Introduction to the Art of Full-Time/Long-Term Travel

07.08.2017 |

Episode #1 of the course How to travel long term/full time by Nora Dunn

 

Welcome to this course! You’re in for a treat, one that’ll not just allow you to travel from the comfort of your armchair but also get you out into the world doing it yourself. Over the next 10 days, we’ll break down the overwhelming process of redesigning your life into manageable steps, so that you, too, can travel the world for as long as you want.

My name is Nora Dunn (also known as The Professional Hobo), and in 2006, I sold everything I owned (including a busy financial planning practice) to travel the world long term. I wasn’t sure how long the travel lifestyle would suit me, but as it’s turned out, I’m still on the road, traveling full time in a financially sustainable way.

I’ve traveled through and/or lived in over 50 countries so far. Here’s a sampler of a few of the things I’ve done:

• I painted murals in trade for my accommodation in Hawaii.

• I accidentally started an NGO in Thailand.

• I helped run a spiritual retreat center in New Zealand.

• I rode the world-famous Australian trains, the Indian Pacific and The Ghan (in fact, I rode 11,000 kilometers of trains in 11 days straight, all to see if it was possible to get bored on a train—instead of getting bored, I wrote a book about it).

• I volunteered in trade for accommodation/meals/wine in Spain, simply by having delightful conversations with local Spaniards.

• After two weeks of volunteering in Spain, I made enough connections to travel throughout Europe for five months without paying a dime for accommodation.

• I filmed television shows in New Zealand, France, and Nepal.

• I’ve house-sat in trade for free accommodation in England, Grenada, Switzerland, Canada, Panama, Ecuador, and Japan.

• I lived in the Caribbean for two years.

• I spent three months living on boats in the Caribbean, without a night on land (and I don’t even sail).

• I rode 25,000 kilometers of trains in 30 days, from Lisbon to Saigon.

• I apprenticed with a shaman in Peru for two years.

. . . and much, much more!

 

The Art of Long-Term Travel: It Can’t Be Planned

Rule #1 to The Art of Full-Time/Long-Term Travel is that you can’t possibly plan it all out. I never would have anticipated half the experiences I’ve had on the road. And if I’d made too many plans, I’d have missed out on the amazing opportunities that came my way.

All you can do if you want to make the most of this lifestyle is to keep your eyes open for opportunities and have the flexibility to jump on the ones that feel right.

But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to plan. You’ve got a whole lifestyle to redesign so you can embrace the world at large! That takes some planning.

 

What You’ll Learn in This Course

From here on out, instead of referring to this style of travel as “full-time/long-term,” we’re just going to call it “long-term” travel. Perhaps you only have a year or two to play with, or perhaps you’re gunning for a total lifestyle change. Either way, I’m going to help you hit the road (in style!) for as long as you want to be away. When the time is right to return home or to set up a home base somewhere new, you’ll know.

In the lessons ahead, you’ll learn:

• How to prepare for your travels, logistically and emotionally

• How to figure out what to do with your stuff

• Tools and tricks you need to live on the road

• How to set up your finances to travel long term

• Five ways to get free accommodation around the world (and I’m talking fancy digs)

• A variety of ways you can make money on the road (a key to making long-term travel financially sustainable)

• Ways to keep traveling the world without succumbing to travel fatigue and other obstacles

Tomorrow, we’ll help you define what your trip is going to look like, and determine what to do with your stuff.

Stay tuned! See you tomorrow,

Nora

 

Recommended video

About The Professional Hobo

 

Recommended book

Tales of Trains: Where the Journey Is the Destination by Nora Dunn. Book about my epic train journeys around the world.

 

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