Two years ago, we did the unthinkable. We sold the house, the cars, and the clothes on our backs. We quit our jobs and left the United States with nothing but what could fit in one car (and eventually, our luggage).

Since September 2022, we’ve been practicing “slow travel”—one culture at a time. To celebrate our two-year anniversary, we sat down for a lightning round of questions followed by a deep dive into the reality of being digital nomads.

⚡ The Anniversary Lightning Round

We didn’t see each other’s answers before we started!

Question	Heather’s Answer	John’s Answer
Are you tired of traveling?	No, just prefer slower travel.	No!
Full-time travel is expensive?	No! We’ve learned the budget.	No, not at all.
Favorite Food?	Crunchy Tacos	Snails
Most affordable country?	India	India
Married to each other?	11 times	11 times
Do you need travel insurance?	No	No
What do you miss about the US?	Tacos, ranch, friends & family.	Family, friends, Mexican food.
Had to go to the hospital?	Yes (3 times)	Yes (once)

🌏 The Deep Dive: How We Actually Live

1. Is Full-Time Travel Expensive?

The short answer is no. In fact, it is significantly cheaper than living in the United States. The secret is leaving the West. Once you are in Asia, the costs drop dramatically.

Flight Cost Examples (USD):

• Bangkok to Singapore: $62 (Non-stop)
• Hanoi to Bali: $84 – $100
• Hanoi to Sydney: $171 (That’s only $17/hour of flight!)

The Daily Budget Strategy: We don’t “vacation”—we live. We stay in places longer to get better deals. We’ve found luxury accommodations normally priced at $400/night for as low as $22/night by communicating directly with properties. Our favorite dinner spot in Sapa costs us $2.00 per person.

Estimated Cost Per Day: Between food and accommodation, we often live comfortably on $30–$50 USD per day for both of us in Southeast Asia.

2. The Great Insurance Debate

We left thinking we couldn’t survive without travel insurance. However, for travelers over 50, premiums can skyrocket to $700+ per month.

In two years, we have had:

• Three hospital visits (including a CAT scan, ultrasound, and labs).
• A broken ankle (three places).
• Several dental crowns.

The Total Cost? Less than $500 USD out of pocket for everything over two years. Because you often have to pay cash upfront and fight for reimbursement anyway, we’ve found that “self-insuring” by keeping an emergency fund is often more effective than high monthly premiums.

3. Challenges: It’s Not All Sunsets

The hardest part isn’t the travel—it’s the logistics.

• The Pivot: Plans A, B, and C rarely work. You have to be prepared to change directions constantly due to weather or visas.
• Visas: They are the biggest hurdle. They determine how long you can stay and can be stressful to navigate.
• The “Maverick” Moments: Riding a motorcycle 7,000 km across Vietnam is beautiful, but it’s also exhausting. We’ve faced 127°F heat domes and white-knuckle mountain climbs.

4. Why We Left: “If Not Now, When?”

We always planned to retire abroad, but COVID-19 changed our timeline. We realized we didn’t want to wait until we were 80 to see the world.

Our worldview has shifted. We feel safer in the villages of India or Vietnam than we often did in major US cities. There is a “heart-to-heart” communication that happens when you lead with a smile and a laugh, even when you don’t speak the language.

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What’s Next for WeBrownBacon?

We aren’t stopping. In fact, we have something massive starting on January 15th. It’s a huge undertaking that we’ve been working hard on, and we can’t wait to share it with you.

Our advice to you: If that fire is burning inside you to travel—do it now. Don’t wait six months or six years. You don’t know what tomorrow brings, and the rewards of full-time travel far outweigh the challenges.

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Lorem ipsum amet elit morbi dolor tortor. Vivamus eget mollis nostra ullam corper. Pharetra torquent auctor metus felis nibh velit. Natoque tellus semper taciti nostra primis lectus donec tortor fusce morbi risus curae. Semper pharetra montes habitant congue integer nisi nullam magnis nulla maximus. Integer primis vivamus aptent integer risus pretium gravida velit.

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