On February 23rd this year, I walked out of my corporate office job for the final time. What has followed has been a whirlwind adventure—14 cities, 9 countries, many women, and countless adventures along the way.
I’ve learned a tremendous amount of things from the experience, and have no intentions of going back to the corporate drone life anytime soon. With that being said, here are five things I’ve learned from this year that I’d pass on to my fellow men who want to travel the world and live the nomadic life.
1. Life’s Truly What You Make It
Sounds cliche, but it’s so true. The greatest risks are always going to have the biggest payoff. And you’ll go far to ensuring that payoff by simply being patient.
With that being said, I’ve met dozens and dozens of fellow travelers and nomads on the road this year. Do you know how many of them have regretted their decision to travel or move permanently abroad?
Not one of them.
Yet, people at home are always calling us crazy. They try to instill the doubt in your mind. Tell you that it won’t work. That living abroad full-time will wear down your soul. That a cubicle job is the best way to achieve prosperity in your life. That all of the stress of your new life will wear you down.
Frankly, I’ve never felt so alive.
2. When You Have To, You Just Do
Many people worry about many things when they’re debating traveling for an extended period of time.
“But I won’t have any friends!”
“I don’t speak the language!”
“I can’t get Product X/Y/Z at the stores there!”
Simply put, when you travel—you just figure it out. There is always a solution to something. When you’re put in a situation that you’re abroad, you simply stop worrying about everything. If an issue comes up, you solve it and move on with the rest of your day.
Yes, stuff happens that sucks sometimes. For example, my laptop started to crap out on me in August. It’s a Macbook Air, coming up on three years old. I was in Kiev, Ukraine at the time. Needless to say, I was concerned. My entire online business depends on having a solid laptop.
I didn’t think it was going to be repairable for a reasonable cost—and with it being three years old, I had to weigh the cost of a repair versus just buying a new one. Which wouldn’t normally be a problem, but in a place like Ukraine–buying a new laptop was out of the question. The prices were nearly double what I would pay in the States.
I made a phone call to a friend who was coming out to Kiev in the coming weeks. He agreed to buy and bring me a laptop if I needed it. I also set out to find a repair shop, with the assistance of my Ukrainian girl. Ukrainian culture is one that tends to pull one over on Westerners, so I wanted to be crystal clear with what I was looking for and how much I was willing to pay. I
In the end, I managed to find a shop that made the repair for a reasonable cost.
3. You Can Do “Western” Things
Just this week, I went to a basketball game here in Prague. This is their professional local team. For a grand total of $3, I got two seats with this view:
On top of that, the beer was free. Yep, they were running some promotion to get people to go to the game and between two of us we racked up nine free beers. $3 total for several hours of entertainment and unlimited drinking—sign me up.
Basketball is definitely more of an American sport than European, and it was great to get to take in a game.
While it’s easy to say, “I’ll never go to the tourist spots!”, having a taste of home is nice once in a while. You don’t have to eat McDonald’s every day—and you shouldn’t. But occasionally I go and have some wings and a beer at Hooters.
It’s comfortable, and that’s important to have once in a while when you’re constantly on the road.
4. Money Matters As You Start
Money can be tight for someone who is moving abroad and building or running a business. Here are some general tips I’ve engrained in myself that will help you save some money here and there.
- Eggs and ground beef are cheap just about everywhere
- If you’re spending more than two days in a place, buying a week-long public transit pass is almost always cheaper
- This is somewhat obvious, but any restaurant with the words “Traditional [Insert Country] Food” is overpriced and is probably mediocre quality
- Short stays are always going to be significantly more expensive—settling somewhere for a month will always save you money in the long term
5. Yes, The Girls Live Up To The Hype
Many, many of us live this life because of the abysmal quality of of the dating scene in the Western world. There’s simply no way around it. And yes, the foreign girls are 100% better overall. They have a naturally feminine vibe, are often intellectually sharper, and simply a joy to be around.
Of course, there are the ones that worship Western culture at all costs. The farther you go from the West the less of them you will find. I’ve met girls who contribute to my blog, had more home-cooked meals than I can count, and genuinely enjoyed all of my experiences with the girls of Eastern Europe.
Pour Conclure
Nomad life is not for everyone. It’s made for those who truly want to make it and get more out of life. And no, it’s not easy. There have been ups and downs this year, and they’re more extreme than “normal life”.
What I mean by this is that the lows are lower than I’d have if I had a mortgage and a cubicle. At the same time, the highs are infinitely higher. The only way to achieve those highs is to take the leap of faith. To just do.
I have no regrets.
nice write up, month to month rentals make life so much better, no tying yourself down and saving money
This makes funny reading.
I am a Ukrainian man in an international job, relatively successful, in other words.
Hence have direct access to both western and eastern european dating scenes.
I’ve not seen any shortage of good looking, feminine and pleasure to have around western women. Like never.
They just carry themselves a bit taller, hence do not rush to mingle with just about anyone, that’s all.
Just an observation.
Hey guys, so a couple observations and a question:
I’m currently spending winters in Southeast Asia and summers in Eastern Europe. I do English-language teaching programs for room and board while working on my 2nd degree online. I play music and sing, put on a great show, but I don’t usually get paid (unless you count a LOT of free beer). I’m usually renting apartments and I have a Thai girlfriend who is amazing.
My main issue right now is letting go of the residual anger of the past several years. Let me tell you, one thing that’s worse than working a corporate job is being unable to get any type of stable job and being homeless with a degree and 18 years in the workforce. The isolation crushes your soul and I find myself getting worked up about it and just having a hard time not thinking about it even though my current life is the exact opposite of what the last 3 years in the U.S. were… My generation of Americans might be accurately referred to as ‘The Softest Generation’. You can’t joke, you have to walk around on eggshells, they think sex is dirty, they voted for an ugly bitch who can’t suck dick, etc… And while I’m not in that world anymore, I still feel the negative effects. I’ve been away from Failuresville, USA for over four months now and I’m having a great time. Any advice on how to expedite the ‘letting go of the bullshit’ process?
Thanks!! Peace.
I’m writing a book that mostly revolves around that now, because frankly it’s taken me a few years. Not trying to self-promote it, but it’s probably the best advice I can give:
Chances are if you’re reading this, you’re going through a major change in your life. You’re clearly not happy with something, but maybe it’s hard to quantify exactly what that something is. Frankly, this is the most aggravating thing about the entire process. Nothing has turned out how it was supposed to. If you flip back to Chapter 1 or 2 of this book, you’ll see that I was seeing the same things. Hopefully, you’ve now realized that you’re not quite alone in this big and vast world.
Now comes the hardest part: acceptance.
It will be the hardest thing you have ever done in your life, hands-down. Learning to come to terms with everything that you once knew, that has now been shattered, will break you down in ways you cannot even fathom. Many men don’t make it out on the other side. Those who do are rewarded greatly. Those who do not are left behind in perpetual angst. They know the truth, are able to grasp straws of it, but cannot take action. They have to live the rest of their life in a constant state of regret. Regret is the worst thing in the world. You will take it to your grave and it will bury you like dirt. However, having the knowledge to fix your life and not doing it every single fucking day will destroy you. You will have no soul left to take to the grave.
While you know my story, it’s important to really sit down and hammer out everything that you’ve potentially been lied to in your life. Everything is not what it appears, and there is a reason masculinity has become so pathetic in the Western culture. Men have been biologically programmed for thousands of years to desire a high amount of sex, to make decisions, to fight, and to build. Everything that makes the masculine.
The problem is that in the last fifty or so years, we’ve had a cultural shift of thinking. Unfortunately, people get culture and hardwired biology mixed up. You simply cannot undo thousands of years of biological programming with fifty years of cultural programming. In today’s world, men are being told to be sensitive (not fight), be nice (results in no sex), to work for someone else (not building), and to defer to your woman in every possible case (not decisive). Yes, don’t you dare do something without her permission. You know what I’m talking about.
Women are all mixed up, too. And rather than being angry at them for going for the bad boys, for rejecting you, and generally making your life tough…you need to let go of that anger. You must feel empathy for them. You have to understand that they are just confused about the current cultural predicament as you are. To blame them for these faults in a torment of misogyny will not get you where you want. It won’t get you more sex, it won’t get you a relationship, and you’ll only become worse over time. Remember what I said about not having any soul left.
You see, women have been programmed for thousands of years, too. While men were programmed to want sex, make decisions, fight, and build—women were programmed to nurture. To stay at home. To raise babies. To maintain a hearth for her family. Everything that makes the feminine.
Now women are told that not only can they have it all, but they’re expected to do it all, too! They’re supposed to go to college, get a career in an office job, then find the love of her life and have babies (but after she’s lived a full youth). On top of it, they’re told they need to be just as analytical as men in the fields of engineering and science, they’re told that they should be decisive, and that they should fight and build things, too.
The result is a torment of their souls, too.
Ian: Because that “Western World” that your so apt to insult has many benefits and I think your beginning to realize no how far you travel that you cannot take a vacation from yourself.
Now you understand that while the 9-5 US lifestyle has it’s negatives you could earn far more money while living in a far more efficient county my guess is you’ve reached your plateau abroad and are seeking more, Maybe it’s time to come home..
Yeah I see him on ROK now. Little dude is selling a pipe dream.
Agreed, Travel as he describes is not for the majority of men and definitely not younger men because how many of them honestly know themselves in their early 20’s
remember we’re not talking about a month in Pattaya which I agree that would be a good experience but long term traveling while trying to sustain yourself which is challenging enough while staying in one place.
I agree that constant change of constant travel appeals to certain types of men that desire a degree of freedom but who don’t care much for wealth which would be easier to obtain utilizing your cultural and social circle at home.
The USA is a big place with many different lifestyle options to choose from and only after living in a few areas for a while can you honestly say you do not vibe well with US culture then try a countries after some research were you think you might fit in.
No billionare made their fortunes traveling as digital nomad jumping around from country to the next.