Volume 1: After the first leg (5 months)
Audra and I left home in late June. It's now been over 5 months since we've been "homeless" and we've learned a lot about the nomad life and how to travel in general. We've compiled a list of some of the hardest and best things about this life as well as a few things we've learned along the way. Enjoy!
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The Best Parts
1) History Lessons Every Day
Every day Audra and I are wandering around a city, we see architecture and museums, taste different cuisine, and hear stories from walking tours. Each of these things helps piece together the culture and history of the places we visit. Audra always had a passion for history, but I struggled to find the importance of it when I studied it in school. Now I see that learning the history of people and places different from Missouri is so important to understanding how we fit in the world.
Every day Audra and I are wandering around a city, we see architecture and museums, taste different cuisine, and hear stories from walking tours. Each of these things helps piece together the culture and history of the places we visit. Audra always had a passion for history, but I struggled to find the importance of it when I studied it in school. Now I see that learning the history of people and places different from Missouri is so important to understanding how we fit in the world.
2) Continuous Learning
I can't tell you how many times Audra and I look at each other and make the "mind blown" gesture. We talk about how much we feel knowledge just entering our brains and how we've got to a) research more, and/or b) write it down so we don't forget. One thing's for sure: the more we learn, the more excited we are to continue learning.
I can't tell you how many times Audra and I look at each other and make the "mind blown" gesture. We talk about how much we feel knowledge just entering our brains and how we've got to a) research more, and/or b) write it down so we don't forget. One thing's for sure: the more we learn, the more excited we are to continue learning.
3) Food
Food is more than just sustenance, especially on a trip like this. It gives you lessons in geography (types of vegetables, fruits, and meats/fish that are plentiful in a region) and culture (who does the cooking, religious restrictions, and the conversations shared over meals)
Food is more than just sustenance, especially on a trip like this. It gives you lessons in geography (types of vegetables, fruits, and meats/fish that are plentiful in a region) and culture (who does the cooking, religious restrictions, and the conversations shared over meals)
It's so important to not be picky, either. You never know what you're going to get, especially when you can't read the menu! And you really don't want to be rude either. I love all food (not equally), and Audra was the same. Except for olives. We spent a month in Spain, and it seemed like every drink was served with a plate of them. I LOVED them, and Audra (being open minded enough) kept trying them. Through continued persistence (and the fact that I kept raving about how good they were) she learned how to tolerate and eventually love them. Now they're one of her favorite snacks
4) Deeper Relationship
Audra and I spend almost every waking hour together, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's impossible not to get closer to each other. But that's just the rational way to look at it.
We are experiencing true romance. We get to see mountain sunsets and ocean sunrises. We share croissants and coffee in Paris and succulent risotto on the Adriatic coast. We hiked the lakes and waterfalls of Croatia and took naps amidst the pine cones of the Pyrenees. We communicate constantly and trust each other the whole way.
Audra and I spend almost every waking hour together, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's impossible not to get closer to each other. But that's just the rational way to look at it.
We are experiencing true romance. We get to see mountain sunsets and ocean sunrises. We share croissants and coffee in Paris and succulent risotto on the Adriatic coast. We hiked the lakes and waterfalls of Croatia and took naps amidst the pine cones of the Pyrenees. We communicate constantly and trust each other the whole way.
5) Affordability
Almost every country in the world is more affordable coming from the United States. Plan your trip right and you can live like kings and queens on less than what it takes to live normally back home. I keep an extensive budget to track and plan our spending. The first 5 months has cost us significantly less than what we normally spend between mortgage, restaurants and bars, car insurance and gas, and other bills and expenses.
We researched the costs extensively when deciding if this trip could be a possibility. If anyone is interested in doing any sort of travelling on a budget, let me know and I'd be happy to share my resources and experiences.
Almost every country in the world is more affordable coming from the United States. Plan your trip right and you can live like kings and queens on less than what it takes to live normally back home. I keep an extensive budget to track and plan our spending. The first 5 months has cost us significantly less than what we normally spend between mortgage, restaurants and bars, car insurance and gas, and other bills and expenses.
We researched the costs extensively when deciding if this trip could be a possibility. If anyone is interested in doing any sort of travelling on a budget, let me know and I'd be happy to share my resources and experiences.
The Hard Parts
1) Missing The USA
This is a big one. The US has its pros and cons, but its pros are pretty huge. We miss being able to find whatever we want in supermarkets and restaurants. Audra's been craving good ol' Mac n Cheese for 5 months now. We bought some when we came back in November just to bring the cheese packets with us. Also, if you're craving authentic worldly cuisine at a restaurant, St Louis has a bunch to offer. In many of the countries we are visiting, they have only one cuisine: their own.
The US does a good job in supplying basic comforts. In France, they don't believe in air conditioning, and it gets HOT there! Nowadays, you'd never find a shower without a curtain and the water alternating between hot and cold every few seconds in a US home or hotel. In eastern Europe, those are common place. I still don't understand what's so hard about putting a shower curtain up...
Other than the convenience and the comfort, here's a few other things we miss. We don't get to talk Cards baseball, Blues hockey, or popular tv shows. We miss four seasons, familiarity, delivery, the freedom that comes with having a car, and friends.
This is a big one. The US has its pros and cons, but its pros are pretty huge. We miss being able to find whatever we want in supermarkets and restaurants. Audra's been craving good ol' Mac n Cheese for 5 months now. We bought some when we came back in November just to bring the cheese packets with us. Also, if you're craving authentic worldly cuisine at a restaurant, St Louis has a bunch to offer. In many of the countries we are visiting, they have only one cuisine: their own.
The US does a good job in supplying basic comforts. In France, they don't believe in air conditioning, and it gets HOT there! Nowadays, you'd never find a shower without a curtain and the water alternating between hot and cold every few seconds in a US home or hotel. In eastern Europe, those are common place. I still don't understand what's so hard about putting a shower curtain up...
Other than the convenience and the comfort, here's a few other things we miss. We don't get to talk Cards baseball, Blues hockey, or popular tv shows. We miss four seasons, familiarity, delivery, the freedom that comes with having a car, and friends.
2) Loneliness
Which leads us to the thing I think we miss the most: our friends and family. It's really hard to maintain meaningful relationships without in-person communication. It's just not the same on video chat, phone, or messaging. Going home this November and spending time with everyone recharged us in a way. Conversations were deep and meaningful rather than surface "how long have you been travelling" talk we get from most people we meet along our journeys.
Which leads us to the thing I think we miss the most: our friends and family. It's really hard to maintain meaningful relationships without in-person communication. It's just not the same on video chat, phone, or messaging. Going home this November and spending time with everyone recharged us in a way. Conversations were deep and meaningful rather than surface "how long have you been travelling" talk we get from most people we meet along our journeys.
Travelling as a working couple brings an unexpected challenge. As a traveler, if you see someone sitting alone at the hostel bar, you'll go up and talk to them (everyone likes to talk in hostel bars). But if that person already is paired up, you'll probably look elsewhere. So it comes to us to make the effort. And we do, often. But when those people are in their early 20's and travelling for vacation, they've got a whole different mindset than us. They don't really want to hang out with a married couple in their 30's who have work obligations. It's hard to find like minded people, but we still try. Nevertheless, we go through phases of intense loneliness because of this. Because we know how social we tend to be, we really don't think this lifestyle can be permanent for us.
Note: this post is mainly about our nomad lifestyle, not just living abroad. In Panama we had a great network of friends to keep us from being lonely.
Note: this post is mainly about our nomad lifestyle, not just living abroad. In Panama we had a great network of friends to keep us from being lonely.
3) Wifi
One of those things you really don't think about in the US: connectivity. We think about it every day. When we get to a restaurant or a new hostel the first thing we do is ask for their Wifi. Sure, we could try to get international phone plans or a mobile hotspot, but those are usually costly. We're on a budget, and honestly, we've become used to it. Did you know you can download maps and use your phones geolocation abilities even when it's in airplane mode? I'm actually embarrassed that I only found this out two months ago from a fellow traveler from Germany. It's a lifesaver when navigating new cities.
One of those things you really don't think about in the US: connectivity. We think about it every day. When we get to a restaurant or a new hostel the first thing we do is ask for their Wifi. Sure, we could try to get international phone plans or a mobile hotspot, but those are usually costly. We're on a budget, and honestly, we've become used to it. Did you know you can download maps and use your phones geolocation abilities even when it's in airplane mode? I'm actually embarrassed that I only found this out two months ago from a fellow traveler from Germany. It's a lifesaver when navigating new cities.
4) Lack of Routine
It is impossible to have a routine with this lifestyle. We knew it going into this and we tried to prepare for it, to no avail. We are CRAVING routine. Our life is one of constant change and transition. In Panama, we were working out regularly, and we loved the positive change it brought into our life. It's hard to find gyms while travelling, but we still try: a treadmill in our Paris hostel, paying for a month gym membership (when we were only using it for a week) in Madrid, walking up and down stairs in Croatia, etc.
It is impossible to have a routine with this lifestyle. We knew it going into this and we tried to prepare for it, to no avail. We are CRAVING routine. Our life is one of constant change and transition. In Panama, we were working out regularly, and we loved the positive change it brought into our life. It's hard to find gyms while travelling, but we still try: a treadmill in our Paris hostel, paying for a month gym membership (when we were only using it for a week) in Madrid, walking up and down stairs in Croatia, etc.
5) Missing Denali
This was one of the hardest parts about leaving home. Our dog is so great for us and we miss him greatly. Luckily, my brother Tommy is providing him with a loving, active environment and sends us pictures and videos often. They still don't replace snuggle times on the couch or hiking through the woods, but they'll suffice.
This was one of the hardest parts about leaving home. Our dog is so great for us and we miss him greatly. Luckily, my brother Tommy is providing him with a loving, active environment and sends us pictures and videos often. They still don't replace snuggle times on the couch or hiking through the woods, but they'll suffice.
Random Extras
So what do we do if when there isn't a clothes dryer (which there usually isn't)? Most people have these cool contraptions which fold out and create an in-home laundry line that can fit almost two whole loads in minimal space. If we can find one of these back home, we're going to get one to use occasionally to save on energy costs (and to avoid us leaving laundry in the dryer downstairs!).
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We like to sprinkle in AirBnB's amidst the hostels because having a kitchen is pretty nice. Not only does it save on money, but it gives us a chance to try cooking with local ingredients. The ads say that the kitchens are fully stocked, but that must mean different things to different people. We had to cut onions with butter knives in France because there were no sharp knives. Of the 15 or so AirBnB's we stayed, only one of them had Tupperware for leftovers. In Bulgaria, there were only pots, no pans. Try frying an egg in a pot. We just avoided that issue by going for the scrambled variety. Usually kitchens are pretty good at supplying basics like oil, salt, pepper, and other spices, but an empty pantry has happened often enough for us to have our own travelling spice kit.