Hard to believe it’s been a year since we packed up and hit the road. Although we’ve been retired for 17 months now, we spent the first five months in Seattle, with a quick stop along the way in Montana. And we spent a lot of time in Seattle preparing to head overseas. We got to New Zealand just about a year ago, and it’s then that it finally felt like we had really done it.

It all happened so quickly- the decision to retire two years earlier than expected. Then the mad scramble to find a realtor, get our house prepared and on the market, and sell off 30 plus years worth of possessions. We first got the house fixed up and cleaned up, which was quite the process.

We did a “virtual estate sale” on Craigslist, with Tim posting 40 or 50 items a week. We often had three buyers at a time stopping by to pick something up. Overall, it went amazingly well. The house sold, we said our goodbyes at work, and locked up the house and left.

We were fortunate to send a couple of boxes to Seattle ahead of time with relatives, otherwise everything was packed into our GTI. And off we go, Deb, Tim and our two cats.

We had gotten our apartment in Seattle during a quick visit in July, and had a “bed in a box” mattress waiting for us when we arrived. Still, a little sparse at the start!

But a couple of weeks with Craigslist and Goodwill, and we were living comfortably. We took our time in Seattle to sort out finances, insurance, medical, technology, backups, and all the other things necessary to become nomads.

Seattle was a great city, lots of fun to wander the neighborhoods. Most people take great pride in their gardens, with wonderful plants and flowers everywhere.

Nice system of parks with many hiking trails.

And, of course, bookstores, coffee shops and restaurants.

And one year ago, it was off to the south island of New Zealand. We had applied for extended visas, so were able to stay 5 months. Beautiful hiking, lots of wildlife- of course.

Solitude in the Havelock area. Water taxi required to get there and back.

Then on to Niue. A nation of 1600 people, and a fun place to visit. We had three kittens (and mamma cat) staying with us, they kept us occupied watching their antics.

3 little kitties

 

And lots of beautiful caves and snorkeling areas. And sea snakes!

Then on to Malaysia. Fun to visit, but we decided we really can’t handle the heat long term.

So off to someplace cooler. South Korea, wonderful in the fall. We were pleasantly surprised at just how much we enjoyed Seoul. So much to see and do, easy to navigate, friendly people.

After Seoul, a quick “vacation” to Cambodia and Vietnam, including a nice cruise down the Mekong river.

And now we are here in Taiwan, soon to head to Thailand before stopping back in the US. After that, it’s off to summer in England/Scotland, fall in Germany/Austria, then perhaps winter over in Israel, Albania or Morocco.

So how has it all gone? Surprisingly well. We’ve had very few unpleasant surprises.

Some thoughts about what what has happened so far:
  • Planning takes lots of time- we have to plan at least two countries in advance in order to have a flight out of the country we are entering. Most countries verify you have a plan to leave, upon entry, so you do not end up relying on their welfare system. And there are a lot of details, from medical, flights, car, apartment, transportation, visas, etc. So we usually take 4 or 5 days in a row to work on planning every month or two.
  • It’s so emotionally freeing to not have a life filled with clutter. Our house had lots of empty space, but we always had home projects that should be done, a closet or drawer that should be organized, maintenance to do. Of course we still have plenty to do, with finances, taxes, planning and the like. But so much of that “I should really get to that project someday” list is just gone.
  • It’s nice chasing good weather around the world. We really didn’t need to go through another Minnesota winter.
  • In many of the areas we stay, we don’t need to try to find the authentic, non-touristy restaurants. They’re all filled with locals. And people are happy to interact with us, they don’t see many tourists so aren’t tired of visitors. And around the world, people are generally good at heart.
  • We enjoy exploring because there is always something different. It keeps the mind active. Every month or two we have to learn a new routine, new words, new mental maps for navigating a new neighborhood.
  • Living in different apartments all the time is fine. There’s always something we like and don’t like, but it’s not our problem. And we’ll be moving on soon anyway. And every place has something special we enjoy.
  • We appreciate not needing a car in some locations.
  • Living this way is less expensive than we had budgeted initially. Still expensive, but many costs that we used to have disappeared. No state tax, property tax, car purchase/tags, utility bills, or internet bills. We don’t spend much on clothing, have to get rid of something for everything new we get. And no shopping for the house!
  • We do miss being closer to friends and family. But we do try and stay in touch via phone and video chats. And we’ve met lots of nice people here, and had a chance to meet with some unexpected people. (Hi John- 3 visits this year!)
  • We found we can get by with less gear than we imagined or planned initially. We’ve added a Sonos speaker, Fuji camera and knitting supplies. Subtracted some extra clothing, snorkel equipment, and a few odds and ends. So while we started out the trip with 185 pounds of gear, we are now traveling with 166. (84 to 75kg) And about 30 pounds of that is the luggage itself. We chose durable luggage over super lightweight.
As we travel as nomads, we consider ourselves so fortunate to be able to live this life. At some point we’ll get tired of moving around, but for now this is the life for us. Deb and I are happy exploring the world together, and hiking mountains when we can find them.
And I’ll leave you with a picture of Elon Musk’s Tesla that is currently orbiting the sun somewhere near Mars. Wikipedia link   It was launched around the time Deb and I decided to retire early, and the the image of Starman cruising space in his car was the inspirational image at the top of our “to do” list. The DON’T PANIC on the dashboard seemed especially appropriate, as we looked over what we needed to do to prep, sell the house and prepare to move. A special thanks to those that came by to lend a hand in “launching” us. i.e. Kal and Russ!

 

Some of you may be wondering what happened to our two kitties we took to Seattle. Camber was put to sleep towards the end of our stay as he had been suffering from a brain tumor that caused seizures for him – it was time. And Katie found a new home, with a loving couple. We have gotten a few updates from them, and she is doing very well. We’re so happy that she and her new owners are doing fine.