Living The Dream: Relax And Let Be

Charli is a great support in the online world to us and we love her sense of adventure. One half of nomadic duo Wanderlusters, she and her other half Ben are one year ahead of us in our journey and successfully Living The Dream. If you are a couple looking to dominate nomadic travel, check them out!

Charli

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

As a child my first foreign holiday was to the Spanish island of Teneriffe. I was around 4 years old and at that time an only child. I have vague memories of playing splash with my mum in the pool and wearing a blue floral summer dress.

Up until the age of 18 travel was not something that featured heavily in my life. Both my younger sister and I grew up sailing as she was fortunate enough to compete for the UK in the youth world championships so as a family we spent our holiday time at sailing events in Europe.

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

It’s only since meeting Ben that I’ve explored the world on my own terms. His insatiable wanderlust has inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and embrace a more adventurous approach to international travel.

Our nomadic existence has come about in rather an organic way. We decided to dedicate some time to travel and rather than define the period for which we would be away we left that up to fate.

We had not yet purchased a home and had no financial responsibilities keeping us chained to our desks, so we upped sticks and decided to try life on the other side of the river, and then over the hill as well.

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

We don’t have a base. I’m firmly of the opinion that my home is wherever Ben may be. Of course I’ll always think of my family home as a base and would have no qualms checking in for a week or two to catch up and recharge. I know my parents would be more than happy to have me under their roof for a change!

We travel perpetually because we formulate our itinerary around house sitting assignments. Before leaving home we signed up with Trusted Housesitters and have secured 14 opportunities to date. Our assignments have enriched our experience of travel to such an extent that I can’t imagine how different our travels would have been if we had simply checked into hotels or hostels.

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

Ben is a super saver.

He’s been investing in his future all his life so we are fortunate that we do have a nest egg to fall back on. It’s only in the past 8 months or so that we’ve realised that our travels are something we want to maintain. We’ve started Wanderlusters, our own addition to the wealth of travel blogs in the hope that we can earn a little extra cash to help sustain our new existence and I have been working hard to forge a career in travel writing.

It is funny how stepping out of your comfort zone can open up a huge spectrum of career options which you may never have considered before.

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

Relax and let it be.

I’ve always been an anxious person and too often I get myself worked up over things which in hindsight are no cause for concern.

Travel has helped me to reign in my OCD and taught me that it’s ok to let life take its course. We’re all on our own path and it doesn’t matter whether we walk or run, our destination will not differ.

What does 'Living The Dream' mean to you?

I think that dreams are such intimate things.

We all have our own desires and hopes for the future so it is highly likely that my idea of paradise is far removed from yours. For me living the dream is striving to achieve your goals, better yourself at every opportunity and pursue the life you want. My dream is to incorporate travel into my life whenever possible. I've a thirst to experience as many cultures and countries on this earth as I can.

We're all given such a limited amount of time here so why waste it staring at the same four walls unless it to facilitate something which makes you happy?

You can find Charli here -

Website: Wanderlusters

Twitter: @wanderlustersuk

Facebook: Wanderlusters 

A nomadic couple who sold everything and left the UK in May 2011 to explore the world indefinitely.