Last month, I celebrated my second anniversary of being on the road. When I left Mexico at the end of February 2021, I had no idea where life would take me. I knew that there were a handful of countries that I had visited briefly like Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, and Brazil and that was basically the plan that I had.
This was a time when COVID restrictions were constantly changing and therefore, my plans had to as well. I lost a lot of money with flights that didn’t work out and borders suddenly closing. At the same time, I was one of the few people traveling in many locations which meant that I had hostels all to myself as well as some of the biggest tourist attractions in a country. It was a scary time that felt like it would never end and when it suddenly did, it was almost as shocking as when it all started!
Then Vs. Now
The two-year mark felt like it should be really special. Before this, the longest I had traveled non-stop was 18 months. That was back in 2015 when I had just quit a well-paying corporate job in Hong Kong and decided to separate from my husband of 9 years all within 24 hours. I hated my life and knew that I needed to do something different. I left Hong Kong on what I thought was going to be a few months’ trip and then get back to New York and “real life’. However, after applying for countless jobs that I didn’t really want, I ended up deciding to go back to grad school and live in Europe. Which is exactly what I did.
In many ways, I was running away from many things back in 2015. I was running away from a job and a city that I no longer loved and a husband that I loved even less. I had absolutely no idea what I would do except that I knew that I needed to find a better way of living or that I might not be around much longer.
Flash forward to 2021, I once again found myself on the move after spending two years in Prague, two years in Delhi, and one year in Mexico. However, this time around, I was working on developing my own freelancing business that would sustain me financially while I was on the move. I had a long list of countries that I wanted to see and nothing holding me back from seeing them (besides COVID restrictions and visas). While it was incredibly freeing, it was also a little scary knowing that I was actually creating a life of travel that was sustainable.
Within the past two years, I have been to probably 60 countries, many of which were new. I have made amazing new friends, created fantastic new memories, and worked more hours in a day than I ever thought possible. I went from making around $500 per month to a (very low) six-figure salary thanks to also landing a full-time job and have been able to pump huge chunks of money into my retirement.
Along the way, I have dealt with intense loneliness and have felt very lost. I have had my heart broken to a point that I felt like it could never be repaired. I have made big mistakes and small ones, all of which has changed the way that I look at the world. I have realized just how much I DON’T fit in in the world.
People always talk about how much travel teaches you and changes you. This couldn’t be more true in my case. The way I view the world is emphatically different from what it was 10 years ago. Maybe it is age, maybe it is experience, maybe a bit of both…..the past two years on the road have taught me what I definitely DON’T want out of my life. It has taught me that I am smarter and stronger than I ever thought while also reminding me just how much I still have to learn about the world.
Many of the people I have met throughout this journey have changed me in different ways. I learned that despite living under some of the most difficult circumstances possible, there are ways to find joy and happiness. That growing up in a war zone or living in a country where the future looks increasingly bleak doesn’t reduce someone’s desires, hopes, and dreams.
The Reality of My Daily Life
I know that I am living a life that many people dream of but in all honesty, I work……a lot. I leave my hotel/Airbnb/hostel every morning with my laptop in tow to find a cafe or bar to work in. I jut off to new countries whenever I want (within reason of course!) and I can think of a life without having to live within 15 days of vacation time a year.
Meanwhile, my boss yells at me for not having stable internet and I argue that my internet connection in the Namibian desert was better than at my mom’s place in northwestern Ohio. My clothes are falling apart and have holes in them and I am alone roughly 90% of the time. I am terrified at losing any of my freelance income so I basically work one and a half jobs while still trying to travel and work on my own travel blog (which sadly gets neglected). I fantasize about starting my own travel company where I can lead tours to various, slightly unstable, parts of the world.
In many ways, this lifestyle is exhausting and sometimes I just want to sit in bed and binge-watch Netflix. I don’t want to try to speak in Spanish or learn any new random words in Arabic or Portuguese or German. I simply want to veg out the same way anyone else does after a long workday. I want to be able to do my laundry in a real washing machine whenever I want. I want to be able to buy pretty dresses. As much as I hate the concept of Amazon, I still want to be able to buy size 12 shoes and long jeans whenever I want. I want to be able to buy cute things that I see at street markets. Most of all, I want to live in an apartment covered in maps and full of all of the cute things that I bought at street markets around the world.
Is this really a dream life?
Absolutely! As much as it feels good to complain about things that I “want”, I would never give up any of these things for what I currently have. I want to be able to live each day to the fullest. I want to learn something new every day. I want to know that I took advantage of every opportunity that came my way. I want to be able to look back and know that I gave this precious life everything that I had.
And I am proud to say that I think I am on the right track!
Thanks for the share. You have lived an adventure.