WSJ: Perpetual Travel article

[urn2bfree]

I think you can learn lessons anytime you open yourself to new experiences, and travel fast or slow to a place you have never been is by definition going to be a new experience. Example: In a single day in a European town you can begin to question our American work and lifestyles when you discover that all the shops are closed for an hour in the afternoon, You can observe the manner in which shopkeepers greet their customers, the way people dress, and the often very different frequency of obesity in some places compared to our own local consumer gathering places.

 

[rescueme]

Hey, if that's how the couple want to spend their money then more power to them.

+1

 

[BigNick]

We discovered this style of travel when we had kids. Hotels are less practical if you have toddlers that want to nap, right when housekeeping wants to make up the room... or if you don't want to turn out the lights and go to sleep when your 6 year old crashes for the night. By renting a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment, we could make breakfasts in our room, so we didn't have to get dressed and showered before our first cup of coffee. I don't think I'll ever go back to fast travel.

Two words: Home exchange.

An earlier post mentioned income tax. Presumably there are ways to be a PT and not resident in any country long enough to be liable for tax? Most countries will give you a 3-month stay as a tourist without question and many will extend that to 6 if you ask nicely; typically, to be tax resident in a (European) country, you have to spend 183 nights there in the tax year.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Definitely beautiful cows, and in a beautiful setting too! Where I see a belted cow herd is just after Brenham TX, which is the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream, which certainly knows how to do beautiful things with cows milk. Their "happy Cow Belle in the Bluebonnets" ad is highly romanticized - but that's OK. if I stop for a chocolate almond milkshake in Brenham, I wax all romantic too!

Here's to travel romanticism (and food romanticism, and scenery romanticism). The spice of life! Cheers!

Now you've gone and done it. I'll be eating ice cream tonight for certain! Much more heavenly than pate' whatever that is.

 

[explanade]

I've done 3 overseas trips this year and will do two more, all for 1-week except for a 2-week trip in June.

Part of the reason to take many short trips instead of a couple of longer trips is to maintain airline status. But I did rent an apt. in Paris for 3 weeks once, made use of the local markets and bakeries (fresh baguettes for less than a dollar at the time).

If I were retired, I would do an extended stay, with short trips via LCC to various European cities.

No cows aren't more beautiful in Europe than the US. Often though, the surroundings are -- little towns hundreds of years old surrounded by rolling hills or the Alps.

 

[rodi]

Please understand, I likely love travel as much as any of you. I was not writing about anything but this treacly article by this particular woman, who lives like a native in Morocco on $6000/month. Give me a break!

I think the article mentioned they averaged $6000/month - and that more expensive places like Paris were offset with less expensive places (presumably Morocco fit that bill.)

 

[Loving Life]

First time poster, long time reader/follower

Me (US) and my DW (UK) have lived this lifestyle for about 5 years (Fired at 52) Our home is in Houston Texas, but we travel about 9 months a years and have lived in 78 countries to date. (Some with work/others after Fired - Last year it was Croatia, Italy and Switzerland)

After our yearly medical/dental checkups and other necessities (shopping), we will be heading to the UK for 3 months (Peak District), then to Norway and end the season in So. France

We rent Corp. Apts and if we don't like and area, we will leave and try somewhere else -

We do it for the fun - not to be a local or try to go native.

We started this lifestyle by accident, after we Fired, we rented a car in Paris, drove through Europe for the summer, sending time here and there and decided to do this as long as we could. (Next year will be the year of the Cruise – going around the world)

Our budget is higher than the Martin’s $6,000 per month and our SWR is about 4.5% until SS kicks in. Our homes are paid for and we are just enjoying life

 

[NW-Bound]

The Martins spend $6K/month from their stash. On top of that, they had SS and pension. They also do not have to carry medical insurance. A younger ER couple would have to spend more from their investment for the same lifestyle, and they also have more years in front of them (the Martins are 66 and 70).

When I am at their age, I might do the same if my stash holds out. Or it may go way up, like FIRECalc says may happen. But it is possible that I just do not like to travel as much. Will wait and see.

 

[rescueme]

But it is possible that I just do not like to travel as much..

Neither do I, but DW does. If momma ain't happy, nobody's happy ...

 

[NW-Bound]

We both love to travel, but not perpetually. Selling our homes and live out of suitcases permanently? No, not my wife. I got her to live out of a motorhome for 5 weeks, and that's as far as I want to go too. I have been persuading her to spend a summer in Alaska in the motorhome.

Still, one must learn to never say never. Ten years ago, I looked at people in RVs and asked why they would want to travel like that. How little I knew!

 

[rodi]

I could definitely see something similar to Loving Life's scenario.
In fact we're hoping to do this for a summer, with the kids, when I ER in 4 years.
Rent a place for 3 months - somewhere in southern Italy... then do excursions (or not) out from there.
Husband has family in Sicily - so visits there for sure.
It would help improve all of our limited Italian... but the kids already know the important phrase for Italy
"Mi piache gelato!"
(And in Sicily it's "Mi piache granita e brioche.")

Who knows... maybe we'll take a ferry over to that Greek isle where everyone lives so long.

FWIW - our stay in the EU is less limited since hubby and the boys are dual citizens.

 

[sparkee]

Theirs is an expensive version of the PT lifestyle, but they have the income to support it. However, other options--Paul and Vicki Terhorst, Billy and Akaisha (who've often posted here) have cheaper versions but no less interesting.

My wife and I may do a similar version (the cheaper one, that is!), with an inexpensive home base, which allows enough money to travel similar to Billy and Akaisha.

 

[ocdokie]

We were gobsmacked to come across these Belted Galloway cows while driving through Maine a couple of years ago--I think they are beautiful.

I love these cows, too. They will forever be known to me as "Oreo cows."

 

[Huston55]

We were gobsmacked to come across these Belted Galloway cows while driving through Maine a couple of years ago--I think they are beautiful.

"Gobsmacked"

Is that when you step in a gob of "used grass?"