Nomadic-ERE Year 5 - Wanderlust Prevails

Where are you and where are you going?
2Birds1Stone
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

ItsALongStory wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:58 pm
Northern Nevada also checks many of these boxes but has some affordability concerns similar to Colorado. Taxes are lower but not really a factor at your spending levels.
Thank you, will have to do some research!

Speaking of all this travel......We decided to start looking at dates/flights for Europe. Thanks to travel hacking, we are sitting on ~100k British Avios, and 150k AA miles. Either get us to Europe with one way tickets, but the fees/taxes are significantly cheaper with AA. We found flights from NYC to Lisbon in mid March fora total of 60k miles + $180 in taxes/fees, for two tickets. British Airways Avios are apparently better utilized for short haul flights, and we will have the option of using them once we are in Europe, or to return on the USA in the fall.

We also started looking more concretely at accommodations in Lisbon, Porto, Lagos, and Faro.......looks like we can get a nice AirBnB for ~$200-300/week in most of these places. The plan is only to book the first week of stay upfront, and then decide/find things as we become more familiar with the local areas. In places were accommodations exceed $50/night all in, we will couchsurf and use hostels, or simply stay shorter periods of time.

I also realize that there are many folks on these forums from Europe, and I would like to meet some of you. Right now our first 6 weeks will be spent in Portugal, southern Spain, and Southern France, after which we will likely hit northern Italy (cough cough, Seppia). I would love to meet up with @Frugalchicos, but Bilboa is all the way up north, and not sure if we will make it up there in early April, as it sounds pretty cold. Though maybe you give us some ideas that change our minds. After those countries, we will try to figure out a route through Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Czechia, southern Germany, Slovakia, and Romania.....ultimately having to exit EU after 90 days into Ukraine, and then cross into Poland for our 3 month stay there.

classical_Liberal
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by classical_Liberal »

@2B1S
Congrats then!! A long time coming, I sincerely hope you enjoy yourself.
2Birds1Stone wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:55 pm
A much more important criteria for where we live will be access to things we want to do.
This is really the key, along with being able to have a good social network locally. If "hip" and "school district" don't matter too much, then there are plenty of low cost areas with varying outdoor activities. Unfortunately, the above two qualities do have some overlap with what I would consider the nicest areas weather and geography wise. There are plenty of areas that are great for part of the year, not so great others. There is a reason those wise old folks tend to snowbird. :D

I guess barebones never really mattered to me because it wasn't the reality of my situation. I, of course, tried to improve the reality, but there's no point in wishing. There are plenty of things i could do in theory, living those theories is another story. Anyway, if I ever get to those low, barebones numbers, I'm not going to do it by sacrificing the things I deem valuable in life. It has to be another way. Again, an appealing aspect of those higher wheaton levels and ERE. I think leaving behind FT employment is a benefit that must be experienced as opposed to theorized about. So far, it's an experience that has a ton of value to me!

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Ego
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by Ego »

Since you are so close, consider Morocco. It is a quick ferry from Southern Spain, warmer and cheaper than Europe, outside of Schengen and very interesting. Places to visit, Chefchaouen, Fez, Marrakesh, Merzouga camel trekking in the Sahara and Essaouira surf on the coast. On our last trip we rented a flat for a few months in the medina of Essaouira over the holidays for less than ̶$̶3̶0̶0̶ $400 per month.
Last edited by Ego on Fri Oct 11, 2019 10:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Jin+Guice
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by Jin+Guice »

It's hard for me to convince myself that there's much point in being FI beyond the barebones level. Let me be clear that I actually support the 2B1S method of milking a high-income job for a few years to get a bunch of money while leveraging the FU part of the FU money, as long as you don't hate the job.

I don't mean to be the spending police. Your 3 years of travel sound pretty epic and I think they will be a lot of fun and you will learn a lot. I will be kind of bummed if you come back from 3 years of traveling and are like "oh actually what I really like is smoking cigars made out of rolled-up Benjamins and taking luxury cruises so I'll just work until my eyes bleed."

Until recently I was also skeptical of why I'd want to lower my expenditures. I can pretty much do anything I want for $12,000/ year. $12,000/ year is easy to earn and the 3% SWR number is "only" 400k. I'm not even planning on early retiring so why lower expenditures?

Here's my sales pitch. Getting shit by using money is kind of boring. It's too easy. Learning how to DIY shit is actually kind of fun. Making shit you want/ need is extremely rewarding. Getting things through bartering/ skills exchange/ volunteering is a way to deepen your social ties within communities you value and have experiences outside your comfort zone. It's frustrating as fuck going from optimizing spending to trying to figure out how to do a bunch of shit you are bad at. I was already good at spending money and pretty good at being cheap when I found FIRE. "Oh, I can just be a cheap fuck forever and my life will be better than everyone else's, brilliant!" Now I'm shoveling fucking mulch and digging holes to put a garden in and goddamn it, I am a terrible gardener. From the money/ optimization perspective, it's not worth it to do any of this shit. I could definitely afford to pay for the food and maybe even afford to pay for 33x the food in the time it takes me to learn to be a gardener. But gardening for a little while each day is actually kind of fun and earning money is usually pretty annoying.

In his recent interview with JD Roth Jacob said: "Spending money is a failure to solve problems by smarter means." I like to think of it as "spending money is a failure of imagination."

theanimal
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by theanimal »

Congratulations! Looking forward to reading about your upcoming travels.
2Birds1Stone wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:55 pm

A much more important criteria for where we live will be access to things we want to do. I plan on doing a whole lot of MTB, SUPing, hiking, cycling, and would love to get back into snowboarding. So if there are places in the midwest that are near smaller cities with good cultural scene, and activities, that are also close to these outdoor activities, I will have to spend some time in them to see how they vibe.
I recommend checking out Duluth, MN.

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Jean
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by Jean »

You're more than welcome to stay a few days at my place in switzerland. There is a paragliding Scholl in the village.

2Birds1Stone
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

@c_L, school district and "hip" don't really matter at all. Though having some cool eateries/breweries, and other places to switch things up is definitely nice. That's why I think we will gravitate towards a place in/near a mid sized city. I feel like when there are a few colleges/universities you end up with more budget friendly places, culture, etc. I can't imagine living somewhere in the complete boonies where the closest large supermarket is 20 miles away and Little Caesars' is considered "ethnic food". I think visualizing the barebone lifestyle helped shift the needle profoundly in terms of what I considered "normal", over time. I also think my career/industry being so unpredictable played a big role in those things. It's been such a rollercoaster over the past 5 years.....glad to step off, even if it's for a while =D

@Ego, thanks! I've thought about Morocco but didn't realize how easy it can be to travel there via Ferry. It's a popular holiday destination for Europeans, especially Poles. I need to do a bit more research, because I remember some peripheral news re: safety over there in the past few years. We like going off the beaten path a bit, and that's typically what is ill advised by some schools of thought.

@J+G, I totally get it. I like the challenge of hacking/bodging solutions to problems vs. spending money as well! I enjoy it a lot more, even though it may be frustrating at first. It's definitely a mindset shift. The biggest benefit imho is the social connections you develop through this approach. I can't wait to meet more like-minded people who participate in this sort of economy, vs. the high earners/spenders I've mostly interacted with amongst my colleagues, customers, vendors, etc. If I sent anyone of them the guest post Jacob did on JD's blog, they would think I'm coocoo

This whole lifestyle has definitely created a natural thinning of my old social circle. I just have a hard time relating with many people I used to hang out with.

@thenamial, thank you sir. I will check out Duluth as a potential home base! I have heard good things, and it's been on our list of cities to check out when we hit the road in a few years.

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Seppia
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by Seppia »

Congrats on your first day of Semi-ERE!

Most likely in March we will still be living in northern Italy, I would expect to move to HK no earlier than April and even in that case, I can easily plan to be in Italy for a week or two as my HQ is based in Italy.
I'll only need to know your plans in advance and we'll make it happen!
Also another alternative is to meet up in Asia :)

Enjoy life bud

2Birds1Stone
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

Seppia wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 7:28 am
Enjoy life bud
Thank you, doing my best! Likely won't be in Italy till mid/end of April. Since we are hitting Portugal, Spain, Morocco (thanks again Ego!), France, before finally crossing into Italy. But do let me know what works for you, we will be very flexible in our itinerary.

ERE Updates

Today is officially my first day being unemployed, and two wonderful things happened.

I received my last paycheck, in full. No drama.

We booked our flights to Europe! Flying to Porto, leaving NYC on March 11th!

I've been playing in the woods a lot, and really enjoying working on my MTB skills (wheelies, manuals, learning how to bunny hop) all which I hope translate to better skills on the trails/faster lap times.

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Seppia
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by Seppia »

A few "best kept secrets"

Spain:
Galicia!
Sevilla
Figueres (specifically the house of Dali, now a museum)

France:
The whole coastal area between Saint Malo and Etretat, best being these two towns and the incredible Mont St Michel
The area Northwest of Colmar (Riquewihr, Kaysersberg, Ribeauvillé)
The area between Nice and Monaco (Eze, Villefranche Sur Mer)
The city of Lyon and the nearby Bourgogne Area (great for wines).

In Italy the list is too long.

Can't make plans as of now but hit me up as we get closer and we'll figure it out.

take2
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by take2 »

Chiming in again as my family is from Portugal and I spend quite a bit of time there (I’m Portuguese the same way you’re Polish, first gen). I have some write-ups on Lisbon and Porto that I can email you if you want (PM me if interested). I send them to whoever is looking to visit so they aren’t written from an ERE mindset but honestly the country is so cheap you won’t really have any issues.

How are you getting around? Renting a car or training it? If training it between Porto and Lisbon I suggest you book in advance (via Comboios de Portugal) as you can score 1st class tix for c. €20. However I note that some of the most beautiful beaches are between Porto and Lisbon (Nazaré, Peniche) which may be easier via car. Also one of the best food gems is in Mealhada (roughly halfway between Porto/Lisbon) where they specialise in sucking pig. It was the historic rest stop in the olden days when it used to be a c. 5 hour drive (prior to the new highways) and over time it grew into a small town with 20+ restaurants all specialising in the same dish. Note you can still take the old roads which are free vs the expensive highway (c. €30 toll from Porto to Lisbon, and c.€100 if you’re driving the full length of the country).

I usually drive there by borrowing my cousins’ cars so not too well versed in public transport other than the train between Porto/Lisbon but I’m sure there’s a way in any event, just needs a bit of research.

Car also allows you to venture outside of Porto into Braga, Barcelos, Ponte de Lima, and Viana do Castelo which are all great smaller cities in the north. The national park (Gerês) is gorgeous, bordering Spain and great for your hiking and mountain biking desires.

Given the time of year I may opt to skip the Algarve as it’s honestly pretty dead outside of May - September. To cross into Morocco I would suggest a cheap flight from Lisbon vs the ferry from Spain to Tangier. I did this 2 years ago, priced it both ways and flights were cheaper for me. However I also had a time constraint which you don’t really do may work out. I flew directly to Marrakesh and did a Sahara visit from there which I highly recommend. Instead of paying for a tour I took the public bus and arranged a desert visit via Airbnb. Much cheaper and cooler as it was only me and a guide in a makeshift tent vs a big group in a permanent tent. Again I can dig up details and send across if you’re interested.

Hope it helps! I’m in the midst of planning my wedding in Portugal for next summer and very well may be in town in March. I know I’m not a frequent poster on these forums but always happy to meet up if it works out.

2Birds1Stone
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

@Seppia, thank you sir! Sevilla was on the list, and we added Figueres. unfortunately Galicia is too far north and we will not be heading up that way. Also, might be cold that way in end of March beginning of April. We also plan on hitting Valencia and Barcelona. Similarly we will have to skip on Colmar for this trip, since we are will sticking to the south of France due to weather and logistics. Lyon is a possibility if we shoot north before crossing into Italy, though the original plan was to cross into Italy along the coast. Any advice there would be great, my main concern is the weather, as we will be making it to those parts around end of April/early May.

@anesde, shooting you a PM with my email, would be very interested in those! We plan on spending at least 5 days in Porto and 7 in Lisbon. We hadn't though about renting a car, and were planning on using local bus/train and coach buses like Flixbus. We ended up purchasing tickets to Porto instead of Lisbon, so don't have to make the commute both ways. Will have to look into budget car rentals, as seeing the coast and spending a night or two between the cities sounds like a good idea. We will definitely look into the Lisbon -> Marrakesh flights, lots to think about.

It would be fantastic to meet up if you do end up traveling to Portugal in March! We land in Porto on March 12th and after 4-5 days plan on working our way south toward Lisbon. I will PM you, and maybe we can connect on WhatsApp. Thank you so much for the tips thus far, it's a huge helping in doing some loose planning.

We don't want to be too tied down with a concrete itinerary, not sure how fast or slow we will enjoy traveling, and want to be semi flexible based on weather, cultural events, or just how much we like a place and how long we want to stay vs. leave. After reading "Vagabonding" by Rolf Potts, several times, I really want to slow down and immerse myself in the culture, without rushing to see all of the touristy "must see" things. We will always have the ability to return to EU, and likely using Poland as a home base for future travels on that continent.

Travel Preparation/Misc Ramblings

So far this week I've purchased,

Plane ticket to Portugal - $92
Kelty Redwing 50 backpack - $97
Crank Brothers Stamp 1 MTB pedals - $37
Park Tool pre-glued patch kit - $8

I repaired my MTB shoes with Gorilla Glue, so hopefully those last through the end of the winter. I still need to buy a replacement MTB helmet, as the one I have is 12 years old, the plastic shell is cracked/sun damaged, and your head is important, yo! That will be $60-80 because you don't want to skimp on head protection. I also need to buy some cold weather pants to cycle in, not sure what to go with for MTB, but I want to ride all winter, and so far I toughed it in shorts and only rode on really warm days in past years.

Off the top of my head, still need some things for the trip, some of which I can wait till holidays to ask for gifts.

Packing cubes
European quick chargers for USB devices (cell, camera, watch, etc) as well as a converter for my laptop charger.
Laptop case
Dry Bag
sink stopper + small sized bottle for travel detergent
Sun hat - usually wear a baseball cap but that doesn't protect ears/neck from sun
travel towel

More importantly, we have a TON of stuff to take pictures of and list for sale on Craigslist, FB Marketplace, Ebay. That will be my fulltime job over the coming months. Hoping to offset many of the up front travel item costs with the sale of unneeded possessions.

Yesterday I made two financial moves. 1) opened a Schwab checking account, for their $0 foreign transaction fee's and unlimited worldwide ATM fee reimbursements 1) joined PSECU and initiated a $25k transfer to open a promotional CD. They are currently offering 3.25% APY on their 36 month CD.

This will lower my available cash on hand to just a few thousand dollars, until a $10k CD I have with CapOne matures around Thanksgiving. That will fund most of the travel costs I plan to have through summer, with the rest coming from another CD that is maturing in early summer.

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Ego
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by Ego »

Many years ago we took the ferry to Tangier. The last trip we took the Ryanair flight from Madrid>Rabat. Now Ryanair flies Madrid>Marrakesh for €17. The downside is Madrid is friggin expensive on weekends. Make sure to check the hostel prices before booking the flight.

No need for large power converters. Most laptops only need one of these...

Image

We used an Anker Powerport like the link below to avoid carrying specific chargers for each phone/gopro.

https://www.anker.com/products/variant/ ... s/A2142112

2Birds1Stone
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

You can't out-train a bad diet!

Well, I sure as hell tried for the past few weeks.....and I'm up 5 lbs.

My appetite has been ravenous with all of the MTB training, and the colder weather has brought back cravings for warm comfort food. I have to consciously scale back calories on non training days. Have just 4.5 weeks till the race, and could definitely benefit from losing those 5 lbs I put on.

I've gotten 10 MTB rides in for October, totaling just over 180 miles, mostly on black and double black diamond singletrack trail. Additionally, hit the gym 8 times for some resistance training, and got in just two runs (5 and 6.2 miles).

I found a nice MIPS MTB helmet to replace my sun damaged and disintegrating 12+ year old one. Got a Giro for $48 shipped, in slime green (the fastest color, duh). Also did my first night time ride in the woods, with the assistance of a 550 lumen handlebar light. Realized I need a second one for my helmet to see where I need to go and not where the bike is pointed, a friend loaned me one for the winter season until I leave! It was really cool riding in the night, lots of eyes staring back at us from the brush.

Wrapped up all of my necessary dental work and cleaning while I have insurance this week. Feels good to get that out of the way, and to burn down the FSA account. I have like $40 left in there, which I need to spend. Thinking of a travel first aid kit, some SPF lip balm, and <3 oz sunscreens.

My Kelty Redwing 50 came in the mail yesterday. It's going to be interesting paring down the possessions to live out of a 50 liter backpack. Our friends and family think we are nuts for going carry-on only on a 6 month trip, while we think it would be nuts to check and lug around a suitcase of some sort. @Ego, thanks for the tip on the powerport, definitely something I will snag. I have two Anker 10k MAH power banks, and I am very pleased with the quality. For the laptop, that's exactly the converter I had in mind. I use them in Poland whenever I go for all of my electronics.

Speaking of paring down the possessions, I've had some great success! Sold a pair of motorcycle riding boots, riding pants, and my electric skateboard. I only had the board for 2.5 months, and took a $29 hit on what I paid vs. what I sold it for! brings my spending numbers for 2019 down significantly, though not sure how to best account for it, I just went back to July in my spreadsheet and subtracted $650 from the $679 price I paid for it.

Unemployed life is mostly great! Every day feels like a Saturday, except for all of my friends being busy at work, and then too tired to do anything fun in the evenings. I need to make new friends and find some other things to fill my days.

theanimal
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by theanimal »

2Birds1Stone wrote:
Tue Oct 22, 2019 12:06 pm


Unemployed life is mostly great! Every day feels like a Saturday, except for all of my friends being busy at work, and then too tired to do anything fun in the evenings. I need to make new friends and find some other things to fill my days.
If you find the secret, please share! I've found this to be the hardest aspect of living a non traditional lifestyle. The only thing I've found that works for me in terms of guaranteeing that I meet my social needs is taking classes (flying, bjj, dance, yoga) and being proactive in terms of setting up things to do with friends. I might explore volunteering in the near future. But bottom line, at least in my area most people (especially young) seem to be tied up during the week.

classical_Liberal
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by classical_Liberal »

There are also people who have nontraditional work schedules. Like, umm, Nursing (cough, cough). Often they have to work some weekends and are dying to have someone to hang out with during the week when off.

The bottom line though, you have to become independent minded in activities. Because even if you hang out with folks in something structured (like clubs or volunteering) YOU are going to be the one in the room with the most disposable energy. I would venture to guess anyone who saved enough for FI has already done this to some extent though.

Jin+Guice
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by Jin+Guice »

Interesting, I have more trouble structuring my days than finding people to hang out with. I probably have some advantages in the hanging out department over the rest of you though (band stuff, know a lot of lazy musicians, New Orleans has a low amount of professional jobs).

If you want to avoid bars, I've had a lot of luck in the dinner party department. Inviting people to free events or a book club might work too. If you're friends won't hang out at night, and you're better at socializing than me, you could try going to a park or coffee shop on a workday and talking to strangers who look like they might be interesting.

Running a life usually still requires a fair amount of work, especially if you develop a hobby or interest. I like to "work"/ run errands during the day with exercise in the middle and then hang out or read at night.

Cheepnis
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by Cheepnis »

While we were only traveling for a little over two weeks this summer, I only took one small single compartment backpack. I should have weighed it, but it wasn't very heavy. As far as urban traveling goes I could have lived out of it indefinitely. There's really not much you need in order to see some shit and I couldn't imagine those two weeks lugging around multiple bags of luggage. Free hands is where it's at.

take2
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by take2 »

Jin+Guice wrote:
Tue Oct 22, 2019 1:53 pm
If you want to avoid bars, I've had a lot of luck in the dinner party department.
Dinner parties FTW. Always prefer those than going out to bars (way too noisy) and restaurants (overpriced and I prefer to cook anyway). I’m probably just getting old :lol:

I worked a swing shift in the summer of 2011 when I was on the 2nd Ave subway project in NYC. Started at 3PM, got off at 11PM. It was incredible finding an entirely different way of life for non traditional hours - really opened my eyes. Not directly applicable as you’re way out east and have free days vs. nights but still, I’m sure there’s something out there. Shame it’s already fall otherwise you could just go to the beach or fish everyday 8-)

2Birds1Stone
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Re: Semi-ERE Experiment - Month 5 - Unemployed, Now What?

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

@theanimal, I will definitely share more thoughts as I work through this *issue*.

@c_L, I had many friends with varying schedules back when I was in retail management. From 2010 to 2014, I had no problems finding things to do or people to do them with during the week, since working weekends and evenings was the norm. When I got into a more traditional/professional career I made friends with other busy professionals, and thus it's harder now. I know these people exist, from retail workers, business owners, anyone who does shift work, etc.....but I have had such limited exposure to these people due to my career and own social circle the past 5 years. I hope to make some new friends to do stuff with, even if it's until we leave in March.

@J+G, we do a lot of BBQ's, bonfires, and have people for dinner fairly regularly, and since we have made it a regular thing, more recently our friends have been reciprocating. It's great! Much better than dropping $40-50 PP to go out and eat somewhere only to feel rushed after our meal is over.

One great place I've met people to play with during the week is my Triathlon team, especially in the warmer months. Triathlon is mostly a rich persons sport, so naturally I have friends who are business owners, and self employed professionals who make their own hours. I'm actually meeting up with one such person for an easy 6 mile run followed by taco's this afternoon.

The other good thing, is that my SO has a retail schedule. She's off one weekday, and one weekend day. This makes it nice to do something together during the week when everyone is working, and frees up my schedule to do something with "the boys" on Sundays when she works (typically a long MTB ride or road ride lately). I'm fairly confident that I will have stuff to do and people to do it with over the next 4.5 months. I just hope the weather cooperates, because much of what we like to do together is cycling/mtb/running etc.

@Cheepnis, yea I hear you. Many of the AirBnB's we have looked at have a washer in the kitchen, and we will have a sink stopper to do laundry anywhere. Our trip will be mostly urban stuff, but many adventures into the wilderness and mountains for hiking, so do have to vary the gear/clothing a bit. I'm not overly worried. If we feel the need for something missing, can always purchase it along the way. I'm actually looking forward to this type of lifestyle for the first time ever, feel like it will be a great learning experience.

@anesde, that's quite alright. I never had problems finding stuff to do in the summer for exactly those reasons. I would be happy to just be outside and active by myself. It's the winter and short days that get to me, so it's just a matter of finding stuff to do while there is daylight. I may try to find some used snowshoes (if we get much snow this year, it really is hit or miss with that). I'm also no stranger to video games (currently playing WoW Classic, and LOVING it), which are cheap, offer some social interaction (albeit remotely), and can be a ton of fun. I won't really have time to game on our travels, and haven't had much time over the past 9-10 years of career work, but played a ton when I was younger.

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