What would you do if you’d hit or neared 50, had always wanted to travel the world and didn’t even come close to having the resources to do so.
That was me.
For too long, all of my work and earnings had gone into keeping a roof over my head without allowing me the luxury to go out from under that roof to enjoy our amazing planet.
I’d never had the good fortune to find or recognize my bershert, my Mr. Right-for-me and have a family, so although I am great on my own and I enjoy my time alone, my life under that roof was often solitary.
I’d loved what I’d accomplished in life. I’d even achieved a modicum of fame as the author of several award-winning computer books and as a popular columnist and speaker. I loved that life. Ironically though, tech killed my tech careers. And during that time I wasn’t able to be out exploring the world.
I had long wanted to travel the world again, but not alone. (When traveling alone you have to take your backpack into the public restroom of a bus or train station.) Besides, traveling anywhere wasn’t possible with the rent I needed to pay in LA. I’d waited patiently for someone to give me a house (well, not really) but that had not come along (or the deed was lost in the mail).
Then one day, my long time landlord (an excellent man) called to say he needed to move back to his condo. I was facing a move and higher rent.
And that’s when the wave of freedom hit me!
(Some called it insanity.)
If I didn’t have to spend so much money on rent I could travel.
It costs less to rent a dorm room any place in the world than it did for me to rent my apartment for any given night! So the money I saved in rent would cover my travel costs.
So I overcame the part about not wanting to travel alone. I gave away almost everything I owned, stored some things…
Me and my backpack as I’m about to leave a hostel on Roatan and get back to the Honduras mainland and head south in Central America.
And this is how I came to live my life as I travel the world. :)
My life as I travel
As I travel, I continue doing website design and writing, social media, and other writing, for my regular clients. This is one of the great benefits of the internet. When I first started my over-50 travel, each client wondered if I could handle the work. I said yes, and have — even when robbed of my Mac and iPhone.
I create websites and compose written content for those or other websites. I also do other small writing or website jobs as I travel and help Mac users whenever I can. Sometimes I’ve done this as a trade for a place to stay. I was once given the title of “Residential Macintosh Intervention Maven.” I have had quite an education in back-up. I backup to 2 places online (one is Dollydrive) and to two external hard drives I carry with me (a WD MyPassport and a Seagate Slim drive). On top of that, I take advantage of some of what iCloud provides. I can’t use its photos back-up though.
The rest of the time I am enjoying discovering and getting to know people, places, cultures, and life around the world — and sharing it here or in magazine articles as they happen.
~ Deborah, 2014
You encourage me! Thank you! This is my dream!