Thanks for the tips, didn’t know about Mailboxes Etc.

Also, ING has a great paper check mailing system and also allows for electronic checks to be sent directly to other bank accounts. They also have a similar bill autopay service. The added interest is a nice bonus as well.

1. A mailbox at Mail Boxes etc. I’ve had one for eight years, even though I own a house less than a mile away. Your mail won’t pile up, you can accept packages there, (often not a PO box,) and have important mail forwarded.

2. An online bank where you can mail out checks from the site. I don’t like “electronic debit” – where a company takes money from your checking. It’s an easy way to pay bills, but it’s like giving a company the keys to your house. I use Chase bank, and other banks too let you fill in a payee and have a check sent out to them. You never even see the check and lick a stamp. With money going into your account it’s an easy way to pay and manage the limited payments you should have.

3. Health Insurance. ’nuff said.

Looking back on the post, it certainly is written with the single in mind, but not necessarily young! I would argue that you’ve been able to keep up you (wonderful) travels because you *don’t* have to worry about any of the conditions above.

You’re constantly on the move because you set plans, don’t have to worry about boyfriends or girlfriends, or exchange rates.

In some ways it’s easier to keep moving with a family – since you’re moving with the thing and people that matter most in life. Your travels and experiences are inspirational and I’m happy that you shared your perspective.

There is no set rule that one must be constantly moving to be a traveler, but after a year or two the nature of your travels (and each individual traveler) evolves and changes…

We are a family into our 3rd year of an open ended world tour and thrive on slow, deliberate travel. Our travel is based on our child’s education needs, so we do not find it hard at all to keep going. As much as we are seen, there is always so much more to see, learn about & wonderful new people to meet.

We purposely planned an open ended world tour that have us immersing deeply in one rural, authentic place for for 4 or 5 months out of the year on each continent & then follow the good weather ( we travel mostly by land & boat/freighter ship) for 7 months out of the year. That combination is a winning one for a family.

With a child, one must take into consideration about keeping a consistency and going back to the same tiny village and connecting deeply with the locals here has been fantastic for her and us.

This is our 3rd winter in “our” village where she immerses deeply in her 2nd language,literature & culture. We share a little bit of an expat lifestyle while here, but not really & we are not locals either, but a special traveler category.

We don’t have lots of things like the expats, not even what you call essential for travel. My husband & I have done just fine with 1 pair of smart wool socks & 2 pairs of underwear for 3 years. We still travel even when we are in our village, getting to know every part of Andalusia & sometimes longer flights like our upcoming one to the middle East this spring.

We also don’t worry about girlfriends or boyfriends, exchange rates ( have a good chunk in Goldmoney that we can pull out to whatever fiat currency is needed), nor do we need or want to look for a job.

The beauty of being a digital nomad & long term travelers today, there really are no rules.If you are going to be an indefinite or permanent traveler, I really think it is only logical to have some reflective and deep immersion time.

I actually feel sad for people who only have a year to go all around the world. We have been to 4 continents, 29 countries & over 75,000 mostly by land since we started in 2006, yet we have been mainly focused on Europe. We try to know one continent well at a time.

We have seen way more of Europe than even most Europeans and way more of Spain than most Spaniards ( or others), yet STILL we have hardly made a dent.We could easily spend 20 years in Europe and barely make a dent.

Traveling isn’t about just taking a quick look at lots of different scenery, when we like a place, we love that our freedom allows us to stay as long as we like. We only meant to stay a few days in Santorini, but we loved it so much we stayed over a month. We ended up staying almost 2 in Croatia when we found we loved it. I would not have minded staying longer to know them even better ( off season).

One of the BEST things about being a long term traveling is being able to immerse much more deeply than most. NOT like an expat, or native, but like a long term traveler.

This is even MORE important for families, but I think it benefits all. I have friends who have been permanent travelers for over 20 years & they regularly stay for several months in countries that they enjoy or new ones they want to know better.

Who made the rule that one must move constantly to be a traveler? The traveler that moves too fast is actually missing much of the joy of travel. The long term traveler who does not take some time to deeply immerse & reflect from time to time is missing the boat entirely!

I agree – traveling indefinitely is not in our nature, not to mention difficult to finance!

I think that many people start traveling ‘long term’ ultimately to find those temptations listed above. A new place to stay put, with a new girl and circle of friends, and living like a king on great exchange rates…but reality has a funny way of being similar in most places.