Slow lifestyle. A lot can be done outside. Low living costs. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has a good sized remote worker/digital nomad community. If you like the sun, it's great.
I remember this tension during my travels, Tobi, like it was yesterday. I hopped around for three years on working holiday visas and savings. I had a ball! I remember feeling sad, optimistic, lonely, hopeful, unsure, capable, frustrated, joyous, and fulfilled. It was often a rollercoaster, and even now, after three years of marriage and an apartment to call my own (as much as a rental can be, but no roommates except my husband!) I only sometimes feel settled.
wow three years - where did you go, what did you do? that sounds incredible.
🥹🥹 thank you, I try to remind myself to take each day as it comes. haha it definitely is an emotional rollercoaster...sometimes on the very same day, I feel both "full" and lonely, optimistic or down-trodden....or unsure and capable too like you mentioned.
My visas were for Australia and New Zealand. Not sure which passport you have, but perhaps a working holiday is an option for you?
I road my bike from Adelaide to Cairns in Australia and worked in a restaurant, hotel and on a 4-wheeler tour. In New Zealand, I hitchhiked around, worked in hostels and on a small Kiwi cruise boat. In between I went back to Europe to spend a summer with the Dutch family I had au paired for 10 years prior and spent my 30th birthday bicycle touring in Portugal. I also made a few trips to the States, for a wedding, and to work in California. My last stop abroad was in Bali to write a novel. I road-tripped around the western half of the US and lived several places around California before deciding settle in San Diego. I’ve since moved back to the Midwest so my husband can attend college.
There’s still so much for me to see in the world. I had planned to backpack around central and South America at the start of my travels, but I only made it to Costa Rica for a few months before heading to New Zealand. I still dream of this, though I reckon it will look different and my Mexican husband will be with me. Maybe more hotels than hostels and restaurants rather than food stored in the puches of a backpack. There may be bikes though!
It’s been cool to read about your experience and I enjoy your writing enough to buy the book you are thinking of writing! I tried to blog during my cycling trips, but it all ended up in a handwritten journal that I lost when I landed in L.A.! 😂 Maybe there are still stories for me to tell though.
Wow you've lived such a rich life so far. Cycling through continents, working on a cruise boat, and writing a novel in Bali. Sad to hear the journal got lost but I'm sure you have stories to tell. I'd love to read them.
And thank you for saying you'd buy the book🥹🥹 haha means a lot especially since I'm still figuring this all out.
Btw I now have a US passport so thankfully the world's borders are mostly open to me
Agreed with all the folks here... If this does end up as a “once in a lifetime” type opportunity, bask in the thrill and its ups and downs! Make shit happen. Don’t do anything. Trust your gut. (Especially once your microbiome is back on track!)
Haha trusting my gut has been suspended until I've fortified the stomach trenches with defensive troops. But I appreciate the sentiment! You're right, this really is a unique opportunity so I should embrace the waves :)
Loved reading it. I’d enjoy a sabbatical just to slow down a bit for some time…
Btw, The Canary island is a great place to be for a month or two (or some years…)
aah I've heard fabulous things about The Canary Island but I didn't make it out there last time I was in Spain. Why do you recommend it?
Slow lifestyle. A lot can be done outside. Low living costs. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has a good sized remote worker/digital nomad community. If you like the sun, it's great.
Terrific piece, Tobi. As a fellow traveller on a very similar sabbatical journey, this is so relatable and heart warming.
glad this resonated! it's such an emotional roller coaster, isn't it?
I remember this tension during my travels, Tobi, like it was yesterday. I hopped around for three years on working holiday visas and savings. I had a ball! I remember feeling sad, optimistic, lonely, hopeful, unsure, capable, frustrated, joyous, and fulfilled. It was often a rollercoaster, and even now, after three years of marriage and an apartment to call my own (as much as a rental can be, but no roommates except my husband!) I only sometimes feel settled.
You're doing great! One day at a time.
wow three years - where did you go, what did you do? that sounds incredible.
🥹🥹 thank you, I try to remind myself to take each day as it comes. haha it definitely is an emotional rollercoaster...sometimes on the very same day, I feel both "full" and lonely, optimistic or down-trodden....or unsure and capable too like you mentioned.
My visas were for Australia and New Zealand. Not sure which passport you have, but perhaps a working holiday is an option for you?
I road my bike from Adelaide to Cairns in Australia and worked in a restaurant, hotel and on a 4-wheeler tour. In New Zealand, I hitchhiked around, worked in hostels and on a small Kiwi cruise boat. In between I went back to Europe to spend a summer with the Dutch family I had au paired for 10 years prior and spent my 30th birthday bicycle touring in Portugal. I also made a few trips to the States, for a wedding, and to work in California. My last stop abroad was in Bali to write a novel. I road-tripped around the western half of the US and lived several places around California before deciding settle in San Diego. I’ve since moved back to the Midwest so my husband can attend college.
There’s still so much for me to see in the world. I had planned to backpack around central and South America at the start of my travels, but I only made it to Costa Rica for a few months before heading to New Zealand. I still dream of this, though I reckon it will look different and my Mexican husband will be with me. Maybe more hotels than hostels and restaurants rather than food stored in the puches of a backpack. There may be bikes though!
It’s been cool to read about your experience and I enjoy your writing enough to buy the book you are thinking of writing! I tried to blog during my cycling trips, but it all ended up in a handwritten journal that I lost when I landed in L.A.! 😂 Maybe there are still stories for me to tell though.
Wow you've lived such a rich life so far. Cycling through continents, working on a cruise boat, and writing a novel in Bali. Sad to hear the journal got lost but I'm sure you have stories to tell. I'd love to read them.
And thank you for saying you'd buy the book🥹🥹 haha means a lot especially since I'm still figuring this all out.
Btw I now have a US passport so thankfully the world's borders are mostly open to me
Wonderful share Tobi :)
thanks Caryn :)
Agreed with all the folks here... If this does end up as a “once in a lifetime” type opportunity, bask in the thrill and its ups and downs! Make shit happen. Don’t do anything. Trust your gut. (Especially once your microbiome is back on track!)
Haha trusting my gut has been suspended until I've fortified the stomach trenches with defensive troops. But I appreciate the sentiment! You're right, this really is a unique opportunity so I should embrace the waves :)