We were only 45 years old when we decided to "semi-retire" and devote ourselves to a life of frugal living and frugal travel that doesn't involve owning very much stuff.
We've adapted the plan several times along the way because you have to be flexible. But the number one thing was to get rid of the house we owned, and the baggage that comes along with owning a house. Things are much simpler that way.
Whiskey, Ruth, and Kevin in Sudbury, Ontario.
October 16, 2007.
Because we had our dog Whiskey with us, we spent the first four years of this adventure traveling solely in the motorhome because that's the easiest way to travel with a dog. When Whiskey passed away at the end of September 2011, we started doing more air travel to other countries.
Since then, we've been to England, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Wales, Iceland, Guatemala, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, South Korea, and Colombia.
Going into our tenth year, we don't have plans to change things very much. Although we're starting to think of getting rid of the motorhome after one more trip to Mexico with it.
Sherman won't be used at all for the next year. We're going to winterize him and put him into storage here at our daughter Lindsey's house when we take off for Romania in two weeks. Then we'll fly back to Regina at the end of next April and of course spend the summer in Cabri Saskatchewan working at the park. Then next year at this time we'll get him out of storage and ready for one more last hurrah of RV travel in Mexico.
After that, it's anybody's guess. We have several options. We could keep the motorhome, stop working at the park, and continue doing Mexico RV caravans as a source of income. That way, we could do more summer travel to countries that are normally too cold in the winter.
Or, we could sell the motorhome. We'd like to do more house sitting which would involve staying in other countries for longer periods of time. And we'd like to go to southeast Asia for six months, and Australia and New Zealand for six months. All of this would mean that having a motorhome back in Canada would be kind of pointless.
So we'll see. Either way, you can expect more of the same for the next ten years, and at some point during that period, we'll begin a life of full time travel. It's only a matter of time...
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A selection of SanDisk memory products are on sale. I can't believe how cheap this stuff has become...
Not quite as good of a deal here in Canada, but they've got a few on sale...
You two sure have seen the sights. What an adventure. Congratulations on nine fun-filled years. Wishing you both 10+ more in whatever you decide to do.
ReplyDeleteThank you Paul and Marsha! We looking to many more years of adventure. :-)
DeleteYou might want to keep Sherman at Lindsey's eventually!
ReplyDeleteElspeth and Contessa, you two have come up with a great idea! I'll even go one step further; at minimum, Lindsey and Justin could use Sherman to expand living space when other family members come to visit or if Lindsey and Justin are interested in purchasing Sherman for weekend jaunts with the kids, storage and security for Sherman for approximately a year could be the down payment for the purchase of Sherman when quantified in Canadian Dollars based on the going rate for RV secure storage in the area.
DeleteDee
We only mentioned that we MIGHT sell Sherman in the near future but we have thought that way before and then changed our minds so it could possibly happen again. And yes, letting the kids use the motorhome or even just keeping it in their driveway for when come to visit is also another possibility. There are so many options and so much time!
DeleteAn amazing journey so far, thanks for taking us along for the ride! I do see why you might part with the RV, even if for a few years as you could always buy another down the road if things changed again.
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you have followed along with us for the ride! :-)
DeleteWhen you consider the money that is still needed to keep a motorhome even when it is sitting in one spot and what is needed to get it into shape after sitting for a length of time is what makes us think of selling it but after this winter we may change our minds again like we have done in the past. As you have mentioned, if we did sell it we would most likely buy another a few years later, perhaps a smaller one that we could drive down to the tip of South America.
Huge congrats for living the life you want to live. Because of you and Ruth we first learned of the term "housesitting" and realized what we'd been doing for friends for many years was fast becoming a global phenomenon. Within days of your post we embarked on our own TLC International Housesitting adventures and since 2009 have completed more than 30 housesits. We've met amazing people and lived as a local in Canada, England, Scotland and France. And like you we intent to add Australia and New Zealand to the list. It's a cliche, but "Just Do It" really does sum it all up. To achieve your heart's desire it is as simple as taking that first step AND more importantly it can be done on a meagre budget. Thank you for sharing your daily posts for the past 9 years and like so many other readers we look forward to your future updates. Hugs and happy travels!
ReplyDeleteThank you Dianne! So glad that we were such an inspiration for you and John. I know how much you love the housesitting and that is definitely something that Kevin and I have though seriously of doing more of in the near future.
DeleteWe totally agree with you on the "Just Do It" statement. Too many people wait too long to do it and then it ends up being too late or too short to enjoy.
Why get rid of the RV? It doesn't owe you anything plus your kids and grandkids might enjoy traveling in it.
ReplyDeleteWe only mentioned that we MIGHT get rid of it and we have done that in the past and then changed our minds. We have had all kinds of ideas going through our heads regarding the motorhome so nothing is set in stone.
DeleteIt has been an amazing adventure so far and many more wonderful places to see and visit. We have enjoyed your travels these last 9 years every step of the way. Looking forward to joining you wherever you go.
ReplyDeleteYes, it has been an amazing adventure and one we haven't gotten tired of yet. There are enough places out there in this wonderful world to keep us busy every year for the rest of our lives. :-)
DeleteAn excellent nine years, and looking forward to the next nine. I would keep Sherman so long as you have free storage...
ReplyDeleteThank you Peter, we hope there will be many, many more!
DeleteYes, and this is something that we have also thought about, we still have lots of time to think about it. There are lots of options to think about when it comes to Sherman.
Congrats on starting your tenth year of living your life on your terms and in a way that makes you guys happy :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Ellen, we are happy to be doing it this way too! :-)
DeleteLooking at the list of countries to which you have been, there are also several before you got Sherman. What about Mexico, Scotland and the Caribbean?
ReplyDeleteRight, but if you read the sentence, I said "Since then"...referencing since Whiskey died...
DeleteI am convinced you've had a wonderful ten years! How long will you be overseas this time?
ReplyDeleteWe will actually be over there twice this winter. Our first visit will be 6 weeks and we will spend that time in Romania, Moldova and Transnistria and returning to Ottawa for Christmas and then on January 1st we will leave for Spain and spend a total of 3 1/2 months overseas returning to Ottawa again in mid April before heading back to Cabri, Saskatchewan for another summer managing the campground.
DeleteA great milestone:) Congrats:)
ReplyDeleteThank you! We have hopes of adding many more years to this milestone. :-)
DeleteYou did it your way - fantastic - wishing you ten more!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Connie and Barry and yes, we did it our way! :-)
DeleteThank you for sharing your inspiring journey with all of us!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome and thank you for following along with us. :-)
DeleteCongrats on the 9 years. Your travels inspired my wife and I to start to RV, but we kept our house and I retired early to travel the US during the winter. We saw quite a bit of the beauty of North America as well as met numerous interesting people. Good thing because my wife recently passed suddenly and unexpected. You have to experience things in life while you have the health to do it.
ReplyDeleteSo glad that we inspired you to get our there and RV North America with your wife before she passed. So very sorry for your loss but we are glad that you were able to enjoy some of your retirement together doing something that you loved. I hope that after time you will be able to go out there again and pick up where you left off, there are many people out there that are solo RVing.
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