Traveler Interview: Johnny Ward of One Step 4 Ward

We have a new interview today with Johnny Ward, who's been travelling around the world for about 7 years so far. I've particularly enjoyed reading not only his blog posts about his travels and experiences, but also his rants and advice about making money. In the rants you can often find truths that many people don't talk about, and the 'making money' bit... well, I'm particularly interested in that!

Without further ado, let's get into the interview.

Could you please tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

Sure, I'm a nomadic Irishman - been on the road since graduating Uni in 2007, I've travelled to over 100 countries and I run a business for about 10 hours per week from my laptop. On the rare occasions when i'm not on the road, I'm based in Bangkok, Thailand where I have an apartment in the city.

Why have you chosen Bangkok as your base?

Bangkok is a real hub for 'digital nomads'. The lifestyle vrs cost of living is unparalled around the world. For a budget of around $3k per month you can have a tailor, a maid, a city centre apartment, a personal trainer etc. It's really something special.

You started travelling back in 2006 - why did you make that choice?

I come from a really small town in Ireland, I grew up in a single parent family with no money so the prospects of world travel were slim. I always dreamt of far away places but they never seemed feasible. Then as soon as I graduated I thought 'screw this, let's give it a go!', that was 7 years ago and i'm still going!

What would you say is the motivation that keeps you going?

I have a dream to visit every country in the world, that's something I'd be very proud to acheive. So I don't wanna rest until then! Also, from my fan page I'm aware how many people would love to be doing what I'm doing, so I feel compelled to enjoy the opportunities that I have as much as i can.

In your travels so far, have you found a favourite country?

To live, Thailand hand's down. But not to travel in, that's been done, and done again! To travel in, I'd say Ethiopia, or Iceland (or Papua New Guinea) - you get much more authentic experiences if you venture a little further than the others.

So why is Thailand your favourite country to live in, and why are the other three countries your favourite to travel in?

Living in Thailand, like I said earlier, is just just an amazing lifestyle. I can recover from my road-weariness, get stuck into some more online projects with decent internet, I can continue learning Thai and the restaurant/bar/club scene in Bangkok is really fun too.

Traveling in Ethiopia remains one of my favourite backpacking destinations. It's super cheap, but with so much to see. Lalibela, where churches are dug into the ground as opposed to on top of it, should be one of the most famous sites in the world and were it not in such an obscure country, it certainly would be.

Iceland at Christmas is a real bucket list ticket. The northern lights are spectacular, as is riding snowmobiles over glaciers, ice-climbing and partying in Reykjavik. It may not be cheap, but it's worth it.

PNG is a place I had been longing to visit, i love to go where other people generally don't. And like my trips in Sudan, Somalia, East Timor, Kazakhstan etc as soon as I landed in PNG i felt like i was really traveling again. I stayed with a local tribe in Medang, a small town in the north of the country. They welcomed me with a local tribal dance, I ate dinner with the chiefs - amazing!

What's been your most memorable experience in your travels?

As a huge sport fan I loved the Olympics in Bejing and the World Cup in South Africa, but I'm a huge wildlife fan so trekking with gorillas in Rwanda took my breath away.

What was it like in Beijing during the Olympics? What do you remember best about it?

Beijing was electric during the OIympics. They knew the eyes of the world were on them and they delivered. Best ever Olympics? Very possible. Beijing is always fascinating - Great Wall of China, Peking duck etc but that combined with elite sport was perfect. And China is very affordable to travel in to, another huge plus!

Have you worked out an average cost of travel per week, or does it depend on the country you're in?

Excluding business expenses, I guess I'd spend around $400 per week. Naturally it depends which country you're in but on average I'd say about $1500-$2k per month is more than adequate.

What's been the most expensive country you've travelled through, and the cheapest?

Most expensive is Bhutan, the visa is $290 PER DAY for a solo traveler! The cheapest is probably Bangladesh.

What do you do to earn money along the way?

I have a few income streams online, I run a number of websites and have a number of staff who manage them. That allows me the freedom to travel when and where i want!

What do you like and dislike about your lifestyle choice?

Dislike? Very, very little to be honest. It used to be my lack of money, but online business are growing so that's not such a worry anymore. The biggest dislike is actually a fear that it could end! Like? Everything, no boss, no alarms, indefinte travel - i wouldn't swap it for anything.

How has the travelling lifestyle changed you?

I like to think it's made me more patient, and it's certainly opened my eyes to how fortunate we are to come from 'developed' (hate the term) countries - with our health care, education, opportunities etc. I appreciate everything i have, every day and the more i travel, the more grateful i feel.

What advice would you offer people who are thinking about doing the same thing?

In terms of travel, do it and do it as soon as possible. If you want it to be a new lifestyle, then work out a way to make money online whether it's freelance skype english teaching, article writing, sales, affiliate marketing - find a way to bring it at least $1k a month, then you'll be truly free!

 

Thanks Johnny, I really appreciate your time! 

You can find him at any of the following locations:

• Travel blog: One Step 4 Ward


• Twitter: onestep4ward


• Facebook: onestep4ward

Traveler Interview: Raam of RaamDev

Raam Dev is someone whom I consider a good friend of mine. He's stayed in my house twice now. Yeah, he came back for a second visit! It might have been the beer, I'm not sure... Anyway, I'm really happy to be presenting today's traveler interview with Raam Dev.

Raam, thank you for this interview! Could you please tell us a little about yourself first?

I'm a thinker, writer, and explorer. At 8th grade, my parents handed me the responsibility of teaching myself (I was home schooled my entire life). Fascinated by computers and technology, I taught myself web development and computer programming in my teens, inherited my parents anything-is-possible mindset, and jumped straight into working instead of pursuing a college degree (employers didn't care much that I didn't have a degree after they tested my knowledge).

Many years of climbing the career ladder and chasing dreams went by before I realized they were not my own and decided to redesign my life to better suit my nature of curiosity. I now live and travel with one backpack and a laptop. I'm fascinated by life, purpose, and meaning. How can we live better? Why are we here? What does it all mean? When I'm not writing computer code, I'm pondering those questions and writing about them.

Why did you decide to start travelling?

I've always wanted to see the world, to know that it was actually out there, to experience it with my own two eyes and my own two feet. I grew up without a television in the house, but my parents had a VCR and TV monitor and they would buy entire series of videos from National Geographic, PBS, and NOVA. I watched those series over and over, fascinated by everything.

But there came a point where I would watch those videos of kangaroos in the Australian Outback or the lions in the African Serengeti and I would be frustrated. Watching the world through a television, or later reading about the world through a computer screen, just wasn't enough for me. I needed to be out there. I wanted to be the person behind the camera, not watching an edited version of what the camera captured.

So since I was a little boy, I've always known that I would travel the world one day. In my mind it was just a matter of when, not if.

One day, after putting it off for so, so many years and telling myself that I'd get to it eventually, I felt something inside me begin to die. It was that hope, that belief that I would one day travel and see the world. Something inside me was giving up. I knew right then and there that I needed to go now or it may never happen.

So the very next moment I opened a new text file on my laptop and started drafting my resignation letter. I emailed it to my boss that evening. Six months later, after selling nearly all my stuff, I packed one small backpack and left for India, just shy of my 28th birthday.

How long have you been travelling?

Technically I've been traveling since I was a little boy. My parents took me on a six-week trip to India when I was three years old. That trip is the basis for some of my earliest memories. My parents are entrepreneurial and they were always running a business of some type, often requiring some form of travel.

I spent a large amount of my childhood in the car gazing out the window during business road trips and marveling at the Earth from the sky on short flights to major cities around the USA. But even outside the actual traveling, I think of my childhood as being one long adventure. I was always outside in the backyard, turning over rocks and exploring the big world of tiny bugs. I would swim with fish and turtles and catch frogs. In my mind, I've always been traveling somewhere.

However, outside the family business trips I did as a child and early teen, I traveled very little. Until my trip to India in 2010, I had never been outside the USA (with the exception of Canada and the trip to India when I was three). I wanted to travel, but I always found a reason to make work more important, no matter how stressful or unfulfilling.

What's your favourite country, and why?

That's hard to say. I've only been to a few, namely India, Vietnam, Nepal, and Australia. I'm on a flight to Montenegro (in Central Europe) as I type this. Of the former countries I would have to say India was the most amazing. I've spent five months there and barely scratched the surface. India is incredibly diverse and culturally rich. Those five months felt like a lifetime and I can't wait to go back. I still have so much of the world to see and explore.

What's been your most memorable experience?

When I was in Nepal, a non-profit contacted me through my website and asked me to write about the work they were doing. I told them I couldn't do that without meeting the people running the organization and seeing firsthand the work they were doing. To my surprise, I received an email back informing me that the owners' brother could pick me up the next morning and show me around. I was a little wary about going somewhere with a stranger in a country that I didn't know very well, but I took a chance.

The next morning I was picked up, on a motorcycle, and rode for the entire day through the rugged mountains of Nepal. The next day we got off the bike and hiked up into the mountains, across streams and fields of corn, to a little school nestled above the clouds. The non-profit was helping build schools in remote parts of Nepal so that children wouldn't have to walk six hours to get to class each day.

After a lunch in one of the nearby huts, they led me out to the courtyard of the school where a hundred school children stood, all the boys on one side and all the girls on the other, creating a path for me walk between them. Every single child was holding a handpicked bouquet of wildflowers. As I walked past them, each one handed their flowers to me.

I had done nothing but visit and yet I was treated like a king. A few minutes later the teachers stood up one-by-one and gave a little speech in Nepali. Then they asked me to say something. I had never given a public speech of any kind. I was home schooled my whole life. I had never even stood in front of so many children before. But how could I say no? So I stood up and I said a few words (the words escape me now).

Wealthy donors had given millions of dollars to this non-profit and here I was, with a few hundred dollars in my bank account. What could I give? What could I do? That's when I realized what I had that they didn't: access to the world, physically and through my voice and my writing. I could reach people that they couldn't. I could share their story. I could encourage others to give. I could encourage others to travel and see the world for what it really was. And that was likely worth more than any money I could donate.

What's your average cost of travel per week?

That varies greatly by country. On my first trip outside of the USA, to India in 2010, I only had $1,500 USD in my bank account. I knew I was going to be gone for six months (I had a round-trip plane ticket with a return six months out), so I divided that $1500 up and made my budget $250/month.

Believe it or not, with a little effort $250/month is actually very doable in India. I ended up going to Vietnam and Nepal during those six months and this trip wasn't about staying within budget, but rather enjoying this new experience. I did a little freelance work online while I was there to earn some extra money.

While I didn't stay within the $250/month budget I did manage to average about $500/month, which included the additional expense of flying from India, to Vietnam and then to Nepal, and then back to India.

During my trip in 2010, and for a few months after, I kept a detailed record of exactly how much I spent living this lifestyle and I published the reports on my site. Lots of people found those reports helpful and I intend to start publishing them again.

What do you do to earn money?

For the first few years after I left my job, I found occasional remote freelance work using my programming and web development skills. The work was extremely sporadic and budgeting was challenging -- some months I made $0 and other months I made $800 -- but it was worth every ounce of the freedom.

In late 2012, I was approached by a small software company called WebSharks. They make a popular WordPress Membership Plugin calleds2Member. I was hired on to help with various aspects of the business and that work currently pays the bills. It also allows me to remain location independent, as the entire team works remotely.

My long-term ambitions are with making a living through creative work and I'm working towards making a full-time income through my writing.

What do you like and dislike about your lifestyle choice?

There's nothing that I don't like about this lifestyle. I'm living exactly how I want to live. I know that my lifestyle isn't right for everyone, but everyone has a different path. This path feels right for me.

How has it changed you?

I see the world as my home and humanity as my family. The world feels both bigger and small all at the same time. I feel more grateful, more happy, and more at peace. I'm no longer so focused on myself and my own tiny world and instead see more of the bigger picture (but definitely not all of it; I've only scratched the surface). I feel a greater sense of purpose, even if I still have no idea what that purpose is.

What advice would you offer people who are thinking about doing the same thing?

Get rid of anything that doesn't help you with your goal. If you want to travel the world, owning a car (or a bicycle, or a house, or a toaster) probably isn't contributing to a goal of traveling indefinitely but rather keeping you from it.

Put yourself in the shoes of a future version of yourself who is living the lifestyle you want to live and ask that version of yourself what their world looks like. What does that future version of yourself have in their life? What kinds of choices do they make? What do they find important? Now start applying that mindset to the you of today. Start working towards that.

I was brought up believing in reincarnation, but who knows if we're reborn? Why take the chance? If you only live once you may as well be the person you want to be, the person you feel inside that you were meant to be. You already have everything you need to get there. You just need to take the next step in that direction.

Thank you Raam, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions. They're inspirational. To the rest of you, I've been a subscriber of Raam's letters for quite a while now, and I wholeheartedly recommend them to you. He's a great thinker with some great insights about life, the universe and everything. 

You can find him over at raamdev.com

Traveler Interview: Charlie of SpyTravelogue

Today's interview with a perpetual traveler features Charlie Grosso ofSpyTravelogue. You can also find her About page here atcharliegrosso.com and that will lead you to some of her other ventures in art, photography, writing and consulting.

Could you please tell us about yourself?

A 140 character bio reads something like this:

Art Gallery Director. Brand Consultant. Photographer. Adventurer. Writer. Possible Spy. Drove Across the World in a Tiny Car. Fearing Less Loving More. Only fitting I live under an alias.

I have a background as an advertising photographer and a creative director before I fully embrace the unconventional life I now live.

Currently I am the executive director of a roaming gallery in NYC. I write for various travel outlets when I am on the road. I am addicted to adventure and I seek out it out as frequently as possible, including being the only woman to complete The Mongol Rally alone in 2012.

I have been working on a long term documentary project called, Wok the Dog, about food markets around the world and I will finish the shooting portion of it this year.

Why did you decide to start travelling?

I don’t think there was a moment that I decided to travel. I did my first solo trip when I was 20, Europe on a EuroRail Pass. Nothing too out of the ordinary but the hunger for more set in ever since.

What keeps me on the road is a sense of love and curiosity. I want to see the world. I want to engage in it, be a part of it, and participate. I want to bring you stories back from out there so you would go see it for yourself.

How long have you been travelling?

I’ve been actively traveling for 15 years now.

What's your favourite country, and why?

Ha! That is a tough question and I think one most frequent travelers hate. The easy answer, where I have not been.

What's been your most memorable experience?

The things that really stick in my mind are the people that I meet. There has been no shortage of adventures, from The Mongol Rally and my teammates quitting on me and going it alone to being kidnapped in Morocco to buses filled w/ counterfeit goods crossing boarders to hitching a ride in the middle of the night in Colombia. It is seldomly just the event alone that makes it memorable but the characters that help fill out the plot line. My teammates and their individual temperament that lead to them quitting. Fellow ralliers that fills my heart with joy and the connect we share, the sense of camaraderie. Michele the Romanian judge who was on the bus filled w/ counterfeit goods and the cab ride we shared afterwards. The man who kidnapped me in Morocco is actually an ex-lover of a friend’s friend.

The good, the bad…..all the stories are made better because of the people who played a part in it and it is the people that I meet on the road that is always my favorite and makes the largest impact. Occasionally, I meet another part of myself and that is pretty remarkable too.

What's your average cost of travel per week?

That really depends on the country I am in and what is going on. I’ve lived on $30 a day in Central America. I try to keep it very in-expensive.

What do you do to earn money?

I work as a freelance brand consultant which is something I can do from the road. The art gallery is growing and it is starting to sustain me.

What do you like and dislike about your lifestyle choice?

The uncertainty is something most people find challenging. There is no guarantee or certainty to be had and embracing the unknown as hard or as far as we do is not easy. There are moments when I question my choice and wonder if life would be easier if I stayed in advertising or just did one thing or gone the predictable path. However, I feel like I am actively living my life instead of just existing and counting down the days. Feeling absolutely alive as frequently as I do is something that I would not trade.

How has it changed you?

I worry a little less, fear less.

What advice would you offer people who are thinking about doing the same thing?

I wish this was a video interview…so you can see the look on my face. Ha! You mean, to go traveling or to live multiple lives at the same time?

Either way, don’t think too hard about it is what I would say. Thinking just gets in the way and this is the advice from someone who has a PhD in over-thinking everything. Everyone I know who now lives on the road and are a perpetual traveler started out on a 3 month – 1 year trip and decided they didn’t want to return to their lives. I am one of the few who decided to come back and live a double life. The re-entry and the next exit is always hard but it gets better with time. What you learn from being on the road is that you can’t really plan these things. You figure it out as you go and so figure it out as you go. Trust it and don’t let fear dictate how you live your life.

Charlie, thank you so much for your time in responding to this interview, it's really appreciated.

 

An interview with a Hyperboria user

I've been active lately over in Hyperboria, getting assistance with technical issues, as well as getting to know some of the people there. I also have a blog that's accessible only within Hyperboria. I published an interview there today with one of the residents of Hyperboria, and I decided to re-publish it here as well. I hope you enjoy it .

One of the things I intend including in this blog is interviews with people who are actively engaged in the things that I’m interested in. I want to do this so I can learn something from them, as well as share their journey with my readers. Today I’m interviewing ‘jph’ of Hyperboria.

Hi ‘jph’, thanks very much for agreeing to this interview. I’m quite new to Project Meshnet and Hyperboria, but I’m involved because I’m fascinated with new technology and wanted to play with it. I’m also excited about it because I see a lot of future opportunities as more services are created for it and it becomes more popular. I’m exploring it because I want to take advantage of some of those opportunities.

But I’m curious – why are you involved?

It’s interesting and it’s there. It’s also really early days, and the idea of a blank slate network makes me think that Hyperboria today must be similar in some respects to the early days of ARPAnet and the Internet – where it was primarily a research platform amongst a small group of very clever people.

How long have you been involved in Project Meshnet, and what was it that inspired you to become part of it? What do you love about being part of it?

I’m a newbie amongst the ranks of those on Hyperboria. I had heard about the various meshnet / darknet / etc efforts that spawned post-SOPA, and finally at the beginning of the year decided to check it out. I think the key differentiator for me is that Hyperboria and the technology that powers it, cjdns, isn’t another TOR or I2P network. It hasn’t been tarnished as a haven for drug purchases and child pornography (see silkroad and freenet). The principles that guide (cjdns) development include promoting the free flow of information and using cryptography to prevent censorship. In the technology space, too often we see it used to enable censorship and reduce freedoms, cjdns is one of the few technologies doing the opposite. For that reason, we should support its development.

How would you describe Meshnet and Hyperboria in your own words to the uninitiated?

Hyperboria is a network similar to the Internet but separate from it. It is an opportunity to rebuild a new type of Internet with new ideas and approaches. Unlike TOR (for those familiar with it), Hyperboria isn’t a way to anonymize your access to the Internet. It is an Internet of it’s own. It has mail servers, blogs, websites, chat and game servers. It has membership from most continents around the globe. It’s also tiny compared to the Internet, and there are high technical barriers to adoption for the average user.

“Meshnet” is a confusing, overlapping topic which means different things to different people. One of the more common definitions is the idea of an alternate Internet, comprised of a (mesh) network of interconnected wifi access points.

Temporary aside: A mesh is distinct from typical Internet services, where there are dedicated, centralized network routers connecting ISPs to each other. Instead, mesh networks are decentralised and often have a P2P-like approach towards connectivity. This enables them to survive even if a “router” goes offline. A goal of mesh networks is to reduce the risk of a central router causing the network to go offline.

A core goal with these mesh networks is to be able to provide an Internet-like service, even if the Internet is switched off or filtered (ie SOPA). The challenge (from my perspective) with meshnets is they are difficult to scale beyond local communities without relying on the Internet. The other challenge is that even if you have a community hooked up to a “meshnet”, what then? They still need popular Internet services such as email and social networking. These services would still need to be built and maintained per community. These aren’t fatal obstacles, but ones that need to be overcome to enable wider adoption.

Some of my readers are probably wondering why Project Meshnet and Hyperboria exist, and why they would be interested in it. What are its benefits? What would you say to them?

Assuming continued growth, Hyperboria and Hyperboria-like networks will provide a competing option to the Internet, much like Bitcoin is proving to be a competing option against mainstream currencies. If you’re entrepreneur-minded, then you might consider Hyperboria to have a bit of a wild-west, gold rush feel about it. As the users on the network grow, they require services that they are used to from the Internet. For instance, there’s nothing like Ebay or Amazon or Craiglist on Hyperboria. There’s nothing stopping someone from being the first in this space.

Even if you’re not a hardcore technical person, there’s still advantages to learning the technology you need to use to get onto Hyperboria. Learning Linux frees you from paying Microsoft it’s regular dues. Learning networking arms you with key knowledge in our highly-networked world. You can also socialize with smart members of the young Hyperborian community and learn something new.

But let me be blunt. Hyperboria is a test network. It is difficult for the average person to get onto. Once on, there isn’t a lot to see. There is opportunity for technically-minded early adopters, but if that isn’t you, check back in 2-3 years. I say this not to be rude, but to set expectations appropriately.

The methods of entry to Hyperboria are highly technical. Do you think that will ever change in the near future to allow an average ‘real world’ internet user to access it, or do you think its very nature is going to be exclusive to most people?

I believe we’ll see significant change in this space if the vision of ‘CJD’ (the author of cjdns) pans out. Another difference between TOR and the (future) version of cjdns is that it isn’t a charity. The cjdns software will have built-in technology that allows users running a service to be paid to pass traffic using microtransactions. This will stimulate adoption significantly. In turn, we will see greater motivation for someone to come along and build user-friendly software for Windows to access Hyperboria. Right now that person doesn’t exist. It could be someone reading this now.

Where do you see Hyperboria in 12 months from now? In five years? In ten years? What are your thoughts about how it’s going to develop?

I think it’s critical timing right now, but even that doesn’t really matter. Hyperboria is an experiment to test the scalability and concepts behind cjdns. If it fails, I’m sure CJD and the other developers will learn their lessons and try something new. Of course, the original Internet was an experiment too…

In terms of critical timing, for Hyperboria to continue to grow, it has to continue to gain more users, and in turn more services (ie, a Hyperboria Craiglist, Amazon, Gmail). Without a growth in Hyperboria services, there’s little reason for users to stick around. In my view that means the type of people the network needs most right now are builders, those willing to invest time and effort into services for future users. That way, when someone new arrives, there’s something for them to do.

Another driver for the network, in my opinion, is “Hype-only” content. This means that instead of providing something “also on Hype”, we provide something “only on Hype”. This will increase the “stickiness” of Hype, as well as exclusivity.

I think the potential of Hyperboria in five years could be similar to the growth we’ve seen in Bitcoin. There’s been no change in world governments’ desire to stifle free speech and content sharing on the Internet, driven publicly by the desire to prevent terrorism and child pornography, and privately by lobbyist groups and government surveillance desires. The Internet will (most likely) continue to get more restricted and locked down, providing an opportunity for networks like Hyperboria to provide an attractive, alternative experience.

If Hyperboria does attain any measure of success, it will then face two challenges – one from without, and one from within. It’ll likely attract the typical early adopters – drug dealers and less desirable social groups (ie hate groups) who have been pushed off the Internet. This will be a red flag for governments to try and outlaw it.

If Hyperboria manages to hold against government efforts, the next challenge is self-policing. If you believe that a hate group is routing network traffic over your server, you won’t be able to filter it (based on the cjdns design), so would you still want to be part of the experiment? Hyperboria also allows easy IP spoofing. If someone is sending malicious traffic from one address and you block it, they can generate a new one in moments.

We will face significant challenges managing such activity until pay-per-packet (the future vision of cjdns) is implemented. Pay-per-packet would increase the cost of malicious activity, since it would have to be paid for to be delivered (much like paying for a stamp to get your letter delivered).

What do you think is the single most fascinating or amazing thing about Hyperboria, compared to the real world internet? Why is it so unique?

It’s a blank canvas compared to the Internet today. It’s an opportunity for the Hyperborian community to re-imagine what an “Internet” of the next 10-20 years should look like.

‘jph’, thank you for your time to do this interview, it’s really appreciated.

If any of you have any questions you’d like to ask me or ‘jph’ about, or if you have any thoughts or feedback about this interview, please add them to the comments below.

Traveler Interview: Colin of Exile Lifestyle

I'm really excited to be featuring this interview with Colin Wright, ofExile Lifestyle. I first came across Colin in a travel eBook on Amazon, and I loved it so much I bought all of his books. And now, he's graciously responding to an interview for me and here he is below, for your reading pleasure.

Hi Colin, thank you for this interview. Could you please tell us about yourself?

I'm an author, entrepreneur, and full-time traveler. I'm the co-founder of Asymmetrical Press. I move to a new country every 4 months based on the votes of my readers, though at the moment I'm spending 6 months in Montana to focus on the publishing company and the authors whose work we're putting on shelves.

Why did you decide to start travelling?

I'd always wanted to since I was a little kid, but it simply wasn't in the cards most of my life. Coming from a middle class family with three siblings, there just wasn't enough money in the budget to make it happen when I was younger, and by the time I was old enough to afford it myself, I always had work taking up my spare moments.

Travel, to me, was a gateway to the unfamiliar. The challenging. To new perspectives. I felt like I was living in a little box and all the windows were tinted. I wanted to get out of that box and see what things were like outside.

How long was it between when you realised you wanted to go travelling, and when you actually started travelling?

Well, I first left the country when I was 24, and I'd wanted to since I found out what travel was, so essentially my whole life up until that point. I had all these ambitions to make it happen before that, but none came to fruition.

My priorities were a little misaligned, looking back, but at the time the decisions made sense. Hindsight is like that.

How long have you been travelling now?

I've been traveling full-time for almost 4 years now! It's wild to think that I've been up and moving that long, but yeah. It's actually weird for me to be spending half a year in Montana, because it's the longest I will have been in the US since 2009. I own furniture (a bed, a chair, a desk) for the first time since I left. Very strange feeling.

What's your favourite country, and why?

I can't really choose a favorite — each is beautiful and wonderful and flawed in its own way.

But in my opinion, New Zealand is the most naturally beautiful, Iceland has the most interesting recent history, India and Thailand were the most challenging (and I learned a whole lot, living in both places), Romania has a very pleasant quality of life, and Argentina has amazing food. The US — we've got a lot going for us — but the thing I appreciate the most is our highway system. You can get absolutely anywhere on it, and that's not something most countries can boast.

What's been your most memorable experience?

There have been way too many to choose just one!

How about this one: when I arrived in Kolkata, there was a young girl who connected with me via Twitter, then email, and offered to help me get my feet in the city when I landed. She came and picked me up at the airport, helped me get a SIM card for my phone, helped me find a place to rent, and made sure I was fed. She and her parents, who lived in a small place with little money, insisted I sleep in the only bed they had that night, all three of them sleeping on the floor so that I would be more comfortable. To be welcomed in that way — especially in a place that a lot of people will tell you to avoid — is just incredible. It's a great feeling to show up someplace so unfamiliar and have someone waiting with open arms, thrilled to be able to show you around and treat you like a long-lost friend.

What's your average cost of travel per week?

That's a good question! Honestly, I'm not sure. It's not something I've ever had to track. I know it's a lot less than I used to spend living in Los Angeles, but it changes based on the country I'm in, what kind of place I'm renting, etc.

I'd estimate that, on average, I probably spend between $400 and $800 per month, but seldom more than that. I'm not stingy, but I do live frugally when left to my own devices. The only time I spend more is when I have friends in town or if I'm networking a lot.

What do you do to earn money?

These days, most of my money comes from my published work — my books and Exiles. I also do brand consulting on a very limited basis, and I just recently started teaching a class on design. I try to keep things flexible, and always have multiple income streams in case one or two dry up!

Did you have your income streams in place before you started travelling, or did they happen along the way?

I had one in place before I left, but in the past few years on the road, that one has been reduced to almost nothing, and a few others have taken precedence.

I think it's important to be infinitely flexible and roll with the punches when you travel. If all your eggs are in one basket, you're in a precarious situation, no matter how lucrative those eggs might be. Eggs break in transit, and you want to be sure you don't get stuck somewhere without any dough. That would be a very bad situation.

What do you like and dislike about your lifestyle choice?

I love the freedom it allows me. For almost 4 years I've done what I've wanted when I've wanted, with few exceptions. I don't set alarms (unless I have an interview to do or something along those lines), and I don't invest my effort anywhere I don't want to invest it. I get to work on that projects I believe in. I've never been happier, and each day is a little better than the last.

There are not a lot of downsides, frankly. Relationships of the traditional type are tough, but I'm not really into those, anyway. There's a good deal of discomfort involved with traveling this frequently, but I don't mind that — in fact, I kind of thrive on it. I make less money than I used to, but that number is growing steadily, and my lifestyle requires far less overhead to keep afloat, so I've actually got a net gain in quality of life, rather than a net drop.

How has it changed you?

I'm a lot more aware of who I am and how I got to be who I am. Relativism is key to almost everything I do and judgement I make. I'm also far more capable — you can't expect others to swoop in and help you when you're on the road, so you get accustomed to coming up with solutions when you need them. I feel like I've learned a whole lot about the world and the people in it — things that I thought I knew a lot about before, but I only felt that way because I was blinded to the scope of what was out there in the world.

What advice would you offer people who are thinking about doing the same thing?

Make sure you know where your money is coming from — it's nice to think you'll hit the road and then come up with a money-generating idea, but that doesn't usually turn out very well. Avoid easy-money, easy-lifestyle scams. If someone tells you it's easy to make this work, they're probably trying to sell you something. It takes work and stubbornness and a good deal of failure along the way. If you're willing to go through all that, it's very possible, but don't expect it to happen overnight.

Also: be a good person. Don't fall for the idea that you need to be a jerk to succeed. If you're a jerk, people won't want you to succeed. If you're good to people and provide value to everyone you meet, you'll have people helping you out in little ways all the time. Don't underestimate what an asset having people cheering for you can be.

Colin Wright 
Blog / Books / Exiles Twitter / Facebook / Google+

Traveler Interview: John of JetSetCitizen

A few weeks ago I decided to start interviewing other 'perpetual travelers' who are already living the kind of life I want to live. The first interview that I'm honoured to publish is with John Bardos ofJetSetCitizen. I hope you enjoy reading his insights about travel.



Hi John, thank you for this interview. Could you please tell us about yourself?

I’m a Canadian that lived in Japan for 13 years. I owned a small group of English schools for about 10 years. In 2008, my wife and I made a one year plan to sell our business, house and all our possessions to begin a new travel lifestyle. In March 2009, we reached our goal, one month ahead of schedule, and have been location independent since.

Why did you decide to start travelling?

I first left Canada, back in 1997 because I didn’t want to start working in a cubicle at some large corporation. I never wanted the traditional ideas of a good job, a nice house and 40 plus years of work until retirement. I’m an entrepreneur at heart so I need the challenge and excitement of uncertain activities like travel.

How long have you been travelling?

My father was Hungarian, so I had the opportunity to see Hungary a couple of times as a child. This was back when it was still under communist rule, so needless to say, it had a major impact on my view of the world.

However, it wasn’t until after I finished university that I really started travelling on my own. That meant relocating to Japan in 1997, and using that as a base to travel to Europe and Asia. My wife and I haven’t had a permanent home since March 2009.

Why did you decide to leave Japan?

After growing a successful business and buying all the consumer goods I wanted, I still didn’t feel fulfilled. I realized that the consumer lifestyle I was trying avoid, was exactly the life I created for myself. I was eating out in restaurants every day, drinking too much alcohol, watching too much TV and spending way too much time shopping or thinking about what I wanted to buy next.

My wife and I could have continued on that safe but unsatisfactory lifestyle, or we could give it all up for the unknown. We decided that we just couldn’t spend the next 20 years doing something that didn’t excite us any longer, so we made the decision to leave.

What's your favourite country, and why?

This is a difficult question because there are good and bad aspects to every country. Here is a quick overview of my favorites.

Thailand - is a fantastic country to visit and live in. The food is amazing, people are friendly, the weather is hot, it’s safe, there are great cafés and decent internet. Most importantly it’s very, very inexpensive. Some of the problems are pollution and traffic congestion. As tourism continues to explode, I fear that Thailand won’t be so attractive in the future.

Hungary - My wife and I love Budapest in particular. It’s inexpensive by European standards, but has all the appeal of a great, culturally rich city like Paris. I love the food, cafes, live music, architecture and accessibility to the rest of Europe. Winters are dark and cold, so I don’t think I’d want to live there year-round, but it definitely is at the top of my list.

Japan - Japan, hands down, has the best food and culture in the world. I often say that Japanese culture is about two decades ahead of the rest of the world. There is such a massive appreciation for art, music, food made from fresh ingredients, environmental awareness and everything else that makes life worth living. It still is a little expensive, but compared to cities like Sidney, New York, Vancouver, London, Paris, Rome, etc. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are becoming more affordable. My wife and I will definitely continue to spend more time in Japan and will likely set up a home base there again in the future.

What's been your most memorable experience?

I can’t really say that I have a most memorable experience. I’ve never had any major problems, so I’m glad I don’t have any real bad memories, but I’ve had so many great experiences that none really stand out anymore.

There are so many beautiful churches and restaurants, jaw dropping natural vistas, incredible restaurants and kind people that it’s hard to pinpoint a single best experience. When every day is amazing, it’s easy to get habituated to the amazingness, however, there isn’t a day that I don’t appreciate the opportunities I have.

What's your average cost of travel per week?

Of course, this depends on the country and how much is spent on transportation. My wife and I prefer to stay in one location for several months, and do very little moving around, so we keep our transportation costs lower than constantly nomadic travelers.

We also tend to spend more time in cheaper locations, just to save money. On average, I would say we spend about $400 per week for living expenses. Transportation costs probably add another $150 per week and are heavily affected by long haul air travel. We probably spend $6000 to $8000 per year on airfare.

What do you do to earn money?

I have several websites where I earn money through advertising and the sale of ebooks and other digital products. I also occasionally do some freelance business consulting. Overall, my wife and I keep our costs very low so that we don’t need to earn much money. Most of our time is spent on volunteer or personal projects.

What do you like and dislike about your lifestyle choice?

Getting away from a consumer focused lifestyle has been amazingly liberating. Instead of spending all our time buying things or working to pay for stuff, we have the time and freedom to do exactly what we want. I was never able to see how much my possessions influenced my life until I got rid of them.

It’s also fantastic to be able to really experience other cultures. There is a big difference between living in a foreign country and travelling there for a couple of weeks. Living in different locations helps me to see that every aspect of our lives is a social construct. From small things like how toilets work, to substantial aspects of society like government, work obligations and family expectations, everything about our lives is up for negotiation. We really can create and live any life we want. I don’t think I would have gained that insight had I not lived abroad extensively.

I really hate the travel part of a location independent lifestyle. Researching new locations, booking flights and accommodations and relocating is always very time consuming and stressful. I love being in new locations, but getting there is a pain.

How has it changed you?

I’ve definitely completely abandoned the rampant consumerism of the west. I have no desire to get a big house, new car or keep up with the latest fashion and trends. That stuff is all pretty meaningless compared to physical health and rich social connections. Travel is infinitely more rewarding than any physical product I could buy.

I think the biggest change is my awareness of the world. Watching a foreign country on TV is not the same as living in it. I care a lot more about what happens on this planet because I’m experiencing it first hand.

What advice would you offer people who are thinking about doing the same thing?

Travel is simple now. The whole world speaks English and the internet has made it possible to get information and reviews on anywhere you want to go. Don’t worry about life in other countries. You’ll find all the goods, food and services you want, all over the world.

The biggest issue most people have is how to fund a travel or expat lifestyle. Cutting costs and making money should be the biggest priorities. Ruthlessly focus on creating a business that creates value for others. Don’t start a generic travel blog or try to be a broad marketing consultant. Those things don’t make much money, unless you are at the top of your field. Find a simple problem that people have and get really good at providing the solution.

For example, don’t do ‘online marketing consulting’, instead focus on something targeted like creating wordpress websites for plumbers. Avoid popular ideas like creating a generic travel blog, an alternative might be to focus on a comprehensive travel resource for a single city.

Successful entrepreneurs make money by solving problems for a targeted niche. Don’t worry about following your passion or other trendy advice. Find the shortest route to the cash and your passion will come out of the lifestyle you create for yourself.

John, thank you so much for your time and effort in responding to this interview. I really appreciate it. I look forward to continuing to read about your own journey on your website, JetSetCitizen.

Ideas, inspiration and interviews

I'm going to do some interviews on this blog of other people who are already Perpetual Travelers. The purpose is for me to get some ideas and inspiration from these people, and share the inspiration on this blog.

I've put the call out to a few people I'm already following, and will be doing some searching to find some others.

I think that the more insight I gain into how these people have done what they're doing, the more I'm going to learn and be inspired towards doing the same thing myself.

Expect to read these interviews soon!

I may do this practice with other topics as well. I think it would be great to have this blog as something that not only captures my insights and experiences, but also the experiences of others that are doing the same thing as what I'm doing, or what I want to do