A question for everyone...which destination is at the top of your list once travel opens up again? Let us know in the comments! We shared our travel bucket list in a recent video: bit.ly/2zRi3nQ
My hubby and I just found you. We’re retiring early in 5 1/2 years and selling everything to slow travel the world. We normally do 1 month vacations every year but will be cutting back on that now that we are getting closer to retiring. Your channel is helpful with all your realistic information and details. Thank you!
Thanks so much for your comment -- it's great to hear that you find our videos helpful! 😊 It sounds like you're closing in on your early retirement goal. We also cut back on travel as we got closer to the finish line...especially because we knew we would have all the time in the world for travel once we were done work!
Our Freedom Years It’s early but I’ll be 60. We’re a young 60 though :-) I’m in law enforcement and we both scuba dive (even in Alaska) and do thru hikes. I wish I’d started saving more when I was in my 30s. But I have a sizeable government pension and that was not motivating us to save hard. Now I am! More of a nest egg won’t hurt.
@@frontiermusings Between the thru hiking and the scuba, it sounds like you have some amazing adventures ahead! Those are both very impressive activities. And I'm sure everyone wishes they did something different when they were younger. If it makes you feel better, we're sharing our biggest financial mistakes next week!
Great to hear and welcome to the channel! If you liked that video, you might enjoy our cost of living series: bit.ly/2IhC47Y We share monthly costs for all the countries we've visited. 😊
Great video. I'm going to begin slow traveling as soon as other countries open up to folks from the US; unfortunately this may not be until after November. It would be great if I could tag along with you guys until I get my feet wet, as you guys are very knowledgeable and seem to be great to travel with.
Hi Glenn, glad you enjoyed the video! We will continue to share our experiences so you can prepare for your own slow travels down the road. All the best on your journey ahead!
We lived 8 years in Tokyo and 4 years in Hong Kong as expats. We loved it. But our longest time « backpacking » on the road, or travelling, was 3 months. We discovered and volunteered in Bolivia and Argentinia. We realized that our daily expense, including the flights snd hotels, were the same as if we had stayed in Montreal (and that was accounting for our fixed costs in Montreal as well). We are making a budget since. Not because we need it, but to have a better idea of 1) our daily or monthly expenses, and 2) where our money actually go. Everybody should make a budget! We dont have a car. I realized that I couldn’t live in a car dependant city. Plus, a car is a huge fixed cost to carry, not to mentioned its about $1.2 million over 25 years on opportunity cost. So, having no cars means early retirement…
Great content, I’m curious on the health insurance need and cost while you travel internationally. Could you please elaborate on this topic in your future videos? Thank you !
Hi Fred - Great to hear that enjoyed it! Our current insurer is Cigna and we'll be providing all the details in a video in the next few weeks. Stay tuned! 😊
Wife and I enjoy watching every week. We are going a bit stir crazy with the 'shelter in place' fun =( Looking to go to our place in Panama when that country opens up, a trip to Japan to visit family and Spain are all high on our list of countries to visit next. Keep it up!
Hi John - It's so great to hear that we've made it into your weekly rotation! We're also very ready to get back to our travelling. Sounds like you've got some great plans lined up for when borders open. 😀
Glad it was helpful! If you're looking for actual costs from life on the road, we have a series with the cost of living from each of our destinations bit.ly/2IhC47Y
My budget never changes. I live off of a specific amount every month, regardless of where I am located. When traveling, I spend a bit more because of the flights, but I have a flight/travel fund line item in my budget. I save here and there from different line items depending on if a place is cheaper or not. If I spend "less" than expected, I add this left over money to my travel fund. If I spend a little more, then I take it out of the travel fund but the previous month I had money left over so it's okay. I try to not go over my budget. It doesn't matter if I spend more on food vs accommodations, or what have you, whichever way it turns out the cap will be the same.
Sounds like you do a really good job managing your budget! 😊 We are much the same. We've found that we spend roughly the same amount each month but, of course, the value that we get in each destination varies quite a bit. In low-cost countries, we get to enjoy lots of meals out. In high-cost countries, it's all about the home cooking!
Hi Mette - A great addition to the list! We would love to someday travel to Greenland and Faroe Islands. Very expensive so it would definitely be something to save up for! 😊
Working through these topics....can you present what gear you must travel with....luggage ,tech etc.....what is a waste if time I would be really interested...so glad found your channel
Well done! We traveled to Australia for one month but covered much of the country. Now we want to stay in one location for about one month each location. We are expecting mid range for lower cost ares.
Hi Erin - So glad you enjoyed it! Slow travel in Australia sounds like an amazing adventure. We went a couple times while we were living in Singapore but only saw a small part of the country. Would love to go back and see more. 😊
Wow! I'm surprised how inexpensive it is to slow travel outside of the US. I'm amazed you only spend $2600 a year for flights, $900 a month on air bnb's and $700 a month on food! It's less expensive to retire and slow travel the world then live in the US! I'm grounded for now, but look forward to my Nomadic Life once it's safe to do so. First place I want to go is Greece. How are you dealing with the cost of Toronto? I've heard it's expensive and I'm sure you busted your housing budget for the month. Could you do a video on the monthly cost of life in Toronto? Thanks for the content. I see your channel has really grown since the pandemic.
Hi Kimberley - Yes, it does cost a lot less to travel outside the US or Canada...just one of the reasons we love nomadic life so much! And you must have read our minds...we have a cost of living video about Toronto coming out on July 2nd. The rents are much more expensive that what we experienced in other countries but we had a lot of savings in other categories since we were stuck at home. Hopefully it all balances out! 😊
@@OurFreedomYears Hi, we're new subscribers to your channel and truly enjoy the simple, yet powerful presentation in your videos. Just a quick comment here... Like everything else in life, you get what you pay. A well researched, smart and adaptive nomadic world travel lifestyle can be less costly but some people may not always enjoy using public transportation and eating home cooked meals most of the week. In the US, and I assume also in Canada, some of us just love our creature comforts ;) So, WE see it as an adventure rather than an alternative (cheaper) lifestyle. Not factoring in the outrageous cost of healthcare in the US, we might end up close to breaking even after 5 years. My wife and I retired early (not quite as early as you) at the end of 2019 and started our backpacking worldwide journey in Portugal in early February. COVID put a quick end to our plans and we've been "stuck" here ever since, although "stuck" in a very positive sense. We'll soon be moving to our 3rd destination in Portugal, all while gathering insights into the cost, culture and challenges this beautiful country and people have to offer. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to travel internationally again soon. (Croatia will be our next destination)
@@DG-kr4jk Welcome to the channel! So great to hear that you're enjoying it. We agree 100% that many people -- including us -- aren't keen to live frugally forever. We've planned our retirement in two phases with a little more comfort as we get older. We have a video coming out on this topic in a few weeks -- stay tuned! Very envious to hear that you're off to Croatia next...we were supposed to go in April but ended up in Canada due to all the travel bans. We hope to make our way there and to the rest of the Balkans once borders are open again. Good luck with all your travels!
Love the under handed mention of US health system. Seriously, it's often cheaper to fly out of US and do your medical service, even if you have insurance! The health costs over there are a travesty, can't believe these people don't consider healthcare as a human right. Your transportation budget is quite low for 2 people! I guess sticking to one area and low-cost airlines can work. Have you considered touring the US national parks? It would be a different experience than living in cities, but would really tick off the "getting into nature" box!
Our transportation budget was quite low...and we ended up blowing through it due to all the extra flights with COVID! 😂 We had expected to do a lot of overland travel through Europe but ended up flying home to Canada for months of lockdown instead. US National Parks are definitely on our list for a future time when we make our way back to North America.
MissThing1313 - As an American, I agree completely with your statements about our health care system. It’s a travesty that health care is a for-profit business in the US (and an extremely profitable one at that.) The ACA helps quite a bit, if you meet the income limits, and HSAs are a great retirement savings tool but that’s it.
You don't need to pay for ATM fees with a Charles Schwab checking account - not sure if it is available for Canada, but we use it in USA. I haven't had to pay any ATM fees with that debit card when traveling abroad... check into it (they also open for you an investor account at the same time - I never bothered with it, don't care about it, and there are no fees for it or for checking. It may be that that's how they make their money for swallowing all those ATM fees...).
Sure, here is the place we stayed at in Lecce: www.airbnb.com/rooms/32981391?source_impression_id=p3_1603196497_P5XKQOaEFcYQvEsn The host was excellent and manages a lot of other properties.
Here's a detailed breakdown of our monthly budget bit.ly/2NcrKDZ However, we find it more helpful to look at on an annual basis, as some destination cost more and others cost less.
A question for everyone...which destination is at the top of your list once travel opens up again? Let us know in the comments! We shared our travel bucket list in a recent video: bit.ly/2zRi3nQ
My hubby and I just found you. We’re retiring early in 5 1/2 years and selling everything to slow travel the world. We normally do 1 month vacations every year but will be cutting back on that now that we are getting closer to retiring.
Your channel is helpful with all your realistic information and details. Thank you!
Thanks so much for your comment -- it's great to hear that you find our videos helpful! 😊 It sounds like you're closing in on your early retirement goal. We also cut back on travel as we got closer to the finish line...especially because we knew we would have all the time in the world for travel once we were done work!
Our Freedom Years It’s early but I’ll be 60. We’re a young 60 though :-) I’m in law enforcement and we both scuba dive (even in Alaska) and do thru hikes. I wish I’d started saving more when I was in my 30s. But I have a sizeable government pension and that was not motivating us to save hard. Now I am! More of a nest egg won’t hurt.
@@frontiermusings Between the thru hiking and the scuba, it sounds like you have some amazing adventures ahead! Those are both very impressive activities. And I'm sure everyone wishes they did something different when they were younger. If it makes you feel better, we're sharing our biggest financial mistakes next week!
FINALLY, a video on my level of finding ways to budget, great video. I think I’m going to smash the like button and subscribe.
Great to hear and welcome to the channel! If you liked that video, you might enjoy our cost of living series: bit.ly/2IhC47Y We share monthly costs for all the countries we've visited. 😊
Great video. I'm going to begin slow traveling as soon as other countries open up to folks from the US; unfortunately this may not be until after November. It would be great if I could tag along with you guys until I get my feet wet, as you guys are very knowledgeable and seem to be great to travel with.
Hi Glenn, glad you enjoyed the video! We will continue to share our experiences so you can prepare for your own slow travels down the road. All the best on your journey ahead!
We lived 8 years in Tokyo and 4 years in Hong Kong as expats. We loved it.
But our longest time « backpacking » on the road, or travelling, was 3 months. We discovered and volunteered in Bolivia and Argentinia.
We realized that our daily expense, including the flights snd hotels, were the same as if we had stayed in Montreal (and that was accounting for our fixed costs in Montreal as well).
We are making a budget since. Not because we need it, but to have a better idea of 1) our daily or monthly expenses, and 2) where our money actually go. Everybody should make a budget!
We dont have a car. I realized that I couldn’t live in a car dependant city. Plus, a car is a huge fixed cost to carry, not to mentioned its about $1.2 million over 25 years on opportunity cost. So, having no cars means early retirement…
😊
Great content, I’m curious on the health insurance need and cost while you travel internationally. Could you please elaborate on this topic in your future videos? Thank you !
Hi Fred - Great to hear that enjoyed it! Our current insurer is Cigna and we'll be providing all the details in a video in the next few weeks. Stay tuned! 😊
Hi Fred - We just launched a video all about our medical insurance. You can check it out here: bit.ly/3hWbnFL
Thank you , already watched it : ) it’s tricky that my “home” country is United States .
@@fredwang2004 We hear you! It's always more complicated for health insurance for those from the US!
Very good - I don't understand why you don't have more subscribers as your videos are interesting and useful.
Too kind - thanks very much! 😊
Very very helpful. Keep it up. Good luck!!
Thank you! 😊 You might also like our cost of living series to see how much we spent in each destination bit.ly/2IhC47Y
Another excellent video. Information packed and well produced. Thanks.
Hi Ron - Glad you enjoyed it! We had fun making it. 😊
Love your videos. Just shared with a friend that is planning to take a one year sabbatical to travel in 2021!
Thanks so much for watching -- we really appreciate to. Glad to hear that this one could be helpful for your friend. 😊
Freakin Awesome!!! Thank you
Glad you liked it!! We have a more recent video about how much we spent on a full year of travel bit.ly/3qSyxkN
Sharing this with the wife as we might have this in our future. Thanks for the info
So glad it was helpful! Good luck with planning your travels. We're also looking forward to getting back on the road.
One month in Greece, Rhodes, Crete, Myconos, corphu then one month in Rome and Florence all with trains and buses all budget places.
Sounds like an amazing itinerary! 😊
Wife and I enjoy watching every week. We are going a bit stir crazy with the 'shelter in place' fun =( Looking to go to our place in Panama when that country opens up, a trip to Japan to visit family and Spain are all high on our list of countries to visit next. Keep it up!
Hi John - It's so great to hear that we've made it into your weekly rotation! We're also very ready to get back to our travelling. Sounds like you've got some great plans lined up for when borders open. 😀
Great, well-organized content - Thanks!
Glad it was helpful! If you're looking for actual costs from life on the road, we have a series with the cost of living from each of our destinations bit.ly/2IhC47Y
My budget never changes. I live off of a specific amount every month, regardless of where I am located. When traveling, I spend a bit more because of the flights, but I have a flight/travel fund line item in my budget. I save here and there from different line items depending on if a place is cheaper or not. If I spend "less" than expected, I add this left over money to my travel fund. If I spend a little more, then I take it out of the travel fund but the previous month I had money left over so it's okay. I try to not go over my budget. It doesn't matter if I spend more on food vs accommodations, or what have you, whichever way it turns out the cap will be the same.
Sounds like you do a really good job managing your budget! 😊 We are much the same. We've found that we spend roughly the same amount each month but, of course, the value that we get in each destination varies quite a bit. In low-cost countries, we get to enjoy lots of meals out. In high-cost countries, it's all about the home cooking!
These homegirls are hella cool man
Thanks!! 😊 You can catch our latest adventures in Serbia bit.ly/3lhUzwf
I would like to go many places around the world. I would like to mention.... though it is quite expensive.... Greenland and Faroe Islands....
Hi Mette - A great addition to the list! We would love to someday travel to Greenland and Faroe Islands. Very expensive so it would definitely be something to save up for! 😊
Our Freedom Years ❄️absolutely 😍❤️
Working through these topics....can you present what gear you must travel with....luggage ,tech etc.....what is a waste if time I would be really interested...so glad found your channel
Glad you found us as well! Here's a link to our complete packing list bit.ly/37xvK9V Let us know if you have any questions 😊
Lots of information, thank you.
So great to hear! Glad you enjoyed it.
This is really helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! Glad to hear that it was helpful!
Well done! We traveled to Australia for one month but covered much of the country. Now we want to stay in one location for about one month each location. We are expecting mid range for lower cost ares.
Hi Erin - So glad you enjoyed it! Slow travel in Australia sounds like an amazing adventure. We went a couple times while we were living in Singapore but only saw a small part of the country. Would love to go back and see more. 😊
Wow! I'm surprised how inexpensive it is to slow travel outside of the US. I'm amazed you only spend $2600 a year for flights, $900 a month on air bnb's and $700 a month on food! It's less expensive to retire and slow travel the world then live in the US! I'm grounded for now, but look forward to my Nomadic Life once it's safe to do so. First place I want to go is Greece. How are you dealing with the cost of Toronto? I've heard it's expensive and I'm sure you busted your housing budget for the month. Could you do a video on the monthly cost of life in Toronto? Thanks for the content. I see your channel has really grown since the pandemic.
Hi Kimberley - Yes, it does cost a lot less to travel outside the US or Canada...just one of the reasons we love nomadic life so much! And you must have read our minds...we have a cost of living video about Toronto coming out on July 2nd. The rents are much more expensive that what we experienced in other countries but we had a lot of savings in other categories since we were stuck at home. Hopefully it all balances out! 😊
@@OurFreedomYears Hi, we're new subscribers to your channel and truly enjoy the simple, yet powerful presentation in your videos.
Just a quick comment here... Like everything else in life, you get what you pay. A well researched, smart and adaptive nomadic world travel lifestyle can be less costly but some people may not always enjoy using public transportation and eating home cooked meals most of the week. In the US, and I assume also in Canada, some of us just love our creature comforts ;)
So, WE see it as an adventure rather than an alternative (cheaper) lifestyle.
Not factoring in the outrageous cost of healthcare in the US, we might end up close to breaking even after 5 years.
My wife and I retired early (not quite as early as you) at the end of 2019 and started our backpacking worldwide journey in Portugal in early February. COVID put a quick end to our plans and we've been "stuck" here ever since, although "stuck" in a very positive sense. We'll soon be moving to our 3rd destination in Portugal, all while gathering insights into the cost, culture and challenges this beautiful country and people have to offer.
Keep up the good work!
Looking forward to travel internationally again soon.
(Croatia will be our next destination)
@@DG-kr4jk Welcome to the channel! So great to hear that you're enjoying it. We agree 100% that many people -- including us -- aren't keen to live frugally forever. We've planned our retirement in two phases with a little more comfort as we get older. We have a video coming out on this topic in a few weeks -- stay tuned!
Very envious to hear that you're off to Croatia next...we were supposed to go in April but ended up in Canada due to all the travel bans. We hope to make our way there and to the rest of the Balkans once borders are open again. Good luck with all your travels!
Love the under handed mention of US health system. Seriously, it's often cheaper to fly out of US and do your medical service, even if you have insurance! The health costs over there are a travesty, can't believe these people don't consider healthcare as a human right.
Your transportation budget is quite low for 2 people! I guess sticking to one area and low-cost airlines can work. Have you considered touring the US national parks? It would be a different experience than living in cities, but would really tick off the "getting into nature" box!
Our transportation budget was quite low...and we ended up blowing through it due to all the extra flights with COVID! 😂 We had expected to do a lot of overland travel through Europe but ended up flying home to Canada for months of lockdown instead.
US National Parks are definitely on our list for a future time when we make our way back to North America.
MissThing1313 - As an American, I agree completely with your statements about our health care system. It’s a travesty that health care is a for-profit business in the US (and an extremely profitable one at that.) The ACA helps quite a bit, if you meet the income limits, and HSAs are a great retirement savings tool but that’s it.
@@tobirates916 Great points - thanks for sharing. We often feel very grateful for the Canadian health care system.
You don't need to pay for ATM fees with a Charles Schwab checking account - not sure if it is available for Canada, but we use it in USA. I haven't had to pay any ATM fees with that debit card when traveling abroad... check into it (they also open for you an investor account at the same time - I never bothered with it, don't care about it, and there are no fees for it or for checking. It may be that that's how they make their money for swallowing all those ATM fees...).
Thanks -- this is a great point for all the Americans. We would LOVE to have Charles Schwab account but sadly it's not available for Canadians.
What mail service, ?
We actually no longer use a mail service; you can find more details in this blog post: ourfreedomyears.com/logistics-of-our-life-on-the-road/
Hi! Can you possibly advise where you stayed in Lecce? Many thanks.
Sure, here is the place we stayed at in Lecce: www.airbnb.com/rooms/32981391?source_impression_id=p3_1603196497_P5XKQOaEFcYQvEsn
The host was excellent and manages a lot of other properties.
@@OurFreedomYears Thank you so much!
@@pandasandmoore Happy to help!
What is the budget that you are trying to stick to by the way?
Here's a detailed breakdown of our monthly budget bit.ly/2NcrKDZ However, we find it more helpful to look at on an annual basis, as some destination cost more and others cost less.