I heard about Michael on Twitter and knew he would make a great addition to our Living The Dream series. They have been making their way around the US in an RV since 2010 and own their days in a way not many people do.
Michael Boyink
What was the first country you visited? Who with and why did you choose it?
We travel the USA with our children. Our oldest is now 18 and has moved out to begin his own adventure of independence, so we have our 17 year old with us yet.
We choose the USA because it was a comfortable first step to fulltime travel, has a good RV infrastructure, and offered the opportunity to enrich our homeschooling efforts but also visit family and friends.
When did you start a travel lifestyle? What inspired that change?
We hit the road in 2010. Our inspiration was our kids. They were growing up fast. Our oldest had become a teenager and it made us realize that our time together was short. If we wanted to do anything outside the norm, crazy, and wonderful we better get after it.
Do you have a base you travel from? Or is it continuous travel? And why do you choose that style?
We initially kept our suburban house, but went back and sold it after our first year on the road. We have a few crates in storage but are otherwise fully mobile in our RV.
We have a saying: "Your tolerance of inconvenience shapes your adventure". When we were considering leaving our comfortable suburban life we had to consider what we were going to move to. We still wanted our own kitchen, our own beds, and our own chairs. But we wanted to be mobile.
Our solution - our adventureshape - came in the form of an RV that allows us to always be "home" but still explore the country.
How do you fund your travel lifestyle? Is it something you do when travelling or are you a saver?
I'm an content strategist and web developer for medium to large businesses. This work can be done remotely.
I have a training company where we sell digital products and do classroom training.
We are also building up Ditching Suburbia with a goal of monetizing it with product, training, and speaking opportunities.
If you could tell yourself one tip before you started your travel lifestyle, what would it be?
Launching off into this life is truly "taking the red pill". You will end up questioning and rethinking every aspect of your life - religion, politics, holidays, advanced education, the nature of work, retirement and more.
You will be ruined for suburbia.
What does "Living The Dream" mean to you?
Freedom.
We own our days in a way that not many people do.
However - ownership comes with responsibility. By removing ourselves from the crowd we can no longer just go along with the crowd. We have to actively engage with our lives.
We have to find our own path.
You can find Michael Boyink here -
Website: Ditching Suburbia
Twitter: @boyink
Closer family. Simpler living. Richer Education. Uncommon Adventures.
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