

The Coronavirus have been disruptive to people traveling and has been recently declared as a pandemic by the WHO. How has this affected your travel plans for the rest of 2020? Are you planning to make any major changes in your lifestyle for the weeks/months to come wrt this outbreak?

Brad: We’re still unsure because news is breaking every day. We have a Euro trip booked for 3/30 – 9/7. Today is 3/14 – we learned a few hours ago Czech Republic has closed its borders. We’d planned to spend a month there, so everything is up in the air (except us possibly :).

Spending

How much money do you spend on travel per year? How many days of travel does this represent? How much does this represent per day and per person?

Brad: $2,700 – $5,000 per month or $90 – $167 per day per couple or $45 – $83.5 per day per person.

How do you fund your travel (savings/work whilst traveling/other)?

Brad: Real estate investment properties

Community

How do you meet people when you travel? Do you have any tips for people that are having challenges meeting people while traveling? 

Brad: I meet people at places I frequent i.e. coffee shop, gym.

Last but not least

What is one resource (blog, podcast, book beside your own) you recommend for those that want to pursue your lifestyle?

Brad: Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts.

What advice do you have for others who are considering this type of lifestyle? 

Brad: “Control thy expenditures”. (a line from The Richest Man in Babylon). If you can control costs, you can live the nomadic lifestyle forever.

Tell us one belief that is held up by society as ‘common sense’ but that you disagree with and why.

Brad: Car payments. I hear so many rationalizations for why people need $20-30-50k cars. Safety, size, maintenance costs, etc. In most of America, you need a car to get around, but Americans should strive to reach a point in life where they’re paying cash for cars as fast as possible, and never go back [to car payments].

Rapid Fire Questions

What is your favorite travel destination & why?	Brad: Bali – eat healthily, feel healthy, love the gym we join there, friendly people, affordable, beautiful scenery.
What was the most creative thing you’ve ever done to save money during your travels?	Brad: Fasting. We typically eat only two meals/day. I will do a 24-hour fast twice/year & 3-day Intermittent Fasting once/month where I only eat from 2pm – 10pm.
What was your biggest travel mistake?	Brad: Not spending enough time in one place when I started.

Thank you Brad for sharing your story.

The Bottom Line

Here are the main lessons we took away from this interview:

• Lesson 1 – “There’s a strong stigma [in the States] attached to those who take more than a few weeks off, especially if you use that time for something other than…more work” – Since I grew up in Europe, family, friends, and fun were priorities above work and it was the norm to take a 4-8 week break in the summer. After relocating to California, I realized that these priorities were upside down and I concur with Brad that it is a big stigma for American people. My advice would be for people to get back to the basics and ask themselves what is the most important thing they want out of their lives. Is it to work long hours and build the best career they could dream of, or is it to work just enough and spend time making memories with friends and family?
• Lesson 2 – “My sole aim is to provide value to others” – Purpose is what drives us, gives us direction and keeps us alive! When Brad had the option to take control of his time by reaching financial independence, he could have taken the easy way out (by sipping a piña colada and ziplining through cloud forests). Instead, he decided to repurpose the time he was using to do work for others and to start doing deep work for himself in order to help others. This change might look subtle at first but if you think about it, it’s actually pretty amazing. Brad went from studying investment & analyzing real estate deals to inspiring people to accelerate their own path towards “living the dream” through projects like his blog, his podcast or his travel services(and the list goes on). This is what living a life with purpose can look like.
• Lesson 3 – [About COVID19] “We’re still unsure because news is breaking every day” – We shared our initial thoughts about the spread of the coronavirus last week on March 8th, 2020 and boy have things escalated fast!  COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), cases in Italy and other European countries spiked, Trump announced that the US was blocking visitors from the Schengen(minus the UK) and the stock market crashed. We were blissfully calm in Bali but got a big wake up call and are putting our travels on pause. Things are changing every day so we don’t have plans beyond this upcoming week. For now, social distancing and self-isolation is the most effective thing people can do for the best interest of the world.

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