Ten years ago, at 60 years old, I retired from my job as a Physical Therapist in Florida after working for 20 years. Then I started traveling seven times a year out of the United states, going to Europe, Middle East and Asia. That was the best decision I made in my life.
How wonderful for you, Charley! You figured it out! We have been SO happy to be on the road full time, but for someone who may want to keep a home base, what you did is terrific. There is so much of the world we still want to explore! Thank you so much for watching! -Judy Here's a link to our full series of destination videos in case you want to watch any of our travel videos: 🎥 Destination videos-Where we've been and what to see there: :th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF2OYZTcetBlx-SMkML1H5nR.html
Your story is truly inspirational. I have a whole career and terrified to give it up out of fear of not having enough money to take care of myself when I'm older but working is exhausting now . I don't have the energy to enjoy life. I love to travel and dream of staying in various countries for months at a time. I'm 58 and trying to figure it all out. Your video has some thought provoking ideas, thank you.
Hi Maia, It's a normal fear to be worried about not having enough money. We don't have a huge stockpile of cash, either. But I guess we were more terrified of a life unlived. Thank you for sharing so vulnerably with us about your struggles. Kevin and I have been together for over 45 years. If something were to happen to one or the other of us, who knows if we will want to travel without the other. We knew that physically we could travel now, our family situation isn't perfect, but we knew it could work. I guess we worried more about having regrets. It's not an easy thing to sort out, so we wish you courage as you consider your options and think things through. Also, this Saturday, we share 5 "secrets" that are rarely talked about regarding full-time travel, which may be helpful to you. -Judy 🎥Why We're Never Returning to Live in the US in Retirement: th-cam.com/video/xeTdMPRgkWM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=75dBTUPsSgBneEkl
We did exactly what you guys did… we quit our jobs at 51 and 53, sold it all and are nomads. Best life decision ever. We also make content as part of our journey. Thanks for the upload.
Thanks for watching, Jay and Sarah. We wish you many happy adventures and the best of luck with your channel. We wish we had started traveling full time at your age, but we are glad we didn't wait any longer! -Judy
I’ve been watching you guys for months and this is the most animated and cogent and passionate I’ve seen you guys! Clearly you believe in what you’re doing and your desire to spread the word is palpable. Also great ideas unique from all the other slow travel vids. I think being comfortable with not every single thing being known is so important; that’s what I’m feeling from you guys. This vid was so enjoyable. Thanks!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Catherine! And you sum it up well; we are comfortable not having all the answers but instead trusting ourselves and the universe that if we are doing the right things and keep open minds, things will work out. That's not the same as being a Pollyanna and not having an awareness of the challenges you might face or being completely irresponsible. But thinking unconventionally has worked well for us our entire lives! -Judy
You two are so lucky you’re both on the same page! I don’t think that happens too often. I’m single so can do whatever I want, but wouldn’t mind finding someone on my same page with how I want to spend the rest of my life!
Hi Anne, We are extremely grateful that we are so well aligned and we don't take that for granted at all. I love that you aren't allowing your single status to hold you back, because it absolutely shouldn't. I think someone interested in having new experiences and following their dreams is likely to attract others looking for the same things! Best of luck to you! -Judy
It happens more often then you think. First you ha e to find your direct opposite then your strengths double,and you'll never be lonely. Been married to my mate for 45 years and we still love just us,the kids can find us.
Congratulations on so many happy years together, James! We met in 1979 and were married in 1983 (so almost 41 years of marriage). My mother always used to say that we practically raised each other! We are so happy to hear that you found your soulmate. Having each other is a precious gift! -Judy
I’m so pleased to have found your channel! The trending travel channels are seemingly saturated with invincible Gen Z’ers with different interests than mine. Your practical, slow approach to travel and emphasis on healthcare fills a void in this arena of travel documentaries. I look forward to watching the rest of your episodes. Please consider creating videos (if you haven’t already) about the best way to exchange currency, strategies for the basics (what are the first things you do after you arrive, from discovering transportation to grocery shopping to laundry to dental and healthcare). I imagine they’re different almost every time. How did you know Japan has inexpensive glasses or the quality of care in Serbia? Thank you and I look forward to more videos!
Hi Sharon, We are delighted that you found us! Thank you for the video suggestions. We have talked about exchanging currency in some of our destination videos, but we've not focused on it as a topic for a video (yet!). Some of the basics are covered somewhat in this old, old video that I'll link below about a day in the life of a full-time traveler. I'll also include additional resources I think you'll find helpful. As far as eyeglasses in Japan, we knew we needed to get new glasses because the film covering our lenses in ours had worn down in a few spots. We took a chance that Japan might have good medical tourism for vision, and it does. There is a lot of myopia in Japan! The thing to know is that when you get an eye exam there, it's primarily focused on getting the prescription right, not so much about eye health. So we were disappointed that despite a lot of high-tech equipment, they didn't really check for glaucoma or dilate our eyes like we've had done in the US. For a more robust checkup, you need to schedule an appointment with an ophthalmologist. We had health checkups in Thailand, but the hospital we used did a very perfunctory eye exam that wasn't what we hoped it would be, so that would be something you'd want to arrange separately. The surgery Kevin had in Serbia was very needed, so we didn't have a ton of options. We were in Vienna when the issue arose, but we didn't have time to stay for a surgery since we didn't have enough Schengen days available. However, we did a search for medical tourism, saw that there were good hospitals and clinics, notified our healthcare provider for permission, and then used one of their recommendations. The treatment itself, the speed of getting an initial appointment and then getting scheduled for surgery was unbelievably prompt, and the care overall was outstanding. Thanks for these great ideas and questions. -Judy 🎥 Full Time Nomad Life-What do we do all day: th-cam.com/video/q3kSQMptyEU/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Medical checkups in Thailand: th-cam.com/video/pypr82ddWG8/w-d-xo.html ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: 🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html 🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html 🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads): 📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
Hi Juan, We completely agree. However, our corporate jobs didn't allow a lot of time for us to be away. In 2022 when I wanted to take a two-week vacation, I was by my boss that I should be very grateful to be allowed to take off that much time at once. I was working in a place with unlimited PTO. The second vacation I tried to take (with a new boss, but the same company), I was told that if I wanted to be approved for the time, I needed to bring my laptop and get work done in the mornings and evenings. Corporate America doesn't do a great job of giving people time off to "travel as they go." -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie you are correct. ✅ I am a school teacher by profession and I am blessed to have summer, winter, spring and many holidays off work. Life is too short and living in peace is imperative. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with others.
Hi Juan, Teaching is a noble and challenging profession. You deserve every bit of time off that you can get! We so agree about life being too short! -Judy
Wonderful video with great advice, and I could not agree more! My husband and I both had decent jobs and although we did not live super frugally, we made saving via our 401-Ks and paying off debt a priority. My husband hadan unexpected health problem at age 48 that was a giant wake-up call for us. We decided that we would retire no later than 55 with whatever we had saved and would build our lifestyle around that. We actually retired even a little earlier than planned. That was 11 years ago and we have never looked back. Sure, we could have kept working and had a lot more money, but money doesnt but time! Do whatever it is you want to do now, because world events and life events could change everything overnight.
Hi Linda, Yes, we too had some unexpected expenses in caring for my father for many years who couldn't live on his own without our financial support. We bought a larger home so he could eventually live with us when his health declined, but we couldn't have imagined doing anything differently. For many years I was a stay-at-home mother and we made a lot of financial sacrifices to do it. But when I eventually went back to work, I didn't see myself ever wanting to stop working...until my work changed and I got seriously burnt out during the long hours I worked during the pandemic. Kevin's father died at 61 and my adopted mother died at 56, so we knew that no tomorrows were ever guaranteed to us. Choosing our health over continuing to acquire more wealth was one of the wisest things we have ever done. I'm sorry that your husband suferent some health issues at such a young age. That must have been terrifying, but it sounds like it helped you to reprioritize your lives. Finding my birth family helped me to reprioritize as well, and I am so grateful! Thank you so much for watching and sharing about your life! -Judy
What an incredible journey, so far! Hats off to following your heart and taking the leap. I'm still loving everything you all are sharing through the channel, and wish you both the best! 🎉
Thank you, David! We appreciate your kind words very much! It's been beyond wonderful for us. Whether it was wise or prudent, the jury is still out, but once we decided to take the leap, we didn't spend much time questioning ourselves or overthinking it. We truly believe that if there's a will, there's a way, and we're so glad that we have remained flexible and open minded about what we're doing and living this lifestyle. -Judy
Stu and I also took the less conventional path to retirement in 2012, when he was 60 & me 50. We gave everything away, rented out our house and hit the road and travelled the world as full time house sitters. Like you, we only travel with a carry-on and backpack each. The road less travelled has given us the opportunity to be local-tourists all over the world and we’ve got to try-on life experiences we’d otherwise never have - from cattle farming to running horse agistments, luxury penthouse living to council housing flats, we’ve done it all! We decided to retire from our retirement in 2022 and did our last and 150th house sit in early 2023. We’re now looking forward to the next chapter 🎉 Enjoy your travels, stay safe and above all, keep a good sense of humour when things go wrong, for they will!
Wow That's so impressive! What interesting experiences you both have had-you truly embraced an unconventional but fascinating path! 150 house sits is incredible! We wish you all the best as this next phase unfolds for you. We'd love to know what you do next, but I'm sure you'll find it satisfying with the attitude you both seem to have. We agree about how necessary it is to have a sense of humor. Have you seen our episode on our Top 5 Mistakes While Traveling? It should give you a few chuckles! -Judy 🎥 Our Top 5 Travel Mistakes: th-cam.com/video/GnIQKrEupoU/w-d-xo.html
Oh, thank you for your kind words 🙏🏼 Yes, we did see that episode and did have a giggle! We’ve loved all our ‘mistakes’; sometimes you make the right decision, other times you make the decision right!
Hi @catherine8332, The word we used was "ageism," which is basically being passed over for a job because you will cost too much and a company thinks someone younger can do the same job more cheaply, or for some reason there's a feeling that someone younger will be more relatable. -Judy
Wow, Heather! Thank you for the huge compliment! Not sure if you have thought about full-time or extended travel, but if so, our episode this week is all about some rarely talked about ideas that you might not have heard before. -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
This is a very well done! You're doing a great job with the channel, but also with your journey and experiences and lifestyle!! Keep up the great work and hopefully some day our paths will cross!!
Thank you so much, Dan! We appreciate your kind words and encouragement! It means the world to us! Please let us know if you will be nearby us, we would absolutely love to meet up! -Judy
No she is right some friends are only for the time you share ,once that's over the friendship is over not all friendships are meant to be long lasting and inn the process you enjoyed the time you shared
Hi @g.williams7740, Thanks for watching and for sharing your own experiences. We have made lovely, strong friendships over the course of our working careers, but only a fraction of those people are ones we'd continue to see, and some are spread all over the world as we've moved or they have. But we continue to stay in touch with many of them by text or email or social media. But they aren't friendships that we have to maintain in person. However, we're more likely to discover that we'll be somewhere in the world where they happen to be traveling and then meet up. Those are wonderful surprises! -Judy
I needed to see this video!!! Thank you for sharing!!😊😃😁 I’m Retiring in 2 weeks at the YOUNG age of 64+ years!!! I will have my 40th work Anniversary on my last day!!🎉
Hi Rosie! We are so excited for you! Forty years at one company is a real rarity these days. I hope you have been with a company that has treated you well. But now is YOUR TIME! Do you have plans for your retirement, or are you just excited to see what each new day brings?! We have a full series about downsizing for retirement if that's at all something you're interested in. -Judy 🎥 Downsizing for Retirement or Full-Time Travel Series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF2xRusfMEQvN-5LZZqdnQIf.html
I traveled with my husband for 7 years around the world, and then we took a permanent residence in France. It's been 18 wonderful years in France. It is coming to an end because my husband, age 99, died 7 months ago. I want to travel the world again, but I am concerned about traveling as a widow. .I am 78. Travel insurance stops at age 79. I am healthy. I take No medications. I wonder if I should just risk paying for my health care no matter what happens without insurance.
We are so sorry about the loss of your husband. It has to be very hard, but your desire to travel again is possible. I have never used this company, but I am seeing that it's possible to get a policy for over 80. I'm also seeing places that offer an over-80 rider. If you're able to afford health insurance, I think you should get it. Our policy has a high deductible, but it does cover us for catastrophic events. If you have an emergency, most countries will fix you up, but if you need to be evacuated or transported, those costs can get pretty high. It's wonderful that you are in good health and don't need medications. We hope that lasts for the foreseeable future for you and that you resume your world travels and enjoy this next phase of your life. I'm sure there will be so many people you encounter who will be inspired by what you are doing! -Judy 🩺 Travel insurance if you're over 80: www.gocompare.com/travel-insurance/over-80s/
@agnesm9528 I'll let @ParisianThinker weigh in, but you will have to get a long-stay visa to live in France for more than three consecutive months if you are not a citizen of the EU, and that requires you to show proof of income, among other things. Of course, you can follow the Schengen rules and stay 90/180 days so technically you can be there for 90 days, leave for 90 and go back in. We haven't traveled there extensively enough to give you informed opinions of best places to live (although we currently are in Colmar, France right now!). -Judy 🎥 The Schengen 90/180 Rule Explained in 60 Seconds: th-cam.com/users/shorts3VhQ-jbMRAs
You are an inspiration for me, as long as you can travel, dont ever stop. Im sorry for you lost❤ life is happening right now as we speak, so go for it, and just be careful, and have fun❤🎉
A huge factor that helped me decide to pursue happiness instead of more money after losing my job 3 months ago (30 years at the same company) was an online retirement planner. It helped me realize even with pessimistic assumptions I shouldn't have to ever work again and can retire at 55. Just got back from a month-long motorbike trip in Vietnam and planning for Thailand in a few months!
Way to turn lemons into lemonade! Be safe on that motorbike, but have an amazing time in Thailand. We have some videos from there and Chiang Mai if you plan to spend any time there. It's unnerving to lose your job after 30 years, which does exemplify how little most companies care about your many years of loyal service, but I'm so glad that you ended up winning despite it all. -Judy 🎥 Thailand video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF3cqPH8_O_WDVYgoT13KJRq.html
@@FindingGinaMarie I'm not sure what our route will be so I'm definitely saving your Thailand link. Ha yes, we are all just numbers for our employers. You're right about safety. I'm getting full bike gear this time! Thanks for the detailed reply.
Hey there! My husband and I feel like we can really relate to you. Nick just celebrated his 51st birthday, and I'm 47, but I've always had this mindset ever since we moved to the US. I've been feeling like a prisoner of my own life circumstances for so long, and I feel stuck. I believe there's so much more to life than what we've created up to this point. When I was listening to you and you started talking about the medical aspect, I thought to myself, "Just go to Serbia," and then, a few minutes later, when you mentioned SRBIJA, I almost fell out of my chair laughing 😊. That is my home country.
Thank you so much for watching, @zkmarija. Serbia is a beautiful country and we are glad to have visited and appreciate all the great medical care Kevin received there. A link to our Serbia episodes are below, but of course, we couldn't explore as much as we'd like, so we definitely would like to return. As far as being a prisoner of your own life, we absolutely understand. But I think that having an awareness is the first step towards change, especially since we only get to live one life on this huge planet of ours. We wish you all the best! -Judy
This hit home. I too am feeling very stuck at 50 and my husband and I already plan to retire early but with two teenagers we're like still going because we want them to launch successfully...still around 4 years to go for that and pay off the mortgage but it's so draining...been working my entire life since I was 15! Been laid off 2 times and i'm working now looking for the end of the 9-5! :(
@@Darkslide99 Thanks for watching! Could you consider an online side hustle that might lift your spirits and which might possibly bring you enough income in a year or two to quit your full-time job? And could you possibly downsize versus keeping the house you're currently in? Just some ideas to be thinking unconventionally when you're feeling boxed in by your circumstances. -Judy
Thank you so much, Lisa, for your kind words. We don't take our relationship for granted at all. We met when I was 14 and Kevin was 16, and we know how rare it is to remain together for 40 years of marriage. We actually have a few articles on our website for couples who aren't as fully aligned on full-time travel. But it makes it so much easier to be in lockstep! Thank you so much for watching! -Judy 📝 Navigating Full-Time Travel as a Couple: findingginamarie.com/articles/what-if-your-spouse-doesnt-want-to-travel-full-time 📝 How to Reduce Stress for Anxious Travelers: findingginamarie.com/articles/how-to-reduce-stress-for-anxious-travelers
We are sort of doing the same! We are in the second boat. We started our journey 4.5 years ago and we are targeting retiring in 4 years. We love the message, new subscribers here!
Thank you so much for watching and for subscribing! Good luck with your growing channel and achieving your retirement goals! It certainly helps when people can plan ahead for it like you are doing. We have a full series regarding full-time travel if that's at all something you plan to do in your retirement. I'll link it below (as well as our downsizing series, which might be useful regardless of whether you will be traveling or not!). -Judy 🎥 Downsizing for Retirement or Full-Time Travel Series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF2xRusfMEQvN-5LZZqdnQIf.html 🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html 🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html 🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads): 📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
Thank you. Love watching people do what they love. We were frugal as can be and now have more money than we will ever need unless something catastrophic happens. We just can't bite the bullet and sell our home and don't want to rent it. Our home is in a beautiful area about 25 miles south of where you were in S.F. so we also have perfect weather. Our costs are so low living in a very expensive area. We do travel a lot but so love walking back into our home. Enjoy you both!
Hi Anne, we hope you have taken steps to retire even if you aren't full-time travelers. We know that it can be hard for people who have lived their lives frugally to spend the fruits of their labors when they have enough funds. We are ecstatic despite some of our circumstances to have stepped out and do what we love. Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to share your life with us. Of course, you do not need to sell your home or rent it if it continues to bring you joy! We know that full-time travel isn't for everyone, and many people who do it still keep a home base. -Judy
@@RosaArdon-mz7py Hopefully @annethall will weigh in. We are living outside of the US in part because we aren't aware of those low cost areas! -Judy 🎥 Why We'll Never Live in the US Again: th-cam.com/video/xeTdMPRgkWM/w-d-xo.html
I am only young, but have already started to feel stuck at the cooperate job, not able to take actual long time off to travel SLOW (which I think is important and enjoyable). Watching your videos solidify my goal of early retirement and at the same time very comforting/ pleasing to see how you been doing it for 2 years and still enjoying. Thanks for sharing
Hi Gi, Thank you so much for watching. You might enjoy our video from last week that talks about our five secrets about full-time travel that might give you some additional encouragement and peace of mind. And truly, nearly two years in and we are enjoying our lives SO MUCH with zero regrets! You definitely can take actions now to set you up for success, especially by reducing your consumerism, which can be hard, but gives you money for traveling! There are so many ways a young person can build financial security through side hustles and remote work. Think unconventionally and best of luck! -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
We are so glad to hear this, Helen! It's an exciting place to be! Let us know if you need any help, encouragement, or anything else. I can't recall if you've seen any of our other episodes, but these might be helpful if you don't already know about them. -Judy 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Our Hard-Earned Advice for Downsizing | Downsizing for Full-Time Travel and Retirement: th-cam.com/video/fSXUQS00agA/w-d-xo.html ✅ Downsizing Prep Worksheet: findingginamarie.com/request-downsizing-prep-worksheet
I retired early and wanted to travel. The longest travel is one month and I was ready to get home. I prefer doing multiple trips lasting three weeks at the most. That's my preference.
We understand! Even as full-time travelers, we take some down days where we aren't over scheduled or are tired from sightseeing. You have to work with what works for you. It sounds like you have figured it out, which is great! Thanks for watching and sharing your views. -Judy
This is what we do. We are gone 50% of the year but like a home base. We downsized our home base and live simply but like the home base. There are so many options in retirement. Glad you like your choice. ❤
Hi, my husband and I retired 1.5yr ago at 58/59. We always thought 62/61 was the age we were striving to reach…in looking back we could have retired at 56/55 but we feared the unknown…once we put our plans in motion we didn’t look back and retirement life is amazing…we have been traveling none stop and enjoying life. Your video is wonderful and educational…I tell people all the time to educate themselves on retirement because it it still reachable for those individuals who are focused and know what it means to life below your means and a penny saved today completes a dollar tomorrow.
Love this video. We are so conditioned in the United States to think there is only one path to retirement, when in reality there are so many alternative ways to live and enjoy life. We are so glad you shared your experience.
Thank you so much for watching, Steph and Chris! We didn't give ourselves a lot of time to overthink things or change our minds, and we don't regret it one bit! Mostly, we didn't want to be people who talked about it and never took action. So glad you are living your dreams, too! -Judy
Thank you so much for this video! I’m absolutely miserable in corporate America, and have been seriously contemplating quitting to become a full time traveler. I am a single mom, so I have to be careful in my decisions, but I have made steps towards this goal and am beyond excited to see what the future holds.
Hi Heather, We can relate. We loved our jobs until we didn't and then it was very hard to even consider starting over anywhere else. We're excited that you have identified a goal and are taking steps to move towards it! We share a lot on our website and on our channel geared to full-time travelers. You might want to look at our playlists and our articles for "Nomads." Reach out any time if you have questions! Thank you so much for watching and sharing with us. -Judy
Hi @carlo6912, You're absolutely right, but that's where thinking differently is so important. Identifying that your life is not making you happy (or is unfulfilling) is the first step. Once you recognize it, you can work towards coming up with creative solutions so you take back control of your life. -Judy
Thank you so much for watching, Rosa! You might be interested in the two other videos we put together about health versus wealth regarding when the right time is to retire. -Judy 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for sharing these insights. They are quite different from what I have heard thus far. Also, your responses to comments have been so thoughtful and caring. I look forward to your continual sharing. The best of luck with your channel and future travels. Blessings🌺
Thank you so much for your very kind words, Anna! We know that there are a lot of people who take the usual route, but that doesn't have to be everyone's plan. We aren't saying to make rash decisions, but if you're willing to think through the process and find a way that works for you, more power to you. We have zero regrets and we are making it all work! Our responses to comments may be a little time consuming, but we love hearing from our viewers, and we feel if they are taking time out of their day to connect with us, then we want to do our very best in our responses! It is so sweet of you to notice! -Judy
We are so glad to hear this! We build on this episode and discuss some things not a lot of people talk about in the episode linked below. We hope you find it helpful as well. Thank you so much for watching and for leaving us this comment! -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
LOVE IT! Thank you! Expect to join you two traveling the world soon! One thing holding both of us back is ... we like our jobs/careers. One of us is an expert in their very specialized niche... Took us a long time to get to where we are and will kinda suck when we leave it all behind... we have a good life now.... BUT we know we are in the last quarter of life and if we want to see the world need to get busy before we CAN'T!!!! This is holding us back.. a little... we will retire in 2 - 3 years.
Thank you so much, John! We will eagerly look forward to seeing you on the road in a few years. I do know about loving your job. There have been places in my career that I never wanted to leave. But my priorities were out of kilter. I had devoted so much time to my career and didn't focus enough on the other aspects of my life. You may have had a different experience. But one day I literally woke up and questioned if I would be happy if I had a health problem and couldn't do all the things I wanted to. Enjoy this in between time and perhaps consider some downsizing so when you're ready, you're ready! -Judy 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Our Hard-Earned Advice for Downsizing | Downsizing for Full-Time Travel and Retirement: th-cam.com/video/fSXUQS00agA/w-d-xo.html ✅ Downsizing Prep Worksheet: findingginamarie.com/request-downsizing-prep-worksheet
@@FindingGinaMarie Thank you Judy! Yeah.... Health concerns are driving us to realize our best day is today ... we want to be healthy enough to hike and go on safari and see the world... We will get there... thank you the helpful resources!!! Looking forward to your next vlog... HEY! Did you hire a financial planner?
@@johncarter8539 Thank you so much for your encouragement, John! We have an episode coming out today as part of our downsizing process so you can build momentum with quick wins! We did NOT hire a financial planner. One might have laughed in our face and told us that we need to work several more years. We've spent our lives living contrary to some of the common advice and it seems to have worked out fairly well for us. We are thinking about retirement more unconventionally, which is one of the many reasons we have a TH-cam channel and a blog. We're willing to continue to "work," but we are doing it on our terms that allow us to travel and experience life in a way that we couldn't while we had our corporate jobs. -Judy
@@johncarter8539 We spend a good amount of time on it, especially with the extra bonus episodes we've been doing on Tuesdays. Our non-location videos where we're talking in our Airbnb take about 7 hours to edit and it takes another three hours or so to talk through what an episode should look like once we are set on a topic. Editing our travel videos takes longer because of all the voiceover and images we pile into them. Editing alone for them takes 11-20 hours, but we're getting better at editing, so that's now closer to 11-14 hours apiece. Planning and filming takes probably another three or four hours. Fortunately, we each have our roles, so while Kevin is deep in editing, I'm answering comments, working on our website articles, newsletters, commenting in our La Famiglia forum, and planning our activities and upcoming travel locations. That's why for us spending a month somewhere is almost required so that we still have time to enjoy the places where we are visiting. It's a lot of work, but so much fun and it's all very fulfilling for us creatively. Also, while we are choosing to do all this, we would so much rather be working this way than in our corporate jobs. For us the tradeoff is a no-brainer. -Judy 📝 Why Our Channel is Called "Finding Gina Marie": findingginamarie.com/articles/why-the-name-finding-gina-marie
Kevin especially has been a rebel like that, Erin, and after 45 years together, some of that has rubbed off on me! it is very empowering to break the rules and create a new way of doing things regardless of what naysayers tell you is possible or not! -Judy
How wonderful for you, Deb! You might want to really think about what type of travel you have in mind for that year. We originally thought we'd move around quite a bit faster than we ended up doing. For our initial plans during our first month of travel, we thought we'd see probably seven different cities. But we ended up scaling wayyyy back, and it was so much better for us. Below is a link to an article we wrote that talks about slow travel. The downside is that you won't see nearly as much this way, but your experiences may be richer. It will help for you to get a sense of whether you have the energy and money for fast travel or need to slow it down. At one point we opted to fast travel for a bit, and Kevin's reaction below speaks volumes. Your situation may be different if you're not running a TH-cam channel or doing other work, though. -Judy 🐢 Slow Travel and Why We Do It: findingginamarie.com/articles/slow-travel-and-why-we-do-it 🎥 Slow Travel or No Travel: th-cam.com/video/LrLGJ-X6I4A/w-d-xo.html
Hi John, Thanks so much for watching! We don't regret what we did even a bit. If anything, we regret not doing it sooner. But the timing ended up being perfect for us. We wish you all the best. It's a great life! Here are some other videos to possibly inspire you or to give you some inkling of what you might expect. -Judy 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: 🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html 🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html 🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads): 📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
My original retirement plan was to retire at 62, work part-time, and save money. However, high prices for everything have severely affected my plan. I'm concerned if people who went through the 2008 financial crisis had an easier time than I am having now. The stock market is worrying me as my income has decreased, and I fear I won't have enough savings for retirement since I can't contribute as much as before.
I’m 77 and still working full time. I do enjoy my work, it provides me with purpose and has secured my financial future. Most people are too eager to retire as early as possible. Even if you do retire early, best to get a part time job for the reasons cited above, as well as following many if not all of the suggestions in this video.
Hi @MarcyLoccy: Thanks for watching. We thought we'd continue working longer, but our jobs had changed more than we'd liked and when we stepped back, we realized that we weren't living our best life and didn't want to die or have mobility issues before we got to retirement. Retiring early isn't for everyone, and being content creators is a time-consuming job, but we love it and get so much out of it. It doesn't pay anywhere close to our expenses and is a far cry from our tech jobs, but it is rewarding and fulfilling. -Judy 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
We are so glad you clicked on our video, Gynine! We are thrilled to have you here. We are going to be adding more of these types of episodes to our channel, so if there's something you'd like to know, we'd be happy to try to answer it for you. We have two different playlists that might be helpful and a link to our ever-growing articles list for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads). -Judy 🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html 🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html 📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
Thank you both! Big challenge for my wife and I is: 1. Safe locations - I’ve been fascinated in going to Mexico, but my wife is scared of dangerous parts of countries with crime 2. We have kids, so deciding when to start slow travel- is it when the youngest child goes to college?
Hi Jeremiah, We are heading to Mexico City for the first time in March 2025. If you live in the US, the statistics for crime are much worse than many other parts of the world, especially when you consider gun violence. Linked below are some interesting statistics. You could start out primarily visiting the countries she's most comfortable in and then expanding. Kevin was pretty uncomfortable going to Egypt, but once we had that experience under our belts, we felt on top of the world. We're currently here in Argentina and just planned our 2025 schedule through the end of March to be in South America, Central America, and then Mexico City. Afterwards we'll be in Europe for five months and then head to New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia. If you mix it up, it will be much easier. As far as when the best time is, sheesh, that's really dependent on your family situation. Some people make the choice to travel with their kids. I think that's a hard thing to do, BUT if you can swing it, it's an amazing way to teach your children about the world, how to have empathy, and history and politics can truly come alive because you learn from other perspectives besides your home country. We didn't prioritize it with our kids, but we wish we had. Our daughter is pretty social, but she had a hard time adjusting to college and being out on her own. She didn't know anyone at that school and it was tough for her. It took her a few years to find her rhythm. We moved from Houston to San Francisco when she was in her third year of college, and she missed having our home base to come back to during breaks (she went to Texas colleges). Your children may have more independence and may not need you, but that was our experience. When we started traveling, she was 29 and it was still a little hard for her. The upside is that she adores travel and she's met up with us in Japan and Italy and just spent a month in Bali (without us!). Our sons are home bodies and more independent, so it's a little easier with them, but we wish they were interested in meeting up with us on our travels. As it is, we only are back in the US once per year. They're all 31, 33, and 35 now, so they don't need the same level of hand holding. You know your own children best. I hope this helps! -Judy 🔗 2024 Safest Cities Ranked: ceoworld.biz/2024/01/27/revealed-safest-cities-in-the-world-2024/ 🔗 Ranking of Safest Cities: www.reddit.com/r/argentina/comments/1goepgx/safest_american_cities_argentina_and_canada_shine/
Hi @JRspeaking, Thank you so much for watching and for writing! We think you might also enjoy our 5 secrets that are rarely talked about regarding full-time travel if that's something you've ever thought about doing. -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
My husband and I also want to retire early and travel the world like you guys do. I wish, I wish with all my heart...😊We travel whenever we can but not as often as we would like to. Best of luck!
Where there's a will, there's a way, Elle! You might find our latest video useful where we discuss some secrets about full-time travel that people rarely talk about. Thanks so much for watching and sharing your goals. In 2019 we took three international trips versus our usual two, and it made me realize that the travel bug had bitten us hard. After two years of lockdown, our desire to travel hit with a vengeance. We have no regrets, even though our path was fairly unconventional. -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for taking the time to create and post this video. It has made me think! For me the biggest worries for traveling is available money and health insurance. At 71 with preexisting conditions there aren't many companies that will cover me and / or my wife. Your video will help inspire me to begin thinking outside the box. Again thank you!!
Hi Jim, Thank you so much for watching. Preexisting conditions are challenging for sure-I previously had basal cell carcinoma, which is excluded from my health coverage. However, the out-of-pocket costs for some things are significantly cheaper outside of the US. For instance, I needed a prescription in the US and the pharmacy gave me a coupon to use that made the cost of it $800 versus $1200, BUT I paid €81 in France for the same prescription! It cost $250 in Thailand. Kevin's hernia surgery in Serbia cost €1800 out of pocket, compared to probably close to $10K in the US. If you're able to survive more comfortably by living in a country outside the US, even if you aren't able to work due to poor health, it still might be a reasonable tradeoff. But if your cost of living is low and your Medicare/Medicaid coverage is serving you, I can see that living in the US is a safer bet. Here's a link to last week's video where we shared our 5 secrets for traveling full time that aren't talked about often enough. Hopefully that and our episode of why we don't anticipate living in the US again are helpful to you. Best of luck! -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Why we won't live in the US again: th-cam.com/video/xeTdMPRgkWM/w-d-xo.html
We LOVE not having a car. We are in the US for three weeks and except for our time in San Francisco, we've been stuck driving and we haven't enjoyed it one bit. We don't drive internationally at all, so Kevin is my hero for the 1200 miles he's driven while we've been here (with two more days to go). We wish Americans weren't so in love with their cars because it would be so much easier if the US were set up better for trains. It took us longer to drive from Houston to Austin than it did from going across South Korea from Busan to Seoul. It's crazy! -Judy
Thank you so much, BW! While it was wonderful for us to spend time with family and friends over the last three weeks in the US, we are currently en route to France. Living on the road feels more like home than the US does these days! -Judy
Hi @ephitsmarqz6398! We wish you all the best so you can do that, too! Our video from this past Saturday may be helpful. We discuss some things that aren't often talked about regarding full-time travel that we think you will want to know. Also, we have a full series of videos regarding preparing for full-time travel and also life as full-time travelers. We realize that you might not be doing what we are after retirement, but it may be good food for thought. Thanks for watching! -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html 🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html 🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads): 📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
Hi Charm, Good for you both! It's an incredible way to live! And we feel the same about enjoying life while you can and as much as you can. I'm linking some of our ongoing lists of resources that might be helpful for whenever you're ready to launch. -Judy 🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html 🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html 🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads): 📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment! Italy was very refreshing and very hard to leave. The best part is that as full-time travelers we can always return! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie So true! By the way, I see that in your travel videos you both give examples of typical costs of accommodations, meals, coffee, etc. Would you consider doing a video on your average monthly cost of slow travel (including planes, trains, etc)? I think it would be helpful to those of us considering slow travel to compare costs and lifestyle to you both. I totally understand if there are expenses you’d like to keep private like charity, but those could always be omitted. Thanks!
Hi Anthony, yes, we would consider doing this. Each month varies and while we have a budget, we don't consider ourselves "budget travelers" per se. We can include all transportation costs, but we recognize that where we are traveling from might vary in price considerably from what the cost might be for someone traveling from a different part of the world. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie That makes sense! I don’t think we are wanting to be budget travelers either. Your lifestyle seems pretty similar to what would be realistic for us. I think there might be a “non-budget, yet budget-minded traveler” niche you could appeal to.
I just discovered your channel & I love it! ❤We’ve been married for 28 years & we have traveled to many countries but I’m encouraging my hubby to retire early so we can travel the world. He’s 58 years young. Any suggestions on retiring earlier than the conventional 65?
Hi Jessica, We are so glad you found us and are very glad to have you following along as we share our travels and retirement experiences. Congratulations on 28 years of marriage! I was 58 and Kevin was 60 when we started traveling, so we tried to convey what we did to retire early. We probably should have continued working a bit longer to be in better financial shape, but we felt that the financial aspect was only one part of the puzzle to work out (health is the other issue to weigh, even if you're currently very healthy). There are plenty of ways to travel less expensively especially in the type of accommodations you stay in and the countries you visit, there's resources like Trusted House Sitters, House Carers, etc. to offset some of the accommodations costs, being willing to cook versus eating out for every meal. I guess what would help me better to understand is knowing what the obstacles are. If they're all financial, we chose to start a TH-cam channel to bridge our gap financially, and there are plenty of online activities to bring in extra income. We talked through how willing we each would be to re-enter the workforce if necessary, what alternative skills could we build and use that would prevent us from working in corporate roles again. We don't have a home base in the US so that all the money we have can go towards our travel experiences. Let us know if you have specific questions and we can try to provide deeper answers. I'll add a few other resources that might be able to help as well. -Judy RESOURCES: 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html 🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html 🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads): 📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
Thanks so much for your comment, Nicole, and for watching! Also, good luck with your TH-cam channel; we were in the Amalfi Coast in June and had a great time introducing it to our daughter! -Judy
I'm new here, what are your names? Just watched your video today and can relate with your thoughts. We moved to Europe about 18 months ago. Love it! We travel when and where we want. We do have a residence in Portugal as our home base. We needed a place to call home. We too have learned a lot and must also adapt to many differences when living outside the US. We enjoy and accept that challenge. We feel ALIVE! JP Porto
@@JP7onEarth We are Judy and Kevin. You may have skipped past our intro where we introduce ourselves. Our channel is called Finding Gina Marie because I met my birth mother just days before the pandemic had us all on lockdown. The name on my original birth certificate was Gina Marie, and I was named after her. Finding her changed our priorities and knowing that I could acquire Italian dual citizenship helped to launch us on our full-time travel journey. We started our channel because our reunion story was so incredible. Despite being a secret from the majority of her family for 56 years, they embraced me and my family with open arms. You can watch our series called Finding Family if you're interested in it. How wonderful for you to be living in Europe. We had considered Lisbon and Porto for living as expats, but in the process of discerning where to live, we ended up deciding to travel full time instead and not have a home base. Very cool that you are in Porto! We agree with feeling alive. There is rarely a dull moment in our lives these days. We have to actually plan them! Thank you so much for watching and for sharing about yourselves! -Judy 🎥 Finding Family intro videos: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1QI_-Q6b-zspHSRhbyiu6_.html
@@FindingGinaMarie i read lots of responses and just found your names. 🤣🤣Thanks for responding. We too moved from the SF Bay Area. Japan is next for us. JP Porto
@@JP7onEarth What a small world! We loved San Francisco, but it was too expensive of a place for us to retire in. We spend 40+ days in Japan, so you might want to check out our series from there. We loved it and hope you will, too! -Judy 🎥 Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
Hi Greg, but you both are so young! We have the same regrets, but we started so much later than you have. It's a balancing act to want to see everything all at once while also wanting to take time and savor every moment. We spent seven months in Asia between October and April and I can see how we barely scratched the surface. Safe travels! -Judy
Just watched your video. Thank you for the great tips. Holding me back on doing slow travel is my home mortgage and of course my possessions i have to give away. I still plan to work remotely even part time
Hi Grace, We get the whole mortgage problem, which is why we sold everything so we wouldn't have to deal with those expenses or responsibilities. But we know not everyone wants to give up their home base. And technically, we're working remotely as well, even though it's for ourselves. TH-cam is time consuming, but more rewarding than we ever imagined it could be. Thanks so much for watching. -Judy
Thanks for watching! We drove approximately 1400 miles during the three weeks we were in the US. Insane! Kevin said if we visit again before the next 12 months is up, it will be too soon, based exclusively on the driving situation. We have a lot of family in Houston and Austin and they're very spread out. It's one of the reasons we were so burned out and opted not to bring a car with us to San Francisco. There are not many places in the US where you don't need a car, unfortunately. -Judy
Hi Muhammad, We like that philosophy. It's amazing to us how happy we are. And even when things aren't going perfectly, we still pinch ourselves and say, well, at least we are dealing with this issue in Paris (or whatever place we're in) versus dealing with it at home! -Judy
Thank you for your kind words, Jack. While it might feel a bit scary initially, we have zero regrets. We hope you are living your best life and enjoying it to the fullest. Life is too short to wait until retiring at 70 and hoping all the stars will align. -Judy
Thanks for the video. My wife and I retired early and travel full-time as well, We followed the FIRE path but it was not sacrificing any of our life to save money. We did/had basically what everyone else did, but made some intentional adjustments to spend a lot less doing them, We also found that most of the things that made (and still make) us happy were unrelated to spending a lot of money. Cheers!.
Hi Justin, congratulations to you both. We had only heard of FIRE in the last few years. I'm not sure what rock we were living under to have missed it. It's wonderful when you can be happy without having to acquire a bunch of stuff. How early did you retire and what are your goals for full-time travel? There is so much of the world we still want to see! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Hi Judy, we definitely acquired a bunch of stuff along the way, but we often bought used items and avoided the typical upgrade cycle (e.g., cars, cell phones, houses). Early furniture we bought in 1990 we still had 33 years later when we downsized everything. I have a blog piece about how frugality doesn't mean deprivation if you are interested. I retired in 2000 at 52 and my wife retired at 52 in 2002. We downsized completely and started traveling full-time over a year ago. As far as goals for full-time travel, we slow travel (usually a month in each city). We are in Japan now for the Kumano Kodo through hike and will be in Asia through January. We love through hiking and plan to do the Lycian Way, Camino Frances, and another through hike in the UK (we already did Hadrian's Wall) in 2025. So far it is a great retirement! Cheers, Justin
This was super informative! My wife and I are nesters by nature so this would be hard for us - and we love having pets and that would be difficult to give up. But, we love traveling and could see being based somewhere (maybe US) and traveling for a month at a time.
Thank you so much for watching, James! A lot of people use Housesitters.com for lodging even when they don't need to save money because many of the people using the platform need people willing to care for their pets! The more we thought about traveling full time, the more excited we got, but we know it isn't for everyone, especially if you like having your stuff around you. But at a minimum, we hope this is encouraging you, if you need it, to think about how you can live unconventionally and think outside the box. Traveling for a month at a time is a great idea! -Judy
Hi Sabrina Thank you so much for watching. We are so glad we got to visit Taiwan. We wish there hadn't been an earthquake there when we were, but we had such a good visit otherwise! -Judy
Love you guys so much and wish you well in your adventures. You are a great example from me, a way younger viewer 😅. Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙏🏼
Hi Joe, Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write to us. Our daughter is 31 and she is so much less interested in accumulating stuff and working a 9-5 job than we were at her age. We thought we needed to be tied down and own a home, but we realized later than we would have liked that our lives could have been so much richer with less stuff and different priorities. We didn't travel internationally until our kids were in college, which was such a bummer looking back on it all. Best of luck to you always! -Judy
Not everyone is interested in travel and would rather rock on their front porch of a property they own. That I find is a generational thing, especially those who really worked to own something. I try really hard not to be attached to a home because my memories are with me or pictures. My husband is a cautious traveler, but I’d like to travel the world. I’m 59 and he’s 62 and our health is good now and I want to travel why we can.
Yes, Liz, that is very true for some people. And even if they're not rocking, some people just want to be surrounded by their stuff which has very happy memories for them. We get it, but we'd rather have those memories compressed into photographs that we take with us everywhere, and for us it's enough to do that, just as you've said. We have an article on helping couples to travel more comfortably together when their styles aren't fully aligned. We also think traveling while you can is wise. Mobility or memory issues and a myriad of other things can happen and then travel becomes much harder. Thanks for watching. -Judy 📝 Navigating Love and Travel: findingginamarie.com/articles/what-if-your-spouse-doesnt-want-to-travel-full-time 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for watching. You might enjoy our 5 secrets episode that aired this past Saturday where we share about some topics that are rarely talked about, but which we think everyone considering full-time travel should know about. The episode is linked below. -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
Thanks so much for watching, Scott! "Plan" means multiple things! By mid January 2024 we had pretty much decided everywhere we'd be for the year (country, city, neighborhood) and had accommodations booked for nearly all of the cities we'd be in. We had a few one-offs where we knew what country, but hadn't finalized accommodations or exact timing (Morocco, since we'll be there around 40 days and weren't locked into our cities yet and Brazil since we were going back and forth about which city to visit. BUT we knew we wanted to be in South America for the winter and early 2025). Our London to US flight last year was booked 2.5 months in advance, US to Japan flight in 2023 was three months in advance, our South Korea to Italy flight in 2024 was 3 months in advance, our recent Madrid to the US flight was 7 months in advance, the hop from the US to France was also 7 months in advance. We're yet to book our flight to Buenos Aires yet, so we need to get on the stick. It's closing in on 2.5 months right now! When we have life events like my mother's 80th birthday this past July, we book pretty early. But some of those other flights weren't scheduled early because we knew that our plans would be in a state of flux and we don't like having a bunch of flight credits hanging around, since we don't have airline loyalty. We have a wish list of places, factor in things like birthdays (where do we want to spend our birthdays), take into account weather and pricing for the areas we want to be and see how it all comes together. My London birthday trip was a last-minute scheduling change, our trip to Japan was supposed to be in May 2024, but we decided to start our Asia adventures there instead. Ditto for Buenos Aires. Originally we were supposed to be in Sardinia in November, but a few months back we got literal and physical cold feet and decided we wanted to be warm, so we shifted our plans to start in South America a month earlier than we thought we would. We've known since January 2024 that we'd be in Brazil for December. We're going to be spending a lot of time while we're in Albania beginning next week fleshing out our South America travel (through the end of February and possibly March). We have already been playing around with our wish list for 2025 for several months already. Malta is for sure on the list for spring, Sardinia will be in May, we would *really* like to get to South Africa possibly in the summer, and Kevin has been hoping to get to New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia in the winter. Our big issue is when we're going to be back in the US. We're leaning towards November 2025, but that will be more than a year since our last visit. Those US trips put a monkey wrench in things at times because it makes sense for them to be part of our big pivots, but it may be hard for us to do all four big locations in one year-South America to Europe, Europe to South Africa, a visit to the US, and travel to Oceana. We'll be crunching numbers to see what's possible. I hope that wasn't too complicated of an answer for you to what was probably a much simpler question! -Judy P.S. In some situations we need to pay for our accommodations in full when we book them and since our location is very important to us, we tend to book those first (we know in advance what flights will look like). Whenever possible we take advantage of Airbnb allowing us to split the payment (at no cost or interest) or book reservations that don't require a deposit. But it can be a burden at times to outlay cash for a year in advance for everything, so we tend to wait a little bit longer for flights for that reason as well, but that is a secondary reason to not wanting lingering flight credits if we change our minds.
Thank you for letting us know that it was useful. Since most people talk about how they saved their entire lives in order to live like we are, we thought it would be useful to share what we did differently and how it's working out for us. -Judy
To your question, my main obstacle is that I've seen partnered traveling work really well to manage culture shock, safety, and just fun to have a buddy time, whereas almost no one covers solo travel for women unless they are very privileged/wealthy, want to stay in expat bubbles, or have a lot of health privilege and nothing medical to work around. I've also seen people who don't need deep relationships be very happy traveling but those of us who do need deep relationships not be happy traveling. I really appreciate your touching on some of these things today and I'll check out your website to learn more about how to connect. It's refreshing to hear someone not just say "oh youll end up with (useless) FB friends and you can text people the rest of your life" when that's not neurocognitively valid for mental health. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing with us. We wish we could help more directly, but it's hard for travel couples to offer useful advice to solo travelers when that's not how we travel. Of course, there are plenty of independent couples who do their own thing and we'd love to have more solo women join our La Famiglia forum and share what works for them so that we could be part of the conversation and understand more about the challenges they face and learn for ourselves-because let's face it, there's a likelihood that travel couples will lose a spouse and find themselves as a solo. We have found solo travelers on tours and have met up with them afterwards for coffee and it's possible to even try to arrange a separate meetup post tour. I still talk regularly to a woman I met from the US when we traveled to Egypt. It's also been a nice perk of having a TH-cam channel that we've been able to meet up with our viewers. It can be a lot of work, but there's certainly a gap in content that you could fill if you wanted to start your own channel targeted to the viewers you want to connect with who struggle with the same issues as you. Also, you might want to understand exactly what these deep relationships look like in your mind so that you can foster them when you find them in your travels. We'd love to hear what that means for you as well. These suggestions might sound trite, so forgive me if they aren't helpful. I do still make time for phone calls with family members despite the time zone differences (and those can even be FaceTime). I also started sending mailed greeting cards because I found that text messages don't cut it for me, either. ♥️ -Judy 🎥 Preserving Relationships from a Distance with Mailed Cards: findingginamarie.com/articles/sending-mailed-cards-with-a-twist
I believe you soooo made the right choice to do the traveling - while you're still young enough AND healthy. It's true, we never know what tomorrow may bring. Too many do the "someday when....." I hope you continue to have the most awesome adventures!!
Thank you so much for watching and for your thoughtful comment. We truly are loving our lives and have zero regrets. One of the drivers in making our decision was that we didn't want to just talk about changing our lives but we actually wanted to do it. We were fortunate that we were in a place in our lives to be able to make the change. We wish you well and hope you also are living your best life! -Judy
Thanks for sharing your experience. Very inspiring. If I had a travel partner I’d be gone tomorrow. Being single and 69, it’s a bit scary. I haven’t traveled that much especially by myself. The world gets so complicated. Retirement in the US I don’t think is an option.
You are not alone with those concerns! But it doesn't have to derail you or prevent you from living your best life. We follow someone online who suffers from extreme anxiety and her coping strategy is to just "do it scared." We love that philosophy. There are kind people everywhere that will help you if you struggle at times. We've made some silly and embarrassing mistakes over the years (linked below), but it is the perspective that you adopt that makes all the difference. It's certainly not a lifestyle for everyone, but if it's really something on your heart to do, then by all means give it a chance. In our latest video (linked below) we share some ideas that may give you some comfort. -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Our 5 Biggest Travel Mistakes… and how to avoid them: th-cam.com/video/GnIQKrEupoU/w-d-xo.html
We are still technically residents of California. Our driver's licenses still are California and we remain eligible to vote in California in our old precinct. At some point it may make sense for us to switch to someplace like Texas, which is where two of our children live, but most states require you to be a resident for tax purposes by spending 183 days or more in that state. Florida and South Dakota have fewer restrictions and are commonly used for expats, but we aren't particularly enamored by either of those. We'd prefer to pay a little more in taxes and support California's economy. I'm also linking an article that might be helpful regarding voting when you are living abroad, which I think might be helpful for you. -Judy 📝 Voting While Living Abroad (As a US Citizen): findingginamarie.com/articles/voting-while-living-abroad-as-a-us-citizen
I’m a retired Real Estate Broker/ Administrative Assistant. Empty nester, solo female who is so excited to travel the world but I’m on SS and that budget is awful. I’m going to take your advice on the unconventional income ideas. I mean I have so much experience in a variety of industries that I have to revisit in depth to see if any are doable. Maybe just maybe I can go to Italy first because that’s where my mom was born.
Thank you so much for watching! There are people who live comfortably on smaller budgets than ours (we have a budget, but we don't consider ourselves budget travelers per se). You can focus on low-cost parts of the world to visit and even staying in hostels in a private room for not very much money. Slow traveling or staying in one place for two, three, or even six months at a time (depending on the visa requirements where you are), can also lower your overhead. There definitely are ways to build up a side hustle to help support your travels. You might consider doing virtual assistant work or something else online. I'm going through the dual citizenship process in Italy, and if you also qualify, there are parts of it that are affordable (and have good healthcare). We wish you all the best! -Judy
I have visited 35 countries on four continents, in many of which I spent more than a month at a time. I have also lived in four countries. As much as I love to travel, I wouldn't want to do it full time. I like the idea of keeping a home base, not only because I want a place I can go back to when I need a break but also for tax reasons (I'm going to spare you the details). I am married but I always travel alone. Solo travel scares a lot of people but it's a great way to see the world and learn about people, cultures, customs etc. I find that I talk to locals a lot more when I'm alone than I would if I were traveling with a partner. And there is obviously no better way to learn a language. 😉
Hi @AnimaLibera, We realize that this lifestyle isn't for everyone and while not having a home base is freeing to us, we know that's not the right choice for everyone. BUT it's a great option for people who want to travel, but who don't have the budget to do it on top of having a home base. We couldn't have retired early had we kept a home base as well. Good for you for not being intimidated by traveling solo and for opening yourself up to rich experiences and conversations with locals. Thank you so much for sharing what works for you and for inspiring others who may have a partner who doesn't love to travel or for singles who think solo travel is too hard. Thanks for watching! -Judy
Pets. I have pets and they are my major obstacle to traveling full time. I also want to at least work part time and will like my husband to also work part time, so he doesn't get bored when I am working :) The other two obstacles are having aging parents and having a complex financial situation. I have some debt to pay off before I begin full time travel. Hopefully, it all works out for the best.
Hi @JoseReyes-ov2tu, We understand about pets and aging parents. Kevin originally was thinking he would keep his job, but once we started traveling, he lost interest in that very quickly! Debt is no fun, so yes, if you're able to put your extra money towards paying that off, you will have so much more mental as well as financial freedom. We wish you all the best with your future plans! -Judy
Hi Melody, No we don't. Here's an entire article comparing costs. For our ages and for traveling full time and requiring healthcare on the road, Safety Wing isn't the best price for us. Safety Wing has a cheaper Nomad Insurance, but that's not the same as their Nomad *Health* Insurance (they're very different plans). Since this is the only type of coverage we have, it's important to have full healthcare coverage. -Judy 📝 Peace of Mind Abroad: Choosing the Right Health Insurance as Retired Travelers: findingginamarie.com/articles/choosing-the-right-health-insurance-as-retired-travelers
I just stumbled on your video and immediately subscribed. I have not watched other videos yet, so have a question: is English you use everywhere or you speak other languages too?
Hi Boris, We have slowly, slowly been learning Italian steadily and consistently over the last three years, but we still only are fluent in English! Regardless of whether you speak the language of the countries you visit, we have several tips for how to communicate when traveling to foreign countries. -Judy 🎥 BEST TRAVEL TIPS and TRICKS for communicating outside the US: th-cam.com/video/HRyXqMV_BXs/w-d-xo.html
Man this sounds good. I've got a minor surgery I need in order to reduce some serious pain. It took over a month to see the surgeon in order to schedule and 6 weeks for the surgery. I'd much rather do it in 24 hours!
Yes, Dan, it was quite incredible. We were floored by how efficient the process was. We break down the entire story here if you're interested in learning more. Good luck with getting some relief. We hope you'll be on the mend soon. -Judy 🎥 Surgery in Serbia: th-cam.com/video/A2ps2BawyGw/w-d-xo.html
Love your videos. It is a great resource and reference that can help many people. My wife and myself are thinking of similar planing . However, we still have kids of primary and middle school, which we are hoping to stay with till they get into being independent. My question is : would you have done your plan if you still have kids of school age? Any tips ? All the best
Thank you so much for watching! Gosh, our kids were a handful and I don't think either of us were equipped to homeschool them at the time (we had our three children before we were 30), BUT it actually might have been an excellent idea. We have learned so much about history and I think our kids would have enjoyed the learning process so much more if it had been more "whole-body" experiences-smells, tastes, sounds, sights, not merely memorization from books. They also would have been able to form some ideas of their own and heard a more balanced view of history than what schools teach in the US. It also can build greater empathy because the world shrinks when you travel. It becomes a lot more than "us" versus "them" and it all becomes us. I think you especially need to have a very open mind about what education looks like for your children. By experiencing the world versus reading about it, they can develop more critical thinking skills and learn to think independently. You might need to make peace with the fact that their education process will look different than more mainstream people and be prepared to steel yourself against comments from friends and family who think you might be "doing it wrong." You'll need to factor homeschool-style preparation into your days so that you'll be able to teach your children. Lesson plans take time, but they don't have to be worksheets! Obviously friend situations will look different and you may have to work to build traditions into your life that would normally happen when you're living a more conventional life. (e.g., how do you celebrate birthdays and Christmas and other holidays that are important to you). Hope this gives you some food for thought. We wish you all the best. -Judy
Thank you Judy. I have one more question: Are you still renewing your US professional board licenses? Do you have to do certain no of hours of practice per year to keep it active? My wife and myself are in the medical field and we are worried about not being able to renew our practice licenses in the US or maintaining our CE’s (We can do some modules online) but sometimes you have to practice certain no of hours per year in order to keep the licenses active. I wonder if you have some insight!? Thank you
We don't have professional licenses, so we haven't had to deal with this (we both worked in the tech industry). But from my initial reading about it, hours of service aren’t actually a requirement for licensing. That may depend on the state you are practicing in and what your specific field is. Because dealing with a license after it's expired is not fun, you will want to be pretty clear on what the requirements are for renewal (as you probably already know!). -Judy
Thanks for watching, Cheryl. We wish you all the best. Retirement may take some adjustment, but we hope you love it. Even though technically we're working because of our TH-cam channel, we have a freedom and joy that has exceeded our wildest dreams. We are so glad to have left corporate America behind. -Judy
Great intel, guys! It's our dream to do what you're doing. With our needy kids though, I don't think it'll ever happen at least not full time : ) Kevin, I know I suggested it once before, but for extra income, why not a separate youtube channel reviewing spirits in e country? Hardly work I would think : )
Thanks, Phil! My @WhiskyRiffs channel (youtube.com/@whiskyriffs) isn’t as active as it was when we were in San Francisco, but I have been trying to do reviews from some of the countries we’ve visited. Oddly enough, two of my reviews from Scotland weren’t about Scotch - one was Japanese whisky and the other was an Indian expression. Cheers!
@@FindingGinaMarie ahh, didn't catch those, will chk. I still like the idea of a new channel w a different slant - expose known and lesser known spirits/makers of the countries you're visiting. Go to the distils, interview the makers, etc. A lot of spirit nerds would follow plus your subs from the whiskey channel : )
My children are holding us back lol Also, my husband might be a little nervous going to some of the countries that I would like to adventure to. Great information- Thanks! Happy you’re living your dream.
Hi Sandy, We have two articles on our website that might be useful for you to read over that may help you and your husband get on the same page and be more comfortable with certain parts of the world. I've linked them below. Boy do I wish we had traveled more with our kids when they were younger! We didn't have the funds, but our priorities were on home improvements versus travel, which we regret now. At one point we stopped exchanging gifts for Christmas and took a trip instead. They remember those experiences significantly more than the "stuff" they didn't really need. -Judy 📝 Navigating Love and Travel: findingginamarie.com/articles/what-if-your-spouse-doesnt-want-to-travel-full-time 📝 How to Reduce Stress for Anxious Travelers: findingginamarie.com/articles/how-to-reduce-stress-for-anxious-travelers
Hi Rebecca, We hope you can find some unconventional ways to make this work for yourself. If it helps, we didn't have our future fully mapped out, but we had a dream and were willing to figure some things out on the fly, which is really outside a lot of people's comfort zone. But it's been a ride beyond our wildest dreams so far, and we want it to be the same for you as well. We wish you all the best! And when you finally get on the road, we'd love to hear about it. You've got a great TH-cam channel; we just subscribed We've been to Sydney before we were full-time travelers and have been working hard to figure out how to get back there again-probably to Melbourne this time. We're hoping we can make it happen in 2025, along with New Zealand. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie thank you for your reply and for subscribing. I appreciate that. I too have the dream and I know I don’t want the ‘typical plan’ that society dictates is the way to do life. I am 50. I too keep thinking I have a window of opportunity to go see the world before I get Grandkids or my parents (now mid to late 70’s) need me here full time to care for them. I don’t want to wait until retirement age and hope I’m healthy enough to do travel then. I just need a way to earn money from anywhere, especially until my TH-cam and all the revenue streams from that starts coming in but even then I need other income. At the moment I’m living in my parents caravan as owners of the house we were in decided to sell. So we sold all our belonging and I’m now in limbo. Kids have all left home..so now is the perfect time to go do slow travel starting in Asia but money is the big issue. Or lack there of. Any tips? I hope you make it back to Australia. Be sure to visit Brisbane. If I’m here when you get here I’m happy to show you around 😊
Hi Rebecca, Housesitters.com allows you to stay in someone's home for free while you take care of their pets or house while they are traveling. We know many people who love and use it. The membership cost is nominal. You can build up credibility by doing house sits in your own country or a nearby city while incurring only nominal travel expenses. We talk about a few other programs in this episode that are worth looking into. Especially in Southeast Asia you can stay in affordable hostels and food is fairly inexpensive. With your background, could you consider hosting a group of travelers somewhere and coordinating travel for them and you travel free with them? There are tons of people who could use help with their social media if that's something you're good at. Places like Fiverr and Upwork allow you to work from anywhere, and you aren't limited to $5 jobs, despite the name! People make real money on those platforms. It helps if you have some savings that you can tap into while you're building your businesses, of course. Even giving yourself a year of saving every dime you earn can go a long way. We use points from credit cards to offset a few of our big flight costs, but those only go so far for us. If you are solid and strict with paying off your cards each month, you can earn enough bonuses for a few free flights. Southeast Asia allows you to travel by bus through several countries if you can be comfortable with that slower means of transportation. We wish you all the best with thinking unconventionally and making it happen! And we will reach out for travel suggestions when we make our way to Brisbane! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie funny you say all that. I registered with trusted housesitters just last week and have a local sit over Christmas, so that’s a start. I do know my way around social media but not sure I’m good enough to get paid to do it, I’m sure there are people way better at it than me. I have accumulated enough frequent flyer points to get me to UK…so saving those in the hope I can use those at some point. I have started advertising group travel on my TH-cam videos (trovatrip) for 2025 so hopefully I get some interest. Thanks so much for ideas and help. I can’t wait to start living the life I want! Yes be sure to reach out to me when you plan to visit :)
Hi Rebecca, Good luck with Trusted Housesitters! You may think you're not good enough to get paid to do social media, but you might surprise yourself. Also, we've heard of people who have been willing to work for free for a short period of time to prove themselves or to build their social media resume (e.g., "I will do X amount of work and you give me a written recommendation I can use for upcoming paid work with other clients.") And as a woman, I will say that we often think we need to have so much more experience than a man thinks they need in order to do a job, so don't sell yourself short. Good luck! -Judy
You don't need to travel full time like we are in order to retire early. This works for us because we can't afford to live in our home in San Francisco, have no where else in the US that's more affordable and walkable that we'd want to live, and bonus: we love traveling. But we didn't want to keep working and grinding for corporations that don't appreciate us and us end up have only crumbs left over when we could finally afford to retire. Our lifestyle is significantly cheaper than the way we had been living in the US. Thanks so much for watching and for sharing your feelings. -Judy 🎥 Why We'll Never Live in the US Again: th-cam.com/video/xeTdMPRgkWM/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Downsizing for Retirement or Full-Time Travel Series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF2xRusfMEQvN-5LZZqdnQIf.html ✅ Downsizing Prep Worksheet: findingginamarie.com/request-downsizing-prep-worksheet
I really want to stop working because of high stress from work. I’m 58 and don’t have enough money saved. I’m scared to quit my job but I can do travel nursing because I’m a nurse. Still scared but you’re motivating me The barriers are certainly healthcare cause I have ongoing health issues need follow up regular doctor visits and testing
Hi Gina, Who's to say how much is enough? We share Kevin's concerns about dying young like his father at age 61 just when he was on the cusp of retirement. There are unconventional ways of earning money in order to live a life that is a little more stress free. I can appreciate how complicated things might be with your health issues, but there are places everywhere in the world with excellent healthcare that are much cheaper than in the U.S. We probably should have continued working as well, but we made the decision that we needed to live for ourselves and get out of corporate America. We still are working, but on TH-cam. It's allowing us to travel and have incredible experiences while also bringing in some income. Of course, it all takes time, but there has never been a better time to find an online side gig that grows into something more. For us, we needed to leave our expensive lives in San Francisco in order to be able to do what we're doing, but it has been a million percent worth it for us. We wish you all the best! -Judy 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html 🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
I love the links you two prepare and share to provide helps to follow pieces of your footsteps. I'm so glad that this is working out so well for you two. And I'm totally of the opinion: Slow Travel FTW
Hi Joseph, Thank you so much for this nice comment and for watching. We are beyond thrilled that our gut instincts have served us well in making the decision to sell everything we own and travel full time. It's been such a great journey so far and I know there is more to come. And you are right about slow travel. Our period of fast travel with our daughter through Italy was a new experience for us, and we learned a lot. Although it was helpful in some respects, we learned that it can give a false reading of certain places and could cause us and others to miss out on cool places. -Judy
where do you suggest to join tour groups vs independent travel? I usually do independent travel and have not done tour groups. But recently, I feel tired of planning of my travel (I'm a solo traveller).
The only place I would maybe recommend doing that is in Egypt, especially for solo women travelers who might be a little more uncomfortable in an area where the culture is so much different. We did not do that, and it worked out fine for us, but I can appreciate that it does make it easier when someone else handles all the details. It's a little harder and much more expensive when you're slow traveling because we only sightsee a few days per week. We work on TH-cam quite a bit, so we wouldn't want every day planned out for us. Otherwise, what you could do is look at what tours offer and replicate the travel for yourself (and even find a nearby hotel to the ones they use to be in the right area but possibly get something more affordable). There are a lot of free itineraries online for nearly everyplace in the world. What we do use is tour guides to help guide us through a particular city or a ruin or important place so that we can understand the history, but that's not the same as a curated trip, which I think is what you are asking about. My sister recently used a tour company to book a trip to Japan for her and her son because she didn't have time to plan it herself and she had a great experience. We (coincidentally) visited many of the same places on our own and had an equally wonderful time. I hope this helps. -Judy 🎥 Egypt travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1WcH9GxfK4ngH49MXf5oOv.html 🎥 Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
As a former expat, that loves to travel, I have questions. The global travel healthcare is a great tip, because that was one of my first questions. Does Cigna require you to have an end date as a traveler ? A US residence or address? Do you use a strictly online bank? How does that work? What about banking? Do you just charge everything or get cash when you arrive? Mail? What about your phone and internet? Do you use a new sim card in every country? An eSIM? Some visas need to be applied for from the US if you want to visit, do you visit consulates ? There are nitty gritty, everyday things that we take for granted in the US and take time to do when you arrive somewhere new. Doing it every 1~3 months sounds exhausting. Who does your taxes?
Hi Kathy, Happy to answer all of these! You might want to watch our video from last Saturday which addresses some things that aren't talked about a whole lot, but we think it's pretty useful (5 Secrets for Full-Time Travelers). We'll put all our links at the end. CIGNA does not require you to have an end date as a traveler or a US residence or address. We got our policy when we were in Athens, Greece in January 2023 and renewed it again this year. They need whatever address you want to give them, but all of their communication happens via email. The physical address we gave was our Airbnb that we were in at the time. We use a regular US bank and it works like most banks. We're actually looking into a Charles Schwab account for our ATM withdrawals since they will refund the charges for using a non-bank ATM. We don't pay a ton of fees in the grand scheme of things, but if you don't mind moving money around a bit, Charles Schwab can help. Whenever we can, we prefer to pay with our card so we don't have to carry around a wad of cash, but there are some countries/places in the world where cash is king and they don't have an easy way for you to pay by card. So if we know that's what we'll encounter, we do get cash (Egypt, some of the smaller restaurants in Japan, Cambodia, parts of Sicily all require having cash on hand). We have an entire article about our virtual mailbox, which will scan envelopes for us and then if we want more information, they'll scan the contents, deposit checks, and forward pieces of mail to us or to others if we need them to. Our "homesickness" video talks about why we've kept our T-Mobile plan and pay extra for an international roaming plan versus switching to eSIMs. We pay for enough data that allows us to work remotely from everywhere, but you may need less, and T-Mobile has smaller data packages you can buy. Any visas we've needed to get we've been able to either do in person on arrival (Egypt) or at the airport (Australia-I do NOT recommend this!) or through an eVisa (Vietnam, Cambodia) or through the immigration office when we were extending our stay (Thailand). There aren't a ton of countries we want to visit that require you to physically be in the US in order to get a visa, but if that were the case, we'd see if we could visit an embassy where we currently are or else plan to be back in the US in order to apply. We try to visit the US once per year in order to see family and friends anyway, so we don't see that as a huge problem. I'm not sure what you mean by "doing all this every 1-3 months sounds exhausting." If you mean moving every month, it's actually quite fun. Every new city brings a new adventure. We have enough time to establish some routines so not everything is new, but enough is new that we never get bored and always are excited to see what's next. As far as taxes, since we aren't expats, they're not overly complicated and we're able to do them ourselves. You didn't ask, but I've also attached a link to a video about voting while living abroad as well as a playlist of videos for people preparing for full-time travel and also those who already are on the road (and articles from our website we think are very useful). Hope all this helps! -Judy @garysue95 FYI. 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html 📝 How to Stay Connected to Your Mail While Traveling the World: findingginamarie.com/articles/how-to-stay-connected-to-your-mail-while-traveling-the-world 📝 Why we have an international data plan on T-Mobile versus an eSIM: findingginamarie.com/articles/homesickness-overwhelm-and-travel-challenges-life-as-a-full-time-traveler 📝 Voting While Living Abroad (As a US Citizen): findingginamarie.com/articles/voting-while-living-abroad-as-a-us-citizen 🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html 🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html 🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads): 📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
I can answer for online banking. WISE accounts works wonderfully well. Easy to transfer from your USA bank account to WISE account. Then you have WISE ATM card to use other places and eligible to use in other countries. Very reasonable charges and dollar to other currencies conversion is very nicely priced. This is most reasonable and practical I found to use outside USA, especially in Asian countries.
Hi @@sarbjitgrewal9724, and thanks for weighing in. Why do you need to use a Wise account? A Schwab account will waive any fees that are incurred using an ATM that isn't connected to your US bank (unlimited) and allows unlimited free withdrawals than a Wise card, which I've been hearing has been a bit problematic, including in Japan. We have a Wise card that we do not use because you're only allowed two free withdrawals per month with a maximum of $350 and then you have to pay additional fees. So far, Schwab seems like a better option. Am I missing something? -Judy wise.com/help/articles/2935769/how-much-does-it-cost-to-withdraw-cash
Great video. 👍 I have a couple of questions. How does the Cigna Global Health Care insurance work? You said it limits you to 3 months of coverage per year in the US, how are the dates determined? I mean, if you're in the US for 6 months, yet only use the insurance for US expenses that fall within a 2-month period, is that okay? Also, the Flight Connections site. You're using it to list possible layovers to a destination, correct? Are you then, somehow, extending that layover to create a visit in that area, then continuing on to the official destination? If so, how long can you stay in these "layover" cities?
Hi Glenn, Our CIGNA Global Health insurance policy requires evidence of entries and exits from the US. You aren't entitled to coverage in the US if that's your country of habitual residence. Also, arriving in the US specifically to receive medical treatment must not be one of the main objectives of the trip. So they really tighten down how you can use the policy when you are in the US. We actually use the Flight Connections site a bit differently. We look at it to see direct flights to/from a particular place. For instance, if we're going to be in Morocco and are trying to decide where to visit next that is a single direct flight, it will show it along with the price for each of the options. Of course, we'll dig deeper, but it will at least let us know what our best one-hop destinations might be. What I think you're talking about is something different and is part of a "long layovers" program. Those vary by airline. The major things you need to consider are that long overnight layovers may not be worthwhile because everything is closed and you need to give yourself enough time to collect your baggage if it's checked, go through passport control, and do the same things including getting through security on your way to your connecting flight. This article might be helpful to give you more information about how it works: www.going.com/guides/how-to-book-a-long-layover Also, check out this link from Skyscanner. We use it to see the cheapest direct flights using the "everywhere" feature, but this article has a table with various airlines that offer a "long layovers" program: www.skyscanner.ca/tips-and-inspiration/book-multi-day-layover-to-see-another-city Thanks for your questions and for watching! Let us know if you need anything else! -Judy
Hi Glenn, There will always be something to learn, so don't ever hesitate to ask questions. We've made some doozies of mistakes while we've been traveling, so this is a judgment-free zone! -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Biggest Travel Mistakes (So Far!): th-cam.com/video/GnIQKrEupoU/w-d-xo.html
Hi Ditsky, We haven't been there yet, unfortunately. We weren't sure where to go for good strong wifi that would be representative of the islands considering we'd be heading there primarily for a single home base for a month. If you have suggestions, we'd love to hear them. We had a plan to visit earlier this year, but we couldn't decide where to be. Our best guess was Cebu City, but we weren't sure if the IT Park would be enough of a local experience. -Judy
Just found you guys; great information in this video! New subscriber here. I’m planning on slow travel so glad I found your channel. May I ask how old you both are?
Great to have you here! Kevin just turned 62 in May and I'm 59 (60 in September). We've been traveling full time since November 2022. We have a few playlists that might be helpful for you as well as the spreadsheet we use to plan our travels. We pretty much plan an entire year in advance but make tweaks along the way if we need/want to. We've got an ever-growing list of articles on our website for full-time travel as well (findingginamarie.com/travel-tips and then filter by "Nomad"). Let us know if you have any questions whatsoever! -Judy ✅ Travel Planning Spreadsheet for Full-Time/Extended Traveling: findingginamarie.com/request-planner 🎥 Preparing for Full-time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html 🎥 Navigating Life as a Full-Time Traveler: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
The biggest obstacle for me is math. I don't know where to start to figure how much is enough to full time travel. We are currently planning to move to Mexico when we retire. Full traveling looks like much more fun..
Hi Jamie, We aren't necessarily spending more to travel full time than we would if we had kept our home in retirement (or even downsized). We know couples who are living on $2000-$3000 per month total and they are doing everything they want to do. Traveling slower to get discounted stays and spending time in cheaper countries all will offset your budget and help you when you are staying in more expensive countries. We spend a bit more than that, but it all depends on your level of comfort, willingness to cook versus eating out, and what you're willing to spend on excursions (but that's the same as an entertainment budget if you weren't traveling). We typically stay in Airbnbs to get monthly discounts, but some people stay in hostels, or enhance their budget by doing housesitting and getting free stays in some places. It is all about thinking outside the box! You might find our 5 secrets episode helpful if you want to understand more about this lifestyle. I'll link it below. -Judy 🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
@@FindingGinaMarie thank you, that is helpful. I will watch the linked videos also. It seems like you have a wonderful retirement. We have a little beach house we won't get rid of and I suppose that gives my husband a place to keep books. I never would have dreamed you could travel full time on that amount.
We still are working on how to share a more thorough accounting of our budget, because those prices don't include things like our Internet, VPN, virtual mailbox service, and AppleTV. But in the grand scheme of things, those are small numbers compared to what we sometimes spend on food! We were grateful that we could cook some of our meals in Madrid, because we found it to be an expensive city. We did get a great price on the Airbnb, though, especially compared to other options there! -Judy
Hi Michel, yes, we do. We have a virtual mailbox we use. Here’s an article I wrote that tells you all about it and why we chose it. Thanks for watching! -Judy 📝 How to Stay Connected to Your Mail While Traveling the World: findingginamarie.com/articles/how-to-stay-connected-to-your-mail-while-traveling-the-world
Hi @fitta74, We always love meeting fellow travelers and content creators, but it seems like our travels haven't aligned. We thought there was a possibility when they were in Kraków and Vienna, but like us, their videos are behind our travels, so we didn't actually overlap. -Judy
I had just turned 58 and Kevin was 60. His father passed away at the same age we were when started traveling. His father was just getting ready to retire. Kevin wanted to make sure that he didn't spend his entire life working and then having circumstances get in the way of doing everything he wanted. I wish this plan was on our minds when we were younger! -Judy 🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html 📝 Why Our Channel is Called "Finding Gina Marie": findingginamarie.com/articles/why-the-name-finding-gina-marie 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
Hi Ronin, Thanks for watching. It's a lot of money, but we also believe in taking a hard look at health versus wealth. You don't get to take it with you and if there are things you are putting off on doing until you retire, you may find that you're not physically able to do them or that circumstances no longer allow for you to do them. We didn't want to put off travel only to have one of us die prematurely or have mobility issues or some other tragic situation. Kevin's father died at age 60, just a few months before he retired. -Judy 🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html 🎥 A Pause to share an Emotional Moment: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
Ten years ago, at 60 years old, I retired from my job as a Physical Therapist in Florida after working for 20 years. Then I started traveling seven times a year out of the United states, going to Europe, Middle East and Asia. That was the best decision I made in my life.
How wonderful for you, Charley! You figured it out! We have been SO happy to be on the road full time, but for someone who may want to keep a home base, what you did is terrific. There is so much of the world we still want to explore! Thank you so much for watching! -Judy
Here's a link to our full series of destination videos in case you want to watch any of our travel videos:
🎥 Destination videos-Where we've been and what to see there: :th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF2OYZTcetBlx-SMkML1H5nR.html
Your story is truly inspirational. I have a whole career and terrified to give it up out of fear of not having enough money to take care of myself when I'm older but working is exhausting now . I don't have the energy to enjoy life. I love to travel and dream of staying in various countries for months at a time. I'm 58 and trying to figure it all out. Your video has some thought provoking ideas, thank you.
Hi Maia, It's a normal fear to be worried about not having enough money. We don't have a huge stockpile of cash, either. But I guess we were more terrified of a life unlived. Thank you for sharing so vulnerably with us about your struggles. Kevin and I have been together for over 45 years. If something were to happen to one or the other of us, who knows if we will want to travel without the other. We knew that physically we could travel now, our family situation isn't perfect, but we knew it could work. I guess we worried more about having regrets. It's not an easy thing to sort out, so we wish you courage as you consider your options and think things through.
Also, this Saturday, we share 5 "secrets" that are rarely talked about regarding full-time travel, which may be helpful to you. -Judy
🎥Why We're Never Returning to Live in the US in Retirement: th-cam.com/video/xeTdMPRgkWM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=75dBTUPsSgBneEkl
We did exactly what you guys did… we quit our jobs at 51 and 53, sold it all and are nomads. Best life decision ever. We also make content as part of our journey. Thanks for the upload.
Thanks for watching, Jay and Sarah. We wish you many happy adventures and the best of luck with your channel. We wish we had started traveling full time at your age, but we are glad we didn't wait any longer! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie absolutely
I’ve been watching you guys for months and this is the most animated and cogent and passionate I’ve seen you guys! Clearly you believe in what you’re doing and your desire to spread the word is palpable.
Also great ideas unique from all the other slow travel vids.
I think being comfortable with not every single thing being known is so important; that’s what I’m feeling from you guys.
This vid was so enjoyable. Thanks!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Catherine! And you sum it up well; we are comfortable not having all the answers but instead trusting ourselves and the universe that if we are doing the right things and keep open minds, things will work out. That's not the same as being a Pollyanna and not having an awareness of the challenges you might face or being completely irresponsible. But thinking unconventionally has worked well for us our entire lives! -Judy
You two are so lucky you’re both on the same page! I don’t think that happens too often. I’m single so can do whatever I want, but wouldn’t mind finding someone on my same page with how I want to spend the rest of my life!
Hi Anne, We are extremely grateful that we are so well aligned and we don't take that for granted at all. I love that you aren't allowing your single status to hold you back, because it absolutely shouldn't. I think someone interested in having new experiences and following their dreams is likely to attract others looking for the same things! Best of luck to you! -Judy
It happens more often then you think. First you ha e to find your direct opposite then your strengths double,and you'll never be lonely.
Been married to my mate for 45 years and we still love just us,the kids can find us.
Congratulations on so many happy years together, James! We met in 1979 and were married in 1983 (so almost 41 years of marriage). My mother always used to say that we practically raised each other! We are so happy to hear that you found your soulmate. Having each other is a precious gift! -Judy
I’m so pleased to have found your channel! The trending travel channels are seemingly saturated with invincible Gen Z’ers with different interests than mine. Your practical, slow approach to travel and emphasis on healthcare fills a void in this arena of travel documentaries. I look forward to watching the rest of your episodes.
Please consider creating videos (if you haven’t already) about the best way to exchange currency, strategies for the basics (what are the first things you do after you arrive, from discovering transportation to grocery shopping to laundry to dental and healthcare). I imagine they’re different almost every time. How did you know Japan has inexpensive glasses or the quality of care in Serbia? Thank you and I look forward to more videos!
Hi Sharon, We are delighted that you found us! Thank you for the video suggestions. We have talked about exchanging currency in some of our destination videos, but we've not focused on it as a topic for a video (yet!). Some of the basics are covered somewhat in this old, old video that I'll link below about a day in the life of a full-time traveler. I'll also include additional resources I think you'll find helpful.
As far as eyeglasses in Japan, we knew we needed to get new glasses because the film covering our lenses in ours had worn down in a few spots. We took a chance that Japan might have good medical tourism for vision, and it does. There is a lot of myopia in Japan! The thing to know is that when you get an eye exam there, it's primarily focused on getting the prescription right, not so much about eye health. So we were disappointed that despite a lot of high-tech equipment, they didn't really check for glaucoma or dilate our eyes like we've had done in the US. For a more robust checkup, you need to schedule an appointment with an ophthalmologist. We had health checkups in Thailand, but the hospital we used did a very perfunctory eye exam that wasn't what we hoped it would be, so that would be something you'd want to arrange separately.
The surgery Kevin had in Serbia was very needed, so we didn't have a ton of options. We were in Vienna when the issue arose, but we didn't have time to stay for a surgery since we didn't have enough Schengen days available. However, we did a search for medical tourism, saw that there were good hospitals and clinics, notified our healthcare provider for permission, and then used one of their recommendations. The treatment itself, the speed of getting an initial appointment and then getting scheduled for surgery was unbelievably prompt, and the care overall was outstanding. Thanks for these great ideas and questions. -Judy
🎥 Full Time Nomad Life-What do we do all day: th-cam.com/video/q3kSQMptyEU/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Medical checkups in Thailand: th-cam.com/video/pypr82ddWG8/w-d-xo.html
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html
🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads):
📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
It’s better to travel as you go… don’t wait until retirement.
Hi Juan, We completely agree. However, our corporate jobs didn't allow a lot of time for us to be away. In 2022 when I wanted to take a two-week vacation, I was by my boss that I should be very grateful to be allowed to take off that much time at once. I was working in a place with unlimited PTO. The second vacation I tried to take (with a new boss, but the same company), I was told that if I wanted to be approved for the time, I needed to bring my laptop and get work done in the mornings and evenings.
Corporate America doesn't do a great job of giving people time off to "travel as they go." -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie you are correct. ✅ I am a school teacher by profession and I am blessed to have summer, winter, spring and many holidays off work. Life is too short and living in peace is imperative. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with others.
Hi Juan, Teaching is a noble and challenging profession. You deserve every bit of time off that you can get! We so agree about life being too short! -Judy
I completely agreed with what you said
I started traveling 2 big trips a year for the pass 10 years
Was so wonderful
@@JuanGarcia-ep2yh😮😅😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😅⁶
Wonderful video with great advice, and I could not agree more! My husband and I both had decent jobs and although we did not live super frugally, we made saving via our 401-Ks and paying off debt a priority. My husband hadan unexpected health problem at age 48 that was a giant wake-up call for us. We decided that we would retire no later than 55 with whatever we had saved and would build our lifestyle around that. We actually retired even a little earlier than planned. That was 11 years ago and we have never looked back. Sure, we could have kept working and had a lot more money, but money doesnt but time! Do whatever it is you want to do now, because world events and life events could change everything overnight.
Hi Linda, Yes, we too had some unexpected expenses in caring for my father for many years who couldn't live on his own without our financial support. We bought a larger home so he could eventually live with us when his health declined, but we couldn't have imagined doing anything differently. For many years I was a stay-at-home mother and we made a lot of financial sacrifices to do it. But when I eventually went back to work, I didn't see myself ever wanting to stop working...until my work changed and I got seriously burnt out during the long hours I worked during the pandemic. Kevin's father died at 61 and my adopted mother died at 56, so we knew that no tomorrows were ever guaranteed to us. Choosing our health over continuing to acquire more wealth was one of the wisest things we have ever done. I'm sorry that your husband suferent some health issues at such a young age. That must have been terrifying, but it sounds like it helped you to reprioritize your lives. Finding my birth family helped me to reprioritize as well, and I am so grateful! Thank you so much for watching and sharing about your life! -Judy
VERY helpful video! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Lynette, thank you so much for watching! -Judy
What an incredible journey, so far! Hats off to following your heart and taking the leap. I'm still loving everything you all are sharing through the channel, and wish you both the best! 🎉
Thank you, David! We appreciate your kind words very much! It's been beyond wonderful for us. Whether it was wise or prudent, the jury is still out, but once we decided to take the leap, we didn't spend much time questioning ourselves or overthinking it. We truly believe that if there's a will, there's a way, and we're so glad that we have remained flexible and open minded about what we're doing and living this lifestyle. -Judy
Stu and I also took the less conventional path to retirement in 2012, when he was 60 & me 50.
We gave everything away, rented out our house and hit the road and travelled the world as full time house sitters. Like you, we only travel with a carry-on and backpack each.
The road less travelled has given us the opportunity to be local-tourists all over the world and we’ve got to try-on life experiences we’d otherwise never have - from cattle farming to running horse agistments, luxury penthouse living to council housing flats, we’ve done it all!
We decided to retire from our retirement in 2022 and did our last and 150th house sit in early 2023.
We’re now looking forward to the next chapter 🎉
Enjoy your travels, stay safe and above all, keep a good sense of humour when things go wrong, for they will!
Wow That's so impressive! What interesting experiences you both have had-you truly embraced an unconventional but fascinating path! 150 house sits is incredible! We wish you all the best as this next phase unfolds for you. We'd love to know what you do next, but I'm sure you'll find it satisfying with the attitude you both seem to have. We agree about how necessary it is to have a sense of humor. Have you seen our episode on our Top 5 Mistakes While Traveling? It should give you a few chuckles! -Judy
🎥 Our Top 5 Travel Mistakes: th-cam.com/video/GnIQKrEupoU/w-d-xo.html
Oh, thank you for your kind words 🙏🏼
Yes, we did see that episode and did have a giggle! We’ve loved all our ‘mistakes’; sometimes you make the right decision, other times you make the decision right!
I learned a new word today, agistment. 😁 what an interesting retirement and I love the “retiring from retirement”
@@catherine8332 😊
Hi @catherine8332, The word we used was "ageism," which is basically being passed over for a job because you will cost too much and a company thinks someone younger can do the same job more cheaply, or for some reason there's a feeling that someone younger will be more relatable. -Judy
This is one of the best expat/slow travel videos I have seen. Thank you.
Wow, Heather! Thank you for the huge compliment! Not sure if you have thought about full-time or extended travel, but if so, our episode this week is all about some rarely talked about ideas that you might not have heard before. -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
This is a very well done! You're doing a great job with the channel, but also with your journey and experiences and lifestyle!! Keep up the great work and hopefully some day our paths will cross!!
Thank you so much, Dan! We appreciate your kind words and encouragement! It means the world to us! Please let us know if you will be nearby us, we would absolutely love to meet up! -Judy
No she is right some friends are only for the time you share ,once that's over the friendship is over not all friendships are meant to be long lasting and inn the process you enjoyed the time you shared
Hi @g.williams7740, Thanks for watching and for sharing your own experiences. We have made lovely, strong friendships over the course of our working careers, but only a fraction of those people are ones we'd continue to see, and some are spread all over the world as we've moved or they have. But we continue to stay in touch with many of them by text or email or social media. But they aren't friendships that we have to maintain in person. However, we're more likely to discover that we'll be somewhere in the world where they happen to be traveling and then meet up. Those are wonderful surprises! -Judy
I needed to see this video!!!
Thank you for sharing!!😊😃😁
I’m Retiring in 2 weeks at the YOUNG age of 64+ years!!!
I will have my 40th work Anniversary on my last day!!🎉
Hi Rosie! We are so excited for you! Forty years at one company is a real rarity these days. I hope you have been with a company that has treated you well. But now is YOUR TIME! Do you have plans for your retirement, or are you just excited to see what each new day brings?! We have a full series about downsizing for retirement if that's at all something you're interested in. -Judy
🎥 Downsizing for Retirement or Full-Time Travel Series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF2xRusfMEQvN-5LZZqdnQIf.html
I traveled with my husband for 7 years around the world, and then we took a permanent residence in France. It's been 18 wonderful years in France. It is coming to an end because my husband, age 99, died 7 months ago. I want to travel the world again, but I am concerned about traveling as a widow. .I am 78. Travel insurance stops at age 79. I am healthy. I take No medications. I wonder if I should just risk paying for my health care no matter what happens without insurance.
We are so sorry about the loss of your husband. It has to be very hard, but your desire to travel again is possible. I have never used this company, but I am seeing that it's possible to get a policy for over 80. I'm also seeing places that offer an over-80 rider. If you're able to afford health insurance, I think you should get it. Our policy has a high deductible, but it does cover us for catastrophic events. If you have an emergency, most countries will fix you up, but if you need to be evacuated or transported, those costs can get pretty high. It's wonderful that you are in good health and don't need medications. We hope that lasts for the foreseeable future for you and that you resume your world travels and enjoy this next phase of your life. I'm sure there will be so many people you encounter who will be inspired by what you are doing! -Judy
🩺 Travel insurance if you're over 80: www.gocompare.com/travel-insurance/over-80s/
I am single, 62, and considering living in France for 6 months. Which part would you suggest please.?
@agnesm9528 I'll let @ParisianThinker weigh in, but you will have to get a long-stay visa to live in France for more than three consecutive months if you are not a citizen of the EU, and that requires you to show proof of income, among other things. Of course, you can follow the Schengen rules and stay 90/180 days so technically you can be there for 90 days, leave for 90 and go back in. We haven't traveled there extensively enough to give you informed opinions of best places to live (although we currently are in Colmar, France right now!). -Judy
🎥 The Schengen 90/180 Rule Explained in 60 Seconds: th-cam.com/users/shorts3VhQ-jbMRAs
@@agnesm9528
You are an inspiration for me, as long as you can travel, dont ever stop. Im sorry for you lost❤ life is happening right now as we speak, so go for it, and just be careful, and have fun❤🎉
A huge factor that helped me decide to pursue happiness instead of more money after losing my job 3 months ago (30 years at the same company) was an online retirement planner. It helped me realize even with pessimistic assumptions I shouldn't have to ever work again and can retire at 55. Just got back from a month-long motorbike trip in Vietnam and planning for Thailand in a few months!
Way to turn lemons into lemonade! Be safe on that motorbike, but have an amazing time in Thailand. We have some videos from there and Chiang Mai if you plan to spend any time there. It's unnerving to lose your job after 30 years, which does exemplify how little most companies care about your many years of loyal service, but I'm so glad that you ended up winning despite it all. -Judy
🎥 Thailand video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF3cqPH8_O_WDVYgoT13KJRq.html
That’s so awesome! Way to own your own dreams 🙌🏼🤗❤️
@@FindingGinaMarie I'm not sure what our route will be so I'm definitely saving your Thailand link. Ha yes, we are all just numbers for our employers.
You're right about safety. I'm getting full bike gear this time! Thanks for the detailed reply.
@@all4fitz So glad to hear this (regarding your safety gear)! -Judy
Hey there! My husband and I feel like we can really relate to you. Nick just celebrated his 51st birthday, and I'm 47, but I've always had this mindset ever since we moved to the US. I've been feeling like a prisoner of my own life circumstances for so long, and I feel stuck. I believe there's so much more to life than what we've created up to this point. When I was listening to you and you started talking about the medical aspect, I thought to myself, "Just go to Serbia," and then, a few minutes later, when you mentioned SRBIJA, I almost fell out of my chair laughing 😊. That is my home country.
Thank you so much for watching, @zkmarija. Serbia is a beautiful country and we are glad to have visited and appreciate all the great medical care Kevin received there. A link to our Serbia episodes are below, but of course, we couldn't explore as much as we'd like, so we definitely would like to return. As far as being a prisoner of your own life, we absolutely understand. But I think that having an awareness is the first step towards change, especially since we only get to live one life on this huge planet of ours. We wish you all the best! -Judy
This hit home. I too am feeling very stuck at 50 and my husband and I already plan to retire early but with two teenagers we're like still going because we want them to launch successfully...still around 4 years to go for that and pay off the mortgage but it's so draining...been working my entire life since I was 15! Been laid off 2 times and i'm working now looking for the end of the 9-5! :(
@@Darkslide99 Thanks for watching! Could you consider an online side hustle that might lift your spirits and which might possibly bring you enough income in a year or two to quit your full-time job? And could you possibly downsize versus keeping the house you're currently in? Just some ideas to be thinking unconventionally when you're feeling boxed in by your circumstances. -Judy
You guys are awesome! You are so lucky to have each other with great health and both willing to live this lifestyle! Great tips- to- 😀👍
Thank you so much, Lisa, for your kind words. We don't take our relationship for granted at all. We met when I was 14 and Kevin was 16, and we know how rare it is to remain together for 40 years of marriage. We actually have a few articles on our website for couples who aren't as fully aligned on full-time travel. But it makes it so much easier to be in lockstep! Thank you so much for watching! -Judy
📝 Navigating Full-Time Travel as a Couple: findingginamarie.com/articles/what-if-your-spouse-doesnt-want-to-travel-full-time
📝 How to Reduce Stress for Anxious Travelers: findingginamarie.com/articles/how-to-reduce-stress-for-anxious-travelers
We are sort of doing the same! We are in the second boat. We started our journey 4.5 years ago and we are targeting retiring in 4 years. We love the message, new subscribers here!
Thank you so much for watching and for subscribing! Good luck with your growing channel and achieving your retirement goals! It certainly helps when people can plan ahead for it like you are doing. We have a full series regarding full-time travel if that's at all something you plan to do in your retirement. I'll link it below (as well as our downsizing series, which might be useful regardless of whether you will be traveling or not!). -Judy
🎥 Downsizing for Retirement or Full-Time Travel Series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF2xRusfMEQvN-5LZZqdnQIf.html
🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html
🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads):
📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
@@FindingGinaMarie Thanks for the tips!
Thanks so much!!!
I want to do that
God bless you for sharing
I’m not scared anymore
We wish you all the best, Marta. If you have any questions, feel free to let us know and we'll do our best to help you out. -Judy
Thank you. Love watching people do what they love. We were frugal as can be and now have more money than we will ever need unless something catastrophic happens. We just can't bite the bullet and sell our home and don't want to rent it. Our home is in a beautiful area about 25 miles south of where you were in S.F. so we also have perfect weather. Our costs are so low living in a very expensive area. We do travel a lot but so love walking back into our home. Enjoy you both!
Hi Anne, we hope you have taken steps to retire even if you aren't full-time travelers. We know that it can be hard for people who have lived their lives frugally to spend the fruits of their labors when they have enough funds. We are ecstatic despite some of our circumstances to have stepped out and do what we love. Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to share your life with us. Of course, you do not need to sell your home or rent it if it continues to bring you joy! We know that full-time travel isn't for everyone, and many people who do it still keep a home base. -Judy
Where is low cost living in CA , I’m trying to relocate.
@@RosaArdon-mz7py Hopefully @annethall will weigh in. We are living outside of the US in part because we aren't aware of those low cost areas! -Judy
🎥 Why We'll Never Live in the US Again: th-cam.com/video/xeTdMPRgkWM/w-d-xo.html
I am only young, but have already started to feel stuck at the cooperate job, not able to take actual long time off to travel SLOW (which I think is important and enjoyable). Watching your videos solidify my goal of early retirement and at the same time very comforting/ pleasing to see how you been doing it for 2 years and still enjoying. Thanks for sharing
Hi Gi, Thank you so much for watching. You might enjoy our video from last week that talks about our five secrets about full-time travel that might give you some additional encouragement and peace of mind. And truly, nearly two years in and we are enjoying our lives SO MUCH with zero regrets! You definitely can take actions now to set you up for success, especially by reducing your consumerism, which can be hard, but gives you money for traveling! There are so many ways a young person can build financial security through side hustles and remote work. Think unconventionally and best of luck! -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for sharing your experience- this is where I am in my life now. You gave me lots of inspiration! ❤️🙏
We are so glad to hear this, Helen! It's an exciting place to be! Let us know if you need any help, encouragement, or anything else. I can't recall if you've seen any of our other episodes, but these might be helpful if you don't already know about them. -Judy
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Our Hard-Earned Advice for Downsizing | Downsizing for Full-Time Travel and Retirement: th-cam.com/video/fSXUQS00agA/w-d-xo.html
✅ Downsizing Prep Worksheet: findingginamarie.com/request-downsizing-prep-worksheet
Thank you so much for watching, Helen! -Judy
I retired early and wanted to travel. The longest travel is one month and I was ready to get home. I prefer doing multiple trips lasting three weeks at the most. That's my preference.
We understand! Even as full-time travelers, we take some down days where we aren't over scheduled or are tired from sightseeing. You have to work with what works for you. It sounds like you have figured it out, which is great! Thanks for watching and sharing your views. -Judy
This is what we do. We are gone 50% of the year but like a home base. We downsized our home base and live simply but like the home base. There are so many options in retirement. Glad you like your choice. ❤
Awesome and inspiring!! Thank you and best wishes!!
Thank you so much for watching, Joan. We appreciate your kind words very much! -Judy
Hi, my husband and I retired 1.5yr ago at 58/59. We always thought 62/61 was the age we were striving to reach…in looking back we could have retired at 56/55 but we feared the unknown…once we put our plans in motion we didn’t look back and retirement life is amazing…we have been traveling none stop and enjoying life. Your video is wonderful and educational…I tell people all the time to educate themselves on retirement because it it still reachable for those individuals who are focused and know what it means to life below your means and a penny saved today completes a dollar tomorrow.
Thank you so much for watching, Roxie, and for sharing your wisdom and a bit of your story with us! -Judy
Love this video. We are so conditioned in the United States to think there is only one path to retirement, when in reality there are so many alternative ways to live and enjoy life. We are so glad you shared your experience.
Thank you so much for watching, Steph and Chris! We didn't give ourselves a lot of time to overthink things or change our minds, and we don't regret it one bit! Mostly, we didn't want to be people who talked about it and never took action. So glad you are living your dreams, too! -Judy
Thank you so much for this video! I’m absolutely miserable in corporate America, and have been seriously contemplating quitting to become a full time traveler. I am a single mom, so I have to be careful in my decisions, but I have made steps towards this goal and am beyond excited to see what the future holds.
Hi Heather, We can relate. We loved our jobs until we didn't and then it was very hard to even consider starting over anywhere else. We're excited that you have identified a goal and are taking steps to move towards it! We share a lot on our website and on our channel geared to full-time travelers. You might want to look at our playlists and our articles for "Nomads." Reach out any time if you have questions! Thank you so much for watching and sharing with us. -Judy
Millions feel just like you but feel trapped.
Hi @carlo6912, You're absolutely right, but that's where thinking differently is so important. Identifying that your life is not making you happy (or is unfulfilling) is the first step. Once you recognize it, you can work towards coming up with creative solutions so you take back control of your life. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie appreciate the kind words, thank you.
Thank you for this video it was very thoughtful 😊❤
Thank you so much for watching, Rosa! You might be interested in the two other videos we put together about health versus wealth regarding when the right time is to retire. -Judy
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for sharing these insights. They are quite different from what I have heard thus far.
Also, your responses to comments have been so thoughtful and caring. I look forward to your continual sharing. The best of luck with your channel and future travels. Blessings🌺
Thank you so much for your very kind words, Anna! We know that there are a lot of people who take the usual route, but that doesn't have to be everyone's plan. We aren't saying to make rash decisions, but if you're willing to think through the process and find a way that works for you, more power to you. We have zero regrets and we are making it all work! Our responses to comments may be a little time consuming, but we love hearing from our viewers, and we feel if they are taking time out of their day to connect with us, then we want to do our very best in our responses! It is so sweet of you to notice! -Judy
Love your video. Super thorough, and it covers all my concerns. Very helpful
We are so glad to hear this! We build on this episode and discuss some things not a lot of people talk about in the episode linked below. We hope you find it helpful as well. Thank you so much for watching and for leaving us this comment! -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
LOVE IT! Thank you! Expect to join you two traveling the world soon! One thing holding both of us back is ... we like our jobs/careers. One of us is an expert in their very specialized niche... Took us a long time to get to where we are and will kinda suck when we leave it all behind... we have a good life now.... BUT we know we are in the last quarter of life and if we want to see the world need to get busy before we CAN'T!!!! This is holding us back.. a little... we will retire in 2 - 3 years.
Thank you so much, John! We will eagerly look forward to seeing you on the road in a few years. I do know about loving your job. There have been places in my career that I never wanted to leave. But my priorities were out of kilter. I had devoted so much time to my career and didn't focus enough on the other aspects of my life. You may have had a different experience. But one day I literally woke up and questioned if I would be happy if I had a health problem and couldn't do all the things I wanted to. Enjoy this in between time and perhaps consider some downsizing so when you're ready, you're ready! -Judy
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Our Hard-Earned Advice for Downsizing | Downsizing for Full-Time Travel and Retirement: th-cam.com/video/fSXUQS00agA/w-d-xo.html
✅ Downsizing Prep Worksheet: findingginamarie.com/request-downsizing-prep-worksheet
@@FindingGinaMarie Thank you Judy! Yeah.... Health concerns are driving us to realize our best day is today ... we want to be healthy enough to hike and go on safari and see the world... We will get there... thank you the helpful resources!!! Looking forward to your next vlog... HEY! Did you hire a financial planner?
@@johncarter8539 Thank you so much for your encouragement, John! We have an episode coming out today as part of our downsizing process so you can build momentum with quick wins! We did NOT hire a financial planner. One might have laughed in our face and told us that we need to work several more years. We've spent our lives living contrary to some of the common advice and it seems to have worked out fairly well for us. We are thinking about retirement more unconventionally, which is one of the many reasons we have a TH-cam channel and a blog. We're willing to continue to "work," but we are doing it on our terms that allow us to travel and experience life in a way that we couldn't while we had our corporate jobs. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie I love it! Thank you Gina. Curious, how many hours a week do you two spend on your TH-cam work?
Love your website.
@@johncarter8539 We spend a good amount of time on it, especially with the extra bonus episodes we've been doing on Tuesdays. Our non-location videos where we're talking in our Airbnb take about 7 hours to edit and it takes another three hours or so to talk through what an episode should look like once we are set on a topic. Editing our travel videos takes longer because of all the voiceover and images we pile into them. Editing alone for them takes 11-20 hours, but we're getting better at editing, so that's now closer to 11-14 hours apiece. Planning and filming takes probably another three or four hours. Fortunately, we each have our roles, so while Kevin is deep in editing, I'm answering comments, working on our website articles, newsletters, commenting in our La Famiglia forum, and planning our activities and upcoming travel locations. That's why for us spending a month somewhere is almost required so that we still have time to enjoy the places where we are visiting. It's a lot of work, but so much fun and it's all very fulfilling for us creatively. Also, while we are choosing to do all this, we would so much rather be working this way than in our corporate jobs. For us the tradeoff is a no-brainer. -Judy
📝 Why Our Channel is Called "Finding Gina Marie": findingginamarie.com/articles/why-the-name-finding-gina-marie
So good! Thanks!
Thank you for watching, Sherrie! -Judy
Love your perspective. Cheers to breaking the rules or at least having an out of the box retirement!
Kevin especially has been a rebel like that, Erin, and after 45 years together, some of that has rubbed off on me! it is very empowering to break the rules and create a new way of doing things regardless of what naysayers tell you is possible or not! -Judy
Thanks again for a great video. We start our full retirement in 3 years and plan for 1 year of travel.
How wonderful for you, Deb! You might want to really think about what type of travel you have in mind for that year. We originally thought we'd move around quite a bit faster than we ended up doing. For our initial plans during our first month of travel, we thought we'd see probably seven different cities. But we ended up scaling wayyyy back, and it was so much better for us. Below is a link to an article we wrote that talks about slow travel. The downside is that you won't see nearly as much this way, but your experiences may be richer. It will help for you to get a sense of whether you have the energy and money for fast travel or need to slow it down. At one point we opted to fast travel for a bit, and Kevin's reaction below speaks volumes. Your situation may be different if you're not running a TH-cam channel or doing other work, though. -Judy
🐢 Slow Travel and Why We Do It: findingginamarie.com/articles/slow-travel-and-why-we-do-it
🎥 Slow Travel or No Travel: th-cam.com/video/LrLGJ-X6I4A/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for sharing your story. I am waiting for my son to graduate high school but i think after that I am going
Hi John, Thanks so much for watching! We don't regret what we did even a bit. If anything, we regret not doing it sooner. But the timing ended up being perfect for us. We wish you all the best. It's a great life! Here are some other videos to possibly inspire you or to give you some inkling of what you might expect. -Judy
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html
🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads):
📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
My original retirement plan was to retire at 62, work part-time, and save money. However, high prices for everything have severely affected my plan. I'm concerned if people who went through the 2008 financial crisis had an easier time than I am having now. The stock market is worrying me as my income has decreased, and I fear I won't have enough savings for retirement since I can't contribute as much as before.
I’m 77 and still working full time. I do enjoy my work, it provides me with purpose and has secured my financial future. Most people are too eager to retire as early as possible. Even if you do retire early, best to get a part time job for the reasons cited above, as well as following many if not all of the suggestions in this video.
Hi @MarcyLoccy: Thanks for watching. We thought we'd continue working longer, but our jobs had changed more than we'd liked and when we stepped back, we realized that we weren't living our best life and didn't want to die or have mobility issues before we got to retirement. Retiring early isn't for everyone, and being content creators is a time-consuming job, but we love it and get so much out of it. It doesn't pay anywhere close to our expenses and is a far cry from our tech jobs, but it is rewarding and fulfilling. -Judy
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
❤LOVE this video!! Just found your channel - Thank you for giving me some hope today!!
We are so glad you clicked on our video, Gynine! We are thrilled to have you here. We are going to be adding more of these types of episodes to our channel, so if there's something you'd like to know, we'd be happy to try to answer it for you. We have two different playlists that might be helpful and a link to our ever-growing articles list for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads). -Judy
🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html
🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
Thanks!
Thanks so much for watching, Kathryn! -Judy
Great information!
Thank you so much for watching, Stacie! -Judy
Thank you both! Big challenge for my wife and I is:
1. Safe locations - I’ve been fascinated in going to Mexico, but my wife is scared of dangerous parts of countries with crime
2. We have kids, so deciding when to start slow travel- is it when the youngest child goes to college?
Hi Jeremiah, We are heading to Mexico City for the first time in March 2025. If you live in the US, the statistics for crime are much worse than many other parts of the world, especially when you consider gun violence. Linked below are some interesting statistics. You could start out primarily visiting the countries she's most comfortable in and then expanding. Kevin was pretty uncomfortable going to Egypt, but once we had that experience under our belts, we felt on top of the world. We're currently here in Argentina and just planned our 2025 schedule through the end of March to be in South America, Central America, and then Mexico City. Afterwards we'll be in Europe for five months and then head to New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia. If you mix it up, it will be much easier.
As far as when the best time is, sheesh, that's really dependent on your family situation. Some people make the choice to travel with their kids. I think that's a hard thing to do, BUT if you can swing it, it's an amazing way to teach your children about the world, how to have empathy, and history and politics can truly come alive because you learn from other perspectives besides your home country. We didn't prioritize it with our kids, but we wish we had.
Our daughter is pretty social, but she had a hard time adjusting to college and being out on her own. She didn't know anyone at that school and it was tough for her. It took her a few years to find her rhythm. We moved from Houston to San Francisco when she was in her third year of college, and she missed having our home base to come back to during breaks (she went to Texas colleges). Your children may have more independence and may not need you, but that was our experience. When we started traveling, she was 29 and it was still a little hard for her. The upside is that she adores travel and she's met up with us in Japan and Italy and just spent a month in Bali (without us!). Our sons are home bodies and more independent, so it's a little easier with them, but we wish they were interested in meeting up with us on our travels. As it is, we only are back in the US once per year. They're all 31, 33, and 35 now, so they don't need the same level of hand holding. You know your own children best.
I hope this helps! -Judy
🔗 2024 Safest Cities Ranked: ceoworld.biz/2024/01/27/revealed-safest-cities-in-the-world-2024/
🔗 Ranking of Safest Cities: www.reddit.com/r/argentina/comments/1goepgx/safest_american_cities_argentina_and_canada_shine/
What great information. So glad I found your channel.
Hi @JRspeaking, Thank you so much for watching and for writing! We think you might also enjoy our 5 secrets that are rarely talked about regarding full-time travel if that's something you've ever thought about doing. -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
I've retired early... Next year I will be ready to become a slowmad. I'm looking forward to it!
How wonderful for you, Renate! That is so cool! It really is a great life! -Judy
My husband and I also want to retire early and travel the world like you guys do. I wish, I wish with all my heart...😊We travel whenever we can but not as often as we would like to. Best of luck!
Where there's a will, there's a way, Elle! You might find our latest video useful where we discuss some secrets about full-time travel that people rarely talk about. Thanks so much for watching and sharing your goals. In 2019 we took three international trips versus our usual two, and it made me realize that the travel bug had bitten us hard. After two years of lockdown, our desire to travel hit with a vengeance. We have no regrets, even though our path was fairly unconventional. -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for taking the time to create and post this video. It has made me think! For me the biggest worries for traveling is available money and health insurance. At 71 with preexisting conditions there aren't many companies that will cover me and / or my wife. Your video will help inspire me to begin thinking outside the box. Again thank you!!
Hi Jim, Thank you so much for watching. Preexisting conditions are challenging for sure-I previously had basal cell carcinoma, which is excluded from my health coverage. However, the out-of-pocket costs for some things are significantly cheaper outside of the US. For instance, I needed a prescription in the US and the pharmacy gave me a coupon to use that made the cost of it $800 versus $1200, BUT I paid €81 in France for the same prescription! It cost $250 in Thailand. Kevin's hernia surgery in Serbia cost €1800 out of pocket, compared to probably close to $10K in the US. If you're able to survive more comfortably by living in a country outside the US, even if you aren't able to work due to poor health, it still might be a reasonable tradeoff. But if your cost of living is low and your Medicare/Medicaid coverage is serving you, I can see that living in the US is a safer bet. Here's a link to last week's video where we shared our 5 secrets for traveling full time that aren't talked about often enough. Hopefully that and our episode of why we don't anticipate living in the US again are helpful to you. Best of luck! -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Why we won't live in the US again: th-cam.com/video/xeTdMPRgkWM/w-d-xo.html
You are awesome! Living car free is such a great lifehack!
We LOVE not having a car. We are in the US for three weeks and except for our time in San Francisco, we've been stuck driving and we haven't enjoyed it one bit. We don't drive internationally at all, so Kevin is my hero for the 1200 miles he's driven while we've been here (with two more days to go). We wish Americans weren't so in love with their cars because it would be so much easier if the US were set up better for trains. It took us longer to drive from Houston to Austin than it did from going across South Korea from Busan to Seoul. It's crazy! -Judy
I completely agree! Love, love love your videos!
Thank you so much, BW! While it was wonderful for us to spend time with family and friends over the last three weeks in the US, we are currently en route to France. Living on the road feels more like home than the US does these days! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie I feel that!
Thank you and I can’t wait for us to retire and travel.
Hi @ephitsmarqz6398! We wish you all the best so you can do that, too! Our video from this past Saturday may be helpful. We discuss some things that aren't often talked about regarding full-time travel that we think you will want to know. Also, we have a full series of videos regarding preparing for full-time travel and also life as full-time travelers. We realize that you might not be doing what we are after retirement, but it may be good food for thought. Thanks for watching! -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html
🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads):
📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
Great tips and conversation. Inspiring!
Thanks so much for watching and for taking the time to leave us this kind note, Claude. We really appreciate it! -Judy
Yes!! That’s what my husband and I planning to do guy’s, enjoy life while you can . ❤
Hi Charm, Good for you both! It's an incredible way to live! And we feel the same about enjoying life while you can and as much as you can. I'm linking some of our ongoing lists of resources that might be helpful for whenever you're ready to launch. -Judy
🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html
🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads):
📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
You’re both looking so healthy and happy! Hope your stay in Italy was refreshing.
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment! Italy was very refreshing and very hard to leave. The best part is that as full-time travelers we can always return! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie So true!
By the way, I see that in your travel videos you both give examples of typical costs of accommodations, meals, coffee, etc. Would you consider doing a video on your average monthly cost of slow travel (including planes, trains, etc)? I think it would be helpful to those of us considering slow travel to compare costs and lifestyle to you both.
I totally understand if there are expenses you’d like to keep private like charity, but those could always be omitted.
Thanks!
Hi Anthony, yes, we would consider doing this. Each month varies and while we have a budget, we don't consider ourselves "budget travelers" per se. We can include all transportation costs, but we recognize that where we are traveling from might vary in price considerably from what the cost might be for someone traveling from a different part of the world. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie That makes sense! I don’t think we are wanting to be budget travelers either. Your lifestyle seems pretty similar to what would be realistic for us. I think there might be a “non-budget, yet budget-minded traveler” niche you could appeal to.
We hope so, too, Anthony! -Judy
I just discovered your channel & I love it! ❤We’ve been married for 28 years & we have traveled to many countries but I’m encouraging my hubby to retire early so we can travel the world. He’s 58 years young. Any suggestions on retiring earlier than the conventional 65?
Hi Jessica, We are so glad you found us and are very glad to have you following along as we share our travels and retirement experiences. Congratulations on 28 years of marriage! I was 58 and Kevin was 60 when we started traveling, so we tried to convey what we did to retire early. We probably should have continued working a bit longer to be in better financial shape, but we felt that the financial aspect was only one part of the puzzle to work out (health is the other issue to weigh, even if you're currently very healthy). There are plenty of ways to travel less expensively especially in the type of accommodations you stay in and the countries you visit, there's resources like Trusted House Sitters, House Carers, etc. to offset some of the accommodations costs, being willing to cook versus eating out for every meal. I guess what would help me better to understand is knowing what the obstacles are. If they're all financial, we chose to start a TH-cam channel to bridge our gap financially, and there are plenty of online activities to bring in extra income. We talked through how willing we each would be to re-enter the workforce if necessary, what alternative skills could we build and use that would prevent us from working in corporate roles again. We don't have a home base in the US so that all the money we have can go towards our travel experiences. Let us know if you have specific questions and we can try to provide deeper answers. I'll add a few other resources that might be able to help as well. -Judy
RESOURCES:
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html
🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads):
📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
Great video and ideas for lodging options. Thanks.
Thank you so much for watching and for letting us know that some of our ideas were useful for you, Christine! -Judy
You guys are so so amazing! I loved watching this and seeing hope for my life/travel goal in the future! Cheers to being happy!
Thanks so much for your comment, Nicole, and for watching! Also, good luck with your TH-cam channel; we were in the Amalfi Coast in June and had a great time introducing it to our daughter! -Judy
I'm new here, what are your names? Just watched your video today and can relate with your thoughts. We moved to Europe about 18 months ago. Love it! We travel when and where we want. We do have a residence in Portugal as our home base. We needed a place to call home. We too have learned a lot and must also adapt to many differences when living outside the US. We enjoy and accept that challenge. We feel ALIVE! JP Porto
@@JP7onEarth We are Judy and Kevin. You may have skipped past our intro where we introduce ourselves. Our channel is called Finding Gina Marie because I met my birth mother just days before the pandemic had us all on lockdown. The name on my original birth certificate was Gina Marie, and I was named after her. Finding her changed our priorities and knowing that I could acquire Italian dual citizenship helped to launch us on our full-time travel journey. We started our channel because our reunion story was so incredible. Despite being a secret from the majority of her family for 56 years, they embraced me and my family with open arms. You can watch our series called Finding Family if you're interested in it.
How wonderful for you to be living in Europe. We had considered Lisbon and Porto for living as expats, but in the process of discerning where to live, we ended up deciding to travel full time instead and not have a home base. Very cool that you are in Porto! We agree with feeling alive. There is rarely a dull moment in our lives these days. We have to actually plan them! Thank you so much for watching and for sharing about yourselves! -Judy
🎥 Finding Family intro videos: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1QI_-Q6b-zspHSRhbyiu6_.html
@@FindingGinaMarie i read lots of responses and just found your names. 🤣🤣Thanks for responding. We too moved from the SF Bay Area. Japan is next for us. JP Porto
@@JP7onEarth What a small world! We loved San Francisco, but it was too expensive of a place for us to retire in. We spend 40+ days in Japan, so you might want to check out our series from there. We loved it and hope you will, too! -Judy
🎥 Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
Great info and presentation, thanks. I have done this with my wife for 12+ years, mainly based in Asia. My only regret: not doing it sooner.
Hi Greg, but you both are so young! We have the same regrets, but we started so much later than you have. It's a balancing act to want to see everything all at once while also wanting to take time and savor every moment. We spent seven months in Asia between October and April and I can see how we barely scratched the surface. Safe travels! -Judy
Just watched your video. Thank you for the great tips. Holding me back on doing slow travel is my home mortgage and of course my possessions i have to give away. I still plan to work remotely even part time
Hi Grace, We get the whole mortgage problem, which is why we sold everything so we wouldn't have to deal with those expenses or responsibilities. But we know not everyone wants to give up their home base. And technically, we're working remotely as well, even though it's for ourselves. TH-cam is time consuming, but more rewarding than we ever imagined it could be. Thanks so much for watching. -Judy
Excellent video. I agree that cars are an "essential evil" in most parts of the US. The costs to maintain them really holds us back...great info guys!
Thanks for watching! We drove approximately 1400 miles during the three weeks we were in the US. Insane! Kevin said if we visit again before the next 12 months is up, it will be too soon, based exclusively on the driving situation. We have a lot of family in Houston and Austin and they're very spread out. It's one of the reasons we were so burned out and opted not to bring a car with us to San Francisco. There are not many places in the US where you don't need a car, unfortunately. -Judy
Yes(we have one life to live).
The wisdom say:don’t let your day be equal to yesterday.Keep inform us⭐️
Hi Muhammad, We like that philosophy. It's amazing to us how happy we are. And even when things aren't going perfectly, we still pinch ourselves and say, well, at least we are dealing with this issue in Paris (or whatever place we're in) versus dealing with it at home! -Judy
you guys are awesome. Thank you for posting this
Thank you for your kind words, Jack. While it might feel a bit scary initially, we have zero regrets. We hope you are living your best life and enjoying it to the fullest. Life is too short to wait until retiring at 70 and hoping all the stars will align. -Judy
Thanks for the video. My wife and I retired early and travel full-time as well, We followed the FIRE path but it was not sacrificing any of our life to save money. We did/had basically what everyone else did, but made some intentional adjustments to spend a lot less doing them, We also found that most of the things that made (and still make) us happy were unrelated to spending a lot of money. Cheers!.
Hi Justin, congratulations to you both. We had only heard of FIRE in the last few years. I'm not sure what rock we were living under to have missed it. It's wonderful when you can be happy without having to acquire a bunch of stuff. How early did you retire and what are your goals for full-time travel? There is so much of the world we still want to see! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Hi Judy, we definitely acquired a bunch of stuff along the way, but we often bought used items and avoided the typical upgrade cycle (e.g., cars, cell phones, houses). Early furniture we bought in 1990 we still had 33 years later when we downsized everything. I have a blog piece about how frugality doesn't mean deprivation if you are interested. I retired in 2000 at 52 and my wife retired at 52 in 2002. We downsized completely and started traveling full-time over a year ago. As far as goals for full-time travel, we slow travel (usually a month in each city). We are in Japan now for the Kumano Kodo through hike and will be in Asia through January. We love through hiking and plan to do the Lycian Way, Camino Frances, and another through hike in the UK (we already did Hadrian's Wall) in 2025. So far it is a great retirement! Cheers, Justin
We did a long bus tour along Hadrian's Wall, but hiking along it sounds much better. Enjoy your travels! -Judy
This was super informative! My wife and I are nesters by nature so this would be hard for us - and we love having pets and that would be difficult to give up. But, we love traveling and could see being based somewhere (maybe US) and traveling for a month at a time.
Thank you so much for watching, James! A lot of people use Housesitters.com for lodging even when they don't need to save money because many of the people using the platform need people willing to care for their pets! The more we thought about traveling full time, the more excited we got, but we know it isn't for everyone, especially if you like having your stuff around you. But at a minimum, we hope this is encouraging you, if you need it, to think about how you can live unconventionally and think outside the box. Traveling for a month at a time is a great idea! -Judy
Love you two!
Thank you so much, Vickie! We appreciate it so much! -Judy
Thank you for sharing! And glad to know you enjoyed the trip to Taiwan! Ha!
Hi Sabrina Thank you so much for watching. We are so glad we got to visit Taiwan. We wish there hadn't been an earthquake there when we were, but we had such a good visit otherwise! -Judy
Love you guys so much and wish you well in your adventures. You are a great example from me, a way younger viewer 😅. Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙏🏼
Hi Joe, Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write to us. Our daughter is 31 and she is so much less interested in accumulating stuff and working a 9-5 job than we were at her age. We thought we needed to be tied down and own a home, but we realized later than we would have liked that our lives could have been so much richer with less stuff and different priorities. We didn't travel internationally until our kids were in college, which was such a bummer looking back on it all. Best of luck to you always! -Judy
Not everyone is interested in travel and would rather rock on their front porch of a property they own. That I find is a generational thing, especially those who really worked to own something. I try really hard not to be attached to a home because my memories are with me or pictures. My husband is a cautious traveler, but I’d like to travel the world. I’m 59 and he’s 62 and our health is good now and I want to travel why we can.
Yes, Liz, that is very true for some people. And even if they're not rocking, some people just want to be surrounded by their stuff which has very happy memories for them. We get it, but we'd rather have those memories compressed into photographs that we take with us everywhere, and for us it's enough to do that, just as you've said. We have an article on helping couples to travel more comfortably together when their styles aren't fully aligned. We also think traveling while you can is wise. Mobility or memory issues and a myriad of other things can happen and then travel becomes much harder. Thanks for watching. -Judy
📝 Navigating Love and Travel: findingginamarie.com/articles/what-if-your-spouse-doesnt-want-to-travel-full-time
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you so much for watching. You might enjoy our 5 secrets episode that aired this past Saturday where we share about some topics that are rarely talked about, but which we think everyone considering full-time travel should know about. The episode is linked below. -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
@@FindingGinaMarie thanks!
What a great episode! How far ahead do you plan your locations, particularly the expensive big jumps.
Thanks so much for watching, Scott! "Plan" means multiple things! By mid January 2024 we had pretty much decided everywhere we'd be for the year (country, city, neighborhood) and had accommodations booked for nearly all of the cities we'd be in. We had a few one-offs where we knew what country, but hadn't finalized accommodations or exact timing (Morocco, since we'll be there around 40 days and weren't locked into our cities yet and Brazil since we were going back and forth about which city to visit. BUT we knew we wanted to be in South America for the winter and early 2025).
Our London to US flight last year was booked 2.5 months in advance, US to Japan flight in 2023 was three months in advance, our South Korea to Italy flight in 2024 was 3 months in advance, our recent Madrid to the US flight was 7 months in advance, the hop from the US to France was also 7 months in advance. We're yet to book our flight to Buenos Aires yet, so we need to get on the stick. It's closing in on 2.5 months right now!
When we have life events like my mother's 80th birthday this past July, we book pretty early. But some of those other flights weren't scheduled early because we knew that our plans would be in a state of flux and we don't like having a bunch of flight credits hanging around, since we don't have airline loyalty. We have a wish list of places, factor in things like birthdays (where do we want to spend our birthdays), take into account weather and pricing for the areas we want to be and see how it all comes together.
My London birthday trip was a last-minute scheduling change, our trip to Japan was supposed to be in May 2024, but we decided to start our Asia adventures there instead. Ditto for Buenos Aires. Originally we were supposed to be in Sardinia in November, but a few months back we got literal and physical cold feet and decided we wanted to be warm, so we shifted our plans to start in South America a month earlier than we thought we would. We've known since January 2024 that we'd be in Brazil for December.
We're going to be spending a lot of time while we're in Albania beginning next week fleshing out our South America travel (through the end of February and possibly March). We have already been playing around with our wish list for 2025 for several months already. Malta is for sure on the list for spring, Sardinia will be in May, we would *really* like to get to South Africa possibly in the summer, and Kevin has been hoping to get to New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia in the winter. Our big issue is when we're going to be back in the US. We're leaning towards November 2025, but that will be more than a year since our last visit. Those US trips put a monkey wrench in things at times because it makes sense for them to be part of our big pivots, but it may be hard for us to do all four big locations in one year-South America to Europe, Europe to South Africa, a visit to the US, and travel to Oceana. We'll be crunching numbers to see what's possible.
I hope that wasn't too complicated of an answer for you to what was probably a much simpler question! -Judy
P.S. In some situations we need to pay for our accommodations in full when we book them and since our location is very important to us, we tend to book those first (we know in advance what flights will look like). Whenever possible we take advantage of Airbnb allowing us to split the payment (at no cost or interest) or book reservations that don't require a deposit. But it can be a burden at times to outlay cash for a year in advance for everything, so we tend to wait a little bit longer for flights for that reason as well, but that is a secondary reason to not wanting lingering flight credits if we change our minds.
@@FindingGinaMarie perfect! Thanks for all the info!
Thank you for the information
Thank you for letting us know that it was useful. Since most people talk about how they saved their entire lives in order to live like we are, we thought it would be useful to share what we did differently and how it's working out for us. -Judy
To your question, my main obstacle is that I've seen partnered traveling work really well to manage culture shock, safety, and just fun to have a buddy time, whereas almost no one covers solo travel for women unless they are very privileged/wealthy, want to stay in expat bubbles, or have a lot of health privilege and nothing medical to work around. I've also seen people who don't need deep relationships be very happy traveling but those of us who do need deep relationships not be happy traveling. I really appreciate your touching on some of these things today and I'll check out your website to learn more about how to connect. It's refreshing to hear someone not just say "oh youll end up with (useless) FB friends and you can text people the rest of your life" when that's not neurocognitively valid for mental health. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing with us. We wish we could help more directly, but it's hard for travel couples to offer useful advice to solo travelers when that's not how we travel. Of course, there are plenty of independent couples who do their own thing and we'd love to have more solo women join our La Famiglia forum and share what works for them so that we could be part of the conversation and understand more about the challenges they face and learn for ourselves-because let's face it, there's a likelihood that travel couples will lose a spouse and find themselves as a solo.
We have found solo travelers on tours and have met up with them afterwards for coffee and it's possible to even try to arrange a separate meetup post tour. I still talk regularly to a woman I met from the US when we traveled to Egypt. It's also been a nice perk of having a TH-cam channel that we've been able to meet up with our viewers. It can be a lot of work, but there's certainly a gap in content that you could fill if you wanted to start your own channel targeted to the viewers you want to connect with who struggle with the same issues as you. Also, you might want to understand exactly what these deep relationships look like in your mind so that you can foster them when you find them in your travels. We'd love to hear what that means for you as well. These suggestions might sound trite, so forgive me if they aren't helpful. I do still make time for phone calls with family members despite the time zone differences (and those can even be FaceTime). I also started sending mailed greeting cards because I found that text messages don't cut it for me, either. ♥️ -Judy
🎥 Preserving Relationships from a Distance with Mailed Cards: findingginamarie.com/articles/sending-mailed-cards-with-a-twist
I believe you soooo made the right choice to do the traveling - while you're still young enough AND healthy. It's true, we never know what tomorrow may bring. Too many do the "someday when....." I hope you continue to have the most awesome adventures!!
Thank you so much for watching and for your thoughtful comment. We truly are loving our lives and have zero regrets. One of the drivers in making our decision was that we didn't want to just talk about changing our lives but we actually wanted to do it. We were fortunate that we were in a place in our lives to be able to make the change. We wish you well and hope you also are living your best life! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Judy, thank you for the sweet words. I truly am happy you are able to fulfill your dream. You are truly an inspiration!
Good content. Just subscribed. i like Travel Smart I never thought of that .
Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to leave this comment. It means a lot to hear it! -Judy
Good decision..enjoy life ❤..subscribed
Thank you so much! We absolutely are doing that! We wish you all the best with your channel and life, too! -Judy
Thanks for sharing your experience. Very inspiring. If I had a travel partner I’d be gone tomorrow. Being single and 69, it’s a bit scary. I haven’t traveled that much especially by myself. The world gets so complicated. Retirement in the US I don’t think is an option.
You are not alone with those concerns! But it doesn't have to derail you or prevent you from living your best life. We follow someone online who suffers from extreme anxiety and her coping strategy is to just "do it scared." We love that philosophy. There are kind people everywhere that will help you if you struggle at times. We've made some silly and embarrassing mistakes over the years (linked below), but it is the perspective that you adopt that makes all the difference. It's certainly not a lifestyle for everyone, but if it's really something on your heart to do, then by all means give it a chance.
In our latest video (linked below) we share some ideas that may give you some comfort. -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Our 5 Biggest Travel Mistakes… and how to avoid them: th-cam.com/video/GnIQKrEupoU/w-d-xo.html
Would you mind letting us know how you decided to file state income tax and which stated you picked after moving out of USA? Thanks ❤
We are still technically residents of California. Our driver's licenses still are California and we remain eligible to vote in California in our old precinct. At some point it may make sense for us to switch to someplace like Texas, which is where two of our children live, but most states require you to be a resident for tax purposes by spending 183 days or more in that state. Florida and South Dakota have fewer restrictions and are commonly used for expats, but we aren't particularly enamored by either of those. We'd prefer to pay a little more in taxes and support California's economy.
I'm also linking an article that might be helpful regarding voting when you are living abroad, which I think might be helpful for you. -Judy
📝 Voting While Living Abroad (As a US Citizen): findingginamarie.com/articles/voting-while-living-abroad-as-a-us-citizen
I’m a retired Real Estate Broker/ Administrative Assistant. Empty nester,
solo female who is so excited to travel the world but I’m on SS and that budget is awful. I’m going to take your advice on the unconventional income ideas. I mean I have so much experience in a variety of industries that I have to revisit in depth to see if any are doable.
Maybe just maybe I can go to Italy first because that’s where my mom was born.
Thank you so much for watching! There are people who live comfortably on smaller budgets than ours (we have a budget, but we don't consider ourselves budget travelers per se). You can focus on low-cost parts of the world to visit and even staying in hostels in a private room for not very much money. Slow traveling or staying in one place for two, three, or even six months at a time (depending on the visa requirements where you are), can also lower your overhead. There definitely are ways to build up a side hustle to help support your travels. You might consider doing virtual assistant work or something else online. I'm going through the dual citizenship process in Italy, and if you also qualify, there are parts of it that are affordable (and have good healthcare). We wish you all the best! -Judy
I have visited 35 countries on four continents, in many of which I spent more than a month at a time. I have also lived in four countries. As much as I love to travel, I wouldn't want to do it full time. I like the idea of keeping a home base, not only because I want a place I can go back to when I need a break but also for tax reasons (I'm going to spare you the details).
I am married but I always travel alone. Solo travel scares a lot of people but it's a great way to see the world and learn about people, cultures, customs etc. I find that I talk to locals a lot more when I'm alone than I would if I were traveling with a partner. And there is obviously no better way to learn a language. 😉
Hi @AnimaLibera, We realize that this lifestyle isn't for everyone and while not having a home base is freeing to us, we know that's not the right choice for everyone. BUT it's a great option for people who want to travel, but who don't have the budget to do it on top of having a home base. We couldn't have retired early had we kept a home base as well. Good for you for not being intimidated by traveling solo and for opening yourself up to rich experiences and conversations with locals. Thank you so much for sharing what works for you and for inspiring others who may have a partner who doesn't love to travel or for singles who think solo travel is too hard. Thanks for watching! -Judy
Pets. I have pets and they are my major obstacle to traveling full time. I also want to at least work part time and will like my husband to also work part time, so he doesn't get bored when I am working :)
The other two obstacles are having aging parents and having a complex financial situation. I have some debt to pay off before I begin full time travel. Hopefully, it all works out for the best.
Hi @JoseReyes-ov2tu, We understand about pets and aging parents. Kevin originally was thinking he would keep his job, but once we started traveling, he lost interest in that very quickly! Debt is no fun, so yes, if you're able to put your extra money towards paying that off, you will have so much more mental as well as financial freedom. We wish you all the best with your future plans! -Judy
do you use safety wing for health insurance?
Hi Melody, No we don't. Here's an entire article comparing costs. For our ages and for traveling full time and requiring healthcare on the road, Safety Wing isn't the best price for us. Safety Wing has a cheaper Nomad Insurance, but that's not the same as their Nomad *Health* Insurance (they're very different plans). Since this is the only type of coverage we have, it's important to have full healthcare coverage. -Judy
📝 Peace of Mind Abroad: Choosing the Right Health Insurance as Retired Travelers: findingginamarie.com/articles/choosing-the-right-health-insurance-as-retired-travelers
I just stumbled on your video and immediately subscribed. I have not watched other videos yet, so have a question: is English you use everywhere or you speak other languages too?
Hi Boris, We have slowly, slowly been learning Italian steadily and consistently over the last three years, but we still only are fluent in English! Regardless of whether you speak the language of the countries you visit, we have several tips for how to communicate when traveling to foreign countries. -Judy
🎥 BEST TRAVEL TIPS and TRICKS for communicating outside the US: th-cam.com/video/HRyXqMV_BXs/w-d-xo.html
Man this sounds good. I've got a minor surgery I need in order to reduce some serious pain. It took over a month to see the surgeon in order to schedule and 6 weeks for the surgery. I'd much rather do it in 24 hours!
Yes, Dan, it was quite incredible. We were floored by how efficient the process was. We break down the entire story here if you're interested in learning more. Good luck with getting some relief. We hope you'll be on the mend soon. -Judy
🎥 Surgery in Serbia: th-cam.com/video/A2ps2BawyGw/w-d-xo.html
Love your videos. It is a great resource and reference that can help many people. My wife and myself are thinking of similar planing . However, we still have kids of primary and middle school, which we are hoping to stay with till they get into being independent. My question is : would you have done your plan if you still have kids of school age?
Any tips ?
All the best
Thank you so much for watching! Gosh, our kids were a handful and I don't think either of us were equipped to homeschool them at the time (we had our three children before we were 30), BUT it actually might have been an excellent idea. We have learned so much about history and I think our kids would have enjoyed the learning process so much more if it had been more "whole-body" experiences-smells, tastes, sounds, sights, not merely memorization from books. They also would have been able to form some ideas of their own and heard a more balanced view of history than what schools teach in the US. It also can build greater empathy because the world shrinks when you travel. It becomes a lot more than "us" versus "them" and it all becomes us.
I think you especially need to have a very open mind about what education looks like for your children. By experiencing the world versus reading about it, they can develop more critical thinking skills and learn to think independently. You might need to make peace with the fact that their education process will look different than more mainstream people and be prepared to steel yourself against comments from friends and family who think you might be "doing it wrong."
You'll need to factor homeschool-style preparation into your days so that you'll be able to teach your children. Lesson plans take time, but they don't have to be worksheets! Obviously friend situations will look different and you may have to work to build traditions into your life that would normally happen when you're living a more conventional life. (e.g., how do you celebrate birthdays and Christmas and other holidays that are important to you). Hope this gives you some food for thought. We wish you all the best. -Judy
Thank you Judy. I have one more question: Are you still renewing your US professional board licenses? Do you have to do certain no of hours of practice per year to keep it active?
My wife and myself are in the medical field and we are worried about not being able to renew our practice licenses in the US or maintaining our CE’s
(We can do some modules online) but sometimes you have to practice certain no of hours per year in order to keep the licenses active. I wonder if you have some insight!?
Thank you
We don't have professional licenses, so we haven't had to deal with this (we both worked in the tech industry). But from my initial reading about it, hours of service aren’t actually a requirement for licensing. That may depend on the state you are practicing in and what your specific field is. Because dealing with a license after it's expired is not fun, you will want to be pretty clear on what the requirements are for renewal (as you probably already know!). -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Thank you so much ❤
Great video! I think that I have worked too long. Going to retire at the end of this year.
Thanks for watching, Cheryl. We wish you all the best. Retirement may take some adjustment, but we hope you love it. Even though technically we're working because of our TH-cam channel, we have a freedom and joy that has exceeded our wildest dreams. We are so glad to have left corporate America behind. -Judy
Great intel, guys! It's our dream to do what you're doing. With our needy kids though, I don't think it'll ever happen at least not full time : ) Kevin, I know I suggested it once before, but for extra income, why not a separate youtube channel reviewing spirits in e country? Hardly work I would think : )
Thanks, Phil! My @WhiskyRiffs channel (youtube.com/@whiskyriffs) isn’t as active as it was when we were in San Francisco, but I have been trying to do reviews from some of the countries we’ve visited.
Oddly enough, two of my reviews from Scotland weren’t about Scotch - one was Japanese whisky and the other was an Indian expression. Cheers!
@@FindingGinaMarie ahh, didn't catch those, will chk. I still like the idea of a new channel w a different slant - expose known and lesser known spirits/makers of the countries you're visiting. Go to the distils, interview the makers, etc. A lot of spirit nerds would follow plus your subs from the whiskey channel : )
@philc1884 I’m sure you’re correct, but so many countries haven’t had distilleries in or near the cities we’ve stayed. Cheers!
wow I had no idea! 👋
Hi Dan, It's been an incredibly cool time! Thanks for watching. -Judy & Kevin
My children are holding us back lol
Also, my husband might be a little nervous going to some of the countries that I would like to adventure to.
Great information- Thanks!
Happy you’re living your dream.
Hi Sandy, We have two articles on our website that might be useful for you to read over that may help you and your husband get on the same page and be more comfortable with certain parts of the world. I've linked them below.
Boy do I wish we had traveled more with our kids when they were younger! We didn't have the funds, but our priorities were on home improvements versus travel, which we regret now. At one point we stopped exchanging gifts for Christmas and took a trip instead. They remember those experiences significantly more than the "stuff" they didn't really need. -Judy
📝 Navigating Love and Travel: findingginamarie.com/articles/what-if-your-spouse-doesnt-want-to-travel-full-time
📝 How to Reduce Stress for Anxious Travelers: findingginamarie.com/articles/how-to-reduce-stress-for-anxious-travelers
I am trying to find a way to make this happen. Now an empty nester and ready to go and explore the world.
Hi Rebecca, We hope you can find some unconventional ways to make this work for yourself. If it helps, we didn't have our future fully mapped out, but we had a dream and were willing to figure some things out on the fly, which is really outside a lot of people's comfort zone. But it's been a ride beyond our wildest dreams so far, and we want it to be the same for you as well. We wish you all the best! And when you finally get on the road, we'd love to hear about it. You've got a great TH-cam channel; we just subscribed We've been to Sydney before we were full-time travelers and have been working hard to figure out how to get back there again-probably to Melbourne this time. We're hoping we can make it happen in 2025, along with New Zealand. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie thank you for your reply and for subscribing. I appreciate that. I too have the dream and I know I don’t want the ‘typical plan’ that society dictates is the way to do life. I am 50. I too keep thinking I have a window of opportunity to go see the world before I get Grandkids or my parents (now mid to late 70’s) need me here full time to care for them. I don’t want to wait until retirement age and hope I’m healthy enough to do travel then. I just need a way to earn money from anywhere, especially until my TH-cam and all the revenue streams from that starts coming in but even then I need other income. At the moment I’m living in my parents caravan as owners of the house we were in decided to sell. So we sold all our belonging and I’m now in limbo. Kids have all left home..so now is the perfect time to go do slow travel starting in Asia but money is the big issue. Or lack there of. Any tips?
I hope you make it back to Australia. Be sure to visit Brisbane. If I’m here when you get here I’m happy to show you around 😊
Hi Rebecca, Housesitters.com allows you to stay in someone's home for free while you take care of their pets or house while they are traveling. We know many people who love and use it. The membership cost is nominal. You can build up credibility by doing house sits in your own country or a nearby city while incurring only nominal travel expenses. We talk about a few other programs in this episode that are worth looking into. Especially in Southeast Asia you can stay in affordable hostels and food is fairly inexpensive. With your background, could you consider hosting a group of travelers somewhere and coordinating travel for them and you travel free with them? There are tons of people who could use help with their social media if that's something you're good at. Places like Fiverr and Upwork allow you to work from anywhere, and you aren't limited to $5 jobs, despite the name! People make real money on those platforms. It helps if you have some savings that you can tap into while you're building your businesses, of course. Even giving yourself a year of saving every dime you earn can go a long way. We use points from credit cards to offset a few of our big flight costs, but those only go so far for us. If you are solid and strict with paying off your cards each month, you can earn enough bonuses for a few free flights. Southeast Asia allows you to travel by bus through several countries if you can be comfortable with that slower means of transportation. We wish you all the best with thinking unconventionally and making it happen! And we will reach out for travel suggestions when we make our way to Brisbane! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie funny you say all that. I registered with trusted housesitters just last week and have a local sit over Christmas, so that’s a start. I do know my way around social media but not sure I’m good enough to get paid to do it, I’m sure there are people way better at it than me. I have accumulated enough frequent flyer points to get me to UK…so saving those in the hope I can use those at some point. I have started advertising group travel on my TH-cam videos (trovatrip) for 2025 so hopefully I get some interest. Thanks so much for ideas and help. I can’t wait to start living the life I want! Yes be sure to reach out to me when you plan to visit :)
Hi Rebecca, Good luck with Trusted Housesitters! You may think you're not good enough to get paid to do social media, but you might surprise yourself. Also, we've heard of people who have been willing to work for free for a short period of time to prove themselves or to build their social media resume (e.g., "I will do X amount of work and you give me a written recommendation I can use for upcoming paid work with other clients.") And as a woman, I will say that we often think we need to have so much more experience than a man thinks they need in order to do a job, so don't sell yourself short. Good luck! -Judy
I want to retire early but have no desire to travel the world! I find traveling very stressful specially nowadays. I like in state roads trips.
You don't need to travel full time like we are in order to retire early. This works for us because we can't afford to live in our home in San Francisco, have no where else in the US that's more affordable and walkable that we'd want to live, and bonus: we love traveling. But we didn't want to keep working and grinding for corporations that don't appreciate us and us end up have only crumbs left over when we could finally afford to retire. Our lifestyle is significantly cheaper than the way we had been living in the US. Thanks so much for watching and for sharing your feelings. -Judy
🎥 Why We'll Never Live in the US Again: th-cam.com/video/xeTdMPRgkWM/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Downsizing for Retirement or Full-Time Travel Series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF2xRusfMEQvN-5LZZqdnQIf.html
✅ Downsizing Prep Worksheet: findingginamarie.com/request-downsizing-prep-worksheet
I really want to stop working because of high stress from work. I’m 58 and don’t have enough money saved. I’m scared to quit my job but I can do travel nursing because I’m a nurse. Still scared but you’re motivating me
The barriers are certainly healthcare cause I have ongoing health issues need follow up regular doctor visits and testing
Hi Gina, Who's to say how much is enough? We share Kevin's concerns about dying young like his father at age 61 just when he was on the cusp of retirement. There are unconventional ways of earning money in order to live a life that is a little more stress free. I can appreciate how complicated things might be with your health issues, but there are places everywhere in the world with excellent healthcare that are much cheaper than in the U.S. We probably should have continued working as well, but we made the decision that we needed to live for ourselves and get out of corporate America. We still are working, but on TH-cam. It's allowing us to travel and have incredible experiences while also bringing in some income. Of course, it all takes time, but there has never been a better time to find an online side gig that grows into something more. For us, we needed to leave our expensive lives in San Francisco in order to be able to do what we're doing, but it has been a million percent worth it for us. We wish you all the best! -Judy
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
You guys are inspirational ! Thank you!
I love the links you two prepare and share to provide helps to follow pieces of your footsteps. I'm so glad that this is working out so well for you two. And I'm totally of the opinion: Slow Travel FTW
Hi Joseph, Thank you so much for this nice comment and for watching. We are beyond thrilled that our gut instincts have served us well in making the decision to sell everything we own and travel full time. It's been such a great journey so far and I know there is more to come. And you are right about slow travel. Our period of fast travel with our daughter through Italy was a new experience for us, and we learned a lot. Although it was helpful in some respects, we learned that it can give a false reading of certain places and could cause us and others to miss out on cool places. -Judy
where do you suggest to join tour groups vs independent travel? I usually do independent travel and have not done tour groups. But recently, I feel tired of planning of my travel (I'm a solo traveller).
The only place I would maybe recommend doing that is in Egypt, especially for solo women travelers who might be a little more uncomfortable in an area where the culture is so much different. We did not do that, and it worked out fine for us, but I can appreciate that it does make it easier when someone else handles all the details. It's a little harder and much more expensive when you're slow traveling because we only sightsee a few days per week. We work on TH-cam quite a bit, so we wouldn't want every day planned out for us. Otherwise, what you could do is look at what tours offer and replicate the travel for yourself (and even find a nearby hotel to the ones they use to be in the right area but possibly get something more affordable). There are a lot of free itineraries online for nearly everyplace in the world. What we do use is tour guides to help guide us through a particular city or a ruin or important place so that we can understand the history, but that's not the same as a curated trip, which I think is what you are asking about.
My sister recently used a tour company to book a trip to Japan for her and her son because she didn't have time to plan it herself and she had a great experience. We (coincidentally) visited many of the same places on our own and had an equally wonderful time. I hope this helps. -Judy
🎥 Egypt travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1WcH9GxfK4ngH49MXf5oOv.html
🎥 Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
As a former expat, that loves to travel, I have questions. The global travel healthcare is a great tip, because that was one of my first questions. Does Cigna require you to have an end date as a traveler ? A US residence or address? Do you use a strictly online bank? How does that work? What about banking? Do you just charge everything or get cash when you arrive? Mail? What about your phone and internet? Do you use a new sim card in every country? An eSIM? Some visas need to be applied for from the US if you want to visit, do you visit consulates ? There are nitty gritty, everyday things that we take for granted in the US and take time to do when you arrive somewhere new. Doing it every 1~3 months sounds exhausting. Who does your taxes?
Same questions
Hi Kathy, Happy to answer all of these! You might want to watch our video from last Saturday which addresses some things that aren't talked about a whole lot, but we think it's pretty useful (5 Secrets for Full-Time Travelers). We'll put all our links at the end.
CIGNA does not require you to have an end date as a traveler or a US residence or address. We got our policy when we were in Athens, Greece in January 2023 and renewed it again this year. They need whatever address you want to give them, but all of their communication happens via email. The physical address we gave was our Airbnb that we were in at the time.
We use a regular US bank and it works like most banks. We're actually looking into a Charles Schwab account for our ATM withdrawals since they will refund the charges for using a non-bank ATM. We don't pay a ton of fees in the grand scheme of things, but if you don't mind moving money around a bit, Charles Schwab can help. Whenever we can, we prefer to pay with our card so we don't have to carry around a wad of cash, but there are some countries/places in the world where cash is king and they don't have an easy way for you to pay by card. So if we know that's what we'll encounter, we do get cash (Egypt, some of the smaller restaurants in Japan, Cambodia, parts of Sicily all require having cash on hand).
We have an entire article about our virtual mailbox, which will scan envelopes for us and then if we want more information, they'll scan the contents, deposit checks, and forward pieces of mail to us or to others if we need them to.
Our "homesickness" video talks about why we've kept our T-Mobile plan and pay extra for an international roaming plan versus switching to eSIMs. We pay for enough data that allows us to work remotely from everywhere, but you may need less, and T-Mobile has smaller data packages you can buy.
Any visas we've needed to get we've been able to either do in person on arrival (Egypt) or at the airport (Australia-I do NOT recommend this!) or through an eVisa (Vietnam, Cambodia) or through the immigration office when we were extending our stay (Thailand). There aren't a ton of countries we want to visit that require you to physically be in the US in order to get a visa, but if that were the case, we'd see if we could visit an embassy where we currently are or else plan to be back in the US in order to apply. We try to visit the US once per year in order to see family and friends anyway, so we don't see that as a huge problem.
I'm not sure what you mean by "doing all this every 1-3 months sounds exhausting." If you mean moving every month, it's actually quite fun. Every new city brings a new adventure. We have enough time to establish some routines so not everything is new, but enough is new that we never get bored and always are excited to see what's next.
As far as taxes, since we aren't expats, they're not overly complicated and we're able to do them ourselves.
You didn't ask, but I've also attached a link to a video about voting while living abroad as well as a playlist of videos for people preparing for full-time travel and also those who already are on the road (and articles from our website we think are very useful). Hope all this helps! -Judy
@garysue95 FYI.
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
📝 How to Stay Connected to Your Mail While Traveling the World: findingginamarie.com/articles/how-to-stay-connected-to-your-mail-while-traveling-the-world
📝 Why we have an international data plan on T-Mobile versus an eSIM: findingginamarie.com/articles/homesickness-overwhelm-and-travel-challenges-life-as-a-full-time-traveler
📝 Voting While Living Abroad (As a US Citizen): findingginamarie.com/articles/voting-while-living-abroad-as-a-us-citizen
🎥 Preparing for Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html
🎥 Navigating Full-Time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
🔗 Here's a link to our ever-growing articles for full-time travelers (you can find it by going to our travel tips and then filtering by Nomads):
📝 Articles for Full-Time Travelers: findingginamarie.com/travel-tips/?category=nomads
@garysue95: I copied you in on the response, so you should also be able to see my answer. Let me know if not! -Judy
I can answer for online banking. WISE accounts works wonderfully well. Easy to transfer from your USA bank account to WISE account. Then you have WISE ATM card to use other places and eligible to use in other countries. Very reasonable charges and dollar to other currencies conversion is very nicely priced. This is most reasonable and practical I found to use outside USA, especially in Asian countries.
Hi @@sarbjitgrewal9724, and thanks for weighing in. Why do you need to use a Wise account? A Schwab account will waive any fees that are incurred using an ATM that isn't connected to your US bank (unlimited) and allows unlimited free withdrawals than a Wise card, which I've been hearing has been a bit problematic, including in Japan. We have a Wise card that we do not use because you're only allowed two free withdrawals per month with a maximum of $350 and then you have to pay additional fees. So far, Schwab seems like a better option. Am I missing something? -Judy
wise.com/help/articles/2935769/how-much-does-it-cost-to-withdraw-cash
Great video. 👍
I have a couple of questions. How does the Cigna Global Health Care insurance work? You said it limits you to 3 months of coverage per year in the US, how are the dates determined? I mean, if you're in the US for 6 months, yet only use the insurance for US expenses that fall within a 2-month period, is that okay?
Also, the Flight Connections site. You're using it to list possible layovers to a destination, correct? Are you then, somehow, extending that layover to create a visit in that area, then continuing on to the official destination? If so, how long can you stay in these "layover" cities?
Hi Glenn, Our CIGNA Global Health insurance policy requires evidence of entries and exits from the US. You aren't entitled to coverage in the US if that's your country of habitual residence. Also, arriving in the US specifically to receive medical treatment must not be one of the main objectives of the trip. So they really tighten down how you can use the policy when you are in the US.
We actually use the Flight Connections site a bit differently. We look at it to see direct flights to/from a particular place. For instance, if we're going to be in Morocco and are trying to decide where to visit next that is a single direct flight, it will show it along with the price for each of the options. Of course, we'll dig deeper, but it will at least let us know what our best one-hop destinations might be. What I think you're talking about is something different and is part of a "long layovers" program. Those vary by airline. The major things you need to consider are that long overnight layovers may not be worthwhile because everything is closed and you need to give yourself enough time to collect your baggage if it's checked, go through passport control, and do the same things including getting through security on your way to your connecting flight. This article might be helpful to give you more information about how it works: www.going.com/guides/how-to-book-a-long-layover
Also, check out this link from Skyscanner. We use it to see the cheapest direct flights using the "everywhere" feature, but this article has a table with various airlines that offer a "long layovers" program: www.skyscanner.ca/tips-and-inspiration/book-multi-day-layover-to-see-another-city
Thanks for your questions and for watching! Let us know if you need anything else! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Thanks for the detailed explanation. I'm a bit of a travel newbie. There is so much to learn.
Hi Glenn, There will always be something to learn, so don't ever hesitate to ask questions. We've made some doozies of mistakes while we've been traveling, so this is a judgment-free zone! -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Biggest Travel Mistakes (So Far!): th-cam.com/video/GnIQKrEupoU/w-d-xo.html
Yes you can! Have you considered the Philippines?
Hi Ditsky, We haven't been there yet, unfortunately. We weren't sure where to go for good strong wifi that would be representative of the islands considering we'd be heading there primarily for a single home base for a month. If you have suggestions, we'd love to hear them. We had a plan to visit earlier this year, but we couldn't decide where to be. Our best guess was Cebu City, but we weren't sure if the IT Park would be enough of a local experience. -Judy
Just found you guys; great information in this video! New subscriber here. I’m planning on slow travel so glad I found your channel. May I ask how old you both are?
Great to have you here! Kevin just turned 62 in May and I'm 59 (60 in September). We've been traveling full time since November 2022. We have a few playlists that might be helpful for you as well as the spreadsheet we use to plan our travels. We pretty much plan an entire year in advance but make tweaks along the way if we need/want to. We've got an ever-growing list of articles on our website for full-time travel as well (findingginamarie.com/travel-tips and then filter by "Nomad"). Let us know if you have any questions whatsoever! -Judy
✅ Travel Planning Spreadsheet for Full-Time/Extended Traveling: findingginamarie.com/request-planner
🎥 Preparing for Full-time Travel: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0Hm94IeHJksaTV37AcdchX.html
🎥 Navigating Life as a Full-Time Traveler: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF1PzikjO5wvLLMtOE1UkdvH.html
@@FindingGinaMarie this is so helpful, thank you so much!!! Looking forward to watching more of your videos. I am 60 years old myself :)
It's a great age! I'm looking forward to it! Feel free to reach out if there's anything you'd like to see or know from or about us! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie many thanks for all the info and your time :)
The biggest obstacle for me is math. I don't know where to start to figure how much is enough to full time travel. We are currently planning to move to Mexico when we retire. Full traveling looks like much more fun..
Hi Jamie, We aren't necessarily spending more to travel full time than we would if we had kept our home in retirement (or even downsized). We know couples who are living on $2000-$3000 per month total and they are doing everything they want to do. Traveling slower to get discounted stays and spending time in cheaper countries all will offset your budget and help you when you are staying in more expensive countries. We spend a bit more than that, but it all depends on your level of comfort, willingness to cook versus eating out, and what you're willing to spend on excursions (but that's the same as an entertainment budget if you weren't traveling). We typically stay in Airbnbs to get monthly discounts, but some people stay in hostels, or enhance their budget by doing housesitting and getting free stays in some places. It is all about thinking outside the box! You might find our 5 secrets episode helpful if you want to understand more about this lifestyle. I'll link it below. -Judy
🎥 Our 5 Travel Secrets for Retirement as Full-Time Travelers: th-cam.com/video/Oc4tZ4M1v0w/w-d-xo.html
@@FindingGinaMarie thank you, that is helpful. I will watch the linked videos also. It seems like you have a wonderful retirement. We have a little beach house we won't get rid of and I suppose that gives my husband a place to keep books. I never would have dreamed you could travel full time on that amount.
We still are working on how to share a more thorough accounting of our budget, because those prices don't include things like our Internet, VPN, virtual mailbox service, and AppleTV. But in the grand scheme of things, those are small numbers compared to what we sometimes spend on food! We were grateful that we could cook some of our meals in Madrid, because we found it to be an expensive city. We did get a great price on the Airbnb, though, especially compared to other options there! -Judy
Do you keep an adresse in USA to touch base for your finances or so ever ?
Hi Michel, yes, we do. We have a virtual mailbox we use. Here’s an article I wrote that tells you all about it and why we chose it. Thanks for watching! -Judy
📝 How to Stay Connected to Your Mail While Traveling the World: findingginamarie.com/articles/how-to-stay-connected-to-your-mail-while-traveling-the-world
You should meet full time travelers Brian and Carrie.
Hi @fitta74, We always love meeting fellow travelers and content creators, but it seems like our travels haven't aligned. We thought there was a possibility when they were in Kraków and Vienna, but like us, their videos are behind our travels, so we didn't actually overlap. -Judy
I might have missed it, but how old were you guys when you made this move? congrats👍🏼👍🏼
I had just turned 58 and Kevin was 60. His father passed away at the same age we were when started traveling. His father was just getting ready to retire. Kevin wanted to make sure that he didn't spend his entire life working and then having circumstances get in the way of doing everything he wanted. I wish this plan was on our minds when we were younger! -Judy
🎥 Life is Short...An Emotional Pause: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html
📝 Why Our Channel is Called "Finding Gina Marie": findingginamarie.com/articles/why-the-name-finding-gina-marie
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
My biggest obstacle is the about $550k in annual comp that I would be walking away from.
Hi Ronin, Thanks for watching. It's a lot of money, but we also believe in taking a hard look at health versus wealth. You don't get to take it with you and if there are things you are putting off on doing until you retire, you may find that you're not physically able to do them or that circumstances no longer allow for you to do them. We didn't want to put off travel only to have one of us die prematurely or have mobility issues or some other tragic situation. Kevin's father died at age 60, just a few months before he retired. -Judy
🎥 Health versus Wealth: th-cam.com/video/6avQGFbXa2I/w-d-xo.html
🎥 A Pause to share an Emotional Moment: th-cam.com/video/YiEFHz1WWHI/w-d-xo.html