The Rumours are all True
We’ve given up on full-time travel
If you caught our YouTube livestream or Instagram updates, you’ll know that it’s true: We’ve given up the life of nomads to create a home base in small town Ontario.
The past four years of non-stop travel have been an incredible privilege. We’ve gone to places that we’ve always dreamed of and had experiences that we never imagined. And to our great surprise, we managed to do it all with two little dogs.
That said, it hasn’t been an easy lifestyle, which we discussed in detail in a recent video and blog post. We’ve had travel burnout; we’ve experienced nightmare Airbnbs; we’ve had to suddenly cancel plans because of political upheaval.
We’ve also come down with a serious case of “experience overload.”
Too much of a good thing?
We’ve had four years of non-stop, once-in-a-lifetime experiences: trekking the highlands of Ecuador; walking the walls of Dubrovnik; releasing baby turtles in Mexico; the list goes on and on.
In our previous lives as corporate workers, we’d be more than satisfied to bag a couple of these a year. With our current lifestyle, we’re knocking off one or two a week and feeling somewhat oversaturated. It’s time to take a step back and reflect on all the wonderful places we’ve been.
Most importantly, having a home base will give us an opportunity to do all the things we couldn’t do while travelling: spend more time with friends and family; be part of a community; volunteer; and, last but not least, sleep in our own bed with our very own pillows.
Why we chose Canada
The question you might be asking is why— after seeing so much of the world—did we choose to settle back in our home country of Canada.
Certainly we considered other destinations. In fact, we had lively discussions about the feasibility of living in almost every country we visited. We looked particularly closely at Portugal and Italy, both of which have charming villages and intriguing tax schemes for expats and retirees.
However, when we evaluated everything that we were looking for in a home base— including community, a shared language, and being close to family—we ended up back in the one place we never expected to be. After ten years of living overseas, returning to Canada just felt right.
But we’re not done with travel yet
In fact, we’ve already got a trip lined up for next month. We’ll finally be making our way to Peru for a week of cultural immersion in Cusco and then a challenging trek along the Salkantay route all the way to Machu Picchu. More details coming your way next month.
In the meantime, if you’re curious to see what our new home looks like, pop over to our Instagram Stories where we’re sharing the full tour (and our plumbing misadventures within a day of moving in).
See you on the road!
Stephanie & Gillian
I’ve enjoyed watching your journey and have learned so much from you both. Thank you for the inspiration over the years. If you could have changed something along the way that could have helped with the burn out earlier, what would it have been?
Congrats! We appreciate all your tips and also love that you were willing to share the challenges of full time travel. We’ve been on the road for 18 mos and sometimes wonder what the heck we are doing😃. Maybe we will see you in Canada one day!!