Then again, most single women today have very very high standards.

Thanks, Ice!

😀

Claudia – You bring up a great point; what we think we project as our selves, and what other people see us to be, are often two very different things. Everybody has their own special tinted sunglasses, and thus, we see the world (and everybody in it) differently from the next person. Which is why friends and family might not see through to the person you believe you are showing them.
And I’m right there with you; I don’t mind marching to the beat of a different drum…never have minded….

Hey, happy birthday, Deb, even if I’m a few days late! 🙂

Hey Debs,
Wow right back at you! What a story – and a very interesting background to your interview post on my site as well!
I agree with all of your observations and experiences – life’s ordinances and challenges tend to be the same no matter where you go – it’s what you make of the experience that makes the difference.

Hi Jo
I would so love to hear more of your travel stories as I am of the older generation too…I told my children from a young age that I would be a back packing granny one day. My daughter has since seen 52 countries and she is only 28 years old, This email story about Sal was such an interesting read. I wish I could put my thoughts on paper like her.. I soo envy you both. Please email me at mirandavale8599@bigpond.com Cheers from down under Liz

Today is my 42nd birthday and I’ve been travelling for 2.5 years with my husband after selling everything in the UK.

We had an ‘ordinary’ life and had settled down, bought a house, paying into a pension each etc etc. Every year we wanted to see more of the world so we squeezed as many holidays in as our jobs would allow. Then over a period of 18 months we had 6 funerals; 3 grandparents, 2 dads (58 & 61) and a friend (40). My dad was terminally ill and if he had survived we would have had to have sold his house to pay for his long term care. So he had worked all his life to pay for a house which he would then have to sell to pay for his care – why did he bother? This and a few other events changed the course of our lives. We questioned what was important to us. After selling everything, we realised that we needed very little of what we had spent years accumulating, it was liberating getting rid of it all, no longer feeling that we had to keep up with the Joneses.

We are constantly asked: What are you running from? Have you found what you are looking for? What are your plans for the future?

We aren’t running from anything, just taking our time to see what else is out there. We never set off looking for anything in particular. The plan was not to have a plan and this is still the case now after 2.5 years. We have been lucky to secure work along the way. https://www.theprofessionalhobo.com/make-money-while-traveling/

We are currently working on Koh Phangan, which is a beautiful, tropical island. Some people think we are in paradise, but I have to say we have found that no matter where we have lived and worked life is the same, but with a different view. We still have to wash our clothes, shop, cook, clean and right now work for someone who we aren’t getting on with too well. We are staying as we think the storm will pass as we enter a new phase of work (building to operational).

Home is a figure of speech and can be many different places, so far for us it has been Chile, New Zealand and now Koh Phangan. Home is where you can take off your backpack and not re-pack it for a while, get to know a few local people, make friends and enjoy the area you are living in.

I agree, one person’s ordinary life is another persons hell. It would be a boring place if we all wanted the same thing.

Old age….age is just a number….as I’ve already proven by working without a WHV. When you’re 20, 45 looks old. I’m not that far off 45 and I still feel (and some people say LOL) that I’m still twentysomething. Nora if you are still in Grenada at say 75 and still swimming and snorkelling everyday…then wow 🙂 You go girl.

Enjoy
Debs
xxx