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Experienced Travelers on Fears & Money

We're going to get to them when the screen pops up as go hang out so there we go look ok so we have some questions so this is allison don I done I s o you are currently in peru yes lima okay great so alison and don our readers of the site I met them we got together last year and I love I love their story because they you know retired and they decided that we can sit around and play golf or we could travel and see the world and so I really like that next we'll have david um there's a lag uh can we bring david up there hey david deceivingly from go backpacking dot com uh he quit his job when he was thirty two right no thirty two on dso traveling on around the world and how long ago was that you were at each had a travel log when I started so at least five five six years ago actually seventy years now seven years ago time flies we have been friends for a long time and he now lives in median columbia correct and lastly we have warren this is lauren hi lauren hey laura is from england and s...

he went traveling two years ago right yes yes by yourself and she had never been anywhere I saw her in her first peanut in thailand she had a filter childhood and you but you like that and you now and lauren self admits that she is klutzy and, you know, I didn't really know a lot, but cheers here she is now and, um, you know, I love her story because it's proved that you don't have to always know what you're doing to go travel. I started not really knowing anything half the fun is learning a lot along the way, so we got some questions for them, so since lawrence pulled up on the screen, we'll start with you. Lauren, what inspired your trip? I think like a lot of people, I always have the desire to see the world on dh it was age sixteen when I suddenly realized that my whole life was revolving around the two week vacations I was taking each each year. Yeah, I think putting my holiday here in advance and then spending a whole year counting down the days only to arrive on, then spend my whole holiday driving coming home. I think it was just realizing my whole life was essentially revolving around these two weeks of the year while I have pretty miserable for the rest of the year on. So I decided to try a long time travel just to see it extending those two weeks into a year or two years, but maybe is happy as I thought it would and have it yes and you're currently in mexico or not right yes, I'm in play dough comin I was it his grace nice and sunny well, if it's ah for you here this morning in the same sentence and so let's go over to david david yes? What inspired your trip? I mean, you work in a cubicle like me and you took off that's right? I am laid off from a job in two thousand two and even though I have grown it as hanging onto it because it was easy so or months of free time I realized that I wasn't really traveling as much as I wanted to and I wasn't doing the work I was doing in customer service so I decided my next job would be a way for me to sort of take control back I save up enough money that I was laid off again I could spend at least a year traveling the world and if I wasn't laid off they reached the mother money I wanted saves uh that I could put it on my own terms and think that's trip and the latter's awful I I was able to after five years save us enough money to feel comfortable quitting my job and that was seven years ago I mean amazingly and now you live in columbia and you right guys for colombia yeah, they're calling the information you need if you guys we're going talk today an elephant and don yeah it's where you go? I mean so often that it's you in these golden years were spent you know, playing golf not so much those two things nowadays but you know, I have a lot of travelers wondering is it safe? Is it you know okay for you know when you're in your seventies start backpacking around the world so what inspired you to go you got first start first thing was I was in my late sixties and I couldn't see a way to be able to retire and still afford to go travelling which we wanted to do so I've seen a counselor but I was starting to get depressed I was starting to get physically sick and the counselor suggested that I begin writing every morning three piece just write whatever stuff was in my head get it out there so I could see it and within three days starting to write the answer just came clear it was would you like to have a home or they like to have a life and was there we will sell at home and we'll have a life and start probably so we saw the house we saw well, the apartment we saw the car we sold a lot of furniture we've sold or get way over start they got a little bit of stuff left in a very small storage locker and started trouble john when when don told me the you know, the group's just found himself riding this why don't we just sell up everything and they're traveling when he told me about it it was an immediate gifts for me I don't think I jumped up and down but I salute with the right thing for us to do and so did you guys have any fears or concerns that during this yeah my my big fear was about money and running out of money but on this course we're going to talk about how to save money and find work overseas so this is great yeah and the great thing is that along we'd be traveling the less I worry about money it's like but the longer we travel the less we worry about everything no money about I don't know anything it'll life's too short that's how men for these days life stoops award that's great that's great. We'll come back tio some questions about savings and money in a second let's get to dave uh dave, what fears and concerns did you have when you are uh you know off to go you had just left your job for five years and it saves you know, how did you handle it? Well, I think I had enough money in the bank I had about thirty thousand dollars to feel comfortable at least in the beginning with a lot of money but I was concerned about getting tropical diseases like malaria, dengue fever I was also concerned about my personal safety in and, you know, three crimes that kind of stuff but really I think that means all the dangers out to be greater in my head that they really were and when problems come up fuse you addressed um and really something that is how did you not give in to those fears like, you know you have all these fears of my going the get robbed or malaria or dengue gay and dying from your tropical hospital somewhere I let those fears consume you that's that's a great question because I always knew that this trip I had dreamed up my head was going to be worth whatever problems or hurdles I had to overcome to make it happen. So once I got started with the trip, a lot of those fears sort of melted away on guy was just so excited to be traveling that I was like, really so they're worried about many more great great lauren how are you? So what piers did you have before you left and how did you overcome them? Because we have talked many times we've kind of uh each other on the world and you know you have to always talk about how you have is really like shelter upbringing yeah, I had so many fears on I was scared off everything I saw from anxiety so irrational thinking and panic always been a huge part of my life and I'm always thinking about what could go wrong on dh convincing myself that that's going to happen to me and so before I left I thought that I was going to die or my trip I thought that I could be attacked or raped or robbed or that I could get seriously injured or sick I was wrong and I wouldn't make friends and that I'd spend my entire trip being alone on dh early I was I was scared I wouldn't be able to find anything to eat because I was such a fast eater before I left I never had your chinese food or indian food or thai food I've never beat advice before you have such a chance of life and no life experience I thought I was going to spend the whole time unable to he and basically just stalling s o I just had so many things everything frightens me but I decided to travel just and this sounds funny that it was mostly because my friends were so unsupportive off my travels you know they told me that you have a life experience and you don't have enough common sense be able to travel you won't survive in the world on dh because they were so convinced that I would fail that made me more determined to prove the mom's so when I was freaking out just the boy left thinking this is a huge mistake and I'm making such a huge mistake it was kind of saying no you know I want to prove my friend's mom that I have to prove to myself that I don't use this and that I can travel successfully and then I want ice that was a great motivator and we're going to talk in this course about how to deal with unsupportive friends and family my parents for a long time but after I told them I was leaving they would my dad was like give me job clippings like you could stay home and get this job because after a while they stop talking about it hoping I would forget it and know I was like, hey, I'm leaving tomorrow like oh that thing yeah you have friends were like, which is weird thing you're going to d'oh yeah and so we're going to get in so howto handle that because it can be disparaging um and so when it comes to money uh this stress free budget travel did you have concerns about money two florins pulled up on the screen role start with her and then we'll go down the list yeah I was extremely apprehensive about how much travel would cost on because they were not I thought it would be very expensive I saved for five years because I never felt like my savings were large enough I didn't know how much I need. I thought I like thousands and thousands of dollars. When I first left, I planned for my first year, and I can't, I'd say twenty five thousand dollars for one year, and then I left on in that year, I spent twelve thousand dollars, so I actually thought that it was going to be twice as extensive ended up being for me on three years, two years of travel. Would you say travel is expensive or can be? It is really inexpensive and cheaper than living at home it's so much cheaper than living at home late to spend twelve thousand dollars over a year. I spend so much more than that at home, I'm gonna be having as many amazing hearing that's true that's true travel is definitely cheaper than living at home, and we're going to do run some numbers and talk about the math in the next section. David, we're going, you, um, stress free budget travel? Did you feel that travel is going to be stress free and budget, or did you over save? I know, I told the over saved, um it was really concerned about money. I was like, uh like lauren, I thought I could never have enough of it, I don't think I over saved, I tend to spend then overs! The first destination on my trip around the world was french polynesia, and I knew I could stand the campground for twenty dollars a night. The amazing thing moment on tv I found, um, out over the course of the four, thirteen, fourteen months I was traveling that that was very adept at that spending my money, but e spending money to david don't worry, it wasn't to may and I on my mind, said it's. Still, you know you can make more money, but the chances that you'll go back to some of the places that you've seen in your travels may be very low, so I try and make the most wrist great and don alison yeah, what you sold everything everything uh sorry met you go ahead. Oh no, I'm just saying you sold everything. What about you? What did you think? In terms of finances? It was a big concern of people's. Yeah, I guess I'm going to address older people because that's, what we are and our situation was different in the we do have pensions, they're very small, but at least we have some money coming in on a regular basis. We had a home to sell and we have some retirement savings so it's not like we had to say about the years waiting for help your world is your home yeah world hope and it really does come down to have a love for life on the other hand, you know, with my genetics I could live for another thirty years easy so you know, our situation is a little different I mean god, you could go back to work so it's horrifying were retired so um uh like they everybody cried a slave yeah and, um but we do have you have you, you know, think more about the long term and he did a lot when we first started and I think that don't worry about money more than I did serve a student because you know, we could live another thirty years without working. So, um, where we've come through now is what we said earlier life's too short yeah that's such a place of trust, of trusting the flow of our lives and I'm trusting that, you know, we will know what to group will know what's needed when it's read it because it's too short to worry about money yeah, it has traveling been easier than you thought a lot of people always ask me uh old travel that you know but the difficulty and being insured and what happens if they get sick and you know there are more concerns that you know, maybe a twenty year old doesn't have or a thirty year old doesn't have and but have been easier to travel long term that you know, people would tend to believe I'm just just on the health thing we've discovered that there's fabulous, very high class, very inexpensive health services available in developing countries we don't come to the u s anymore now the don's are the seventies a crust of health insurance is beyond ridiculous people will find a solution to that one day if we're going to other western countries would do actually buy health insurance for the time with their mom so that can be a little bit expensive but the third world countries we have a simple made jet which is an emergency fly out and we have coverage from hell home province in canada that will make the costs and it cost tweeting her and for all countries and me no way we were worried in the beginning I started traveling, but have we held through experience? We get very good medical services india, mexico wherever I I've been to the dentist in thailand and I still have my teeth uh huh. So, you know, I mean, you're right I mean it becomes a lot easier you think it's really hard and going to be really difficult, but once you get out there you find that wait all these fears and concerns I have we're kind of all in my head that you know there is health care, there are options, it is sort of easy to get around david was traveling been easier than you thought well, my trip around the world it was easier in some new ways I wasn't expecting I had already taking shorter trips to europe and central americans I knew about hostels and meeting people stuff like that, but I was really impressed with how easy it is to put your own air fare as you travels even a trip all the way around the world it's easy to take advantage of the regional airlines that discount airlines so you might not know about it when you're trying to plan your trip in your home country, so in that respect, I didn't have a round the world tickets I just decided I was going to book flights so went and it was really super easy with that we're going to talk about all all of this because they were brings up a great point that we search for flights here all these small little budget airlines that exists around the world I'm going to pop off so you're left with all the big carriers and you're thinking wow play it's going to cost so much money but there are other options and lauren, you were so worried about everything starving to death and dying and everything and here you are two years later so how is the family turned out for you and charles bean so much easier, and I feel all of the bad things I worried about never really happens on it's helped me to come down a lot of help my anxiety because after so many instances, I thought I was going to die and I didn't have become a lot less afraid of that, and I think just the longer I travel, especially the get on one thing I mentioned, I didn't have much life experience when I left on, for example, before I traveled, I never beat all the past before andi, I had no idea how tough this worked because I just was too scared to use them, so I then left to travel. One of my biggest concerns was, oh, my god, how do we use about waiting to get on? I'm assistant that was a huge fear for me, and then just they're going out and realizing that I could just ask someone if I don't know what to do and people will help me and show me what to do and it's not so frightening. S so, yeah, I haven't really had any major issues since I think traveling great, great and as well as we wrap up, I think that's a great point, people are a lot more helpful. Then you know they say don't talk to strangers but strangers on the road can actually help you where to go especially when you're lost with a map like I have to get where's his bus I need to go and they can help point to in the right direction because they want to have any questions for them the question is in the chat rooms you gotta have city fascinating what about our students anything you want to specifically also guess what we write yes I'm really curious to hear from allison and her husband about what sort of security they have for themselves with regard to returning home like what are you do have a little nest steak? Are they planning to go back to where they originally lived after they're done traveling all right let's way have a nest egg any return plans are just every day as it comes yes we've got a mistake you have savings and as alison mentioned we have canadian pensions we also have health care coverage from our problems of british columbia on dh we've got a special arrangement with the problems that we could be a way for up to twenty four months without the usual requirement having to actually be physically back in the province of six months of each year so that time is just about up and so we will be going back to the club lived there for six months later this year and they will start traveling again after that way you have we're joined house three house different house sitting side so we're hoping that that six months from stand house sitting um around iran province way to be in the province to maintain our health care coverage do we have any plans of apart from that kind of plan where we have to pay attention to you know, stuff like that now you have no plans were not looking for a place to move we have no plans to settle on pedals we're we're on the move as jack kerouac says the road his life the question for the yes alright lauren I'm wondering if you never ate a peanut or rice growing up like what did you eat? Roger that very, very bland food it's kind of the family tradition I guess my mom hi mother would always give you a very bland food, you know, like you have like a pizza on monday and then on tuesday we'll have sausages and then went they have fish and chips, so my mom was brought up it in very bland basic food on dh she didn't really have any kind of a chinese your food on because she didn't need those things she didn't really make too much of an effort trying to get him to me, which meant that I also grew up having very bland food on dh I think I convinced myself that I didn't like I wouldn't like that, so I didn't try it. I was too frightened to try it. So it wasn't until I started traveling that I actually started trying foods that scared me like rice. And now how do you feel about typhoon now? Now I love food now. Food is one of my favorite parts of travel, which is a development I never saw happening because food was the thing that scares me the most about travel. But now, it's, one of the things that excites me the most. I love trying new food on the other. We hae brain attackers here in mexico and, you know, that's, something I never would have eaten before I started travelling. Definitely. The lord I met two years ago were not iv brain tacos e I e brain tacos. So yeah, I mean, that's. One thing I love about travel is how we can break you out of your comfort zone and how it just sort of pushes you sometimes out of necessity because you have to. If you're going to go to thailand and you're afraid of writes, well, you're not gonna have many options, uh, so that's, that's great. You are not going to get another break here in the chair today hosting a but I totally relate to what you're saying about diet and it's something that I think you know the brits have got so much more adventurous about but what's this business about never being on a bus did you never take them forty four from walthamstow to victoria e I have never publicly e I was wondering perhaps you are unknown member of the royal family we haven't encountered before thanks for sharing that with us it is actually a challenge though it whether you have done the metro or public transportation the first time I did it in another language that was a different experience so I remember I went to tokyo for the first time there is nothing in english nothing you're trying to find these colors I mean everything is done in this script I mean it's it's really quite I mean they have shirts I survived the tokyo metro and we're going to get into how to handle that tomorrow we talk about dealing with the day to day life of travel but you know the london tube system it can be quite confusing teo I see makes perfect sense to me yeah, but I can understand when you come in yeah do you have any questions for them from? We really just have, you know, lots of really reaffirming people really engaged in a week we've got some older people in our audience today and they're really interested in what you know, alison was saying and you know, and we've got some younger people so you know, people are really talking about fear and to hear this ria for re information from from our guest has been fantastic that there's nothing to be fearful of except fear itself exactly any final questions yes, the line as well assuming that you want to keep traveling, what are you going to do about money down the road? Um, I actually know work online as a freedom to travel writer it wasn't something that I planned on doing before I left I actually my degrees in physics so physics and travel writing a start bombing loose from each other, but a few months into my trip I was loving it so much I was so happy I know I need to find a way to stay in my travels I tried lots of different things on this thing that works best for me has bean travel, right? And so that's no, what I do to fund my travels I'm trying together push the book on, you know, the girl who never took a bus good title e I expect royalties on that parting words for everybody let's really quickly, lauren, what do you have to say, everybody I'm just not to be scared about travel you know? I feel like I'm really extreme and I was so frightened about everything and I thought everything was gonna go home everything is seen so you so if you're if you're really frightened about travel, you should just try and try and see what happens it's been great for me good that david uh my would be the dream big and if you really want something all the little fears that might pop up on your way to achieving it they have smaller and smaller and easier and easier to get past. So uh don't be afraid to dream up something really fantastic for your life whether it's, kavaler or anything else great allison don the more we push ourselves to do the things that scares, like riding an elephant in the water in thailand, the bigger the birds afterwards it scans you do in any way and and you just feel so created after doing it and it's nothing like this part is she put it it was simple news before you do it like anything easier kits and the world is not a horrible, dangerous place people I mean, I'm not saying they're on our part by people out there or the five things don't happen, but what we have to have more than anything is that people are incredibly open crying, friendly welcoming they want help and that our departed this is always met without party yeah great so thanks everyone for being here allison don have done an interview on my web site um specifically about traveling older couples and dealing with a lot of these issues more in depth so you can visit my website for more information on that just search alison or don alison and don we'll come up you have a blogger right? Yes. Alice amanda on dot wordpress dot com alison with one held any alli eso in ddo in great first dot com great and david can they really can be fun at go backpacking dot com and mini and living dot com where he writes about living in the in colombia and lauren can be found at never ending footsteps dot com where she writes about learning to ride buses maybe subway systems maybe that we'll do the train thanks everybody for coming on and being care so whenever you love all about this story is that you know like like how I started I had no clue I was so afraid and I'm going to have enough money are people going to be nice? You know well I be able to figure out the tokyo subway um but the more your child the more you understand that it's not as hard as you you see and the more you hear stories like this you know you're not alone in both your pre trip you know, fears and the fact that these people got over it you can get over get over to is very reassuring and it's very young helpful to know that you're not alone and one thing I really love about um you know, the fact that all these travel logs exists now and all these all mine forms and communities exist is that you can find like minded people a lot easier than when I started playing my trip in two thousand four when you know all this stuff didn't exist there was no google hangout here the how all that and so budget travel is a lot easier than you think it is and you know, I like say if you want to travel and sheep ignore everything you've ever learned about traveling and that goes back to what we talked about uh with the travel media joining no, what I'm saying this is this is good stuff, but when I started traveling and I broke out of that hotel expensive resort e five thousand dollars tour to australia mindset, suddenly my money could last a lot longer as lauren said she you know, had planned, you know, twenty five thousand dollars for one year and spent half that and it becomes a lot easier to save money and we're going to talk about all the ways to do that and where you can look to find those deals I said before travel, if you live, travel like you live at home and you know that really gets you out of that mindset and that's going to be a theme throughout the whole course about doing what you do at home, because what you do at home is exactly what they're doing in paris. They're waking up and they're going to work, and they're getting to their local deli. And there, uh, cheese shop, and they're getting to know people, and they're riding the subways. And if you really want to get involved in local culture, do you would third doing? And they're not all these expensive fans resorts or you're taking these, you know, one hundred dollars day tours to a winery, they're renting the car, and they're going in doing all this great stuff. I believe you can do it. If lauren can figure out how to do a bus, you guys can do it, too.