In this episode of the podcast, I explore the exciting experience of living and travelling on a boat. I talk to Tim Bull, who is exploring the Mediteranean from his mooring base in Montenegro. We discuss the typical day of a live-aboarder, the appeal of living on a boat, along with its challenges, and the vibrant community of live-boarders in Montenegro. We talk about how Tim has invested in a variety of assets, including an apartment in Athens and a hobby farm in Bulgaria. We also discuss the joys and pitfalls of owning one of those classics of communist manufacturing, a Lada car.

In this episode, we explore full-time travel and settling down with Ryan Runge of Snail Travelers. Ryan and his wife Emily decided to leave the traditional American 9-5 lifestyle to pursue their dream of traveling the world. We follow their journey from Lima, Peru to Malaysia, Mexico, and finally, Turkey, where they choose to settle due to the kind people, beautiful waterfront, four seasons, and reasonable cost of living. We also discuss the differences in infrastructure between Malaysia and Turkey, where they have spent a good period of time living in including factors such as communication and language barriers, internet speeds, public transport, immigration process, healthcare, food, and safety.

You can check out their episode at https://theexpatchat.com/snail-travelers

You'll find their You Tube channel here

In this episode, we chat with Richard and Angelyn Burk who have been traveling the world for over two years. Inspired by their forever home, they decided to pursue traveling upon their retirement and took advantage of deals for cruises after the onset of COVID. We discuss cruising during and post-COVID, the protocols in place to keep passengers safe, and the flexibility of the cruise industry. We also explore the benefits of cruising, such as being able to explore a new place every day, taking advantage of on board amenities, and having all maintenance taken care of. Lastly, we provide tips for people considering taking up cruising as a lifestyle. 

https://theexpatchat.com/richard-and-angelyn-burk/

Can you really sustain a lifestyle caring for other people’s houses and never have to go home again? Today’s guests are living proof of the fact.

Michael and Yvonne Bauche gave up a comfortable but stress-inducing lifestyle in Vancouver Canada 3 years ago and they haven’t looked back. Their income is lower but so is their living costs giving them the opportunity to live a millionaire’s lifestyle on less than $C3000 per month all without having to eat into their savings.

They’ve met interesting people and made new friends for life. They’ve housesat in many parts of Europe, Central America and the Caribbean and now spend over 70% of each year minding houses, often for repeat clients who have them back. They have so many requests in fact that they have built up a network of fellow house sitters who can take care of the clients they can’t get to!

But the best part is they have their freedom back. In today’s interview you’ll discover just how easy and cost effective housesitting can be and the opportunities it can open up for you to live your life to the fullest.

If you’d like to know more about housesitting check out their website at http://thebauches.com   or you can grab their free report at   http://yourescapeblueprint.com/free-housesitting-report/

What I learned from their interview:

1.     If you’re serious about housesitting travel light. Both Michael and Yvonne exist with hand luggage only and don’t really feel they miss anything from doing so (Yvonne even confesses to not carting heels with her!). It helps they have mainly focused around warmer climates but if you want to make life easy (and save on luggage costs and insurance ) then travelling light helps

2.     Housesitting offers a far more meaningful way to enjoy an area. You can be treated as a local. Michael and Yvonne encourage their hosts to set them up with a network of people when they arrive which makes the whole process far more comfortable for them

3.     Don’t spread yourself too thin. The Bauches concentrate on housesitting in regions resisting the urge to leap around the world and incur bigger travel costs.

In this episode, we explore the concept of long-term travel after Brexit with Ian Usher and Vanessa Anderson from Housesitting Magazine who provided us with the perspective of two people who relocated to France at the time of Brexit. We discuss how Brexit has changed how expats can live in Europe, the challenges of property renovation in another country, and the surge of house-sitting during the pandemic thanks to Vanessa’s unique insights as an employee of Trusted Housesitters. We also discuss the benefits of a free subscription to the House Sitting Magazine.

You can get your free subscription at https://housesittingmagazine.com/

In this episode I explored what it takes to prepare for a spiritual journey along the Camino pilgrimage in Spain. My guest Lisa Joy shared her own experience of traveling the Camino, including the year of preparation she did, which included research, physical and spiritual preparation, and talking to people who had already done the Camino. I also discussed the importance of solo female travel, the costs associated with the journey, and the hardships faced by the original pilgrims. Lastly, I discussed how the Camino journey has the potential to be life changing and encourages people to explore the possibilities of the Camino and share their experiences with others.

https://theexpatchat.com/camino-leita-joy/

Check out our other episodes and resources at www.theexpatchat.com

In this episode, we discussed the ins and outs of house-sitting and how to find the right sit for yourself. We spoke with Michael andYvonne Bauche, who have done over 85 house-sitting sessions. They suggested that newbies should start with shorter, smaller sets in order to build up preferences. For those looking to travel extensively, they recommend a minimum of one month for a house-sitting session. We also discussed how to read into house-sitting profiles, how to create trust between the owner and house-sitter, and how to identify when the owner is looking for. Lastly, we looked at the benefits of house-sitting, including forming a network of friends across the globe

https://theexpatchat.com/michael-and-yvonne-bauche/

In this podcast episode, I explored the concept of adventurous travel on two wheels with Brent Ruru from Christchurch, New Zealand. He and his family have cycled the length of New Zealand, Cambodia, Spain, and Canada. During their journey in New Zealand, they raised over ten thousand dollars for a child cancer charity. They discussed the hospitality they enjoy everywhere and the benefits of global traveling. Finally, I discussed the Te Araroa trail in New Zealand and plans for future travels to Paris, France and Romania. This podcast episode highlighted the importance of trust and connections when it comes to successful travel experiences.

https://theexpatchat.com/biking-around-the-world-brent-ruru/

Perpetual travelers Alan and Ros Cuthbertson of Frequent Traveller join us to discuss their life of constant travel. Since hitting the road in 2015 from their base of Bundaberg, Australia they've mastered the art of living on the road for an affordable price. They credit their lifestyle with providing them with a new-found feeling of youth.

In this interview we discuss the benefits of medical tourism overseas, the kind hearted nature of people around the world and why you need to ignore what the media are telling you and focus on the impressions you see for yourself

You can check out their blog at Frequent Traveller

For access to more resources and our members area go to The Expat Chat

https://theexpatchat.com/alan-and-ros-cuthbertson/

Frequent Traveller

FIRE exponents (Financial Independence Retire Early) Tim and Amy Rutherford of GowithLess.com have found the secret of early retirement and with the kids off their hands have now hit the road full time.

The covid world we now live in has put something of a spanner in the works for many permanent travellers including those, like Amy and Tim, who have just got underway. They won’t be letting this put paid to their careful planning however.

We caught up with them to discuss how to be flexible with your travel arrangements in the new covid environment we have to deal with and how to follow your travel dreams while taking an early retirement

https://theexpatchat.com/fire-tim-and-amy-rutherford/

Enjoy!

Tony and Leanne