Jade Johnston
What was the first country you visited? Who with and why did you choose it?
The first country I ever visited was the Dominican Republic. I went there over the winter holidays with an international student I met at university. She was from the Dominican and we spent the holidays with her family. It was my first trip abroad, so I didn't do much more than just stay in the place I was. I now wish I had explored more, but at that time I didn't have the confidence to strike out too much on my own.
When did you start a travel lifestyle? What inspired that change?
My travel life style really started when I moved to Denmark for a university exchange. I met a fantastic group of other international students and we spent most of our weekends hopping on cheap inter Europe flights and exploring other cities and countries. These small excursions gave me the confidence to travel on my own, and when my semester abroad ended I decided to move to the UK on a working holiday visa instead of returning to Canada. This was the start of my three and a half years of living in Europe.
Do you have a base you travel from? Or is it continuous travel? And why do you choose that style?
I like to have a base. I find that 3 - 4 months of continuous travel is usually all I can handle. I like to unpack and be able to find things in a hurry! At the moment we are using Australia as a base.
How do you fund your travel lifestyle? Is it something you do when travelling or are you a saver?
My blog, OurOyster.com does fund a portion of my travels, but I also like to have enough money in the bank before I leave for peace of mind. I tend to work 4 - 6 month temporary contracts in Australia, and then travel when they terminate. That way I don't need to rely totally on my online income and can take my mind off work and just enjoy traveling as well.
If you could tell yourself one tip before you started your travel lifestyle, what would it be?
I don't think I would actually do anything different. All the little (and big) travel mistakes I have made have ended up being great learning opportunities.
What does "Living The Dream" mean to you?
"Living the Dream" means not being tied down to debt, career, and mortgage. It means having the freedom to explore new worlds and cultures. It means having the time to be with my family.
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