This post's overview:
This is not a typical “Tripsget” post (is there already such a thing as a typical post for this blog?) and it’s a little bit more personal than the rest of the posts. I’ve been thinking of it for a while now, but I would really like to shift the direction of this blog to something more personal. In other words, build this blog around our personalities.
Sometimes it’s worth taking a break and auditing all the things you’re doing. The initial target of this blog was to provide you, my dear readers, with some useful information for your future trips. We’ve done some pretty awesome journeys, to be honest, and some of them were really complicated to plan. When I was researching and planning our trips together with Pepe, I experienced a lack of useful information about Balkans, for example. There were plenty of separate guides to each and every one of our destinations, but there was absolutely no information about the fact, how to combine all these destinations in one trip. That’s just one example of many custom made trips we’ve completed.
I will keep doing that – provide you with useful information. However, we won’t be traveling as much as we had used to and I don’t want to publish listicles and trivial guides to the cities, where only the laziest blogger hasn’t been and hasn’t covered them in his or her blog. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to produce so much content. That means that we would have to invite guest bloggers and accept guest posts and that wouldn’t be OUR travel blog anymore. I really want it to be our travel blog, something that we started together and where I can express my thoughts and sometimes even crazy ideas.
Our new life
My life has changed a lot during the last year. Now I’m married and I’m an expat-to-be. Pepe has been an expat for almost 3 years now. What are my plans? Well, settle down and find a well-paid job, that would allow me to contribute to our family budget and travel during our 28 days of paid annual leave.
Such a boring life, you would say.
Why not quit our jobs and the life of travel instead? The answer is no. That wouldn’t work for us and thousands of other couples around the world. And I wouldn’t allow anybody to call our life boring, just because we aren’t based in a miserable cheap flat somewhere in Thailand (because we wouldn’t be able to afford a nice one), browsing Upwork and trying to earn some bucks to finally change the location to something more decent. Some people would call this life awesome and adventurous: when you don’t know where you will end up tomorrow and how you would earn money for your next lunch.
Don’t get me wrong, I love following the accounts/ blogs of travelers, who are basically homeless, constantly on the go and have experienced all the possible and impossible adventures. I like saying: wow it’s so crazy and awesome, but I would like this life for myself.
Reason 1
When we had the 1.5 years of long distance relationship, we were traveling every single month to meet each other, and obviously, sometimes these trips were really cheap. We were staying in some sketchy hotels and hostels, eating fast food and moving by buses and Ryanair. I would go from St. Petersburg to Tallinn, Estonia by bus (takes 7 hours) without sleeping all night, wait for 7 hours in the airport and grab a Ryanair flight to London where I would sit for 3 more hours and grab the nest flight to Shannon, for example. 18 hours of buses, flights and waiting just for a weekend in Ireland.
There were so many nights, when we couldn’t sleep in our cheap hotels and when we were eating chocolates instead of having a proper lunch in a cafe. If I imagine traveling and living all the time like that, I shiver. I would prefer traveling once in a couple of months, but be able to pay for a decent hotel, food and even take some tours.
Reason 2
Moreover, as the expats from 2 different countries, we don’t have a common home, where we could move in together. That means we need to work hard to buy a home because renting all life long doesn’t sound like a good option. Freelance jobs wouldn’t give us enough money to buy a home in Europe even for a 35 year of the mortgage. It would be an entirely different situation, if we were from the same country and already had a home for us, which we could rent and in the meantime travel the world without having to work 14 hours a day and fighting for each 10 dollars on Upwork.
Life is tough and we don’t have illusions. Sometimes the life of travel just doesn’t work for your and you can do nothing about it. That’s basically my response to all the posts of “Stop going to your boring work and go to travel around the world”.
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I agree with you, although i have more vacations than that. I’d rather earn money working (and thus not be able to leave all the time) but have money to sped on the chosen destination. Also, i like the porcess og going home, it helps you to continue marvelling at each new trip. When you are always traveing, i feel that you lose that a bit.
Thanks a lot for your comment! I totally agree with you about not being so excited about new trips/destinations anymore, when you’re always on the go. Also, getting back home is the best 🙂
Really enjoyed your honest blog post. I agree with you! Although I’m a full time blogger, I do not desire to leave my personal belongings to travel the world. I have a beautiful home and family that take priority. I must say, the best feeling in the world for me is coming to my own bed after a few weeks on the road! I can image you’ll find some great things to write about when you settle in your new home! I write a lot about where I live from a traveler’s perspective.
Thanks for your comment, Jessica! That sounds like a good idea & direction for the blog. I’ll definitely check your posts out 🙂 And yes, sleeping at home after a long & tiring journey is the best feeling!
A lot of travel bloggers will try to sell you the dream of traveling 24/7 and working remotely… but for many people that simply not an option. Or even if it is an option, that definitely not the only way to lead a happy and successful lifestyle. What’s most important is feeling happy in each present moment, and it’s absolutely possible to do that from your own apartment while working a stable job! I’m glad to hear that you’re making choices that are right for you. Enjoy this next chapter in your life!!
Thank you so much, Alissa! I totally agree with you about being happy in your own apartment & everything else 🙂
I’m so happy I found this blog! You’ve totally been my inspiration for the day. I agree that this lifestyle you spoke about, isn’t for everyone and we should acknowledge that it’s ok to still be a travel fanatic and take advantage of your annual leave in doing this. It would definitely ease anxiety of money.
Thank you, Emily! Yes, money is often a problem when traveling and sometimes it’s really frustrating not to be able to afford even a cup coffee in a local Starbucks.
Absolutely agree with this post! My husband and I love to travel but always being on the go doesn’t allow for other things we love in life (like good food, warm showers….) Good luck with your next adventure!
Thanks a lot, Sarah! Good luck to you too 🙂 And yes, life without warm showers is meh 🙂
Excellent post and its good to hear someone in the travel blog community not saying ‘quit your job to travel 24/7’ or ‘be a digital noma.’ It really is not a desire of everyone or practical for everyone and it doesn’t make one less of a traveller or in awe of the world. Thanks for the post
So I found your blog while looking for expat perspectives and think your shift in focus is a really good way to keep your writing relevant to your life as well as drawing in new readers! Because it’s true that long-term travel isn’t for everyone and it’s not always sustainable. The idea of backpacking for a year was not my thing, which is how I found myself living abroad full-time. Anyway, looking forward to seeing more of your thoughts on your transition.
Thanks a lot for your comment, Danielle! Where did you settle down?)
Okay, I officially love this blog now! In my 20s, I discovered I was terrible at freelancing and changed career paths. Working as a freelance illustrator didn’t offer me stability and really sapped me of my love of creating art. For the past two years, I’ve worked as an art teacher and love it – stability, yet plenty of holiday time to travel and work on creative projects.
Great read. Liza and Jose offer a refreshing and honest take on why full time travel isn’t for everyone. They highlight the emotional and financial challenges of constant movement, and their desire for stability, a home, and long term goals. A thoughtful reminder that travel dreams should align with personal realities.
you are wonderful !