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How to Live a Life of Travel: Tips to Getting Started

Written By: The Planet D

Digital Nomads

Updated On: June 3, 2023

Recently we’ve received a lot of emails asking us how we financially supported our travels since we decided to take the plunge to live a life of travel in our unconventional life.

I realize that we’ve written a lot of inspirational pieces about following your dreams and pushing yourself to step outside your comfort zone, but we haven’t given real practical advice in quite a while. So we decided it was time to share some of our tips and tricks to living an unconventional life.

Table of Contents

How to Live an Unconventional Life of Travel

Our journey to becoming full-time travel bloggers was not a quick and easy one. We had many failures and setbacks along the way. It took time for us to find what we wanted to do with our lives and what would make us happy. We knew way back in 2003 and we wanted to be together traveling the world forever, we just didn’t know how to make that dream come true.

I realize that many people have that dream, but we felt it deep in our bones. It was more of a yearning than a fantasy. When we were traveling, we felt at home. We knew that on the road was where we were meant to be.

Another Backpacker

In 2004 we were like many backpackers traveling around South East Asia, but unlike the many others out there, we were already brainstorming with ideas of how we could continue to travel for the rest of our lives. We knew we wanted more than just a one-year escape.

We didn’t have the answers yet, but we knew that we couldn’t keep working at our current jobs for the next 20 years hoping that we’d one day be able to retire and finally live our dreams. So we started making plans. Check out more travel jobs by our pals at goats on the road .

Steps to Living a Life of Travel

1. change your spending habits.

We used to spend a lot of money on things that didn’t better our lives. We’d buy $4 lattes, go out to dinner several times a week and we’d buy new designer clothes. The more popular the brand name, the better.

On the weekends, we’d drop $200 on a meal and not even blink at the cheque, and then we’d go to movies spending a good $50 on tickets and popcorn.

Well, all that changed when we decided we decided that we were going to live a life of travel once and for all.

2. Find Affordable Things to do

It was a big decision but we decided to put away enough money to sustain ourselves for a year. We knew that once we took the plunge, we would have to go 100% into fulfilling our dreams, so we needed a nest egg while we worked to become professional travel bloggers.

We ate at home and cooked at home. We made our own gourmet coffees, and instead of going out to the movies all the time, we rented movies. When we wanted to go to the bar, we instead had a glass of wine at home and invited friends over, it was much more affordable.

Our activites changed from spending money on expensive meals and nightclubs, to doing free and exciting things on the weekend like mountain biking, rock climbing, or snowshoeing.

We didn’t drop cash at the bar, on expensive meals, or on expensive weekend getaways to a suite in Niagara Falls anymore. We did as many things as possible for free.

Wwe went camping and spent our time outdoors.It was much more fulfilling and a lot easier on our pocketbooks.

Note: At this time in our lives, we still didn’t know how we were going to become full-time travelers, we just knew that we wanted it to happen one day and that we had to be ready when we finally figured it out. By having a nest egg and by not having anything tying us down, we’d be ready to jump at any opportunity.

3. Downsize

People have often said to us “ I wish that I could do what you do, but I can’t afford it ” Well if you really truly want to travel. It can be really easy to save and build a nest egg. We sold our house and most of our contents and went back to renting a small one-bedroom apartment.

This freed up a lot of our income to put towards our travel savings fund. Getting a small one bedroom apartment that included utilities, cable and parking helped us plan our monthly budget.

4. Get Rid of Debt and Wasted Expenses

We also went down to one automobile. We used to drive two cars and paid an expensive monthly lease. But when the leases came due, we let them go and bought a used car. Our monthly payments were less, and our insurance cost less too because we no longer had to pay for the collision coverage since our car was so cheap. If our car was damaged it didn’t matter because we paid next to nothing for it anyway. We drove that car for the next 10 years.

5. Keep All Options Open

Like many people, we knew we wanted something more in life, but we didn’t know what it was that we wanted. We were frustrated. I remember always saying to Dave “ If I only knew what I wanted to do with my life, I know I’d be successful. ” The problem was, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. The only thing we both knew was that travel was to be a part of it.

So, we studied ALL THINGS TRAVEL.

We went to seminars talking about Teaching English as a Second Language , we went to travel trade shows, we watched travel shows like Pilot Guides and Don’t Forget Your Passport.

Little did we know we were honing our adventure skills

We took up as many adventures as we could. We learned how to rock climb, mountain bike, scuba dive, and snowboard. We became avid campers and built our adventure gear arsenal to an impressive list where we actually started to look the part of Adventurer!

We said to ourselves, “one day maybe one of these skills would come in handy.” At the time, we didn’t know it, but all those skills eventually came in handy. We used to call ourselves “ Jacks of all trades and Masters of none. “

6. Nothing is Waste of Time When Searching for your Purpose

We had doubts, of course, we did. We thought, maybe we’re wasting our time and energy trying new things all the time, but we knew that we had yet to find something that we truly loved.

We enjoyed everything, but we didn’t have the passion that some of our rock climbing or scuba diving friends had for one particular sport. Our friends found their passion and all they wanted to do was rock climb around the world, or go scuba diving when they went to a destination. They couldn’t care less if they saw the local culture or witnessed incredible landscape. They wanted to explore under the sea or a new climbing route and that was great!

It just wasn’t for us. We wanted it all. We wanted to be able to climb in one location, dive into another, and shop at the market in yet another. We realized that we wanted it all!

Our lack of focus helped us become true explorers. It was our “Jack of All Trades” mentality that eventually lead us to become travel bloggers.

7. Focus on Strengths

Once we decided that we wanted to have the word “Adventurer” on our business card, we made plans on how we were going to make that happen. After exhausting all possibilities we decided to focus on our strengths.

We had been working in the film business for a long time and learned from the successful people around us . I watched television hosts promote themselves and create their brand and identities and Dave picked the brains of photographers and cinematographers on the movie set.

We knew that we were good at self-promotion and that we knew the TV business well, so we decided to sell an idea.

8. Do Something Epic

We knew that we would have to do something epic to stand out from the crowd. In 2008, backpacking around the world was becoming very popular. When we did it in 2000, not many people were leaving their jobs to travel the world, but now it seemed to be that everyone was taking a sabbatical.

If we did something epic like bicycle from Cairo to Cape Town people would take notice. So that is what we did and Canada’s Adventure Couple was born.

We had a dream of turning our adventures into a TV show. We hired a publicist, sent out press releases, and announced our epic journey. We knew we loved traveling together and that we had the mental stamina to succeed in this race down the continent.

9. Make a Plan

We invested a good chunk of our hard-earned money into this cycling race. We saved for a year putting every penny away and buying new bikes, training, and investing in the entry fee and flights. We didn’t want to take part in an epic adventure only to return to our jobs and resume our lives.

We made a plan that within two years of signing up, we’d be traveling full time. That gave us something to focus on. Having a time limit and a plan to make it happen, kept us focus don our goal. We had no choice but to to figure out a way to keep the momentum going.

10. With Failure Comes Success

We tried pitching a TV series that had a lot of interest but eventually failed. That didn’t deter us though, we had made a lot of TV appearances and were becoming minor celebrities in the online world, so we decided to nurture our 15 minutes of fame and turn it into something bigger.

Drawing on our nearly decade of travel experience, we created a blog that had a focus. We decided to focus on being inspirational and to show people that happy couples are not obsolete and that marriages can last and that the opposite sex can have fun together.

Right from the beginning of creating ThePlanetD, we knew what our message was going to be. We wanted to show that adding a bit of adventure into your everyday lives can help you feel more fulfilled. We wanted to show people that if we can do it, anyone can.

It took us a long time to figure out our purpose, but we never stopped searching and if you really want to change your life, you can do it too. Don’t let age, money or fear stand in your way, if you want something bad enough, you CAN make it happen.

So the message is, never give up, never stop searching and seize the day. What are you going to do to live an unconventional life of travel?

• How to Travel Around the World – The Ultimate Travel Resource
• 21 Ways to Get Paid to Travel
• How to Start a Travel Blog in 11 Easy Steps
• Our 27 Best Travel Tips from 10 Years of Travel
• How to Achieve Your Life Goals
• How Travel Can Change Your Life
• Best Travel Jobs to Spark New Ideas for Your Future Career

Travel Planning Resources

Looking to book your next trip? Why not use these resources that are tried and tested by yours truly.

Flights: Start planning your trip by finding the best flight deals on Skyscanner

Book your Hotel: Find the best prices on hotels with these two providers. If you are located in Europe use Booking.com and if you are anywhere else use TripAdvisor

Find Apartment Rentals: You will find the cheapest prices on apartment rentals with VRBO . 

Travel Insurance: Don't leave home without it. Here is what we recommend:

• Allianz - Occasional Travelers.
• Medjet - Global air medical transport and travel security.

Need more help planning your trip? Make sure to check out our Resources Page where we highlight all the great companies that we trust when we are traveling.

You May Also Like

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About The Planet D

Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are the owners and founders of The Planet D. After traveling to 115 countries, on all 7 continents over the past 13 years they have become one of the foremost experts in travel. Being recognized as top travel bloggers and influencers by the likes of Forbes Magazine , the Society of American Travel Writers and USA Today has allowed them to become leaders in their field.

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59 thoughts on “How to Live a Life of Travel: Tips to Getting Started”

Thank you for being a voice of positivity and inspiration in a sometimes negative world.

We too live an unconventional life. We have 13 children, work remotely, home educate and yes, we travel with ten of them too! It *is* possible to live a life of travel – we did two months of the Balkans earlier this year and are about to set off for another couple of months. Want to know more? Let us know!

Thanks for laying this out there. You guys and your adventures are always a huge inspiration to us! Love #3 “We kept all our options open” as we try to live by that same motto. It really makes things so much fun and introduces you to some crazy and exciting experiences of a lifetime. Happy travels!

Thanks John, I’m glad that you are living the life you want as well. We agree, keeping options open is very important. YOu need to be willing to try something new and be open to new experiences. It opens up a whole new world.

LMAO at the first pic:legendary!

Congrats, it has been awesome to follow part of your journey and thanks for the inside scoop 🙂

Ha! Glad you liked it. That’s Dave’s signature pose. At least lately, ever since we downsized, he does a lot of jumping like that.!

Looks like a very happy couple! You two are living with your dreams. I owe you a lot, very inspiring story. Thanks for sharing the tips, I find it really useful. You can manage to save and budget together. Congratulations!

Thank you Marie! Glad we could inspire you. If you really set your mind to something you can do it too. At one point in our lives we didn’t think we’d ever be able to travel the way we wanted to and yet here we are now. If we can do it, anyone can too!

That is a very inspirational story! My wife and I have managed to carve out a life of travel by working in Denali National Park 8 months per year and having four months off. Many of the resorts and tour companies are seasonal up here and it is perfect for travel.

I just need to cut out those $4 lattes and I can do even more…

Wow! that’s fabulous Jeff. Denali is beautiful. I know what you mean about the $4 lattes, we still love them too.

Thanks for this blog and for sharing with us. Me and my husband are planning for a trip to African countrie’s and its first time for us where we have to visit many countrie’s, so I am nervous about the planning that how do I mange everything but your blog gives me confident about the trip. Thank you so much.

LOVED this. Luckily, my boyfriend and I were students when we discovered our love for travel so we didn’t spend a lot of money or lived in an expensive way. That made it pretty easy to take the leap – and we’re actually able to have a better life than we did in Denmark and still spend less. 🙂

Very interesting post, though! And lots of great tips that we need to follow up on. Especially about gaining more recognition and create a brand like you guys have! So inspirational.

We kicked off our nomadic lifestyle with a bike journey as well – around Europe in 3 months on city bikes, normal clothes and no training. We made it and had an epic journey. 🙂

Thanks for sharing your advice.

Awesome article! I hope others will be inspired too to travel and to save, save a lot of money for they travel escapade.

Interesting read indeed! I think turning your lifestyle pretty much upside down and opting for a life on the road requires a certain balance. The biggest hurdle might be the monetary one, but it’s probably the same with all big plans and achievements: mindset matters! I think someone who can tick of the first points on your list is probably almost on the way… 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Oliver. You are right, all big decisions in life require balance and yes, any big plans whether travel related or not can follow these simple rules. It is possible to change your life if you are willing to sacrifice a little to achieve your dream.

Hi Guys: Enjoyed your article and great sense of adventure…I too, have been traveling all my life and now based part-time in the Philippines. I have 7 channels, with over 21 MILLION viewers from 87 countries. Take a look and learn from some of my videos….. Main channel: http://www.youtube.com/globalvideopro1 WEBSITE: http://www.globalvideoprotv.com

Great post! Great ideas! Thank you!

We left the rat-race and have not looked back. Who wants to be “normal?” Life is a journey not a destination. Live it! Take care.

Congratulations on leaving the rat race Curtis. All the best to you!

There’s really no need to clip coupons to save money; it’s not that effective anyway. The best way is to do what you did: downsize, minimize transport costs and cook. I love how you slowly realize what you want to do in life. It’s all about the journey!

Thanks Dela. You are so right, downsizing is key. So many of us in North America live beyond our means. I think back to how little I lived on fresh out of college. If we all kept living simply, we wouldn’t have the burden of all the money problems. For some reason, people feel that as they age, they need to have more ‘things’ and that just weighs them down. We are now in a good financial situation after 6 years of pursuing our dreams, but we have no desire to go back to buying a bunch of things again. Life experience is what we are loving.

This is an eye opening post. Makes one realize that we can all achieve so much with just the right strategy and not necessarily resources. Inspiring and it made me start booking amazing tours. The journey is the destination!

Congratulations! Good luck with your tours.

This is great advice, both inspirational and practical.

Thank you Mariellen!

Firstly congratulations for hanging on and living your dreams. Here I would like to speak about one of my uncles who loves to trek even at this age (he is in his 60s). He’s a quiet man. The only time I get to see a gleam in his eyes is when someone talks about travel… and I shout out in my mind…”I get that oldie..”

Sounds like you have an amazing uncle! I know how he feels, I can feel excitement come over me whenever I get the chance to talk about our own travels.

You two are an inspiration. I am so glad you are living your dream. Thank you for sharing these great tips!

Thanks Mary. I think the two of you have been living the dream as well! Congratulations right back.

Very cool post. Reducing down to one car is something I know our family needs to do if you want to start saving a significant amount, we’re just finding it so hard to bite the bullet on that one!

I know that it can be difficult to go down to one car, especially if you have kids and have to pick them up from sports or dance or hockey practice. It does save a lot of money though. Between car payments and insurance, it’s literally hundreds a month!

Very inspiring post. Traveling is such an important part of a healthy lifestyle and it is wonderful that you are now able to reach so many people to inspire them to add more travel into their lives through your adventures.

Thank you Katherine. That has been our goal in recent years. We want to let people know that it is possible. For so many years we didnt’ think it was possible to change our lives. Now that we have, we want to inspire others to take a chance and follow their dreams. If two regular people like us can do it, anyone can.

Thanks for your tips. Best of luck with your on going travels. Great read.

Great tips- that are good for day to day life as well!

Great Escapes , oh yes I have a number of interesting trips to choose from. I find it fascinating and also confusing when it comes to planning my travel, so I've opted for an unconventional way of travelling that can fund me while I spend time in the air, or on a beach.

Beautiful & Inspiring post!

There’s a point when you just gotta let it all go and dive right in, even if you have no idea what you’re diving into. I left my old work life behind to move down to Mexico about 9 months or so ago and I’ve never been happier.

Anyone can do it, and it doesn’t take a ton of money. It’s just as you said you need to change your perspective, your spending habits. It’s amazing how freeing it can be to not worry about little things like a tv(that’s what the internet is for), brand name clothes(you know you don’t need those $200 pair of jeans), or dining out all the time, even if that only means Mickey D’s. After that the money starts stacking up. 😉

If you wanna travel the world or just become an Expat the only thing stopping you is you, do whatever you can to achieve that dream!

Congratulations Devlin. Wow! It must be amazing living in Mexico. That is something we’d like to in the next year or two. Spend an extended period of time in Mexico. And you hit the nail on the head. Dropping a few of the extra expenses seriously helps the money add up. We had a lot of fun while still being able to save money, jut by changing our habits a little bit.

Good for you Don. Any great adventures planned?

Thanks for this post. Great to hear some behind the scene stories.

I left my home country a year ago, to move to London and last week I left London to travel the world – starting in Sri Lanka, where me and my boyfriend are at the moment.

It´s scary and amazing at the same time to follow your dreams. I will keep follow your adventures here 🙂

Wow! Have a great time in Sri Lanka, it’s one of our favourite countries. And congratulations to traveling the world! Well said to, it’s scary and amazing all at once, but that’s what makes you feel alive. Being comfortable can be very boring. A little fear keeps like exciting.

You are not a failure though at first you fail. But I can say that you became a successful traveler and writer. You are right at first it is difficult. It takes a lot of perseverance and dedication.

You said it Carl Joe, we didn’t have instant success, but when you know what you want, you will keep trying until you succeed and we have no intention of stopping. There will always be ups and down, but we’ll keep on working at what we want for the rest of our lives.

Saving and budgeting is indeed one of the best thing to do. Thanks for the tips that you’ve shared. I find it really useful

Thanks James, I’m glad we could share a few tips with oyu!

It’s always great to see people follow their dream and lovely to see Don’s comment about getting the travel bug at 60! 🙂

Agreed, it is never too late to get the travel bug and change your life. It’s a whole new world, you dont’ need to be 20 to follow our dreams.

Congrats on hanging in there and making your dreams to travel full-ltime come to fruition! AWESOME!!! We share the same deep passion for traveling and try to save our money to go to Europe about once a year. Our friends ask us the same kind of questions or take little "jabs" at us about the financial part and often ask how we can afford to do this. We tell them travel is "our addiction" and to feed our habit, we do many of the same things as you….such as eating at home and making lots of soups from scratch, only getting basic cable service, driving older & easy/low maintenance automobiles with great gas mileage, no big screen TV's or fancy electronics/phones, working from home, buying most of our clothes from second-hand stores, no beverages except for water when we go out for dinner, saving all our spare change, etc. Once we are on our adventures, we really enjoy staying in simple accommodations like small hotels and hostels, having "picnic" lunches and dinners with local foods from the grocery store and 'self-guiding" our trips with well researched itineraries and utilizing public transportation, whenever possible. All of this really adds up in the course of a year and equates to literally thousands of dollars!!!! We gladly sacrifice and make these relatively easy lifestyle changes, to have that money to travel!!! Best wishes for many more adventures, Cheers 🙂

Great advice, thanks for sharing Nora. You make a great point about water only when eating out. I think the most expensive part of the bill is often beverages. You can always go home afterwards to enjoy a glass of wine at a fraction the price. We don’t way to live like Paupers, but cutting back can make a big difference. I say, don’t cut back to the point of making yourself unhappy in life, but definitely cut back on the little things that you can do without. Best to you too!

Couldn’t agree more with you! More than saving and budgeting, I think the passion to travel should be there. Like I am very bad at saving, but I still manage to travel because I really want to!

Good for you Renuka, it sounds like you do well at making your dreams happen.

Awesome post, i'm just getting the bug for travel at the ripe age of 60, my wife has always loved to travel, but me not so much. I've just subscribed to your newsletter and i'm looking forward to reading more of your articles.

Thanks Don! Congrats on living your life to the fullest!

The reason we were able to leave the comfort of regular paychecks a little over 6 months ago is encompassed in your first 3 points. The last 2 are a bit of a work-in-progress, but it’s always encouraging to read about your success. Keep up the stellar work! Good luck!

Great article for all travel lovers! 🙂

Awesome article double D, shared on Twitter!

What’s amazing about all of these kinds of stories is how different they are with respect to their specifics and yet so very similar in their general approach. For the most part everyone who has ever done something like this tells a story of having a dream, shedding material things, and relentlessly working toward their goal. The execution of those steps all take different paths – some people write books, or barter web development services, or create promotional travel videos, or whatever – but they all basically had to first let go of the familiar and then chase after their dream with dogged determination. I know, because that is our story too.

Congrats you guys. Happy travels.

Well said Brian. It’s true, you need to let go of the familiar and chase your dream. Soon, the unconventional begins to feel comfortable.

7 Personal Benefits of Travel

Forget milling around in your finest evening wear, Singapore Sling in hand: You'll be lucky to get peanuts. Flying isn't quite the party it was in Sinatra's days, and lots of time, energy, and money are expended to leave home, so why travel? How long do the  personal benefits of travel last?

Getting away from home and stepping outside of your usual routine is beneficial for both mind and body. The long-lasting personal benefits of visiting a foreign country far outweigh the costs and time to get there.

The great travel writer Pico Lyer said: "Travel is not really about leaving our homes, but leaving our habits." Here are seven ways that travel, especially  international travel, will enhance your life.

Travel Sharpens the Mind

You've done your old routine for so many years that you could run through it on autopilot. Being dropped into a new environment engages a dormant part of your mind and gets those synapses firing again.

Suddenly, you'll be required to navigate unfamiliar places, read foreign languages , try new things, make quick decisions, and choose your new eating and sleeping schedule.

Unlike at home, all the new sights, sounds, and places will require mental processing and filing. Your brain will welcome the workout! Once you return home, you'll be sharper than ever for better organizing and sprucing up your daily routine.

A Shift in Perspective

"Nobody comes back from a journey the way they started it." — Unknown

Being exposed to new cultures and people will greatly shift your paradigm and create a healthier perspective once you return back home. Seeing different social classes creates compassion and really makes you feel more blessed and content. Large portions of the world's population have to deal with daily threats such as hunger, disease , and landmines .

A hard day at work suddenly doesn't seem so bad when you see people in developing countries toiling in sun-scorched fields from morning to dark, or begging for a drink of water.

A Chance to Try New Things

"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

While you may branch out at home from time to time by trying new restaurants or splurging on expenditures, traveling kicks you out of the comfort zone and forces you, for better or worse, to try new things!

Even if you don't enjoy your first attempt at scuba diving , at least you'll be able to relate in a new way the next time you see it in a movie or hear someone talking about it.

Becoming a well-rounded individual enhances self-confidence and will help you find new material for conversation in social settings with a wider variety of people.

Who knows, you may accidentally discover your new favorite food or find out that you want to pursue a new career in karaoke!

Meet New People

"A journey is best measured in friends, not in miles." — Tim Cahill

You'll meet far more friendly people on the road than you will under ordinary circumstances at home.

Other travelers are always looking to share experiences, give tips on places to go, and meet people from all over. Striking up a conversation with other travelers is extraordinarily easy.

A polite "so where are you from?" breaks the ice quite easily and may lead to lasting friendships with people from all over the world.

See the Real Deal

"To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries." — Aldous Huxley

Until you visit a place and form your own opinions, your understanding only comes from what you were taught in school, read in books, or saw on media, which may or may not be a complete truth.

Don't over-research your upcoming destination in guidebooks. Do your best to avoid building a bias toward a place or installing mental filters before you visit. Wait to form your own opinion, remaining objective until you can make up your own mind.

Exercise and Sunshine

Sure, you could just go sweat in the gym under fluorescent lighting, but chances are that you'll be much more active from day to day while on the road, regardless of whether your trip is an adventurous one or simply a relaxing beach trip .

You could be exploring new cities on foot, hiking , swimming, walking between places, and hopefully soaking up some needed sunshine while doing so. And it's guaranteed to smell better than the gym.

Come Home Renewed

After stepping away from home for a while, you'll return with renewed energy, a new set of mental filters, and ready to take on the next big project or challenge. Call it a life reboot.

Getting away for some time, even though it requires effort, will greatly enhance your attitude and productivity once you return home. Sure, you may have some mail piled up and matters to attend, but those are simple challenges easily knocked out.

Breaking up the monotony for a while is a great way to reduce stress and give your life an injection of excitement. Don't be surprised if shortly after your return, you're already counting down days until the next trip!

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20 Life Lessons from a Life of Travel

Before the world abruptly stopped and travel was put on hold, I had been travelling for the last eight years. My lessons from travel span an entire memoir.

I started a blog back in 2012 as a way to document my journey and before I knew it, writing about my travels has become my career.

I’m from a normal upbringing but my life these past eight years has been anything but normal. I’ve been climbing mountains in Pakistan , learning how to make pastries in the basement of The Ritz in Paris, staying with Buddhist monks in Japan and too many more experiences to count.

These experiences have taught me more than I ever realised.

That is, until now.

Home is wherever feels good

After eight years of living out of a suitcase, I finally decided last year that it was time to “move home”. But where exactly is home, when you’ve spent so much time away from it?

I bought a house, renovated it, and promptly realised the childhood town I grew up in did not feel like home anymore. Firstly, because I’d met a man in the Okavango Delta who I would later move to South Africa with. Secondly, because I had grown and changed so much since my departure, that my normal wasn’t so normal anymore .

The truth is, home is wherever feels good.

It is easier now than ever to live in a new country. If you feel up for it, give it a try. Nothing is stopping you but yourself.

Experiences are better investments than things

Has anyone ever told you not to buy a new car because of devaluation? The same could be said about new handbags, designer clothes, and keeping up with interior design trends.

Experiences are investments that pay more in life gains than possessions ever will.

Sometimes you need a trip to grow, find yourself, or find answers you’ve been looking for. Why not take one of these life-changing trips .

Some trips that shaped who I am include: renting a van and driving around New Zealand , 10 days in Pakistan and every single solo trip of self-discovery .

Money does not equal happiness

Growing up in a privileged country, I was conditioned to believe that money = happiness. How wrong I was. Having met people from all over the world who have much less than the average westerner locked into a mortgage, suffice it to say they are much happier than their counterparts.

What is it then, that warrants happiness?

Acceptance of your reality. Simplicity in all things. The gift of giving.

Quality trumps quantity

So the old saying goes; quality trumps quantity. The same is true in light of travel. The more you travel, the more you start to realise those snippets of a new city, country or culture aren’t quite enough.

The further you travel, the less you want to.

You realise it is better to know a place – like really know a place – instead of just know how to ride the metro. The more I explore, the deeper I want to get to know a place.

Gone are the days of my late teens country-hopping around Europe. I’d rather move into an apartment in Berlin for a few months or pack up my life and move to Cape Town.

Learning a new language

Growing up in an English speaking nation, learning a new language was not a necessity nor was it easy. Living in Australia leaves you isolated from foreign languages, cultures and traditions.

Travel is an easy way to break that cycle.

From German to French and a hint of Afrikaans, over the years it has become easier to learn the basics to communicate in foreign languages.

If you are eager to learn, try these language courses .

You learn to stop caring what people think of you

What is it about travel that forces you to leave your inhibitions at home? I can hardly remember my pre-travel self who was insecure, shy, and fearful of what others would think of me.

The woman I have become would not have been possible without travel. Without encountering strangers, meeting local heroes and discovering that everyone has a story to be told.

I care less now about what anyone thinks of me, despite having created a career where I live online. I’m susceptible to criticism on a daily basis but I’ve learned that if you don’t stand for something, you believe anything.

Own up to your mistakes

Another one of my life lessons from travel has been to admit my wrongs. Granted, I’m still working on this as we are often the last to admit our wrongs.

But who was responsible for catching a train from Munich that was westbound instead of heading East toward Budapest? Me. Whose job is it to fix the mistake? Mine.

Travel forces you to make mistakes and this makes it easier to own up to them. Especially travelling alone – no one is responsible for your mistakes but yourself.

You learn how to problem solve

Not only do you learn to own up to your mistakes, but you learn how to problem-solve as a knee jerk reaction.

Wrong train? Get off at the next stop and start again.

Booked a plane ticket for the wrong date? You’ll need to talk your way out of those change fees.

Mugged on the streets and suddenly your cash flow is halved? Time to start budgeting and cutting your expenses in half, too.

What is important in your life

After spending so much time alone exploring foreign lands, I’ve learned to value human connection and community more than anything else in my life.

As a Virgo who loves her alone time, I’m more than comfortable being on my own. I have however learned that too much time alone is not good for me – because what is life without human connection, interaction, and mutual dependence?

The more you learn, the less you know

The further I travel, the more I learn – or so I used to believe. The truth is, with all my prejudices and a Western mentality, the more I travel the less I actually know for sure.

The more I travel, the more I learn. But the more I learn, the less I know for sure.

I’ve been forced to question what the media tells us, how stories are spun for traction, and just face straight out lies.

Vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness

I used to think being vulnerable was a weakness.

However being vulnerable is being yourself. After years of travel and meeting so many people the world over, I’ve come to realise that there is no greater power than just being yourself .

Being your most authentic self is a weight off your shoulders as you never have to try prove anything, you just are. This gives you all the time and power back to work on what really matters to you.

Books are just as much of an escape

Sometimes you just can’t escape. Whether you’re stuck in the office or have used your holidays for the year, often we have the urge to go somewhere but we just can’t yet.

I have found over the years that books provide just as much of an escape. Hence, launching my book club for travellers .

You don’t have to know someone a long time for a deep connection

Some of my greatest connections with people have been accomplished in a day – some even less.

You don’t need to know someone for a long time to have a deep connection with them. You can connect in such a life-changing way with someone who tells you just what you need to hear at the right time you need to hear it.

You can travel without leaving home

Now more than ever, I’m learning there are some great ways to travel and fulfil my wanderlust without leaving home. Whether it be trying a new recipe from a foreign cuisine you love or virtually visiting a museum, there are some great ways to travel without leaving home. Here are my favourites .

You learn to invest in yourself

While we’ve already learned that experiences are a better investment than things, only in recent years did I learn to invest in myself.

Whether it be learning how to make French pastries in a kitchen basement in Paris or investing in life-changing books on entrepreneurship , the greatest investment is yourself. If you never stop learning, you never stop growing.

Long-distance works if you want it to

I’ve had a few different experiences with long distance relationships after 8 years living out of a suitcase. Some have worked and some haven’t.

The truth is, long-distance works if you want to. It’s like any other relationship – you make sacrifices, you make it work. This is one of the lessons from travel I’d rather not admit to – but we can only learn from our mistakes.

Silence speaks as loud as words

Travel has a way of bringing out the best and worst in people. Unfortunately, the good comes with the bad and we have to learn to deal with it.

In travelling with my partner more recently, I’ve learned that silence speaks as loud as words. Sometimes not saying anything really says it all.

Travel is really just about perception

The old saying goes: you see what you want to see.

Travel and your experience abroad really come down to perception. Had a bad day? It could be worse. Life on the road will throw you many curveballs but is all about how you deal with them. Choose to be positive. Opt to be optimistic. If you want to have a great experience, you will.

Your twenties are practically made for travel

I used to be scared by that window of time between living with my family I grew up with and creating my own. But the truth is, this window of time is the perfect opportunity to go out on our own and discover ourselves for the better.

I used to be scared by that window of time between living with my family I grew up with and creating my own.

I never would have shaped my own world view without taking this time to go out on my own. Just because my parents taught me a certain way of living, doesn’t mean I need to follow it. Sure, I will always hold dear the way I was brought up to see the world – but I had to go out and add my own flavour to it.

You won’t always be alone so enjoy the solitude

After spending a lot of time alone, human connection becomes more and more desirable. But the truth is, you won’t always have this time to yourself. You won’t always be able to be selfish. To choose yourself. And to do all the things you want to do and skip all the things you do not. Enjoy the time in your life where you can be alone. It won’t always be this way.

Brooke Saward founded World of Wanderlust as a place to share inspiration from her travels and to inspire others to see our world. She now divides her time between adventures abroad and adventures in the kitchen, with a particular weakness for French pastries.

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Home » Articles » How to travel the world for life (and work while you travel)

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written by Benny Lewis

Reading time: 16 minutes

Published: Jul 10, 2014

Updated: Jun 29, 2023

How to travel the world for life (and work while you travel)

Today, July 10th , is my 32nd birthday! But it's also my 11 year travel anniversary .

Back in 2003 I left Ireland this day with no return ticket, and 132 months / 574 weeks / over 4,000 days later, I'm still on the road with no home or place I can call a base. Everything I own in the world weighs 23kg/50lb and comes with me.

On my 8 year travel anniversary, I wrote my site's most popular post ever by sharing the 29 most important life lessons I learned while travelling the world. And last year on my 10 year anniversary, I took those top-10 life lessons and presented them in a professionally edited video to summarize my travels visually.

This year, I'm doing something different and sharing my most practical tips on how you can travel the world (long-term) like I have, without winning the lottery (or having a mega savings). All throughout my travels – for over a decade – I've paid my way from money I earned while travelling .

So, how do I travel the world?

First, you don't need to save up money for years before you can travel the world. So many people make this mistake in mentality, and as a result they put off their travel goals for years unnecessarily. In fact, starting a travel lifestyle right now is well within the possibility of many people. I realize that there are exceptions, and some people might not want to travel the world long term like I do, so today I want to give you a heap of ideas for how to manage your own travel goals, whatever they may be.

I'll tackle four key points:

• How to lead a cheap travel lifestyle
• How to score cheap flights
• How to get the cheapest (and sometimes free) lodging
• How to work while you travel

If you're really serious about starting a travel lifestyle, I'll also share the best links for further reading on travel hacking. To get you started, you can't get better than checking out Nomadic Matt , since I learned a lot of the strategies I now use myself from his book How to travel the world on $50 a day .

(Oh yes – since it's my birthday, as a present request I'll ask that you share this post on your favourite social media site ( Facebook wall, retweet , Google+ share etc.) if you found it useful. Thanks! 🙂

How to travel the world for cheap

Before we discuss how to travel cheaper, it's very important to tackle how to live cheaper . This applies to you right now, even while you are settled.

If you have expensive habits now in your settled life, those habits will follow you into your travel lifestyle and rack up unnecessary expenses. It doesn't need to be this way.

So how expensive is your current life? Before you start travelling, track your actual expenses now and see where they go. Do you eat out a lot? Spend a lot on fuel costs? Does most of your money go to car or home insurance payments?

The good news is that if you start travelling for the long-term, you can live cheaper in part because you'll no longer need to spend hundreds of dollars of month to pay for your car, its insurance, its gas… and all the other major expenses that comes with leading a settled life. When you think about it, with all of these major expenses, leading a settled life is expensive!

But if you're finding that the biggest sticker shock comes from your lifestyle habits, then you'll have to make some tough choices.

Can you cut back on coffee, cigarettes and beer in exchange for extra cash you can put towards train tickets to the distant corners of the world?

Not everyone can, or wants to. But if you can save just ten dollars a day by living a cheaper lifestyle … just 10 dollars a day! … that's enough to pay the cost of your entire monthly rent for a hut on the beach in India or Thailand.

Think about that for a minute.

You might consider making other cheap lifestyle choices, like keeping a vegetarian diet and learning to cook from home. In a lot of countries, you can rely almost entirely on the use of public transport instead of a car, or get around on a bike. You can share accommodation costs by having room-mates. You can choose to be happy with the current technology and clothes that you have instead of updating them every few months.

These changes can increase the amount of your expendable cash dramatically .

After you learn to decrease the cost of your life in general, this will absolutely spill over into savings for your travel life. Then, I recommend you:

• Follow these 25 travel on the cheap tips from myself and Graham Hughes (who has visited every country on earth on a shoestring budget)
• Get rid of all your stuff. Use sites like Ebay , craigslist , gumtree , go to 2nd hand shops, the options are endless. There is no physical item that you actually can't live without unless it is the clothes on your back, food, or your means of earning money (for me, that's my laptop). This will both give you a financial boost and allow you to travel with all your posessions and not need to pay for storage or rent back home.
• Learn how to travel with everything you own carried along with you.
• When eating in a country, don't forget to try to get a place with a kitchen if you can (many youth hostels have one) and cook your meals. Otherwise, try to eat out at lunch time instead of dinner, since many places do lunch specials. Cities like Berlin and Paris have great “business lunch” options that offer several courses for just a few euro. Also, do indeed visit tourist sites, but leave the area when it's time to eat, since you'll be paying tourist rates. Find out in advance where the locals eat .

My number one biggest tip by far for how to travel for cheap is to learn the local language . This will save you heaps of money. I honestly feel this is one of the main reasons that I've been able to afford to travel so long – I've avoided paying the “English speaking tax”, and trust me, that tax exists pretty much everywhere that English is not the native language.

How to find cheap airfares

When your general lifestyle is less expensive, the next biggest expense people imagine is flights .

Flights, I'll admit, can cost thousands of dollars. But if you know where to look, there are several ways to make these dramatically cheaper than you think. Here are some rules to live by when checking out flights.

• Never go to the airline's own website. Instead, use “meta-search engines” while check and compare the rates for multiple travel sites at once. Also, try to book tickets around 3 months in advance, and choose flexible criteria – especially for the exact day of travel. See what the cheapest day is during the week or month around when you can fly. You can save hundreds of dollars by flying even a single day earlier or later! And try multiple searches on several of the following websites until you get the best results:
• www.skyscanner.com
• www.momondo.com
• www.kayak.com
• www.expedia.com
• www.hipmunk.com  [This site ranks flights by “Agony”, taking inconvenience into account]
• For long-haul, cross continental flights, use  flightfox.com. For $49 they can save hundreds or get you nice upgrades. Definitely worth it for many people. I got Lauren's return flight (from US to Spain to live with me for 3 months, then from Ireland to US for Christmas) for $450/€330, because of some strange rule where we added an extra leg to Canada 2 days after she landed in DC that she didn't even take. This website did the research for us in a way you wouldn't get on the above meta-searches.
• If your goal is to fly a lot, you can use “Round-the-world tickets”, which can cost about €3,000+ depending on the number of continents you want to visit. You can book through  airtreks.com  or flightcentre.com , but it's better if you can save miles through credit card sign-ups. This is more appropriate if you want to travel the world for a year and know where you want to go in advance. Using the above options and buying individual tickets still tends to work out cheaper most of the time though, and allows for more flexibility.

How to find cheap or free lodging

For those of you travelling very fast and moving around once every few days, travel will be more expensive, but you can reduce costs by getting last-minute prices on hotels on sites like laterooms.com ,  lastminute.com , hoteltonight.com , priceline.com ,  hotwire.com  (name your price – you won't know where you'll stay until you've paid).

I can understand why people think long term travel is not possible for them, when they think it's a $1-200/night hotel stay, but the fact of the matter is that long term travellers do not tend to stay at hotels .

Instead, we:

• Stay for free with couchsurfing , servas (reference letter required, mostly US senior travellers), hospitality club , globalfreeloaders ( I use Couchsurfing a lot for its search feature to find language learning partners too )
• If you speak Esperanto, Pasportaservo.org is like the above sites with the only catch being that you communicate with your hosts in a language you can learn in a few weeks ! ( Here's how well my girlfriend did with just an hour a day for 6 weeks )
• Use wwoof.org  (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms – about €20 per country membership – you work on a farm and get free accommodation, as well as the amazing experience)
• House-sit at housecarers.com ,  mindmyhouse.com ,  caretaker.org – This is more suited to stays of a month or longer; you get free accommodation in exchange for keeping an eye on pets, gardens, and other chores.
• Stay in youth hostels – as low as just $5/night in countries like Thailand, cheaper across Europe. Find your options on hostelworld.com or hostelbookers.com .
• For stays of a few days or a few weeks, I highly recommend staying in a serviced apartment. For mid-range budgets this is my go-to choice. Find your home away from home on 9flats.com ,  airbnb.com ,  homeaway.com , roomorama.com , or wimdu.com .
• Go camping! You are only paying for the space and can access water, electricity and other services as required in specialized campsites for a fraction of the cost of alternatives.
• Here is more on how I find accommodation while travelling

How to work while travelling

Most people think they have to save their pennies for months or years in advance until they have “enough” money to travel and live off of for a while. Unfortunately, this can only last you so long (unless you have won the lottery, in which case send a donation my way! 😛 ). The fact is that you can earn while on the road.

There are two ways to do this:

1) Get a job on-location

If you are an EU citizen you can do this automatically in any other countries in the EU. In most other situations though, you need to obtain a visa in advance.

As an Irish citizen, I got a J1-visa to work in America twice when I was a student (this was part of the 6 months of travel I did before my 11-years-non-stop travel, so I am actually approaching 12 years depending on how you count it…) I applied for this through the Irish organization USIT . They also offer Irish people working visas in many other countries. Your country may have an equivalent service.

In most other situations, you may have to see in advance what your options may be. If you are a student, your university most likely offers study abroad options, and definitely use your network of friends and colleagues to see if any of your fellow students have experience working abroad.

If you are looking for a job on your own, it is actually usually much easier to get hired by a company  before  you travel, and then have that company arrange the visa. This was a possibility for me the first time I went to the US, because I worked as a summer school teacher for a university, which was experienced in hiring foreigners, so I actually didn't need to arrange the working visa myself.

Finally, have a look at the country's embassy website and see what they recommend for working visas.

What work can you do on-location?

The easiest way by far that English speakers can work abroad is to do it as an English teacher . In countries were English teachers are in high demand, the school will arrange the visa and all logistics for you.

I've done lots of work as an ESL teacher myself, all based on an initial weekend affordable TEFL certificate I got from i-to-i , and then building upon my experience earned to get me higher paid jobs with time, eventually working for prominent schools like Berlitz and Wall Street Institute. I've also worked the following jobs on location, to give you an idea of your options (your options expand immensely if you learn the local language – don't forget to sign-up to my newsletter for a week long crash course if you aren't sure how):

• Youth hostel receptionist
• Store manager
• Photographer
• Basic office work
• Engineer (what my undergraduate degree was in – in this case I worked as an intern)
• Go Kart race controller
• Computer repair / on-site tech support
• Lots of English teaching
• On-site translator

You may find other work depending on your work skills and the opportunities available.

2) Get a location independent job

I worked on-location for my first years travel, but the catch was that my wages remained stagnant for all work other than teaching English, since I moved every few months and had to start over from scratch again.

That's why the future of many jobs (not all of course) is that they can be based online , and you can take them with you around the world!

Here are a few ideas:

• If you are good at languages, and willing to go through training for it, become a freelance location independent translator . I found my initial work on proz.com
• Teach your native language online . You can become a teacher on italki for instance and take your students with you wherever you go. My girlfriend did this for her first months of travel with me, and was working full-time with the work she got.
• Become an online coach – while I do this myself to help people expand the popularity of their websites and craft their language learning projects, there are many ways you can implement this. I once met someone who earned her living coaching people to give up smoking (her background was in psychology) over Skype!
• Write an e-book or sell a course online. My site fi3m premium supports this completely free blog (no spammy irrelevant advertising anywhere here – that's a really poor way to do anything but cover hosting costs) through a video course and resource database. I used to sell an e-book too. You can distribute this yourself if you put the time into creating a really high quality free site/Youtube channel/podcast or similar that sends traffic to it. You can also sell it directly on Amazon (self published) or through various other channels. Note that traditional publishing is not a good way to earn a living for most people – my book is an international best seller and this does not translate into money in my pocket because of traditional publishing logistics.
• Take a skill that you have and see if it works online. Here is a list of 64 ideas to work online depending on the skill. You can also see if job openings are available through various online advertising boards, or a job outsourcing site like Upwork .

What kind of working visa do I need?

The question of how you manage the logistics of working online is tricky because there are no international laws that govern such things. What many of us do is simply set ourselves up legally and officially in our home country – so we have a bank, and pay taxes there.

Then we stay in a country on a tourist visa – a grey line depending on where you go. I actually have a business visa while I'm in America right now, since its immigration tends to be the most strict about what I can and can't do here – this is despite the fact that I am not actually technically employed for any of my time here, but my book tour is business of sorts. In most countries though, a tourist visa is OK for online workers. (Disclaimer: Please don't take what I'm saying here as legal advice – I accept no responsibility if you run into issues!)

You aren't legally working in the eyes of many countries as you are not taking any money or employment from its citizens, only spending, as any tourist would. In case you are wondering, the “3 months” in my blog title comes from the 3 month visas I typically have as my limit in most places 😉

How do I set myself up as a business?

Whether you should operate as a freelancer or start your own business depends on too many factors for me to cover here, most important of which being the kind of work you'll be doing, but you can contact a lawyer in your home country if you are unsure.

You can receive payments directly to your bank account (when I was a freelance translator, my clients were European and bank transfers within Europe are free – working with American clients is a pain in the ass to be honest because they are one of the few first world countries that still insist on printing your money on dead trees, i.e. snail-mailing checks/cheques).

Another solution is to set up a pro or business paypal account, but keep in mind that you do pay fees for many transactions and withdrawals.

When everything is combined – working and travelling long-term is easier than you think

A really cool benefit of working location independently is that you can earn in a strong currency like the euro/dollar/pound and spend in a cheaper country where that money will take you really far. Leveraging currency differences is another thing that allows “technomads” to travel so extensively.

The combination of everything I've said in this post, namely

• SPENDING less through a minimalistic lifestyle
• Finding cheaper flights through a bit of research
• Finding cheaper or free accommodation, especially through slower travel
• Working online and earning in a stronger currency, while spending in a weaker one

Means that long-term travel is absolutely sustainable. I break some of these rules sometimes, like this year I'm travelling very fast on my book tour, and accommodation is much more expensive as a result, but flights are still cheap, we eat in as often as possible, we earn online, and we generally don't spend much otherwise.

This kind of fast-travel wouldn't be sustainable for me in the long-term, but we'll be back to three month stays later this year, and back to saving plenty for intensive periods like this.

Benny Lewis

Founder, Fluent in 3 Months

Fun-loving Irish guy, full-time globe trotter and international bestselling author. Benny believes the best approach to language learning is to speak from day one .

Speaks: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Esperanto, Mandarin Chinese, American Sign Language, Dutch, Irish

Have a 15-minute conversation in your new language after 90 days

How To Live A Life Of Travel and Have A Traveling Lifestyle

W e have all seen them. The travel influencers and social media stars who have a traveling lifestyle. For many, the idea of having a life of constant travel feels like a pipe dream, but we’re here to tell you that you can make traveling your life, too!

You don’t need a million followers on Instagram, nor do you need to sell your home. There are many ways to live a life of travel without making huge life changes or putting in hours of work.

If you’re wondering how to live a life of travel and not sure where to start, in this guide we’ve shared some tips and tricks for adopting a nomadic lifestyle and becoming full-time travelers.

Pros of a Traveling Lifestyle

Cons of a traveling lifestyle, why we adopted a travel lifestyle, 1. make it a working holiday, 2. travel long-term in affordable places, 3. make smart spending decisions, 4. save well, 5. create a lifestyle around travel at home, 6. make travel your focus, 7. have a strong enough why, final thoughts, pin to save on pinterest, is a travel lifestyle for me.

Before we go into how to adopt a travel lifestyle, we do want to quickly touch on whether it’s a lifestyle you really want.

Whenever we tell people we travel for a living, we’re always met with “you’re living the dream! I wish I could do that! You’re so lucky” and don’t get me wrong, we are lucky. But most of that luck we created.

There are some things that you don’t see through the screen about a traveling nomad lifestyle. It takes dedication, commitment, an unwavering desire, and plenty of sacrifices.

First, the positives of a traveling lifestyle. Of course, you get to explore so many countries, which is the number one reason for adopting this lifestyle.

You get to experience different cultures , meet new people , get out of your comfort zone and live life to your leisure.

You can find a slower pace of life while traveling , since you don’t have to rush to beat the commuter traffic to your day job.

You get to live life on your own terms and set a time limit for how long you stay in each place.

The most important thing though, is that it teaches you a lot about yourself. By engaging with the local culture and seeing how other people live, you can reflect on your own life, your contributions to the world, and realign your values.

It allows you to look at your past selves and see how far you’ve grown. Travel can be liberating and freeing, but you don’t need to make it your lifestyle to discover this.

Relevant Reading 55 lessons learned from a life of travel and 10 ways travel helps you to uncover who you truly are

Packing up your things and hitting the road requires some sacrifice, namely your relationships .

This is not always the case, but most digital nomads will tell you that your friends and family may want to deter your plans and encourage you to come back, or harbour some resentment towards you for “living the dream” while they will continue their daily routine back home.

It does become much harder to maintain relationships when you can only communicate digitally, especially with different time zones.

That being said, there is always that family member or friend who supports you 100% and encourages you on your world trip – and who knows, you may find your relationship is stronger with distance.

It’s also a lifestyle that requires some discipline . You will want to go from one adventure to the next adventure, without thinking “oh, I need to earn some money for this.”

Most people who adopt a traveling lifestyle will be remote workers, which means you need to set aside adventure time and work time.

It can also be tiring . While a travel lifestyle is fun, it doesn’t offer stability , and after a few years on the road you may start to miss having a home base and not want to travel for the rest of our lives.

It’s an unconventional life, but we love it. Make sure you know the sacrifices you’ll have to make to create this travel lifestyle . Otherwise, you might quit on your dreams and travel goals.

I left home at the age of 21, with my 3-day old teaching degree, a backpack, and only a few thousand dollars.

If I can be honest with you, that money wasn’t even mine, it came from the bank (I don’t recommend you do this by the way).

I’ve been traveling ever since, purely because I love it. Traveling is my passion, and I always knew I wanted to travel for the rest of my life.

I created a life of travel for myself so I can do this. And now I’ve created a life of travel with, and for, my children.

This does not mean I have endlessly been moving from one country to the next . I often stop for work breathers, a place to stock up again before moving on. We love slow travel and immersing ourselves deeply in other cultures.

The pauses can be acts of discovery, exploration and fun synonymous with travel as well. We’ve lived in 5 countries but have traveled through over 50.

I’m not a big counter, I count the memories, the experiences and the friendships more, because that is why you really travel.

How to Live a Life of Travel

I am often asked how to live a life of travel, and you’ll be shocked to know that I am not wealthy – far from it.

A life of full time travel is not as difficult as you may think. There are many clever strategies you can employ to travel around the world for low cost and sometimes even free.

We have created a lifestyle of travel. It’s what we do everyday, even when we are not travelling. When we are ‘settled” (not sure how to define that) we still have our travel attitude on, which is a major part of what travel is.

But to get to the nitty gritty, here are our biggest secrets to help you live a life of travel.

What? You mean I have to work? Ain’t nothing going to come to you unless you work hard for it. Glinda the Good Witch is a fantasy.

If I have disappointed you, I’m sorry, you are probably reading the wrong post and were hoping I was going to say we were rich travel bloggers, because then you’d have a good excuse to not follow your heart.

But I won’t lie to you, travel has become increasingly expensive and your hard earned cash doesn’t go as far as it used to. Which is why a digital nomad lifestyle is so popular.

If you’ve not heard the term digital nomad before, it’s simply a term used to describe someone who travels and works full time.

Since the pandemic, many companies have adopted a remote work environment to save on office costs, so you can always start by asking your current employer first if you can work from abroad.

Don’t just quit your job, talk to your employer and tell them what you want to do.

If they say “no”, then you can either look for a remote job such as becoming a freelance writer, an online English teacher, or data analyst – or try looking for work in other countries to fund your travels.

The best way to earn money on the road is to work in expensive countries, such as Hong Kong, Canada, New York, or The Middle East.

It’s better to spend the local currency and save your own money for other adventures. I never could have travelled the UK and Europe on the Aussie dollar, so I lived in an apartment in London with many other travelers and earned pounds to travel on instead.

Craig and I have followed the working holiday through 5 countries since 1997. Some of our richest travel memories come from the experiences we had living in another culture. It is by far the best strategy to have a life of travel.

We’ve had a wide variety of working holiday jobs overseas including teaching, teaching English as a Second Language , working on a pearl farm , hospitality and working for the airlines. There are so many jobs you can do!

Use platforms like WorkAway to find volunteer jobs where they provide free accommodation and meals in exchange for your service.

• Do you want to live and travel in Australia? Here is our complete guide to the Australian working holiday visa.
• Here is information on the working holiday visa in the UK
• Here are 20 ways you can work and travel in Australia – one of the most expensive places to travel in the world. A working holiday will help you make it a reality.
• Here’s another cool opportunity, How to teach English online to Chinese students , from anywhere in the world.
• One of the best ways to organize working holiday jobs – with Global Work and Travel
• Best work opportunities for Australia

Choose the countries that are cheap to travel to for the long-term. Our long-term trips have taken us through South East Asia and Africa – countries where the budget conscious could get by on $30-$50 a day or even less.

It’s much easier to afford than places in Europe or Australia . Plus, countries such as Thailand have remote worker communities, such as in Chiang Mai , so you can meet other travel nomads like you.

Traveling in cheaper countries means you can do more and travel for longer.

Read More : 20 best travel tips from 20 years of travel

It’s all about how you choose to spend your money in order to prolong your nomad life.

Is that luxury 5-star vacation rental really worth it? Especially if you are out exploring from sunrise to twinkling stars? Can you go the comfy 3-star hotel and have a little extra cash for the fun stuff?

Do you need to eat in a restaurant for three meals a day or can you cook your own breakfast and settle for a picnic lunch?

What about that city tour, couldn’t you do a self-guided one?

Prioritize how you spend money. Spend the bare minimum and always have a number in the back of your mind of what you’re willing to spend on things.

Work out what you are willing to sacrifice and what you aren’t, and craft your travel experiences around that.

Some travel experiences don’t have to cost you a penny, allowing you to make your monthly budget go further.

My advice is to make sure you leave with enough money to cover you for at least 3 months.

Read more: The better you get at spending, the more you will have a life of travel. Click to read our 52 ideas on ways to save money on travel.

Yep, not only do you have to become master budget spenders, but expert savers as well.

When adopting a travel lifestyle, there are two questions you must ask:

• How can I create more money?
• How can I save more money?

Just be careful that when you create more money, you don’t suddenly start spending more! Take the extra cash and put it in your travel fund.

Remember you also need to save for insurances, taxes, and maybe putting into a retirement plan if you’re self employed. You may also need to make a big purchase at a later date, such as if you need a new laptop or book a last minute flight back home.

To create more money, you can:

• sell your possessions
• take on boarders/lodgers
• rent out your property
• work extra hours
• work two or more jobs
• invest wisely

Look at your expenses and work out what you can cull and then work to save money in all areas.

To save more money you can:

• move in with your parents or house share
• cut out luxury items
• live off one wage (if you are a couple)
• save your bonuses
• buy in bulk
• eat out less
• reduce your entertainment costs
• use reward cards and frequent flyer programs
• use coupons
• pay off bad debt

Read more: How To Get Paid to Travel and Make Money Travel Blogging

Digital nomads and those creating their own travel lifestyles are becoming more common. If you want a life of travel, discover how you can make it happen before you hit the road.

If your current job won’t allow you to work remotely, and you have to leave to make it happen, don’t panic. There are other ways you can travel extensively without having a full time remote job.

You can travel in your own backyard. Putting the traveler’s eyes on was one way we coped with reverse culture shock and the inability to travel. We now have another site on life in Raleigh and travel in North Carolina that keeps us traveling all the time! Think about why you travel – what feelings are you looking for. Create that with experiences in your own backyard.

A creative way to be able to travel and live abroad is to try housesitting . This is when you look after someone else’s property while they travel.

You can do this locally in your own town, to get more experience before taking on international opportunities.

However, sometimes it can take years to find a way to make your travel lifestyle dream a reality.

When we first hit the road, all we had was a very clear dream of what our ideal travel lifestyle looked like , then we became 200% committed to it, and we took small steps each day with passion and conviction.

And look what the Universe delivered to us a result.

Read more: We had no idea how to create this travel lifestyle through our travel blog. We had no special talents and definitely no money (Read I want to know your secret to discover the truth).

Many people want a life of travel, but they don’t make it their focus.

You don’t always have to travel far and wide. There are plenty of ways you can make travel a focus of your everyday life.

I like to say make travel your magnificent obsession. That means it fills your daydreams and night dreams. Every decision you make from now on is directed towards making that life of travel a reality.

Once you start focusing on something, you start planning, and then usually the Universe helps you by bringing what you need to make it happen.

The small steps start to grow bigger and before you know it you are living the life of travel you thought was only possible for the lucky ones.

I knew from my first travel experience backpacking Indonesia and then living in London when I was 21 in 1997 that I was going to do whatever it took to craft a life around travel. I didn’t know how but I made it a non-negotiable, and travel has showed up in my life ever since – no matter my lifestyle, and even when everyone said it wasn’t possible once you had kids. I’ll show you!!

My keynote will offer some great insights into how you can create a life you love!

Read More: 15 tips for planning a trip – a step by step guide

Constant travel is tough, as I mentioned earlier. I often want to quit, but I never will because I have this huge why – a gigantic urge that only travel can fill.

I’m happy to ride on the back of a pick up, or sleep in a van, and eat two minute noodles for weeks, if it means I can continue to explore and experience newness every day.

There’s no other life that makes sense for me so I continue to leap over the hurdles.

For many people a life of travel would suck! Different strokes for different folks . You have to decide WHY you are traveling. What burning need are you trying to fulfill? How will this life of travel make a difference and why is this important to you?

Work that out all your paths will fall into place.

That life of travel you desire can be yours.

Most people place the idea of a life of travel in the too hard basket, or a basket that’s only accessible for the wealthy or lucky.

I mean, really, how could it be possible for someone with average, or less than average incomes, to travel the world for weeks, months or even years at a time?

Is it constant travel from one country to the next you yearn for? Or is it a slower form, with frequent pauses for a sampling of the “settled” life before travel calls you back on the road?

Or do you want to just have more travel, even if it is only an extra 2-3 weeks a year?

We hope this guide helped you learn a few tips to help you find your travel lifestyle and gave you some insight into what it is actually like. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us in the comments.

How to Live a Life of Travel

Introducing the “How to Live a Life of Travel” eGuide, written specifically for anyone who wants to turn travel into an actual lifestyle. If you’re not quite sure how to make it happen, this guide will teach you exactly what you need to know…

**Instant Download – 220 pages – Unlimited Support**

READ THIS GUIDE. TRAVEL THE WORLD!

What’s included:.

220 pages of detailed material designed to help you achieve your own travel goals

Follow the specific steps in this guide and you’ll eliminate months of research

Discover how to earn money around the world – real opportunities, work visas and more

How to travel for less money than you spend at home

How to travel long-term even if you’re in debt

Why you shouldn’t be afraid to travel on your own and how to easily make friends overseas

Learn how to sleep and eat for free in dozens of countries

Which countries offer the best value and are the most ideal destinations to begin your travels

Specific tactics and tricks to get the cheapest airfares possible

Why you shouldn’t wait until you save more money before starting your adventure

How to always stay safe while on the road and why travel is actually safer than you think

Money-saving details on banking and exchange rates

Best immunization and health insurance options

Cheapest ways to stay connected while traveling (wifi, phone, SIM cards)

Why long-term travel isn’t as big a risk as it seems

How to deal with people who think your desire to travel is ‘crazy’ or ‘irresponsible’

By the time you finish reading this comprehensive guide (which discusses even more topics that I didn’t mention above), you’ll know exactly how to travel, earn money overseas and explore the world.

You’ll literally be ready to turn travel into a lifestyle. Not in ten years from now. Not in five years. Right now.

Only $27 – Instant Download – Unlimited Support

YOU’RE NOT CRAZY

I’m perfectly aware that many people you know probably think you’re crazy for wanting to travel instead of settling into a typical 9-5 lifestyle.

It’s difficult for others to understand your goals.

Well, I certainly don’t think you’re crazy, nor do the thousands of other people out here in the world who are already living their own life of travel.

In fact, every traveler I know would agree that you’re only crazy if you decide NOT to go after your goals in life.

Luckily, the choice is yours to make, and if you’re already reading this, I believe you’ve already made the decision.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Is there any catch? No catch. I’ve worked hard to build this blog and there is no way I would jeopardize the community that’s been created by offering a product that didn’t offer exactly what it promised.

Does this material only apply to North Americans? Not at all. This guide applies to everyone, no matter what country you live in. Some information may be easier for certain nationalities to utilize but every person who reads this guide will benefit.

Am I too young or too old for this guide? There’s no such thing. Whether you’re in high school, university, your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s or any age whatsoever, as long as you have a strong desire to achieve your travel goals, this material is designed for you.

Is there a guarantee? After reading the guide, if you feel it’s not for you, just send me an email within 60 days and I’ll issue you an immediate refund. My goal is to help you travel. If I can’t do that, I honestly don’t want to keep your money.

What does a ‘life of travel’ actually mean? It simply refers to a lifestyle that involves as much travel as you wish. A few months of backpacking, a one year round-the-world trip, a decade of nomadic wandering…whatever you want, that’s what it means!

Can I contact you with questions? Absolutely! By purchasing this guide, you will have proven that you’re serious about travel and as a result, I’m serious about helping you in any way possible. In fact, once you have a read of the material, I encourage you to email me with any questions you may have.

IF I CAN DO IT…

I started traveling back in 1999, shortly after graduating from university. My plan was to backpack around Southeast Asia for three months and then return to the US to become a Sports Agent. However, just one week into that trip, while celebrating the Millennium at the amazing Angkor Wat temple in the jungles of Cambodia (go there if you haven’t already been!), I realized that three months of travel simply wasn’t enough.

The only problem was that I had less than $1500 to my name.

Fast forward to today… Over the past 15 years, I have discovered, and taken advantage of, endless opportunities that have allowed me to continuously live, travel, study, volunteer and earn money in over 85 countries around the world. And I’m still going strong, with no desire to stop any time soon.

The point is, if I can make it happen with $1500 and no idea what I was doing, you can make it happen as well.

And with the knowledge and experience that I’m about to pass on to you in this guide…you’re going to have a much easier path ahead than I ever did!

If you are constantly day-dreaming about travel and wondering how you can possibly achieve all of your travel goals during this lifetime, I just want to repeat that everything you’re dreaming about really can be achieved.

It will take some hard work and determination for sure, plenty of it, but at the end of the day, when you find yourself living or traveling or working overseas, enjoying rewarding experiences, you’ll be incredibly thankful that you decided to pursue a life of travel.

And I honestly can’t wait to meet up with you in some foreign land where we can swap travel stories over a beer or coffee or tea!

Remember, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can try out the guide risk-free and see for yourself if it gets you any closer to the life of travel that you want. (I’m quite confident it will!)

Kind regards, Derek

A Life of Travel Newsletter

Join 22,000+ people who love to travel the world..

Travel advice, inspiration and updates from my life of non-stop travel... sent every other Tuesday.

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21 Life-changing Trips Everyone Should Experience at Least Once

From African safaris to must-visit cities, these once-in-a-lifetime trips will make you want to plan your next great adventure.

Elizabeth Rhodes is a special projects editor at Travel + Leisure , covering everything from luxury hotels to theme parks to must-pack travel products. Originally from South Carolina, Elizabeth moved to New York City from London, where she started her career as a travel blogger and writer.

What's next on your travel list? With so many places worth traveling to, it can be hard to narrow down your top spots to visit.

Sometimes, it's the famous attractions, delicious food, and stunning hotels that draw us to a certain destination, and other times, it's the bragging rights that come with checking off every continent, country, or state. Whatever your motivation, we've rounded up 21 incredible trips, complete with once-in-a-lifetime experiences and iconic sights you won't find anywhere else in the world.

So, what makes a trip truly life-changing? That answer varies from traveler to traveler, but one thing is for sure: From African safaris to classic road trips, this list will make you want to plan your next great adventure.

Deciding between the historic cities of Rome, Venice, Naples, and Florence for the top destination to visit feels impossible, so the entire country of Italy deserves a spot on your list. Start in the Eternal City and head north through the rolling hills of Tuscany to visit Florence, followed by Milan or Venice, or go south to the beaches of the beautiful Amalfi Coast and Sicily.

New York, New York

Visiting the Statue of Liberty , standing at the top of the Empire State Building, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge: These are just a few of the things you can only do in New York City. Whether you dream of visiting all the places you've seen on screen, catching a Broadway show, or eating your way through the city's diverse neighborhoods, there's no doubt that NYC deserves a spot on your list.

Tokyo, Japan

Old and new come together in Japan's bustling capital city. Historic temples and shrines, busy shopping districts, delicious food, and some of the world's best theme parks and attractions — whatever your interests, there's something for you in Tokyo.

Paris, France

From watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle and viewing famous works of art at world-renowned museums to eating delicious French pastries, there are innumerable reasons that Paris deserves a spot on your list. Of course, other dreamy French destinations like Mont-Saint-Michel, Chamonix, and the Riviera are well worth a visit, too.

Busy medinas, intricate architecture, and a unique combination of cultural influences make Morocco unlike anywhere else on the planet. Whether you're traveling to bustling Marrakesh, pretty coastal cities, or remote desert towns (or hopefully, all three), a trip to Morocco is bound to be one to remember.

Monica Farber/Travel + Leisure

From the whitewashed homes of Santorini to the Ios party scene to the relaxing atmosphere of Milos, there's a perfect Greek Island for every type of traveler. Island hopping gives you the chance to experience more of what the country has to offer, but plan to spend a couple of days in Athens at the beginning and/or end of your trip.

T+L Backpack Quiz

Rory Fuller/Travel + Leisure

Machu Picchu

Seeing the historic ruins of the Incan Empire set among the breathtaking Andes at Machu Picchu is an undeniably life-changing experience. The stunning citadel ruins of Machu Picchu are worth the journey — and for some travelers, that trip, often taken by train or on foot as a multi-day trek , is a big part of the experience. Editor’s note: Machu Picchu is currently closed due to civil unrest in Peru. Visit the  official website  for the latest news and reopening details.

African Safari

Seeing majestic animals like lions, elephants, and rhinos in the wild is a dream best accomplished with an African safari . South Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Kenya are among the most popular safari destinations — and in each of those countries, you'll find incredible lodges and tour operators who can help you spot these creatures in their natural habitat.

Whether you dream of cruising down the famed Nile River, seeing the Pyramids of Giza, or visiting the ancient Valley of the Kings, Egypt's historic wonders make the destination completely unique (and worthy of a spot on your travel list).

Unlike many of the action-packed trips on this list, the Maldives is synonymous with relaxation, luxury, and romance. A stay in an overwater bungalow set atop turquoise blue waters is the ultimate getaway that's worth the long-haul flight and oftentimes pricey accommodations.

Antarctica Cruise

Hoping to visit all seven continents? Cross Antarctica off your list with a cruise. Several major cruise lines have journeys to Antarctica, offering incredible views of the ice and wildlife from the comfort and safety of a ship. Travelers typically fly in and out of Buenos Aires en route to Ushuaia (where most cruises depart from); we recommend spending a few days in the fascinating Argentine city before your expedition.

Irjaliina Paavonpera/Travel + Leisure

Dubbed one of the natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef is a can't-miss for many wildlife lovers. Of course, Australia's gorgeous coastline, the iconic Sydney Opera House, and fuzzy creatures like kangaroos and koalas are also reasons to head to the destination. Fly into Sydney and spend a few days there before heading out to explore more of this expansive country teeming with natural beauty.

Galapagos Islands

Incredible and diverse plant and animal species make the Galapagos Islands another must-visit for nature-loving travelers. This stunning archipelago off the coast of Ecuador is best explored by cruise, so you can take in as many breathtaking landscapes and animals as possible during your trip.

Like the other countries on this list, India has countless destinations worth exploring, but one of the most famous attractions that travelers dream of seeing for themselves is the Taj Mahal. This 17th-century white marble mausoleum has drawn visitors to Agra for years. Luxury travelers might consider a train trip aboard the Maharajas' Express (with a stop at the Taj Mahal) as the ultimate experience. Travelers planning to visit the Taj Mahal or take the luxurious train ride will want to fly into Delhi, India's capital territory.

Petra, Jordan

The stunning ancient city of Petra is made up of several impressive structures carved into sandstone rock faces, including the famous Al-Khazneh. The city dates back thousands of years, making this UNESCO World Heritage site a must-visit for history buffs.

Passing through India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Bhutan, and Nepal, the Himalayas are home to some of the world's highest peaks — and that means breathtaking mountain views, too. For adventurous and active travelers, climbing Mount Everest (or at least trekking to Everest Base Camp) is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

American National Park Road Trip

The classic American road trip is a mainstay on many travelers' lists — and for good reason. The country's incredible national parks , including Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite, are best explored on road trips with stops at charming small towns and kitschy roadside attractions.

Great Wall of China

Stretching across China for thousands of miles, with sections dating back nearly 2,000 years, the Great Wall is regarded as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Visitors can hike along parts of the wall — some areas are located within driving distance of Beijing, so it's a perfect day trip from the city.

Easter Island

The hundreds of monolithic moai statues have drawn curious visitors to Easter Island for years. This remote Polynesian island is worth the lengthy trip for travelers hoping to see these impressive human figures, while also soaking in some incredible coastal views.

Northern Lights Trip

Catching a glimpse of the elusive northern lights is possible in several destinations close to the Arctic Circle, including Alaska, Iceland, Canada, Greenland, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. All of these places have incredible viewpoints (and even hotels where you can see the phenomenon from your bed ), in addition to great, wintry scenery. (The lights are best viewed from late fall through early spring.)

Thailand and Vietnam

A trip through Southeast Asia is a must for any traveler, especially foodies who love street eats. While you could spend weeks in each of these countries, Thailand and Vietnam can easily be paired for an exciting trip packed with lush scenery, cultural experiences, and delicious food. Have a little extra time to spare? Add Cambodia to the mix and include a visit to expansive Angkor Wat.

How Choosing a Life of Travel Changed Everything

When I first published this essay in late 2016 on how living a life of travel changed my entire lifestyle, I had just turned wrapped up my first stint of long-term travel at 26 years old.

In the years since, my travel lifestyle has only continued to intensify: my husband Jeremy and I traveled full-time for more than 4 years, right up until 2020 and all of its wide-reaching consequences pushed us into signing a one-year lease in Austin, Texas.

Our life of travel is far from over, though: we consider it merely on pause (though our dog, Ranger, and the whole “running a business and not living off of savings anymore” thing will always keep our movements a bit slower than they were back in 2016).

I’ve preserved my original essay about chasing my travel dreams here–it still makes me smile to read it, and if you’re dreaming of a life of travel, I hope you’ll see a bit of yourself in it, too.

At the end of this blog post, though, I’m going to share more about where we are now, as well as some very personal specifics about what changed in us on the road–and it is a lot.

Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more detail.

How Pursuing a Life of Travel Changed My Life

Looking back on it, the long journey that led to me looking at Jeremy one year ago and asking, “How would you feel about selling our house and going on that RTW trip right now ?” started with a book about studying for the LSAT.

I was always going to be an attorney. From early adolescence, I confidently asserted my future plans: I was going to collect AP credits like merit badges in high school (did that), graduate early from undergrad (did that too), and head to law school (plan derailed here).

The summer before my third and final year of undergrad, I sat on the floor of the library on Oklahoma State University’s campus and pored through books about applying to law school and studying for the LSAT.

I can’t tell you the name of the book or the author, but I’ll never forget this paraphrased quote from the first chapter of the first book that I read:

“Before you decide to go to law school, think very hard about what else you could do with $100,000 and three years of your life.”

The author went on to give examples of other paths to take in life, including two that stuck out to me: a round-the-world trip, and living with a local family in a different country to become fluent in a new language.

I would be lying if I said that I had an epiphany right then.

Instead, I rolled my eyes and assured myself with the bravado that only exists in adolescence and very early adulthood that this dude clearly had no idea who I was.

I bought my LSAT study guide. I studied religiously, because that’s what good students do.

And every day, echoing in the back of my mind behind my study materials were thoughts about limited time on Earth and happiness and student debt and my then-boyfriend-now-husband and future motherhood and my fierce desire to see the world and my goal of learning other languages–despite them consistently being my worst subject in school.

Two weeks later, I announced to my family that despite almost a decade of just-as-confident proclamations that I would be doing the opposite, I would not be going to law school. I also had no idea what my career plans would be in place of that.

They were surprised, to say the least. Occasionally, years after the fact, I still have a well-meaning relative ask, “But… are you sure?”

Yes, I am sure. From the second that I made the decision, it has felt inexplicably right. Other than marrying Jeremy, not going to law school was the best decision that I ever made.

It did, however, thrust me into the directionless abyss of “What am I doing with my life?!” that is now popularly called the quarter-life-crisis.

While unnerving, it unlocked a whole new realm of possibilities.

The next 5 years of my life started with a post-grad job that I hated, and ended, several life changes later, with calling my parents with a new life announcement: “So… we’re quitting our jobs, selling our stuff, and going to travel the world for 6 months .”

Despite my best efforts to rework my 5-year plan to accommodate our new life of travel, since the moment that my 20-year-old self sat on the floor of OSU’s library and started considering seriously what adult life was going to look like, I have consistently failed to predict what my life would look like in a year.

This year was no different: despite our carefully planned and budgeted for round the world trip, life has thrown a curveball again.

Here’s the next twist: our planned time in South America is currently on hold, and we’re back in the USA.

There’s a long story associated with why–essentially, we had to come back to deal with our car, whose storage situation was no longer sustainable.

To take care of our beloved Honda Fit, we left Cambodia and are now temporarily back home, rather than flying to South America as planned.

We still fully intend to complete our South America leg, but coming home has given us the opportunity to spend a couple of months visiting family and friends, spend Thanksgiving with loved ones, and quite likely taking a couple of road trips around the USA–starting with a trip to the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival in New Mexico !

Once upon a time, this change of plans would have unnerved me.

Now, I find myself (mostly) embracing the unknown–after all, the unknown has worked out pretty well so far.

I don’t know where we will be spending Christmas, New Year’s, or 2017.

I don’t know what our income situation will look like (we can’t live off of savings forever, after all).

Honestly, one of the reasons that I procrastinated so badly on this post is because I originally intended for it to announce what was next, in addition to where we are now–but I still don’t have any concrete dates or booked trips to offer on that front yet.

What I do know, though, is that settling back into a cubicle for 40+ hours a week with very little vacation time each year is something that we are desperately trying to avoid.

As for the smaller part of me that’s not embracing the unknown?

Well, that part of me is busy anxiously calculating budgets, spontaneously planning trips to places that we may or may not actually visit for years, and stressing about the fact that I have officially given up on 5-year plans and 1-year plans and 6-month plans, and am now down to planning life just days at a time.

That’s just a tiny piece of me, though. I can manage that.

Because truthfully, despite questions of future sustainability, future income, and the stress of depleting savings, Jeremy and I are so happy with this unusual life that we are currently living.

For me, nothing has felt as right as this since the moment that I threw my carefully planned future out the window and announced that I wasn’t going to law school.

What Happened Next With Our Travel Lifestyle

So, all those predictions I made about completing our South America leg?

Yeah, that didn’t happen, though we did eventually spend a month in Colombia in early 2018.

Instead, we spent the first half of 2017 backpacking from Mexico City to Panama (mostly) using the money we got from selling the car we mentioned flying back to the US for, and then quickly became determined to make our life of travel last indefinitely–and we did.

Where Our Life of Travel Led Us

In the roughly 5+ years since I wrote this essay on living a life of travel, I am extremely proud to say that we have built a life led entirely on our own terms (until 2020 clobbered that naive assumption, but, I digress).

After visiting almost 50 countries on 5 continents, we are as enamored with our travel lifestyle as ever–granted, with a few more creature comforts these days.

Today, our lives are funded entirely by our travel blogs–and while I’m proud to say that, I’m even more proud to say it in 2021.

It was no picnic making it through 2020 in this industry, as you can imagine, but we absolutely made it through.

In addition to Our Escape Clause, we now also run Lone Star Travel Guide , about travel in Texas.

How Our Travel Lifestyle Changed Us

Running a travel blog to fund travel dreams is nice and all, but let’s be honest–that’s a pretty common story on the internet.

Outside of work (and it is  very  enjoyable work), though, there are some enormous personal differences in where we are now as opposed to where we assumed that our 2021 selves would be when I wrote this essay in 2016.

Here are just a few.

We don’t have kids.

I’m not saying we won’t ever have kids, but to be perfectly honest, we absolutely assumed we would have them by 30… and yet, we don’t find ourselves in a rush to have them these days.

We don’t own a home.

When we sold our home in San Antonio to travel the world, the plan was always to travel temporarily.

As much as we loved to travel, at the end of the day, we thought that by a couple of years down the road, surely  we’d want to be right back where we started, in a nice suburban home with our travel photos displayed on the walls.

Not so much.

We don’t use words like “never” these days, but homeownership is definitely not in our immediate plans.

We want to live abroad.

Not necessarily forever, but our life of travel has given us an intense desire to experience a full-time life abroad–specifically in southern Europe.

Living in a foreign country is absolutely different than traveling there, even compared to the slow travel that we did.

An apartment lease, a visa, bureaucratic headaches–we want to try out the good, bad, and ugly of living in a country other than our own.

We adore cities.

I almost laugh out loud every time I read one of our early blog posts where I mention we don’t like cities–LOL, no.

As it turns out, not liking commuting from the suburbs into a US city 5 days a week is not remotely the same thing as not liking cities.

We’re more adaptable.

… and patient.

If there’s anything that a life of travel will teach you, it’s those two skills.

Reading over those changes, it’s easy to imagine that our past selves would be utterly shocked to find out where we ended up in life–and they would have been.

It’s absolutely possible that given another 5-10 years, we will end up in that suburban house with 1.5 kids and our travel photos on the walls–but it’s also possible that we won’t, and 25-year-old me never would have dreamed of such a possibility.

To me, the craziest thing about the changes in our dreams, goals, preferred living situation, diet, and more that our travel lifestyle brought to us is how incredibly unexpected and yet, semi-permanent it feels.

Part of that is simply growing up, sure–everyone changes in their mid-to-late-20s–but for us, the bulk of those changes being set into motion has a very identifiable starting date: May 10, 2016, when we boarded a one-way flight to Madrid and set out to see what a life of travel would bring to us.

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About Kate Storm

In May 2016, I left my suburban life in the USA and became a full-time traveler. Since then, I have visited 50+ countries on 5 continents and lived in Portugal, developing a special love of traveling in Europe (especially Italy) along the way. Today, along with my husband Jeremy and dog Ranger, I’m working toward my eventual goal of splitting my life between Europe and the USA.

6 thoughts on “How Choosing a Life of Travel Changed Everything”

Hey Kate and Jeremy! I’m glad you guys are following your travel dreams! Where are you guys currently?

Thanks, Kara!

We are currently in the USA getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with family in a couple of weeks. At the beginning of December, we’re off to Central America for a few months, starting in Costa Rica!

Wow, that’s quite a story! I hung on to every word. You’re a great writer, and I love this journey you’re on. Looking forward to more of the unknown ahead!

P.S. Hello from a fellow Girls v. Globe 🙂

Aw, thanks Jessica! I appreciate it. 🙂 Glad to see another Girls vs Globe member over here!

I loved reading every word of this, thank you for sharing! It feels like it’s pretty rare to get multi-year updates like this. I hope you guys keep living your best lives. I’ll definitely be following along.

Thank you so much, Angela! We are definitely continuing to live our best lives. I’ll have to do another update next year! 😉 So happy to have you here!

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The Life of a Traveler: What It Is Really Like

Have you ever wondered what it is really like to travel the world full-time? To leave behind home, not knowing when or if you will come back?

Living the life of a traveler, especially as a solo traveler, is full of paradoxes. Full of strange feelings. Full of grandiosity. Let me tell you what traveling is really like.

Choosing this life is more than a temporary escape. It will completely and entirely transform who you are.

Are you prepared for a journey of beauty, adventure and heartbreak? Come with me.

What the life of a traveler looks like

Traveling is saying yes to life.

Traveling puts you in situations so strange they’re hard to believe. The art of traveling is saying yes to opportunities as they arise, saying yes to life. Fear has no say here (even though we all experience it, of course).

As a traveler, you choose to conquer your fears again and again. You become a first-hand witness of how letting go of fear liberates your spirit.

You choose courage. Follow your instincts of curiosity. Have that conversation with the crazy guy. Explore that shady area of town. Dance like no one is watching.

It’s a wild ride, this traveler life. One that creates endless stories and miracles, simply because you said ‘yes’ at one point along the way. You get to see things few others ever see.

And at the end of the day, you will often wonder how you have gotten here. It does not matter. Embrace it.

Uncertainty is a traveler’s homeland

Most people desperately try to hold on to certainty. They resist change. They do everything in their power to keep things as they are just to feel safe.

A traveler does the opposite.

A traveler understands that the only constant we get in life is change and that by resisting it, you only create struggle.

Uncertainty is a solo traveler’s homeland. Sometimes you may not even know where you will sleep tonight. You may not know where you are tomorrow, you don’t know what you will experience in a year, you can’t fathom how the strangers you meet will change your life.

Even if you think you know, you never know. Life has its own ideas of what’s in store for you. Certainty, as much as we try to create it, is not an option.

It is the same for everyone, only that travelers understand and follow the flow of change.

Traveling is a life of extremes

By leaving behind certainty, you enter a ride of extremes. You might get stuck in hopeless situations and be rescued by a stranger. You might land in the middle of nowhere exhausted, only to be swallowed by the kindness of the world.

The emotional extremes are always present when traveling. You experience more deeply.

Everything is amplified. You will experience the lowest lows, feel lost and lonely. You will experience the highest highs, in a rush of freedom and gratitude.

It’s never one or the other. You need to feel deeply to live deeply.

About the unknown driving force

What is it, that drives travelers? What is it that leads us to explore country after country and never feel like we’re done? What is it that makes us choose a life so far from the ordinary?

Is it curiosity? Is it lust for adventure? I don’t think so.

It is a deeper feeling, a deep longing for the world. A burning sensation to experience and expand yourself. Guided by the inner knowing that wonder awaits around every corner.

I have no words to describe this feeling inside of me but I know it is the ever-present Northern Star in the life of a solo traveler.

We are the restless souls, eager to drown in the magnificence of this world. We go, go, go, until we find it.

Discomfort as a teacher

Sleeping in a million different beds. Dealing with chaos, cultures and criticism. Being the one that stands out from a crowd. Doing what scares you. Moving forward despite physical pain. Embracing mental challenges.

Often, the experiences of travelers have one thing in common: Discomfort is more frequently present than most people would like it to be.

But the magic of discomfort is exactly what makes travelers grow so much as people. Life outside of the comfort zone changes your mindset, your outlook on life.

No, the life of a traveler is not comfortable. But a single day on the road sometimes holds as many lessons as an entire year of staying at home.

This is what makes it worth it.

Read also: Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable: The Secret Power of Discomfort

Traveling is falling in love deeply with the world

Even after all these years, I catch myself falling in lover deeper and deeper with the world. With its people. With its natural phenomenons. With its inexplicable magic.

This is where gratitude is rooted. In letting yourself fall deeply, irreversibly in love with the world.

The more you see, the more you will realize what there is to love.

And that feeling, that love, that gratitude – you take it with you wherever you go. It will be with you in your darkest nights, it will be your light to hold onto when everything else is falling apart.

The world is a kind place. Even those who struggle to express it, deep down, want to be kind, want to love and want to belong – if only you give them a chance to.

Always a stranger, but at home in the world

It is bittersweet, sometimes, being a traveler. You have no home. Your home is everywhere. You develop the ability to deeply connect with the world around you, no matter where you are. To find something in common with the strangest stranger.

And yet, you are always a stranger, too. Even in your actual home, you will stand out through the experiences you have made – never completely understood, maybe only by those who carry a similar feeling within themselves.

That’s why travelers seek the company of other travelers. They understand the feeling of everlasting seeking, the love for the loneliness of the road and what it is like to have a million homes and none at once.

Experiencing exhilarating freedom

It comes with the range of incredibly strong feelings, but it is one of the most present ones. That feeling of complete freedom.

When you know you belong to the world, know you have nothing to lose, you feel like the luckiest star child. You don’t need to be anywhere, you don’t need to do anything or be anyone, you only need to exist. In the here and now.

Standing on the back of a pick-up truck. On top of a cliff. Feeling the wind in your hair. Running naked through the fields. Being on the verge of tears simply because of the deep realization of what a freaking gift life is.

We were born free. This is how we’re meant to be, you and me.

Understanding different perspectives

Nothing makes you understand more than traveling how there is no right or wrong. You experience different cultures, different ways of living and will be challenged to question your own cultural conditioning.

Eventually, you realize all these ways of living have their place in the world. If we move beyond judgment, we open our hearts to true connection.

Let yourself discover new ways. The more you know, the more you understand. The more empathy and compassion you will have.

We label others as different, but deep down we are the same.

Dear traveling soul, I’d be honored if you chose to stay for a while:

Your first name

Your email address

This will keep you up to date with new blog posts about wanderlust & thoughts on life – and if you’d like to support and continue seeing my art, subscribing is the best way to do it.

In the life of a traveler, nothing lasts

Traveling is a life of million goodbyes. The people and places you fall in love with are predestined to depart – as is everything else in life.

You will have to learn to not hold on, to be fully present in the now and enjoy the fleeting moments while they last. Your memories are your most lasting companions.

When that thought saddens you, just remember, with a million goodbyes come a million hellos.

Travel is symbolic of the impermanence of life. Nothing ever lasts, the beauty as well as the heartbreak. Everything comes and goes in waves. Swim with it.

Travel teaches you everything

Travel teaches you everything. It teaches you you can live out of a backpack and be happy. It teaches you how misguided our more-more-more culture is. There is nothing more than life itself.

Traveling makes you grow and expand in all the ways possible. If you say yes to travel, you have chosen your teacher in life.

I am the person I am today because of travel. I may have learned many of those lessons staying in one place, too, but I would have never understood them so deeply and so quickly as out there.

Being confronted with a million different circumstances and people, in the end, always confronts you with yourself.

And that, to me, is beautiful.

This is what the life of a traveler is like

Dear friend, you have come to the end of my poetic musings about the life of a traveler. My life.

Writing this made me smile and feel deeply – because it made me realize, once again, how much travel means to me. Even though my words may be clumsy at times, this is my best effort of speaking my inner truth.

It may look very different from yours. But I hope that you, if anything in my words resonates deeply with your soul, get to go out and experience it for yourself.

Be courageous. Follow the calling of your heart. It will lead you to a million places you would have never expected.

And you will grow big. You will grow beautiful. You will grow so full of life it will make your heart burst with happiness.

Some of us simply belong to the road.

Anna Heimkreiter is an adventurer-artist who irrevocably lost her heart to solo travel. She specializes in ethereal self-portrait photography and spiritual illustrations. Her art is the direct expression of the wonder and awe she finds through her adventures.

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Hi I came upon your blog whilst researching a “traveler-born” character in a play for acting class. It explains so much. And also makes me grateful for my last adventure to Sedona,Az. You said: “Travel is symbolic of the impermanence of life. Nothing ever lasts, the beauty as well as the heartbreak. Everything comes and goes in waves. Swim with it.” I love that summary, but also all the details leading up to it. Thanks so much. Tracey

Hello Tracey, that is amazing to hear! Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope your play will turn out to be amazing 🙂 Anna xx

Hi Anna, I met a girl a year ago who was a traveler and I got to share about 8 months with her as she gathered herself. I fell in love with her soul and her unique perspective on life. She has since moved on. It was very hard and I still miss her greatly. But your articles have helped me to understand. I miss you Pebbles but wish you nothing but the best. James

Aww, I understand how heartbreaking that can be. It’s really hard having to say goodbye to someone merely because you have very different ways of living (been there myself, basically the other way round – but from that experience I can say it might have also been a very difficult and painful decision for her, at least it was for me). But that doesn’t take away from the wonderful memories you shared, keep cherishing those! Glad my article could give you a bit of insight into how she might be feeling about traveling and why it’s so important to her. Thank you for commenting, James, take good care! Anna xx

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We are Rob and Allie, and we have a passion for traveling and sharing our experiences with others. Since we became empty nest parents in 2018 we’ve increased our travel and are in the middle of visiting all 50 US States ( UPDATE: Completed June 18, 2021! ) and every US National Park. We also enjoy cruises, Amtrak trips, and seeing the US in an RV or camper van.

In 2019 we took a 6 month trip of a lifetime through Europe, Asia and the Middle East culminating with a 21 day cruise from Rome to Dubai. Along the way, Allie documented our trip on our YouTube channel , and after our return we started this blog to help others who asked about where we went and how we did it.

We raised our two now adult children in Atlanta, GA and still consider that our home.

Rob has made our living for the last 15 years through photography, and is one of the most published photographers in the world. While many of his pictures are in the fashion industry, he also has multitudes of published landscape images for books and magazines like Lonely Planet.

The picture he took from our hotel room in London during our dream trip in 2019 was one of the most published pictures of London last year.

Rob handles the technical aspects of the website, including design, and also does most of the photo editing.

Rob’s favorite place in the United States is Horseshoe Bend and his favorite place we’ve visited abroad is Iceland.

About Allie

Allie left her career as a personal trainer when we decided to travel more frequently, and found a new career as a YouTube host and blogger. She is responsible for editing most of the videos on our YouTube channel and writing much of the blog content as well.

She has a passion for helping people and sharing stories with other travelers.

Allie’s favorite place to visit in the United States is Las Vegas, and her favorite place we’ve been abroad is Bangkok, Thailand.

If you’d like to see even more content, we also have a cruise channel on YouTube .

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'Conan O'Brien Must Go' is side-splitting evidence of life beyond late night TV

Eric Deggans

Conan O'Brien dresses as a Viking in Norway. Conaco/Max hide caption

Conan O'Brien dresses as a Viking in Norway.

To be honest, when I first heard Conan O'Brien was ending his TV talk show in 2021, I assumed news that he might turn to variety shows and online programs to continue his career was some combination of face-saving and wishful thinking.

But after watching the four episodes of his new Max series Conan O'Brien Must Go , it's now obvious — even to a thickheaded critic like me — that leaving late night TV really was liberating for O'Brien. He's leveraged his unique sensibility into several different podcasts, a deal with Sirius XM , specials featuring other stand-up comics and now this travel series for Max — which resembles jokey specials he did for cable channel TBS back in the day.

And as the late night TV genre crumbles under sagging viewership and the decline of traditional media, O'Brien's renaissance also provides an example for the future — where fertile comedy minds and talented performers can spread their work over a much larger canvas.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Is conan o'brien the best 'hot ones' guest ever discuss., learning a lesson from 'hot ones'.

O'Brien already made a splash recently with his brilliantly maniacal appearance on the interview-while-eating-hot-wings show Hot Ones , slobbering over hot sauces while claiming, as he was checked over by a fake doctor, that "I'm fine! I'm perfectly f*****g fine!"

This is the place where O'Brien shines — he's called it "this strange phantom intersection between smart and stupid" — and it's on full, freakish, super silly display in every episode of Conan O'Brien Must Go .

The conceit of the show is pretty simple. O'Brien heads overseas to visit average folks in Norway, Argentina, Thailand and Ireland who had once Zoomed in to speak with him on the podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Fan . Sometimes the visits seem like a surprise — he catches one aspiring Norwegian rapper in shorts and Crocs after popping up on his doorstep — and others seem a bit more planned, including his visit to a radio show with about four listeners in Buenos Aires.

Each episode begins with a solemn monologue which sounds like it is delivered by the film world's most eccentric voice, German filmmaker and actor Werner Herzog (he's not credited in the show and when asked, a publicist at Max shared a quote from O'Brien: "I can neither confirm nor deny the voice in question.")

The torturous accent by "Herzog" makes every line sound absurdly hilarious, describing O'Brien as "the defiler ... with dull, tiny eyes ... the eyes of a crudely painted doll ... he scavenges in distant lands, uninvited, fueled by a bottomless hunger for recognition and the occasional selfie."

Now that's smart. And oh so stupid.

A funhouse mirror version of a travel show

O'Brien performs onstage with a fan in Norway Conaco/Max hide caption

O'Brien performs onstage with a fan in Norway

Fans of O'Brien's Conan Without Borders specials on TBS already know what his style is when he tackles a travel show — throwing himself into outrageous reactions and situations while working his quirky brand of improvised conversations with hapless bystanders.

In the Max series Conan O'Brien Must Go , that includes O'Brien offering screechy vocals onstage during a performance of a Norwegian emo/rap band. Or asking provocative questions of a couple therapist/sex expert. Or getting beat up in a "fight" with a 10-year-old boy in a bar.

It's all an excuse for O'Brien to unleash his energetic wit, taste for silly absurdity and skill at drawing laughs from sympathetic — if often befuddled — strangers. Whether you enjoy this special will depend on how you feel about O'Brien's style, which can feel a bit like the world's best class clown doing everything possible to make you crack a smile.

(Rent a family in Norway so they can say goodbye when he gets on a SeaCraft? Check. Get local artists to paint a mural of O'Brien, a soccer star and The Pope on the side of a building in Argentina? Double check.)

'Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend' Is A Joke Name For A Podcast — Sort Of

But what amazes in a larger sense is how O'Brien has turned his sensibility into a comedy brand to fuel work on many different platforms. And, at age 60, with more than 30 years as a comedy star, he's been released from the shackles of any genre to shine wherever he chooses — whether it's an episode of Hot Ones or a streaming service which sometimes looks like a collision between True Detective and 90 Day Fiancé .

Leaving late night TV as late night left him

I'm old enough that I started covering TV not long after O'Brien made his first move from the shadows of life as a comedy writer – he worked on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons — to succeed David Letterman in 1993 as host of NBC's show Late Night (now hosted by Seth Meyers). Back then, NBC gave O'Brien years to figure out the show, honing his smartly serious comedy in a way that would inspire then-teenage fans like Seth Rogen and Bill Hader .

O'Brien left NBC after a disastrous deal where the network tried to make him host of its venerated late night program The Tonight Show and also keep its former host Jay Leno at the network. He moved to a late night show on TBS in 2010, but even then, there was a sense that his creativity was a bit hemmed in by the format.

After 28 Quirky Years, Conan O'Brien Is Leaving Late Night

By the time he left his TBS show Conan for good, it seemed O'Brien was already caught in a trend which would hobble other late night shows — as young viewers consumed his content online and ratings on cable dropped.

Now, with a podcast and digital media company worth many millions and growing status as a TV comedy legend still willing to do almost anything for a laugh, O'Brien is proving there is a successful life beyond late night.

Particularly, if you have the talent to play the fool while leaving little doubt you're also the smartest person in the room.

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Why alien life might look purple

Experts believe early Earth hosted purple bacteria. Now the color could be a sign of hospitable worlds.

When inspecting the cosmos for potentially habitable worlds, scientists have long looked for the color green . Green is the fundamental color of life on Earth, after all. But what if life on faraway planets wasn’t green at all? In fact, what if it were purple?

In a study published in April in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , scientists zoom in on purple bacteria—these violet and magenta hued microorganisms are found in some of the most extreme environments on our own planet. The researchers collected and grew samples of the bacteria and measured the wavelengths of light they reflect. The idea is to add to the database of possible signatures of life that future astronomers can look for on other worlds.

“There's such a diversity of life,” says study co-author Lisa Kaltenegger , an astronomer at Cornell University and author of a new book on alien worlds. “We shouldn’t miss it just because it doesn't happen to be green.”

Why purple?

Long before we had the verdant forests and bright green algal blooms that color our world today, Earth was a difficult place to live. It had little oxygen. Temperatures were extreme.  

But these harsh conditions are also ones where organisms like purple bacteria can thrive.  

Instead of using chlorophyll, the green organelle that most plants have today used for photosynthesis, purple bacteria uses bacteriochlorophyll and carotenoids, which allows them to perform photosynthesis in low-light and low-oxygen environments.  

“So you can even imagine another Earth in another time, earlier for instance, could maybe be purple if these organisms were abundant, because it would have the conditions for them to actually survive and thrive,” explains study co-author Ligia Fonseca Coelho , a microbiologist at Cornell University.  

In other words, purple worlds could be possible.

In fact, scientists hypothesize that early Earth might have been purple. In a 2018 study , researchers concluded that purple archaea, another type of microorganism that uses a molecule called retinal to photosynthesize, could have dominated our planet before it was filled with oxygen. “What this new study does is expand potential lifeforms that might provide a purple signature,” says Shiladitya DasSarma , a molecular biologist at the University of Maryland and lead author of the 2018 paper.

Now, the scientists behind the most recent paper have added spectral data on 20 species of purple bacteria, collected from places like marshes and lakes. The researchers measured the wavelengths of light the bacteria reflected and modeled how those patterns could look when seen on a faraway planet.  

The result is a collection of light signatures that the team is adding to an ongoing database . These data are publicly available, says Kaltenegger, where scientists can use these signatures to inform their own projects.  

Signatures of habitable worlds

Astronomers look for life on other planets using markers called biosignatures.   The color of a planet’s surface can be one such biosignature. To see it, astronomers use a technique called reflected light spectroscopy.

But “this type of observation cannot be done with the types of telescopes that we have available today,” says Edward Schwieterman , an astronomer at University of California Riverside who was not involved with the study. For instance, the James Webb Space Telescope can only detect biosignatures in an exoplanet’s atmosphere, like whether it has oxygen, methane, or other gases. It’s unable to measure the reflected light from the planet’s surface.  

“The difficulty is to translate what we're studying in the laboratory to astronomical measurements,” agrees DasSarma.

But researchers hope that the new work will inform upcoming projects like Chile’s Extremely Large Telescope and NASA’s Habitable World Observatory , which both aim to capture images that can obtain these surface-level measurements. The observatories are slated to come online by the end of 2030.  

“It pushes us to make sure that this future mission has the capability of detecting the signatures,” says Schwieterman, who is also a part of a working group on biosignatures for the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Extraterrestrial biodiversity

Understanding purple life on Earth also expands what scientists can consider life elsewhere. Many habitable rocky planets revolve around stars known as red suns, smaller dimmer versions of the yellow sun in our solar system. Purple organisms are able to use the low-energy rays that these red suns emit.  

“They're actually the most abundant types of stars,” says Coelho. “So this is why the purple model is also important, because it fills this void that exists for the type of life that could actually thrive on planets around these abundant stars,” she says.

In the meantime, the scientists at Cornell are continuing to expand their database of colors and signatures, looking into other lifeforms that can survive in different extreme conditions.  

“We have this life on Earth. And if you think about it like a huge puzzle, we're trying to identify the puzzles that are more likely to exist around the planets that we can identify,” explains Kaltenegger.

“All the amazing biodiversity we have, we have to study it to give us tools to search for life on other planets,” says Coelho. “Biodiversity is needed in astronomy.”

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Lovable Michigan Travel Deals: ORV park passes, Up North golf savings

• Published: Apr. 25, 2024, 8:05 a.m.

The Eldorado Golf Course is one of nine courses around the Cadillac area. Photo provided by the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau. CAVB

• Tanda Gmiter | [email protected]

Ready to head outside? With the weather warming up, there’s no excuse to stay indoors. When you’re planning your next vacation, start by thinking about all the fresh air activities you’ve been missing this winter.

Golf, hiking, ORV riding and fishing can be done all across our state. Lots of spots are rolling out spring deals for travelers. So gas up your ride, pack a bag and tap into your sense of adventure.

It’s time to travel and save a few bucks. Here are some of the deals rolling into our in-box this week:

Cadillac Area Golf Deals

For a lot of downstate folks, Cadillac is where Up North begins. There’s great fishing and boating. It’s working hard to be an ORV destination with news coming soon about a new scenic trail network. But already this spring, it’s all about the golf. And there are lots of courses to pick from - and lots of deals to snag.

“The Cadillac area has nine courses to choose from, all within 20 minutes of downtown,” tourism staff said. “Each course has its own unique charm and playability appealing to all skill levels, but they all offer the natural beauty and friendly hospitality that will keep you coming back.

“With two stay and play options, great shopping, and restaurants, as well as dozens more opportunities for fun in the outdoors like ORV trail riding, hiking, biking and fishing - there is so much to see and do in Cadillac.”

Some of the deals are pretty cool. Evergreen Resort (home of the friendly Curly’s Pub) is offering an overnight golf package starting at $155 per person. And the Missaukee Golf Club is letting juniors golf for free. There’s even some Cadillac area ORV deals, and $1 off pints at the downtown Clam Lake Beer Company.

See all the Cadillac area golf deals on the website here.

Drummond Island's ORV and ATV trails are among the most scenic and rugged in the entire state.

Stay and Play on Michigan’s Drummond Island

What if you needed to drive onto a car ferry for a short trip to reach your next vacation? That can happen if you’re headed to Drummond Island at the very eastern edge of the Upper Peninsula. Drummond Island Resort and Conference Center has a few spring travel packages, all bundled with perks for people who make the drive and want to enjoy a lot of fresh air once they arrive. The golf deals are popular right now, but it’s not the only special on deck.

Second Round of Golf is free with Drummond Island Resort’s Stay & Play Package: “Enjoy The Rock Golf Course with our Stay & Play package that includes a discounted rate on your room or cabin, 18 holes of golf for two registered guests and cart. BONUS second round of golf included for each registered guest. Limited time offer. Available until June 3rd, 2024.” Find more details on the resort’s website here.

Other deals include:

• Spring Getaway Deal: Enjoy the best of spring on Drummond Island and save up to 15% off regular room rates. Book by April 30th, 2024.
• Turtle Ridge ORV Park Free Pass Deal: This package is built for the off-roading enthusiast and includes free daily access to Turtle Ridge ORV park for one vehicle during your stay.
• Family Recreation Package: Get 10% off overnight lodging, a 2-topping pizza, a 2-liter bottle of soda and a round at our putt-putt golf course with this family friendly package.

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Vince McMahon's life after WWE: Kittens, vacations and staying in touch with Trump

As he faces a mountain of legal woes, former WWE leader Vince McMahon is traveling, eating out and keeping in touch with friends and associates — including former President Donald Trump.

McMahon resigned as executive chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment’s parent company almost three months ago after a former employee, Janel Grant, accused him in a bombshell lawsuit of sexual abuse and trafficking. He denied the allegations. McMahon, 78, is also facing a federal criminal investigation , although he hasn’t been charged.

NBC News and CNBC talked to 11 people familiar with McMahon and WWE about how he’s been spending his time — and how the global brand he built over more than four decades is moving on without him. These people, including close personal associates and company insiders, declined to be named, citing ongoing legal cases and the confidential nature of internal corporate communications.

Multiple WWE insiders said he hasn’t had any contact with company leaders and figureheads since he resigned. Mark Shapiro, the operating chief of WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings, said in March that McMahon “doesn’t work for the company, doesn’t come into the office, and he’s not coming back to the company.”

That also means McMahon hasn’t talked to his son-in-law, WWE creative chief and former superstar Paul “Triple H” Levesque, or daughter, Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, regarding company matters, sources said. While she introduced WWE’s WrestleMania event earlier this month, McMahon-Levesque, who worked beside her father for more than 20 years and played roles in storylines, currently has no involvement with the company, according to people familiar with the matter. Levesque and McMahon-Levesque declined to comment through a spokesperson, as did a WWE representative. 

McMahon is nonetheless indelibly linked with the wrestling outfit, which he bought from his father 42 years ago. Still, he seems to have moved on, according to multiple sources. McMahon has kept up his other routines, and it’s as if he’s unfazed by his legal fights, two sources said.For instance, on an afternoon in late March, McMahon returned on a private plane to the United States from the sunny Turks and Caicos Islands -- but he wasn’t alone, according to a person close to him. He had with him seven kittens and a puppy, all of which he brought back to be adopted by his friends, this person added. 

“If anything, he’s enjoying life,” said the person, who added that McMahon had also taken a trip to Italy. 

Jessica Rosenberg, an attorney for McMahon, declined to comment regarding the aspects of the former WWE chief’s life reported in this article. In an emailed statement Tuesday, however, she criticized Grant’s suit: “The lawsuit’s claims are false, defamatory and entirely without merit. We intend to vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident that he will be vindicated.”

Life amid litigation

The details of McMahon’s life after his WWE reign present a stark contrast to Grant’s accusations, which paint a graphic portrait of a violent and controlling man. In the federal lawsuit, filed Jan. 25, Grant’s attorneys said that she was “the victim of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking at WWE,” naming McMahon and former WWE executive John Laurinaitis. Both men have denied the accusations in the suit. The lawsuit also named WWE as a defendant. WWE and its parent company, TKO, have said that they take Grant’s allegations “very seriously.” 

“Vince McMahon raped, trafficked and physically assaulted Janel Grant as part of his decades-long normalization of treating women within the WWE as objects. He might have thought that Janel would just walk away, but that wishful thinking couldn’t be further from the case,” Ann Callis, an attorney for Grant, said in a statement Wednesday. “Every day we are focused on adding to our mountain of evidence, speaking with other victims, hiring renowned experts on sex trafficking/coercive control and preparing to vociferously litigate this case.”

Federal investigators seized a phone from McMahon and have been trying to determine whether federal law was broken in the conduct surrounding Grant’s allegations, NBC News reported in February . WWE had disclosed last summer that investigators served McMahon with a federal grand jury subpoena and executed a search warrant in July.McMahon is cooperating with authorities, according to one of the people close to him. McMahon believes officials won’t bring any charges against him and that Grant’s civil case will be settled out of court, said a person close to the former wrestling executive.

Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, declined to comment.

A spokesperson for Grant’s attorneys said that there have been absolutely no settlement talks with McMahon.

While his legal battles persist, McMahon is often ferried by a private driver from his posh Connecticut home to Manhattan, according to one of the sources close to him. There, he eats with friends at restaurants such as the old-school Italian spot Il Tinello East on 46th Street, sees his longtime barber for biweekly haircuts and works with his personal trainer multiple times a week, the source said.  Two other sources, however, say McMahon has otherwise been “quite guarded” and often on the phone with his lawyers to map out plans since Grant’s lawsuit was made public.

Staying in touch

McMahon has also talked to Trump, according to two of the people close to the wrestling impresario. The two billionaires have been in touch regularly, according to a person close to McMahon, although it isn’t clear what they’ve discussed.

Trump and the McMahon family go way back: The former president hosted two WrestleMania events in Atlantic City in the late 1980s, engaged in a wrestling “feud” with McMahon in 2007 and is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Linda McMahon, McMahon’s wife, served as the Small Business Administration’s head in Trump’s Cabinet, led a pro-Trump super PAC and is now on the board of the publicly traded Trump Media and Technology Group.

In 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon paid $5 million in previously unrecorded expenses to the since-dissolved Donald J. Trump Foundation during two of the years Trump appeared on WWE programming.

Trump, who’s running for a second term as president, has also been accused of sexual assault and is facing his own costly pile of civil and criminal legal troubles, including four separate indictments. Trump has denied wrongdoing in his various cases, pleading not guilty in each criminal proceeding, including a New York trial that started Monday. Another person close to McMahon said that the two men don’t discuss their legal problems and that Trump doesn’t provide legal advice.

Hours after the publication of this story, a spokesperson for McMahon pushed back.

“Mr. McMahon has not been ‘staying in touch’ or ‘been in touch regularly’ with former President Trump. He has spoken with Mr. Trump once in the past several years and that was for about a minute or so after Mr. McMahon’s back surgery. Other than that, there have been no communications between the two,” the spokesperson said.

A representative for Trump declined to comment.

Since he resigned, McMahon has been in touch with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena, sources said. Johnson and Cena, both Hollywood superstars, are two of WWE’s biggest success stories.

Publicly, Johnson has thanked TKO and WWE executives regarding his addition to the TKO board earlier this year. In February, Cena told the radio host Howard Stern that “the whole thing is super unfortunate and it sucks,” while noting that he loves McMahon and has a “great relationship” with him. “But in the same breath,” he added at the time, “I’m also a big advocate of accountability.”

Cena and Johnson are both represented by the William Morris Endeavor agency, which is part of Endeavor Group — the majority owner of TKO.A spokesperson for Johnson declined to comment. A representative for Cena didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

WWE in transition

This isn’t the first time WWE has had to contend with controversy stemming from its former longtime leader. McMahon was acquitted of federal criminal charges in the early 1990s related to the steroid scandal that engulfed the wrestling world at the time. 

In 2022, he briefly stepped down as WWE’s leader after the Journal reported that he paid millions of dollars to multiple women to cover up his alleged extramarital affairs. The Journal also reported that other women had come forward with sexual misconduct allegations . WWE amended its financial reports to reflect the payments. McMahon denied all wrongdoing. 

His daughter helped take over leadership of the company in the interim, but McMahon-Levesque resigned when her father, who owned a controlling stake in WWE, returned in early 2023 . McMahon then engineered a deal to merge the company with Endeavor Group’s UFC to form TKO. Longtime Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel is the CEO of both Endeavor and TKO. 

That deal, announced in April 2023 , made McMahon the executive chairman of the new company, and he gave up majority control of WWE. At the time, he told CNBC he wouldn’t be “in the weeds” with creative decisions but he would weigh in on big decisions. That marked a big shift for McMahon. His family has been in the business dating back to the early 20th century. After buying the company from his father, who was known as “Vince Sr.,” the younger McMahon then employed flamboyant superstars such as Hulk Hogan and the Rock, staging glitzy pay-per-view events like WrestleMania, to build it into an international sensation. And while WWE is still defined in part by the family, McMahon’s daughter and son-in-law are publicly attempting to push the brand into the future.  

At WrestleMania 40, held earlier this month in Philadelphia, McMahon-Levesque surprised the crowd with an appearance and hailed her husband’s leadership. “Every Wrestlemania is special for its own reason, but I think WrestleMania 40 might be the one I’m most proud of, because this is the first WrestleMania of the Paul Levesque era,” she said . (Linda McMahon joined her daughter backstage, according to an Instagram photo posted by wrestling star Charlotte Flair.) Levesque himself proclaimed a “new era” for WWE. 

It was a significant moment for the brand, coming during the first WrestleMania since the Grant lawsuit -- and it’s the first one under TKO’s management. Still, some rank-and-file WWE employees have griped that the company hasn’t done more to address the situation, according to an insider. After McMahon quit, Shapiro told a global town hall for both TKO and Endeavor employees “in no uncertain terms” that the former wrestling boss wouldn’t return, according to another insider. Shapiro also assured employees that Levesque and WWE President Nick Khan have his support, this person said. 

Otherwise, WWE is more relaxed since McMahon resigned in January, sources said. When McMahon was still running things, he would come in late in the afternoon and often stay until around midnight or beyond, two current employees said. (His office at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, is unoccupied but otherwise intact, according to an executive, who called it “spooky.”) He had a reputation for being capricious and quick to fire employees, which generated fear and created a chilling effect, according to sources. 

Now there’s more levity and freedom to make a mistake or suggest an idea, some employees said.

The current leadership operates more conventionally, giving underperforming employees a standard progress report and opportunities to improve before taking action, they added. 

Some McMahon loyalists remain, but one employee said: “WWE is actually a really great place to work, and Vince distracted from that. It’s been much better since he left.” Another said: “People feel like they’re on steadier ground.”The company, meanwhile, is charting its post-McMahon course with the help of lucrative media rights deals. In September, WWE signed a $1.4 billion deal with NBC News’ parent company, NBCUniversal, for domestic rights to “Friday Night SmackDown.” In January, it inked a 10-year, $5 billion pact with Netflix to move its flagship “Raw” show and other programs to the streaming giant next year. WWE announced both agreements after it became part of TKO and McMahon ceded much of his official control over the brand.

There’s yet another sign suggesting that McMahon’s distance from WWE is more than temporary: He has sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of shares in TKO since November, a sizable chunk of those sales coming after he resigned in January. That’s different from when he briefly stepped down in 2022.  

“This time, it’s like, OK, now, it’s over -over,” one of the insiders said.

A version of this story was published on CNBC.com .

Chloe Melas is an entertainment correspondent for NBC News. 

Alex Sherman covers media for CNBC.