Seven (7) is Such a Magical Number!

and for us, it is when we were reinvented

It may sound lofty, that whole reinvention thing, but there really is no other way to describe it. On February 17, 2019, my (now) wife, Kathleen and I left the United States. We were born and bred Americans and had lived our entire lives in one country. We thought—foolishly— that the ENTIRE WORLD revolved around America, and we/they were the bomb. Well, they may have been the Bomb when we grew up in the sixties, but the country we knew was no longer. And, in fairness, it was not all Americas’ fault—we changed, too, and truthfully, there are few places anywhere in the world that are “what they used to be.” That’s life, and that’s progress.

But, when we left Los Angeles airport that Sunday morning and landed in Barcelona 11 hours later, we knew our lives would never be the same. And we were pretty damn sure this was a ONE-WAY trip, and we would not return. We did our homework, researched places to visit, possibly places to live, and spoke with many nomads who lived Life on the Road. We went so far as to apply for residency, first in Portugal (changed our minds), then Spain, which didn’t pan out. We “kinda’ knew” what to expect, and many who had done it before said “five years was a common burnout period,” and many give it up and settle someplace, or even return to where they started. Well, we’re a couple of older radicals who bucked that trend, and as we start year eight, we KNOW we’ll never return to the US to live, but we are looking for places (plural) to more or less settle down.

We have seven continents, seven seas, and seven colors in the rainbow, and throughout history, lists have been compiled of the various Seven Wonders of the World. And of course we have seven days of the week, which go by all too quickly!

It’s the largest prime number with single digits, and when asked to pick a number between one and ten, put your money on someone picking Lucky Number Seven. Considering Kathleen and I just entered our seventh decade (with more to come, we pray!), overall the number seven is significant in our personal lives and how it relates to the rest of the world.

Well, I could write a book, which I did, and a lot has changed since then, and life on the road is forever evolving, and truthfully, getting better. Considering I was a naive novice back in 2015 when I took my second trip to Europe for 19 days, the learning curve was exponential and has been that way for the past decade. I reflected on “lessons” we learned on the way, and some of them are not lessons, per se, but more insights to the Reality of living this way. Many people we knew in our prior life have been amazed that we’re still doing it, but our newer friends who we’ve met along the way—they get it.

And maybe you will too.

Things We’ve learned

Insight #1: It’s easier to do traveling than it is to think about it sometimes. WHY? Because of that word that many times stops us in our tracks: fear. We’re born with an innate sense of fear from day one, and eventually overcome fears of heights, water, spiders, rejection, making mistakes, etc… The cliché reads, “Overcome fear by facing it,” and that is true when it comes to contemplation of leaving our native countries and living without a home. It’s scary as shit! But it really isn’t when you realize that many things we took/ take for granted BEFORE, are also scary!

Driving the freeways of Southern California is not for the meek, and buying a home can be risky, too. We start new jobs, get into relationships, maybe get married, and oh my God, is that scary, or what!? And children?? Big time scary. Life is full of frightful propositions, but logic can overcome a lot of subconscious fears. Were Kat and I afraid of what we started seven years ago? Yes, but only a little, since we had so little to lose, and oh so much to gain. We had no kids, grandkids, elderly parents, or pets that create emotional connections, so it was just us, taking on the world.

Insight #2: We really don’t need the things we think we need. I used to joke about going into Costco and spending MUCH MORE than I expected to, since I always saw something I HAD TO HAVE, and prior to entering their doors, I had no idea it even existed. Want, want, want; need, need, need. Americans, and most first world citizens, have everything at our disposal, and if you have the money to afford it, we buy a lot of stuff. My divorce in 2013 eliminated 90% of all the stuff I had for decades, and I intentionally became a Minimalist. I was never happier. I also enjoyed renting and not facing the expenses of owning a home.

With that said, if you decide to travel more, my suggestion is to pack LESS than what you think you’ll need. You would be AMAZED at what you can live without, and we are not the only ones who carry their worlds on our backs. Most of us carry too much, so scale it down.

Insight #3: We traveled much more early on than we do now, mostly because we’ve seen so much after 43 countries, and it’s easy to get jaded and take things for granted. We are also half a dozen years older, and I know our energy levels and enthusiasm is not what it used to be. Before we visit a new place, we do our research and try to figure out what we REALLY want to do, but at this point, it has to be really special to get our attention. As much as we sometimes want MORE NOW, sometimes we need to slow down and not try to eat the whole elephant at one sitting.

We also know what parts of the world work for us and which ones don’t. We have little interest in Latin America anymore, and since we’re driven by finances and weather, we know we like Asia and the Balkans in Europe.

Insight #4: If you’re traveling with a partner, make sure you spend time away from each other.

Being together 24/7 can be stressful under the best of situations! Kat and I reflect on our eight years together as a couple, and probably 90% of that time has been spent traveling without a full-time home. Our first year together, late 2017-early 2019, we lived in Southern Orange County (CA), but otherwise, we’ve been out of the US ever since. We calculate that equates into several DECADES together as a “real world” couple with jobs and such.

We like a lot of the same things, but have our own interests, and that’s good since it gives us time to do our own thing. She likes writing at the local coffee shop and can hang out there for hours. She likes wandering the streets, looking at stores; comparison shopping, neither of which interests me. I work from the house, usually in my gym shorts, and have access to everything a few feet away. I go to the gym more than she does, and many of my walks are hikes, especially if I can find a similar minded group. I like to ride motorcycles with more adventure than her, so those trips I do solo. It all works.

Insight #5: Sometimes going back to a place that you really liked makes more sense than exploring new ones… I like making and keeping lists and crossing stuff off. Part of my OCD, I guess. When we left, I made a list of all the places I wanted to visit and have been checking them off ever since. That list is down to about a dozen now, and a few more of them in Asia will be done this year. The only major part of the world I want to see is the Nordic countries, and that has to be done to accommodate the weather, crowds, and high season pricing. And if I don’t make it, that’s OK, too. We’ve been to a lot of amazing places since 2019 and have revisited many of them. It makes more sense to US to stick with what we know works.

Insight #6: The sooner you figure out what you DON’T want, the easier it will be to find the things you DO want. This kind of goes along with some of the above and is a big time and money saver. Before we left in 2019, we knew that we would be driven by affordability, warm weather, and Mediterranean climate. From the get-go we ignored visits to northern Europe in winter, and since “roughing it” only goes so far, we put a lot of Africa on the back burner. The ONE country that we’ve been the most indecisive about has been India, and as of now, it’s probably a “no” for us. Again, it’s the age thing. If we were 20 or 30 years younger, and knew we had that much more time, we’d probably be a lot more adventurous. But now we’re both really careful about things we took for granted, like our balance, strength, and night vision. Hey, it is what it is.