We were at a point in life where we were just starting to consider what our retirement could look like when FIRE completely crystallized it. We spent the next couple of years zooming out on our spending and trying to get a good handle on how much our life cost on an annual basis.
Many, many spreadsheets, podcasts and books later we had a plan for living our lives without work.
Nomadic Living
In November 2021 I became aware of Amy Rutherford and her husband Tim via their now dormant YouTube channel. Their content completely blew my mind.
Chrissy and I like to travel, no secret right? As we were assessing our budget for living as financially independent people we needed to determine how much we would spend on travel. All we really knew is that it was (by far) our largest expense category but without the restrictions of working corporate jobs…the dynamic would change. Time and PTO requests would be out the window. We wouldn’t be motivated to fly on weekends to make the most of our precious days off, but we could also stay places longer, as long as our visas would allow it really. But after encountering Amy and learning about her and her husband’s long term slow travel plans, my head was swallowed again.
Between these two communities we now knew what, and how. Everything from this point became tactical. All about fine details and strategies for how to make this transition, and how to make it suitable for us.
In that regard Chris Englert and her husband Steve were our guides. Their YouTube channel Eat.Walk.Learn chronicles their lives and gets into more of the psychology and emotional side of making such a huge life change. And it has been fantastic. But the biggest value for us has come from Chris’ book; Two Carry Ons and a Plan.
Two Carry Ons and a Plan is as close to a guide book that I am aware of for how to transition from a conventional life in the US to living as a slow traveling nomad. I will be forever grateful for the knowledge that we gained from her as it saved us so much time and effort. So many things such as how to get a US address when you don’t have a house? And how to get rid of a house full of stuff!? She breaks down everything that she and Steve did which was incredibly helpful for us.
Our first one way flight out of the US is in two days now and I think that the complex set of emotions are starting to settle. Hopefully a week from now we’ll be sitting in a comfortable Airbnb in Mexico City and finally able to fully exhale.
