Dreaming of distant horizons?

For many this summer, the dream has turned into a nightmare already, particularly those travelling in or out of the UK. New border constraints, staffing crises, and a rebound post-pandemic desperate need to get away on holiday, have created a perfect storm in many locations. And as a relative recently bore witness, it's been so long for many people, they can't even remember what to do at airports... wandering through security with litre bottles of soft drink, and forgetting to listen to gate announcements.

Here in Mediterranean Spain the return of the tourist hordes brings mixed emotions. Selfishly it has been lovely to have the beaches more or less to ourselves in the last couple of years, but we know the hospitality and travel businesses are desperate to welcome back their seasonal visitors after such a terrible time for trading, so we wish them well - and glad to hunker down at home through the busiest periods.

What if travel were NOT concentrated into a few overpriced and overcrowded weeks of the year though, as dictated by school holidays and annual leave policies?

Location-independent doesn't mean living on holiday

For those of us lucky enough to work for ourselves, then we may be able to avoid the peak season (subject to schooling and other commitments) - but travel still means saving up to spend money, right?

Well, not necessarily - it's all a matter of adjusting your expectations.

When I went to the NomadFest in Bansko last month, I probably spent less on food than I would have at home. That's the simple geoarbitrage of the euro vs the Bulgarian leva.

Of course, I had to pay for the apartment, on top of my usual costs of living at home, and that's the big one - which puts travel in a separate box, as a direct cost, for most people. There are other people living in my house, who might reasonably object, if I listed it on Airbnb because I wanted to go on a trip! And if you share a household with family and others, it's more complicated and expensive to see the world, inevitably... So, you have to get smart with extra days tagged on to business travel, and planning around collective needs.

Not everyone can do what my podcast guest this week accomplished.

Financially sustainable travel

Nora Dunn, 'The Professional Hobo', has been travelling for 12 years - without busting the budget. She has figured out how to shift her mindset and live like a local, while seeing the world and experiencing the most incredible life of creative freedom.

In the full episode, Nora gives us all the tips she wishes she knew when she started traveling long-term more than a decade ago:

📍How to live by the 3 pillars of financially sustainable travel

📍Why going on a "test trip" first is a really, really good idea

📍How to decide what travel means to you and what kind of experiences you want to have

📍Financially sustainable ways to maintain your home base while traveling (AKA how to travel without sacrificing your lease)

📍How to deal with the burnout, the isolation, and when you start to feel like you don't belong anywhere

📍How to work full time while also balancing it with enjoying the location you're currently in

📍Whether you should choose the destination or let the destination choose you

📍How to travel without being exploitative of the locals

… and so much more! If you've been dying to travel the world but assumed that it's not sustainable until you have a lot of time and money on your hands (aka when you're retired), Nora can show you how it's possible! 💪

Check out the full episode on your favourite podcast player -links to all the apps, or you can play it directly online if you prefer:

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I'll see you, here or there, next #FreelanceFriday!

Maya Middlemiss