We Have Been Living A Nomadic Retirement Lifestyle Since January 2018

Nomadic Retirement Travel is a blog that offers comprehensive travel planning guides, helpful travel tips, inspiring stories for retirees, and practical advice for anyone interested in embracing a nomadic retirement lifestyle.

Who Are We?

Jonas and I (Peta) met and lived on the Gold Coast in Australia prior to commencing our nomadic retirement.  We both worked full time (Peta in the Education Department as a Head of Middle School, and Jonas initially in the steel industry and later with his own business in the aquarium industry).  Both of our jobs were demanding which allowed little time for overseas travel, especially longer-term travels.

The many hours researching and watching YouTube vlogs about travel and the cool things others were doing got us dreaming of the day we could enjoy a lot more travel ourselves.  

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Our Interests

Jonas has always had a keen interest in photography and videography which fits in perfectly with a travelling lifestyle. Even early on, he longed to travel and see more of the world. After a year of backpacking, mainly in Australia, New Zealand and Asia in the early 90’s, the travel bug had set in for good. 

Jonas has lived and worked in Sweden, Norway and Australia.  He has held various managerial positions in sales and marketing in as wide a spectrum as the telecom, consulting, advertising, IT, steel and aquarium industries. Apart from travelling and photography, other keen interests include fish-keeping, golf, scuba-diving, snorkelling, fishing, movie watching, eating, drinking and share trading.

Peta has had a career in education since her graduation from university in the mid 1990’s.  She started out as a Health and Physical Education teacher and then moved into numerous management positions until she reached the position of Head of Middle School in a school on the Gold Coast.  Peta has taught in government, private and Catholic schools in Australia, and also for 5 years in Tokyo, Japan.  

During her international teaching placement, she discovered her love of travel and spent all of her annual leave travelling the world.  Upon her return to Australia, the opportunity for travel was reduced, but her passion still burned brightly. Peta also enjoys reading, golf, snorkelling, horse riding, learning new skills, good food and a tasty beverage.

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Why We Decided On A Nomadic Retirement Lifestyle

Over the years, a number of events happened to family and friends which led to discussions about what we wanted our future to look like. We wanted to travel abroad extensively as it’s something we really love doing together. We’d often wish we could stay on our vacations for an extended time, and so we began to formulate a way to actually do it. We felt we were too young to retire, but we really wanted a fulltime travel lifestyle, of adventure and not to just work until we die or get too old to travel the way we want.

Mid way through the year 2017, the big decision was made – let’s do it!  Let’s take an “Adult Gap Year” and travel. We devised an exit strategy and stuck to it.

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Our Why…

For us, a successful life is not about what role we display on Social Media profiles, but rather which destination we can explore next. Our purpose is not about having more stuff but rather what are new things to discover (exploring the colonial town of Valladolid in Mexico and surrounding cenotes), experience (the Chiang Mai Lantern Festival), learn (the joys of motorhoming in Australia) and the connections we make along the way (like spending more quality time with our friends and our family). 

At the foundation of our why is a set of core values which we boiled down to minimalism (when less is more),the slow movement (when slow is more), and living a life true to ourselves (instead of a life others would expect from us).

How We Did It

It took some planning, sacrifice, and intentional steps to change our lifestyle. But realising our dreams far outweighed the sacrifices we had to make. It is attainable. It’s not something that has to happen only after you have enough money. Will you ever?

Over the previous years, Peta had been following the minimalism movement and had slowly been selling off unused / unwanted ‘stuff’. We financed all airfares for the first year, just by selling down household items we no longer needed. It’s easier to do without than you might think. We would rather have an experience that will last with us forever than things we have to take care of.

We now have very few belongings— just a few boxes at Peta’s mums house in Australia and with family in Sweden. We have very little to worry about in a material sense, and it’s very freeing. We found a balance that works for us, and it lets us live our dream.

The next 6 months were busily spent organising preparing our house to sell, leave from work, deciding what to keep and store in mum’s garage, and what to sell off and give away.  Everything went extremely smoothly and amazingly well despite our tight timeframe. 

By the time the weekend came for us to leave our house, we packed up our few remaining belongings for storage, loaded them into a small pickup van and headed north to finalise the plans for our departure only a month later.

The next month was frantic organising bank accounts, international travel credit cards, travel insurance, flights, redirecting mail etc. etc. etc.  When our departure day finally arrived, we had only one hybrid backpack each, a carry-on backpack, a camera bag with our tech gear, and most importantly, a positive and adventurous mindset.

Why We Continue To Do It

As you may have guessed, the “Adult Gap Year” turned into something else…  Since January 2018, we have travelled to many new countries with the plan to continue travelling fulltime. 

We love our home-free nomadic retirement lifestyle filled with adventures, new experiences and cultural immersion.  We are constantly amazed by how many interesting people we meet living similar lives from all parts of the world. 

They are of all ages; some are backpackers travelling for the first time, some are digital nomads, some are early retirees looking to simplify life and live a financially cheaper, but culturally richer life than what their budget would allow in their home countries, and some are seeking a better quality of life in retirement.

Read some of these Life Chapter 2 stories here…

The planet is getting more populated and the true travel destination gems are getting harder to find due to the explosion of social media such as Instagram.  The abundance of travel bloggers and travel vloggers on YouTube means a once sleepy beachside town such as our favourite destination, Moalboal in the Philippines, can go through enormous changes within a 12 month period.  Ideally, we try to experience ‘the real’ feel of a destination before mass tourism takes over too much.

How We Do It

Since our decision to start travelling fulltime, so many people have told us “you’re so brave”, “you’re so lucky” or wishfully stated that we are “living the dream” – but virtually anyone can do this.  It is achievable but does involve a few sacrifices and a lot of planning.

Needless to say, we have had to make some definite sacrifices leading up to starting this adventure i.e. selling a successful business, selling our dream house and resigning from a great career.  The biggest sacrifice is being away from family and friends for extended periods of time.

Although we may have less face-to-face contact time, with many, we now actually have more contact (online) i.e. Messenger calls.  Occasionally, we need to compromise on everyday comforts to travel light and within budget, but we never compromise on our safety.

Where We Travel

Contrary to the “you guys must have won the lottery theory”, unfortunately, we do have to stick to a budget to be able to continue doing what we do long term. Some destinations cost more and others cost less.  We may spend more in Europe than our monthly budget dictates but this is balanced out by time spent in cheaper destinations like Southeast Asia and South America. This principle of geoarbitrage is crucial to our ability to live this lifestyle.

We are very fortunate to have two great, but opposing bases for our travels; the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia where Peta’s family still live. This has been our December / Christmas stop. Then we have Västerås, Sweden where Jonas grew up and his family lives. Sweden has been our perfect mid-year stop / European Summer stop.

We prefer to slow travel, staying in one location for 1 to 2 months and using it as a base to explore a region fully. A few of the bases we’ve had over the last 7+ years include Bangkok, Koh Samui, Phuket, Jomtien, Chiang Mai (Thailand), Moalboal (Philippines), Luang Prabang (Laos), Siem Reap, Kampot (Cambodia), Alanya, Antalya, Istanbul (Turkey), Merida, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel (Mexico), Santa Marta, Cartagena (Colombia), and Quito (Ecuador).

Travelling this way keeps costs down and gives us a chance to really get to know a place. In all we’ve visited 80+ countries during our travels.

Our Budget

Our initial annualized monthly budget was AUD$3,500 / USD$2,200 and at that time, that was very doable. Recently we have had to increase that budget to AUD$4,500 / USD$3,000 due to inflation post-covid. That amount includes all air travel, transportation including motorbike rentals, accommodation, food, entertainment, activities, and full comprehensive travel insurance. Incredibly, this budget can drop to under AUD$2,000 / USD$2,500 per month in certain parts of the world without sacrificing comfort.

Accommodation Options

So far, we have predominantly booked our accommodation in hotels through Agoda and booking.com. Our rooms have air-conditioning with queen size beds (as a minimum) and a private bathroom. We book hotels in central locations within walking distance to restaurants, shops and entertainment to reduce transportation costs. A pool with shaded deck chairs is opted for when available, especially in warmer climates. We enjoy good food at local restaurants and even better drinks everywhere possible. 

Backpack or Suitcase?

When we travel, we do not have carry-on luggage only as some long-term travellers do (while impressed, we still cannot understand how this is possible).  We have a hybrid backpack and carry about 16kg each.  We find these easy to travel with across a wide range of modes of transport ranging from motorhomes, cruise ships, planes, cars, tuk-tuks, trains, ferries, sailboats or even motorbikes.

Why We Started A Blog

During our travels, Jonas trades shares and works with his photography for several hours each day and I do most of the planning i.e. where to stay, accommodation, how to get from A to B etc.  Even though this kept me busy, I was still feeling under-stimulated. 

When we initially talked about travelling, we discussed the idea of starting a travel blog and even a travel vlog.  This discussion had popped up many times over the course of our first 2.5 years of travel, but we always thought there were so many others out there doing it that we didn’t have anything more to offer.  However, throughout our travels, people have asked us regularly about our travels, how we do it, advice on particular destinations, equipment, tech gear etc.  

As we are not (any longer) young backpackers or digital nomads, nor have we reached traditional retirement age, we realised that there may be an opportunity to cover a niche not necessarily covered by other bloggers – Nomadic Retirement Travel.  And if things go well, any extra cash we earn won’t hurt either…

This blog is about embracing life’s full potential and is a testament to the valuable lessons we’ve learnt during our nomadic retirement lifestyle. We aim to ignite inspiration in others and empower them to live the life they’ve always dreamed of.

Where We Have Lived and Travelled

TOTAL COUNTRIES: 79

Do you dream of faraway places? We certainly do…

To date, we’ve spent months living and adventuring in various locations around the world. We enjoy slow travel, so typically spend at least one month in each destination. So far we have travelled to the following destinations:

AFRICA

📍Egypt – Suez Canal

📍South Africa – Cape Peninsula, Cape Town, Durban, Franschhoek, Kruger National Park, KwaZulu-Natal, Oudtshoorn, Phinda Private Game Reserve, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Stellenbosch, The Garden Route

📍Zambia – Livingstone, Zambezi River White Water Rafting

📍Zimbabwe – Victoria Falls

ASIA

📍Cambodia – Kampot, Kep, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap (Angkor)

📍China – Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai

📍India – Cochin, Mumbai

📍Indonesia – Bali (Ahmed, Canggu, Denpasar, Kuta, Mount Batur, Nusa Dua, Sanur, Seminyak, Ubud)

📍Japan – Aomori, Hakone, Hakodate, Hakuba (Nagano), Hiroshima, Kamakura, Kobe, Kushiro, Kyoto, Nagoya, Nara, Nikko, Niseko (Hokkaido), Osaka, Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Yokohama
**Peta lived in Japan while teaching at an international school in Tokyo in 2000-2005

📍Laos – Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane

📍Malaysia – Cameron Highlands, Kuala Lumpur, Penang

📍Philippines – Boracay, Cebu (Cebu City, Moalboal, Oslob), Coron, Dumaguete, Manila, Palawan (El Nido, Puerto Princesa), Siargao

📍Singapore – Singapore City

📍South Korea – Busan, Seoul

📍Sri Lanka – Colombo, Ella, Kandy, Negombo, Mirissa, Pinnawala, Tangalle, Tissamaharama, Yala National Park

📍Taiwan – Taipei

 📍Thailand – Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hua Hin, Jomtien, Koh Phangnan, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Samet, Koh Samui, Kanchanaburi, Krabi, Pattaya, Phuket

📍Turkey – Alanya, Antalya, Bodrum, Istanbul, Izmir, Marmaris

📍Vietnam – Cat Ba, Danang, Dalat, Halong Bay, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Lan Ha Bay, Nha Trang, Ninh Binh, Phu Quoc

EUROPE

📍Austria – Hopfgarten, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna

📍Belgium – Bruges, Brussels

📍Cyprus – Ayia Napa, Limassol

📍Denmark – Copenhagen, Helsingborg

📍England – Birmingham, Cambridge, Cornwall (Falmouth), Devon, Lakes District in Cumbria, London, Weymoiuth

📍Estonia – Tallinn

📍Finland – Aland, Helsinki, Turku

📍France – Beaujolais Wine Region, Bordeaux, Canne, Courchevel, Cote d’Azur, Fontainebleau, French Riviera, Le Havre, Lyon, Paris

📍Germany – Frankfurt, Hamburg, Kiel, Munich, Rostock, Warnemunde

📍Greece – Athens, Corfu, Crete (Chania, Heraklion), Delphi, Meteora, Mykonos, Olympia, Santorini (Oia, Fira)

📍Ireland – Cobh

📍Italy – Florence, Milan, Naples (Pompeii, Herculaneum), Pisa, Rome, Venice, Verona

📍Latvia – Riga

📍Liechtenstein – Vaduz

📍Luxembourg – City of Luxembourg

📍Monaco – Monaco City

📍Netherlands – Amsterdam, Edam

📍Norway – Visited Every City but Lived in Oslo *Jonas worked and lived in Norway in 1997-2003

📍Poland – Auschwitz, Krakow, Warsaw

📍Portugal – Ponta Delgada

📍Spain – Barcelona, Cartagena, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Madrid, Malaga, Mallorca, Palma, Tenerife, Valencia

📍Sweden – Västerås is Our Home Base but Jonas has Travelled All Over Sweden – Aaland, Dalarna, Gota Canal, Karlskrona, Leksand, Stockholm, Visby

📍Switzerland – Geneva, Interlarken, Jungfrau Mountain, Lucern

📍Scotland – Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness

📍Turkey – Alanya, Antalya, Bodrum, Istanbul, Izmir, Marmaris

📍Vatican City – Vatican City

📍Wales – Cardiff, Swansea

MIDDLE EAST

📍Oman – Muscat, Salalah

📍Turkey – Alanya, Antalya, Bodrum, Istanbul, Izmir, Marmaris

📍United Arab Emirates – Dubai

OCEANIA

📍Australia – ACT (Canberra), New South Wales (Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, Sydney, Thredbo, Tweed Heads), Queensland (Southeast Queensland – Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast; Darling Downs – Toowoomba; Wide Bay / Burnett – Bundaberg, Fraser Coast, Gympie, Hervey Bay. Kingaroy, Maryborough; Central Queensland – 1770, Agnes Waters, Barcaldine, Blackall, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Yeppoon; Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday – Airlie, Bowen Proserpine, Sarina, Whitsunday Islands; North Queensland – Ayr, Charters Towers, Home Hill, Ingham, Townsville; Far North Queensland – Atherton Tableland, Cairns, Mareeba, Rockhampton), Victoria (Falls Creek, Melbourne), Western Australia (Freemantle, Geraldton, Margaret River, Perth)

📍Cook Islands – Rarotonga

📍Fiji – Beachcomber Island

📍French Polynesia – Tahiti

📍New Caledonia – Lifou, Noumea

📍New Zealand – Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Fox Glacier, Franz Joseph Glacier, Kaikoura, Lake Tekapo, Nelson, Queenstown, Rotorua, Taupo, Tauranga, Tongariro National Park, Wanaka, Wellington

📍Vanuatu – Vila

THE AMERICAS – NORTH / CENTRAL / SOUTH

📍 Antigua and Barbuda – St Johns

📍 Argentina – Buenos Aires

📍 Aruba – Oranjestad

📍 Bahamas – Great Stirrup Cay

📍 Barbados – Bridgetown

📍 Belize – Harvest Caye

📍 Bermuda – Hamilton

📍 Bonaire – Kralendijk

📍 British Virgin Islands – Tortola

📍 Canada – Vancouver, Whistler Blackcomb

📍 Cayman Islands – George Town, Grand Cayman

📍 Colombia – Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin, Santa Marta

📍 Costa Rica – Dominical, Puerto Limon

📍 Curacao – Willemstad

📍 Dominican Republic – Puerto Plata

📍 Ecuador – Quito, Cotopaxi

📍 Mexico – Cancun, Cozumel, Mérida, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum, Valladolid

📍 Micronesia – Guam

📍 Northern Mariana Islands – Saipan

📍 Panama – Panama Canal, Panama City

📍 Puerto Rico – San Juan

📍 Saint Lucia – Castries

📍 Sint Maarten – Philipsburg

📍 USA – Alaska (Dutch Harbour, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Seward, Skagway); California (Los Angeles, Monterey, Napa Valley, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco); Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Miami, Orlando); Hawaii (Honolulu, Maui, Kauai); Louisiana (New Orleans); Nevada (Grand Canyon, Las Vegas); New York State (New York); Utah (Salt Lake City)

📍 US Virgin Islands – Saint Thomas

Exit 45 Travels – Facts & Figures

2024 (14 February- 21 December) – Facts and Figures

Countries / Cities Visited: Australia – Sunshine Coast; Singapore; Philippines – Cebu, Siargao, Moalboal; Japan – Tokyo, Sendai, Hakodate, Aomori, Kushiro; United States – Alaska, Fort Lauderdale; Canada – Vancouver; Portugal – Ponta Delgada; Ireland  – Cork; United Kingdom – Falmouth, Portland, Tilbury; France  – Le Havre; Belgium – Zeebrugge; Netherlands – Amsterdam; Denmark – Copenhagen; Germany – Warnemunde; Sweden  – Karlskrona, Visby, Stockholm, Vasteras; Latvia – Riga; Estonia – Tallinn; Finland – Helsinki; Thailand – Bangkok, Koh Samui; Vietnam – Phu Quoc, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City

2023 (1 January – 22 December) – Facts and Figures

Countries Visited: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United States, United States Virgin Islands, Vietnam.

2022 (5 May – 31 December) – Facts and Figures

Countries Visited: Australia, Colombia, Estonia, Greece, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United States.

2020 (29 January -10 April) – Facts and Figures

Countries Visited: Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, Italy and Qatar.

2019 (17 January -19 December) – Facts and Figures

Countries Visited: Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, China, Sweden, Greece, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

2018 (15 January – 28 November) – Facts and Figures

Countries Visited: Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Sweden, Turkey, Latvia, Mexico, USA, United States Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Sint Maarten, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Curaçao, Caribbean Netherlands, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Argentina.

Our Favourite Travel Resources

After extensive travel around the world over the years, we have tried and tested many different travel planning resources, products and services. We have spent countless hours trying to find ways to not only save money on our travels but ways of doing it smarter. Click on the link below to see a collection of our favourite travel planning resources for booking accommodation, flights, transportation, tours, travel insurance, and more.

Inspired?

Our goal with this travel blog is to take you along on our Nomadic Retirement Lifestyle journey.  To educate, entertain, encourage and enrich you with the knowledge that a great lifestyle is out there once you’re able to break through the pre-conceived notions of what life is “supposed” to be like.  It has never been easier to start living a life of freedom, flexibility, travel and adventure. 

If you have any questions about anything travel related or what we do, feel free to ‘Contact Us’ as we are happy to answer emails.  Also, if you are interested, please follow us on Facebook to see where we are at, our latest photos and what we are up to on a day to day basis.

Thanks so much for visiting our website!

Sincerely,

Peta and Jonas