I know that our story to design a life on our own terms wasn’t due to luck by any means but rather because this was something we truly prioritized in our lives. There are also multiple ways to achieve your ideal lifestyle and no two stories are the same.
About 6 months ago I started to look for other couples and individuals that have become nomadic like us to understand their origin story and travel lifestyle. Through a series of twelve interviews, I was able to collect enough data to identify what these stories had in common and what set them apart.
In this blog post, you will be discovering what all of these interviews have in common and what sets them apart. You will also have access to top advice and resources from our interviewees if you are interested to start designing your own life. You will also learn more about their favorite travel destinations and their best travel tips.
Let’s dig into the essence of these remarkable stories.
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What do these interviews have in common?
First, let’s look at what all of these interviews have in common.
You need an awakening to fuel a major change in life
We asked each person we interviewed what led them to change their life and they unanimously provided us with a profound awakening that led them to start rethinking their life’s priorities.
Noemie & Fabien had a new experience that deeply changed their perception of work. ”At the end of [our first trip together to New Zealand], we asked ourselves if it would be possible to keep the same lifestyle, by working less and traveling […] until finally, the question no longer came up. Now, the question is not ‘Are we going to be semi-nomadic this year?’, but rather:’ When will we stop being semi-nomadic…’”.
==> Noémie & Fabien are now working only 6 months per year and traveling the other half of the year.
Michelle realized that “working year-round full-time hours was not my idea of fun; however, I liked having some paid projects in this enjoyable industry for a sense of purpose.”
==> Michelle is now following a semi-retired path where she enjoys a healthy balance of relaxation and productive time.
A 9-5 career doesn’t lead to personal fulfillment
All the people we interviewed made the conscious decision to adjust their definition of work from what society taught them to something more fulfilling.
Ali & Alison realized that they: ”[…] were spending most of [their] time and energy on [their] jobs and that wasn’t creating a sense of happiness or fulfillment in [their] lives. [They] wanted to […] spend more time together and focus on things that [they] enjoyed.”.
==> Ali & Alison have now made work optional and can focus on traveling the world where they can “spend [time] together exploring other places and experiencing other cultures”.
Emily and James totally redesigned their life: “We both wanted to design a lifestyle that we enjoy. For us, this meant ‘working’ when, where, and on whatever we wanted to.” By aggressively purchasing real estate properties and using geo-arbitrage to significantly reduce their expenses.
==> Emily & James can now work from anywhere and work on things they are truly passionate about.
Time is the most important currency we all have
Every person we interviewed realized that time was their most important asset and they wanted to make the best use of it.
Some people got to this conclusion after their own health started to degrade:
For Emily, this was due to a personal health scare. “A few years ago, we had a health scare that could have been fatal if not found and treated in time–which thankfully it was. We realized on a new level that our time on Earth is limited.”
==> Emily & Ryan have now decided they wanted to make their dreams of travel a reality and have been slow traveling the world since 2019
FI Girl experienced something similar after being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in her 30s. As she said: ”Rather than slowing [me] down, this only solidified [my] desire and further motivated [me] to hit fast forward on our plans for financial freedom and retiring from our corporate jobs early so we could see the world and really live life on our terms”.
==> FI Guy & FI Girl have now left the corporate grind and are enjoying the life they always wanted.
Some people got to this conclusion after seeing other people’s health tragically affected by their work environment
For Kristy, this was when she witnessed “One of [her] co-workers collapsed and almost died from overwork. He was working 14 hour days for years and the doctor said it was as bad as smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day.”. Since then she told herself she did not want to die at her desk from too much work.
==> Krysty & Bryce have now reach the status of world travelers and have been visited c100+ locations.
Others realized that their time was more valuable than the money they could trade it for.
For Ali & Alison, more time in their lives means they could start “exploring other places and experiencing other cultures”.
==> Ali & Alison have since then left their home to travel the world.
It’s important to remember that time is ultimately the only thing we can’t get more of in our lives and unfortunately something we keep trading to make more money. Have you noticed though that the more time you make for yourself, the less money you need? (read the paradox (or love/hate relationship) between time & money to understand why).
It is important to control your spending
To get more time out of their lives, most of the people we interviewed decided to intentionally reduce their spending. But rather than living a life of deprivation, they combined this reduction with strategies that would enable them to turbo charge their ability to spend less.
Without much surprise (tada!), it turns out we’ve also been employing most of these strategies ourselves. Here are the most popular ones mentioned:
- Using geo-arbitrage (James & Emily, Ali & Alison, Wendy & Xavier, Marcia & Ray, Kristy & Bryce, Noémie & Fabien, Eric, Emily & Ryan, Michelle, Brad, Shannon & Sergio)
- Using Travel hacking to save on flights/hotels (James & Emily, Ali & Alison, Kristy & Bryce, Brad, Shannon & Sergio, FI Guy & FI Girl)
- Doing housesitting to pay zero rent. (Ali & Alison, Noémie & Fabien, Michelle, Shannon & Sergio, FI Guy & FI Girl)
- Booking long term stays using AirBnB (Ali & Alison, Marcia & Ray, Kristy & Bryce, Eric, Emily & Ryan)
- Slow travel (Ali & Alison, Marcia & Ray, Kristy & Bryce, Noémie & Fabien, Eric, Emily & Ryan, Michelle, Shannon & Sergio)
You need to question the beliefs held up by our society
Everyone we interviewed had a strong disagreement with popular beliefs from our society. Among the beliefs they called out, the one that came up most often was home ownership!
- “You don’t need to own a home to be a successful adult.” – Ali & Alison
- “That everyone should aspire to own their own home.” – Marcia & Ray
- “Buying a house!” – Eric
- “A common belief is that if you’re buying a home versus renting, you’re automatically being wise with your money.” – Shannon & Sergio
- “Buying a home is the best investment you can make.” – FI Guy & FI Girl
Other popular beliefs were:
- “The standard narrative: Get a job, buy a house, work until you’re 65, retire with a pension.” – Krysty & Brice
- “The one idea I’ve always struggled with is that at some point, we must “settle down” – Wendy & Xavier
- “A traveling lifestyle must be expensive.” – Emily & Ryan (& ourselves too!)
What sets these interviews apart from each other?
You do not need a trust fund or even saving a lot of money to live a life of your own
Something that we learned from Shannon & Sergio is that “funding our travel isn’t simply a matter of making money to pay for it, it’s also lowering costs”. They proved it to us by sharing their budget in 2016/2017 where they travel for an entire year, visiting 3 continents, 23 countries, and 60 cities for only $7K by employing a combination of wise spending, house sitting, and travel hacking.
And while you might think $7K is ridiculously low (which we agree), on the higher end of the spectrum we have Ali & Alison that have reached financial independence and have been traveling the world and spending $62K a year in 2019 without employing most of the strategies that Shannon & Sergio have used.
(Note: $62K is about the average household expenditure for 2018 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – source).
You do not need to stop working to enjoy your ideal life
Out of the 12 couples and individuals we talked to, 3 of them are still working but they made an adjustment to the job they were willing to take. For instance:
- Noemie & Fabien are working for half of the year in Quebec and can travel for the other half thanks to the savings they accumulated during that year.
- Michelle is also taking a similar approach, where her travel will be funded through seasonal and project work.
- Shannon & Sergio both have fully remote jobs, which lets them travel anywhere that has a solid internet connection and save even more by being in a place with low cost of living and even getting free rent thanks to house sitting.
You do not have to rush through the finish line at all cost
Emily and James reached their financial independence goal in 2 years by aggressively purchasing rental properties to build an investment of a portfolio of 650K that they can use to live off 35K / year.
On the other end of the spectrum, it took about 14 years (2004-2018) for Ali and Alison to reach their financial independence target and set to travel the world for the rest of their life.
Michelle, Wendy & Xavier, Noemie & Fabien & Eric realized that generating enough income to fully fund their life passively wasn’t their primary motivator anymore. Instead, they decided to slow things down and focus on enjoying the journey as much as the destination.
It is never too late to start!
Over the 12 couples and individuals we interviewed, the youngest person who started to live a life on their own term was 27 and the oldest was 54. So it is never too late to start, and you definitely do not need to get to the traditional retirement age to do so!
How to get started?
As we said, it is never too late to get started and think about the life you really want for yourself. Here are some important advice & resources from the people we interviewed that you might want to start looking into
What advice do you have for others who are considering changing their lifestyle?
| James & Emily | You can’t plan for every single contingency. Set guidelines and make plans, but if something changes, don’t hesitate to make a decision on the fly. As a first step, you can consider starting tracking your expenses. You’ll never know how much money you’ll need if you don’t know how much you’re spending and where it’s going. |
| Ali & Alison | A [new] lifestyle won’t fix something that’s broken in a different lifestyle We recommend that people focus on any personal or financial issues they have before deciding to become full-time travelers. |
| Wendy & Xavier | If you don’t try, then an idea remains an idea. We thought we may like to wander around the world forever, but it turns out we actually like staying put and having a community. We wouldn’t have known until we tried it, and I’m glad we test out ideas along the way. |
| Marcia & Ray | Be flexible. Make sure that your planning is done together with your partner (if you have one) and that they’re on-board especially with major decisions. Think outside the box for options (yup, I know it sounds cliché). If you have a financial advisor, go over your numbers with them so that you have another set of eyes looking at your figures. And don’t plan too far ahead as this allows for more freedom to be spontaneous. |
| Kristy & Bryce | Go slow. Don’t try to see everything or you’ll need a vacation from the permanent vacation. |
| Noémie & Fabien | Determine your values and needs on a regular basis to help you better understand [what] lifestyle is right for you. |
| Eric | Take the leap! If you are interested in and constantly researching about [a new] lifestyle, make a plan, and then pull the trigger. You don’t have to have everything figured out all at once. Try it out to see if it’s for you, and if you know that you have to live this lifestyle, you will 100% be able to find a way to make it happen because if your “why” is strong enough, you will figure out the how. |
| Emily & Ryan | You can’t wait for the perfect time. Make the effort to get your life in order and then just do it. You can always return home and work, but you might discover that you enjoy this lifestyle more than you think. |
| Michelle | If you are wanting to split your time between seasonal work and time-off, have a look into industries in which short-term contract work is common; such as in events or tourism. You could also check if your current employer is open to alternative working arrangements, such as remote work or a sabbatical for more travel opportunities. |
| Brad | “Control thy expenditures“ If you can control costs, you can live the nomadic lifestyle forever. |
| Shannon & Sergio | Anyone that makes it a priority can [design their] lifestyle. It’ll take time, discipline, delayed gratification, incremental steps, etc. Even then, you may not get to exactly where you want to be, but what’s the alternative? A lifetime of regret, ‘what ifs’, and longing? |
| FI Guy & FI Girl | There is no one size fits all strategy when it comes to this but you can certainly learn a lot from those who are already living a similar version of it. Educate yourself. Read and listen to as many people as you can that are already doing what you want to do and take the pieces of their strategies that fit your own vision. |
For people considering a nomadic lifestyle, what is one resource that you recommend?
| James & Emily | The FI Show podcast hosted by Cody Berman and Justin Taylor. The show hosts all kinds of people living alternative lifestyles. From professional tennis players to mailmen, they cover incredible stories. |
| Ali & Alison | The millennial-revolution.com website before we became nomads ourselves because it’s full of nomad destination stories and costs as well. And the book “Quit Like a Millionaire” by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung (the people behind the blog we just mentioned), is one book that would have changed our lives if we had read it 15 years ago so that’s the first one we recommend to others who are interested in being nomads or reaching FIRE today. |
| Wendy & Xavier | The Minimalist website, book, and blog. Changing the mindset to set ourselves free is really the first step to this lifestyle, and they do a great job of addressing the mindset shift. I had stumbled upon their work years before we took the plunge, and it was a slow but steady journey that led to our lifestyle today. |
| Marcia & Ray | I would say the Mr. Money Mustache is the main resource I’d suggest. He’s such an engaging writer – at least it resonates well with me – and his blog isn’t full of financial jargon, so it doesn’t put you to sleep. Plus he likes to tell it like it is and calls people out for their stupidity. |
| Kristy & Bryce | This blog 🙂 |
| Noémie & Fabien | Last year, we read “Do you really need it? ” by Quebec Accountant Pierre-Yves McSween. This book is a good start for people who would like to question their life choices and want to move towards a more minimalist style. For house sitting, we recommend the free online magazine HousesittingMagazine.com. |
| Eric | I would say mrfreeat33.com. He retired at 33 and moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand. His story is very inspiring, and I love his views on homeownership, living abroad, and life in general. |
| Emily & Ryan | We think it is most important to get your finances in order before you consider traveling. If people have debt, we recommend the initial baby steps of Dave Ramsey’s plan. We also recommend the Choose FI podcast for those who are interested in taking their finances to the next level. |
| Michelle | Semi-Retire Plan blog highlights different ways to approach semi-retirement and how you can benefit from this lifestyle on the way to financial independence. |
| Brad | Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts. |
| Shannon & Sergio | While not exactly a perfect fit for our lifestyle, the Tim Ferriss Show podcast is all about optimizing your life, stoicism, personal growth, etc., all things we see value in. |
| FI Guy & FI Girl | We would recommend others check out millennial-revolution.com. There are a lot of similarities but they did things way more efficiently than we did by never buying the big expensive house and leaving their careers five years earlier. |
What else can you learn from these interviews?
Here are some interesting/fun tidbits from the people we interviewed that related to travel that I thought were worth collecting in one place.
What was your favorite travel destination?
| James & Emily | Dubrovnik, Croatia |
| Ali & Alison | Japan |
| Wendy & Xavier | The Trans-Siberian Railway journey |
| Marcia & Ray | Thailand |
| Kristy & Bryce | Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| Noémie & Fabien | New Zealand |
| Eric | Cusco, Peru |
| Emily & Ryan | Nepal, Cuba, Uruguay & Myanmar |
| Michelle | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Brad | Bali, Indonesia |
| Shannon & Sergio | Any place that’s new to us |
| FI Guy & FI Girl | The Atlantic Ocean (on a cruise) |
What was the most creative thing you’ve ever done to save money during your travels?
| James & Emily | Taking two trips walking from one hotel to another, carrying a bicycle and then bringing our bags to avoid paying for an Uber |
| Ali & Alison | House Sitting |
| Wendy & Xavier | Brought cheese and dry sausages on our train journeys |
| Marcia & Ray | Taking advantage of significant discounts for stays over 28 days using AirBnB |
| Kristy & Bryce | Travel during shoulder/low season |
| Noémie & Fabien | In Louisiana, we built a 3-meter Mayan pyramid in a guy’s garden, in exchange for food and accommodation! |
| Eric | Travel hacking |
| Emily & Ryan | We use our Sawyer water filter |
| Michelle | Using Indeed.com’s Job Spotter app, getting paid for photos of “help wanted” signs in store windows |
| Brad | Fasting |
| Shannon & Sergio | Staying a total of 41 nights in Santiago de Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico at four different Hilton properties (a different hotel each night) spending 205,000 Hilton Honors reward points, but earning 217,500 points for a net gain of 12,500 points |
| FI Guy & FI Girl | Going on repositioning cruises (e.g. cruises that do not start and end in the same place) |
What is something you pack that is not absolutely essential but you like having it?
| James & Emily | A travel steamer for our clothes. |
| Ali & Alison | Our picnic blanket and cloth napkins |
| Wendy & Xavier | A portable speaker to entertain us on long train rides and evenings at our Airbnb or hotel rooms. |
| Marcia & Ray | A chocolate supply. |
| Kristy & Bryce | A hair straightener |
| Noémie & Fabien | An Italian coffee machine |
| Eric | The original SPIbelt! It’s perfect for holding your phone and keys while going for a run or if you don’t have pockets. |
| Emily & Ryan | Rubber bands to seal food packages, to compress clothing, and to open tight lids on jars. |
| Michelle | An Olympus OMD E-M10 MkII camera |
| Brad | Wife beater tees. |
| Shannon & Sergio | A bluetooth Xbox One Controller for gaming |
| FI Guy & FI Girl | A gaming laptop |
Our Bottom line
These 12 wonderful couples and individuals we spoke to all had their “Aha” moment that led them to realize that their current life trajectory wasn’t optimized for their own internal happiness and that their own time (vs money) is what is the single most important thing in their life.
By learning new skills (including personal finance) and questioning the beliefs that society held them up against, they took the leap to design a life on their own terms and none of them are regretting this decision today. If anything, they wish they knew this was possible earlier.
What about you? What changes would you like to make in your current life to become a more fulfilled & happy individual?
Want to learn more about each of our interviewees
The 12 interviews we already published are packed with great pieces of advice. If you aren’t reading them, it isn’t too late! The table below provide you direct access to each of them (in chronological publication order).
Sometimes we need to hear about others making unconventional decisions before we can have the confidence to make our own. If you have (or are on a path to) an unconventional journey to improve your life that has a travel component to it and are interested to share it, please reach out to us as we would love to feature your story.
9 Comments
Tara Matthews · May 15, 2020 at 2:46 pm
Great blog! Thank you!
Mr. Nomad Numbers · May 16, 2020 at 12:55 am
Thank you Tara! May I ask what you enjoy the most about it?
NurseFILife · May 15, 2020 at 3:36 pm
A great summary of a great group of people! Your points about an awakening being needed for lifestyle change, and time being our most precious ‘currency’ are where the real gold is to be found. Once people realize there is a different, and better, way of living change happens. It isn’t automatic, but having an awakening focuses people and helps them accomplish things they couldn’t otherwise.
Having advice straight from the mouths of people who have chosen to live differently all in one place is going to make it even easier for others to have their awakening. At that point how they live their life is up to them, which is a great place to be.
Mr. Nomad Numbers · May 16, 2020 at 12:54 am
Thank you NurseFILife. This article is the culmination of a 6 months project and I’m glad you are enjoying it as it was a fun yet hard project to deliver.
What addition insight would you be curious to know from next wave of interviews to come?
Mr. SR @ Semi-Retire Plan · May 15, 2020 at 6:35 pm
Thanks for the shoutout, Michelle and Mr. and Mrs. Nomad Numbers! This is an awesome roundup post, and I agree that the resources mentioned here are invaluable. I’m humbled to be included.
Rara · May 18, 2020 at 1:10 pm
Great Summary. Let’s keep the party going. I love these interviews.
Dan M · January 3, 2021 at 12:14 pm
Hi NN, great compilation of information.
I was curious of these 12 nomad couples, how many have dependent children or pets?
I’m FI, but, feel inclined to push a few more years to gift my children a headstart on life by paying for their college tuitions and down payments on housing. And with the latest housing market strength, I am just riding the wave for now.
Mr. Nomad Numbers · January 4, 2021 at 12:09 pm
Hi Dan,
We did not have any people traveling with dependent children or pets in our first round of 12 interviews and that was something some of our readers wanted to hear more of. We’ve addressed that with season 2 and I’m happy to refer you to the following interviews:
– For people with pets, check out our interview #14 with Stephanie & Gillian as well as our interview #17 with Gigi.
– For people with children, check out our interview #18 with Ayie & Joe as well as our interview #19 with Jeremy
(Note: link to each interview can be found from the table of content at the top of this article).
Please let us know if you have any more questions!
Happy Thanksgiving! Here’s Some Good Reads From Around The Interwebs… – Allen May – Blog · November 27, 2020 at 1:54 pm
[…] What we learned from interviewing 12 nomadic couples and individual travelers by Nomad Numbers – “About 6 months ago I started to look for other couples and individuals that have become nomadic like us to understand their origin story and travel lifestyle… In this blog post, you will be discovering what all of these interviews have in common and what sets them apart. You will also have access to top advice and resources from our interviewees if you are interested to start designing your own life.” […]