We decided we wanted to continue to travel for at least 12 months after returning from several months in Thailand in October 2018, previously we had kept a home-base in Melbourne but within days of our return we agreed it was time to take the plunge and become full time nomads and within 3 weeks we had moved out and re-organised our lives, now with almost 50,000 kms and six months travel under our belt I thought it was time to share the how, also it’s been raining for days in Perth so no new photos. Actually here are a couple of Ben kite surfing last week.
While it might seem that we simply packed up and left on a whim, live on the road actually takes a lot of preparation and practicality, though the hardest part is making the decision – I actually read today that some people live their whole lives in a less than desired place emotionally, physically, financially and spiritually because deciding was too hard. And I know it is only too true. You are completely up to you, and that can be terrifying.
However the good news is that once the decision is made, then it’s really just a matter of logistics, firstly there is the matter of your belonging. We gave away a lot – this was actually really cathartic and we loved minimising our stuff. What we couldn’t part with, (mostly keepsakes, a few pieces of furniture and a Lego Millenium falcon) we have secured safely in Melbourne using Ezebox. The bring the box to you and you can pack it or they will for an extra fee and they grab it out when we need something.
We set up a PO Box in our old town and a virtual address via PostNet and entrusted a good friend with our spare keys, cancelled all of our utilities and finalised any outstanding accounts, one of the benefits of a life on the move is no gas, electricity or internet bills though we often buy a new sim with data as we arrive into a country, this has been easier in some countries (like in the US where you can buy from a vending machine).
I planned all our travels, the benefits of being a travel agent and organised our travel insurance, we still have health care in Australia as we earn our wages and pay taxes there.
The next challenge is packing. When traveling through different seasons packing lightly is a challenge, we were forced to do so though as we have lots of kite equipment but in the end we decided to take lots of layers and purchased second hand snow gear in Canada which we donated back before leaving, we also made a quick stop mid-year to the storage box to swap out some equipment for our time in Thailand and we plan to store this equipment in Singapore while we are touring Japan, I’ll pick it up on route back to Australia as I’m heading back there to visit a partner hotel before reconnecting with Ben in Melbourne.
So those steps again:
- Step 1 – Decide, this is the hardest step of them all
- Step 2 – Stuff / Sell it, store it or donate it
- Step 3 – Utilities and postage
- Step 4 – Insurance
- Step 5 – Packing
Was this helpful, interesting, Let me know if you want more details on the how and or why we chose life on the road?
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