Living the Dream: You Don’t Need As Much Stuff As You Think You Do

Talon & Tigger

What was the first country you visited? Who with and why did you choose it?

We began our nomadic life in Mexico. My son had never been there and expressed an interest to go there. We had also just started scuba diving, and parts of Mexico have phenomenal diving, so I figured that would be fun. But also he had some anxiety issues and sensory processing problems, and I felt like Mexico would be a good place to ease him into international travel.

When did you start a travel lifestyle? What inspired that change?

I’ve always loved traveling, but we began indefinite travel in May 2011, almost 3 years ago. I’ve worked in trauma, intensive care, and hospice for years, and after being at the bedside of so many dying people, I had determined to live my life more fully and to have no regrets. After meeting another traveling family in Peru in 2010, I decided I wanted to do more traveling with my son. As I planned, the trip got longer and longer, and I finally asked myself “If you can do it for six months, why do you need a return date?” So it became indefinite.

Do you have a base you travel from? Or is it continuous travel? And why do you choose that style?

Right now we do continuous travel, although we go at a slower pace than some people. We’ve been in our current country for 2 months and have stayed as long as 8 months in a city. Since we’ve been doing this for a while, and my son is approaching the teenage years, we’re now looking to have a more long-term base so that we can have more of a sense of community while we continue to travel and explore. We’ll probably stay on this continent for another 2 years or so before we head back to the other hemisphere to visit the countries we missed when we were there last.

We just really enjoying the nomadic life, and it’s cheaper to travel when you don’t have a base, i.e., an apartment you have to pay rent on while you’re away. It also makes it easier to hop from one place to another.

How do you fund your travel lifestyle? Is it something you do when travelling or are you a saver?

I have a few different income streams. I work online as we travel (mostly writing), and occasionally I also work as a scuba instructor.

If you could tell yourself one tip before you started your travel lifestyle, what would it be?

You really don’t need as much stuff as you think you might.

What does 'living the dream' mean to you? 

I think “living the dream” is an overused phrase, but to me it would mean living life on my own terms, which is exactly what we’re doing.

You can find Talon & Tigger Here -

Website: 1 Dad, 1 Kid, 1 Crazy Adventure

Twitter: @1Dad1Kid

Giving my son the world. Inspiring people to live their dreams.