When I started following my travel passion over two decades ago, my friends were curious about how I could pull it off financially. The answer: all my allowances (as a teenager and college kid) and later my wages were saved up in order to explore the world. As I (unintentionally) became a full-time nomad in 2003, peers and strangers were still apprehensive; some of them even a bit jealous.
Then, as I kept documenting my lifestyle, first through email reports in Dutch, then in Dutch and English, and eventually via my blogs It’s Irie and Roaming About, comprehension set in. I’ve always written about the good and the bad of this lifestyle and offer a glimpse into our monthly expenses. More people “get it” now, and their “I wish I could do what you’re doing” has turned into “It’s awesome how you are living, but I couldn’t do it.” There’s the family, the routines, the job satisfaction, the comfort of home, the different priorities. I get it too.
Whether you are an armchair traveler or a fellow nomad, I hope you are still interested in the content and photos on Roaming About – A Life Less Ordinary and that you continue to follow along as Mark and I set out towards new horizons in the new year. Thank you so much for being here, for reading, commenting or offering us mental support and comfort to keep living the life less ordinary. Without further ado: here are the highlights of our last year in the United States and beyond. I’ve added links to previous posts where applicable. My 2017 overview post can be found here.
January 2018
The year didn’t start too well with my mother-in-law requiring a second brain surgery and her hard road to recovery. Mark and I flew back to Massachusetts from California to help out, after finding a replacement house sitter for those two weeks. Six months later, she was back to her old self. Amazing at 82!
