Our Full-Time Retirement Travel Diary: The Road Less Traveled

ByJeff Posted on Updated on

Hey everyone, it’s Sandra and Jeff here with another update on our mobile retirement planning adventure! As we celebrated the New Year, guess what? Our retirement timeline – well, it evolved again! (Seems like nailing down a date is proving trickier than we anticipated!)

For those new to our journey, we’re ditching the traditional retirement and opting for a nomadic lifestyle. Think exploring the world, meeting new people, and avoiding becoming permanent beach bums. This blog is our way of sharing our real-life experiences, both smooth sailing and unexpected detours, as we navigate the exciting challenges of planning this adventure.

Our Mobile Retirement Planning & The Ever-Shifting Timeline

Remember our ever-evolving timeline? Well, Sandra recently surprised me by saying, “I’m not so sure I want to face another Oregon winter. What if we revisit our original fall 2023 target date?”

Alrighty then, let’s talk about that…

Adapting and Planning for the Transitional Period

We’ve already committed to a timeline for selling the house and downsizing. But the question of “where will we live” during the “transitional period” – the time between selling the house and embarking on our nomadic adventure – is a subject of some discussion.

Sandra keeps coming back to buying an RV as temporary housing. However, logistics get tricky. Would we sell it before flying out and need temporary lodging? Or find a place to store it in case the nomadic life isn’t quite the right fit?

The truth is, the answer to “where do we live after selling the house?” will likely become clear once the house is on the market and things feel more real.

Building Our Online Presence: TheMobileRetiree™ is Born!

In the meantime, we did score a major win – locking down our domain and social media handles! We debated “bigasssuitcase.com” (because, let’s face it, packing light for a multi-year trip abroad isn’t exactly my strong suit), but ultimately landed on TheMobileRetiree™ and snagged the matching social media handles.

This website thing is important for a couple of reasons. Apparently, the magic internet monetization fairies require a well-established website before we can monetize our retirement travel diary. Plus, the sooner I start tinkering with this writing and video thing, the better. Practicing on local attractions and nearby golf courses means way less pressure if I mess up. Besides, who wouldn’t want a do-over on a bad Oregon day trip, right?

Join Us on the Journey!

So, stay tuned as we navigate this ever-shifting path to mobile retirement. We’ll keep you posted on our latest decisions, challenges (because let’s be real, there will be challenges), and maybe even some travel tips along the way. Cheers to a new year, and who knows, maybe even a (slightly) more settled retirement timeline!

Jeff Mayernik is a fulltime traveler and storyteller, journeying the world fulltime with his wife, Sandra. With a background in electronics, construction, and sales, Jeff tackles challenges with a practical, hands-on approach. As the main writer and photographer for their blog, The Mobile Retiree, he shares budget-friendly travel tips and experiences. When not documenting their adventures or working on his book, Jeff enjoys fixing things, building projects, and indulging in his love of history, fantasy, and sci-fi literature.