I have been curious about these things that you shared about yourself:
I know next to nothing about boats either! I don’t know the basics of sailing, I don’t know the name of a lot of things around me, I’ve never anchored the boat by myself

Thanks :)

I know it’s all foreign to you now. But it doesn’t have to be. You can learn anything you want, slowly. You can crew for someone cool for a while to learn, or find people who don’t mind having you over for dinner onboard in your area (you buy a nice one) and tell you everything about it. Or just try living onboard a simple sailboat and learning everything from scratch while you keep going to work as usual and get ready. You gotta see what you want and what you like. But in my experience, there’s nothing like this.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted!

The fact that you have traveled already and that you don’t mind camping or having simple holidays is great. You’re ready to go, all you need is to wait and see what happens with your house, etc.

There are many things you can do, it is you who has to see what you would like.

For me there was no transition. I was at college and working as a teacher and decided to take off and travel. Quit the job, put the university on hold and left. I was 24. I traveled until I wanted to come back, which happened 8 months later. By then I was already in a relationship with a great Irish guy. I kept going to Dublin of nearly three years after that. Then I would come home work for a few months, get bored, wait for the school/uni year to be over and take off again, without savings or a plan, just go, try to survive and come back when I’d had enough.

As basic guidelines, there are a few things youngish low-budget travelers do. I met Alex at 37, still traveling, so I was young but not that much.

The boat is great cause you have no bills, with solar power you can live on very little! Of course maintaining a boat costs money but a house is really expensive because of tax and bills a car or a van also eat gas, pay bills and require maintenance.

Now if you’re not going to live on a boat you have to worry about a roof over your head. Some people drive a van around Latin America, they sell crafts on the way and also live off the money they make by working during high season in bars, restaurants, hotels, etc.

Other people use Couchsurfing to stay with locals as they travel. It’s cool but usually younger people use it. There’s also Workaway, another website through which people can find work (cash) as they travel. And I also know of Wwoof, for travelers who want to work on organic farms in exchange for food and lodging. Now since you’re an English speaker, a lot of travelers teach English legally in other countries, governments give work visas quite easily if they are for that purpose.

I’ve done most of the above and I have to say, until I moved onto a boat, I always felt the pressure of paying for transport and accommodation, and I never felt truly comfortable. Traveling on a small budget is magical, don’t get me wrong, they were amazing years, but there was always this little worry at the back of my head, what am I gonna do when this one is over? On the boat, if you have no money you don’t care much, you only eat simple food, swim and read for a while. As long as your boat floats everything else can wait. You don’t have any monthly cost apart from food. It’s a very special circumstance. You don’t worry. You work as you can and you spend as you can. But a month goes by and nothing is piling up. Think of the concept: no bills. No commitments. It’s quite wonderful.

I’ve been thinking and maybe I can be more specific now about what I’d like to know about. I would like to know more about your transition from working as a teacher into “walked away from it a decade and a half ago when I chose to start traveling without savings or regular income.” Because this is a transition I’d like to consider for myself but know little about.

I have my own set of obstacles that you can’t relate to – but I can deal with those. Anyway, we don’t move forward by looking at the obstacles. I think you spent some time “out in the world” as a single woman and that might be something I want to do too. You don’t need to feel pressured about what “advice” you might give me – I listen to myself. :) No one else will know my own experience, so I don’t generally expect others to know what is best in my situation. I am interested in hearing about what works for other people, and I can decide for myself what choices to consider for my own life. So please do feel free to offer any advice that feels natural to you – but without concern over whether it’s “good” or “bad” advice. I will know you are just speaking from your own experience/perspective.

Several decades ago I did travel alone through other countries with just a few things in a backpack and small suitcase. I have wanted to travel (possibly live) in places throughout Latin America and refresh my Spanish language skills. (It was my college major some decades ago.)

Throughout my childhood, and again post-divorce, I have enjoyed camping very simply. I enjoy sleeping on the ground, eating simply, getting by with just a few things, etc. I appreciate the self-confidence that is nurtured through living that way, and experiencing that deeper connection with nature/planet/life.

I will read through more of your (and probably Alex’s) older blog postings in a few weeks. May 1 is my last day of work. A week later I’m selling almost everything I own, or giving it away. About the same time I’ll list my house and hopefully that will sell this summer. Then I might hit the road in my little car and drive whichever way the wind blows for as long as it takes for me to find a direction or a good place to stop for a while. I might end up with another full-time job somewhere (or part-time). I might end with a boat! I might find myself on bus ride into Mexico or on a plane to China. Wherever life leads, I’ll find out as it unfolds! :) As we all do anyway.

I’ve thrown a lot of information at you again – oops. :) Writing it out is just my way of processing it. Peace, be well.

I love the water and have enjoyed the bit of time I’ve spent on/around boats, and that includes enjoying the dirty work that comes with it. I have some physical challenges that may or might not ease up with different work or a more flexible work schedule. I might not be able to maintain my own boat – tremendous learning curve there as well as the physical challenges involved – I don’t know. But, there are other options there, too.

Or, maybe there won’t be a boat, but I am determined to live more simply. That was the basis for my questions and interest in your blog. I enjoy camping and simple foods/cooking but don’t have experience living that way long-term. I also don’t have experience working freelance or bartering my way along and lack confidence in my ability to step into that.

I do feel relatively confident that I can find full-time work if I choose to do that. I’m just not sure that’s my path forward from ‘here.’ So, I’m interested in learning more about other options. Thanks :)

Nancy,

I’ve been thinking about your last comment and trying to see if I could help but I have to admit I’m a bit lost. There’s been a lot of information and I’m not sure what it is you are trying to do exactly. I’ve never lived in the States, neither have I ever owned a house, car, credit card, never opened a bank account, I traveled a lot and when I stayed in my country I did rent flats when I was working as a teacher but I’d rent for the 9 months of school and then put two boxes in my dads garage and go on holidays with the rent’s money so I’ve always lived quite outside the system. I also have no kids, I have never been in a situation similar to yours so that I could really attempt to give you any advice. Alex has never been too deep into it either, he worked on and off in Hollywood then he worked in finance briefly and left the US.

The only thing we can really talk about is choosing to live on a boat and the steps you can take to make that happen. Alex can speak about it with a lot more authority of course, I can only speak of what I’ve seen in the past three + years and how easily I adapted to it from a domestic point of you and how much I love so many types of boat work (epoxy, painting, canvas, varnishing). I can also speak of how wonderful having little money and possessions has always been for me, the freedom and lack of stress my life has had since I walked away from it a decade and a half ago when I chose to start traveling without savings or regular income.

I’m not sure I understand what you’re planning to do or how my experience can help?

Please feel free to expand. Living aboard and traveling with little money is really what I’ve experienced and can talk about…

; )

Nancy, I’m so glad to hear you really wanna make a change and you’re really looking for a way to do it.

It’d be interesting to see what other people say about it. I don’t know if I can really help you, I was never in a situation like yours, and I never lived in the US.

This is an older post, I’m not sure people are still reading. Let me write a new blog about it and see if you get some suggestions there ; )

I am working toward a more “minimalist” life. I have obligations right now: mortgage, another small debt, son in school, and a brand new auto loan. But, I have a reliable car now and plans to get rid of the mortgage. Son has 2 years left in school, so maybe that’s a reasonable target with respect to time. Very soon I’ll be out of a job, so that’s either an opportunity or a setback – I can’t decide which. :)

I live in a 3-bedroom house with finished basement. I’m working on clearing everything out with the intent of being able to fit into a rented room. I’d be content with just a place to pitch a tent (or climb into a berth), but those options cost money too.

Things keep getting moved around the house but I’m starting to think that I’ll be able to pare my things down to fit into my hatchback. Maybe a 2nd load of heirloom-type things – I’ll need a bit more time so I can ask around the family before unloading them.

Did you have a houseful (or apartment-full) of “things” before you began your vagabond life? Feedback (from anyone) is most welcome :)

-Nancy