Life Nomadic
For a long time now I’ve wanted to be a PT, or Perpetual Traveler. My recent massive simplification has been a step in the right direction. I used to have too much stuff to even consider going on the road. Living in the RV has been another leap towards PT.
But first… why be a PT?
The idea, at least for me, is this : there is no “best” place to live in the world. Tokyo has the best trains and a fantastic culture. The Caribbean has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Europe has the history and food. “Settling down” in one place seems a lot like “settling” to me. If I live in Taiwan for a couple months out of the year I can brush up on my Chinese and become more fluent.
First I decided on the places to visit. I wanted to visit 7 or 8 places, giving me enough time to really experience each.
I wrote down a ton of places and then narrowed them down slowly. The countries had to be spaced out around the globe. I’d rent an apartment in each and use it as a home base to explore the surrounding area. I came up with a final list :
- Austin
- Panama
- Japan
- Taiwan
- France
- India (for just two weeks… it’s on the way)
- Sydney
- Hawaii
Next I opened up excel and a web browser and started plotting out when the best time to be in each country was. I wanted to avoid winter and summer. Cherry blossom season is April and March in Japan. I can’t miss that.
Here’s the final schedule :
- Austin : Nov 6 - Jan 5 (60 days)
- Panama : Jan 5 - Mar 6 (60 days)
- Japan : Mar 6 - May 5 (60 days)
- Taiwan : May 5 - Jun 24 (50 days)
- France : Jun 24 - Aug 23 (60 days)
- India : Aug 23 - Sep 6 (14 days)
- Sydney : Sep 6 - Sep 27 (21 days)
- Hawaii : Sep 27 - Nov 6 (40 days)
There are a couple downsides to going. First, I’ll miss some people here. Luckily a couple of my friends are coming with me and I hope that most of the rest of them will visit. I also have some friends in some of the places who I never get to see, so that will be fun. Also I’ll have to give up the RV, which I really love.
It seems like having a rotating address would be super expensive, but it’s actually not at all. The plane tickets will cost about $5-6k total and the apartment rentals are around $700/mo per person. Other than the RV, I haven’t had monthly expenses that low since college.
Does anyone know anything about any of these places that I should know?
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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July 14th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
So your going to greece too?
July 14th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I lived in India for three months doing a work experience internship for university and I found it an incredible place to be. It is amazingly different from the first world and is full of tasty culinary experiences. You can dine (very cheaply) at a five star hotel with full white glove service one day and then slum it with the locals at a corner food stall the next. Because such a large portion of the population is vegetarian you can get it at any store. In fact in India you will always get the option of ‘veg or non-veg’.
If you want to do the touristy thing there are a thousand and one different places to visit and see. I went somewhere every weekend (flights cost from US$20 if you book ahead) and there are still places left to visit.
With a billion people living there you are bound to make some new friends too.
July 14th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
That stop on the map is actually Italy. We’ll take trains to fly out from there.
Tynan
July 14th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Hey Tynan
I live in Sydney, anything you want to know just ask.
Paul
July 14th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Brasil!!!!!
July 15th, 2007 at 12:50 am
Hi there…
I live in Jerusalem Israel. if you wanna make a pit stop and see how things go on here…you are welcomed
July 15th, 2007 at 9:34 am
Go somewhere where you can make a difference. Living an interesting life isn’t enough. Do something with yourself to make the world a better place.
July 15th, 2007 at 10:50 am
see you in paris, sweetheart.
July 15th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Sounds like a great plan! Myself along with my best friend have similar plans to travel/live around world, currently we’re in Vegas been there about a year and next on the list is San Diego. After that who knows? It’s a great feeling knowing that you can pick up and leave at anytime!
July 15th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
“I’ll miss some people here.”
mmmhm…
July 16th, 2007 at 3:58 am
Wow, you’re leaving Austin the week I’m moving there..
July 16th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Hey, I am in Austin. We will have to hang out before you leave. Seems you could fit in some layovers in Europe while you are there, Scotland, Germany, France, Italy.
Jake
July 17th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Do the motorcycle tours while you are in Europe. Hope you have a good time and learn a lot.
July 17th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Holey crap We’re a wicked lot alike.
I’m supprised tho… Do you do any music festivals?
Looks like you got the nomadic, Wally-centric, post-modern, neo-hippy, on/off-the-grid mind-set, just wonder what you have for tunes as the backdrop to life?
Hope we’re able to wander in the same state / region within the next few years!
July 17th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Andrew : Gangsta rap, almost exclusively.
July 19th, 2007 at 9:33 am
In India stick with bottled water, even for brushing your teeth, and eat only piping hot food, morning noon and night I’m afraid. Stay away from any side salads too. Wish I was not chained to my career so, your freedom must be wonderful. Cheers, Mo
July 20th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
What’s wally-centric??
December 7th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
im travelling atm and i dont think you’ve budgeted enough time in places, for instance in australia if your only planning on seeing sydney and melbourne your missing out on the best parts. and you should definitely see the south island of new zealand, and you should spend heaps of time in asia its beautiful and really easy to see places that have never been touched before.