Let's dive into my crazy brain and convoluted thinking processes, as I try to map out my nomad life in 2024.
First Steps
I always begin by identifying a few things I absolutely want to do sometime during the year.
Summer in Greece: Ever since my sister and I cruised the Greek Islands in May 2017, I've been eager to return. I treated myself to a week in Athens for my birthday in 2022, but now I'm ready to head back and truly enjoy living on a Greek island or two for 2.5-3 months. And this is that year!
Have a new and unique experience relocating from Asia to Europe, as I make my way to Greece.
Take the infamous hot air balloon ride in Cappadochia, Turkey for my 45th birthday.
Head to South America by the end of the year.
Mapping Out the Year
Now that I have a few key items to put on the calendar for the year, I create a GoogleSheet Travel Planning Template to start mapping out where I will be and roughly how long I'll be in each country. It's also important for me to think about what I want to do in each location, and why I want to do it.
January & February 2024
In late November 2023, I already committed to a beautiful house rental through the end of February 2024. I truly enjoy living in small beach side communities for a few months at a time as I find life relaxing in places like this. Knowing I want to eventually make my way to Greece for summer, I have to fill in the months up until there, and go to countries that are on the way there from Australia. One of the best direct flight options out of Cairns is to Bali. Since my rental in Australia is up on February 29, which is also the last day I can be in that country on my current tourist visa, I booked a flight last week to Bali (about 5 weeks in advance).
March & April 2024
I also booked a week stay at the same hotel I lived in last year in Amed, Bali. It was a great spot to snorkel directly from the beach, and that is exactly what I want to do when I get there; snorkel every day. I booked my hotel through Booking .com because it offers free cancelation up to 3 days before arrival and I can pay at the property. This flexibility gives me peace of mind in case I change my mind as I get deep into the planning process.
I need to decide how long I want to stay in Bali before I can keep mapping out March and April. I have two visa options: 30- and 60-day visas. However, both visa applications require proof of onward ticket. Since the shortest visa is 30-days, part of me wants to max out that visa length before moving along. And this is where I need to focus on what other things do I want to do in Bali before I leave, and how long will I need to accomplish those things. Since I am not one to be in vacation mode for long periods of time, I will be ready to find an apartment to make home for whatever length of stay I decide upon based on my visa options.
My purpose of flying to Phuket, Thailand after Bali is twofold: 1) I want to practice my Thai language skills from my private lessons last year, and 2) utilize the international airport for relocating to Europe. I also really miss eating at night markets and would like that food fix. Oh, and maybe get back into the weekly massages since they are so affordable!
For Thailand, I get a 30-day visa upon entry; no application to fill out in advance. However, I can also extend by another 30-days by walking into a local immigration office. One hesitation I have about visiting Phuket is that it's a pricier part of Thailand since it's a major tourist hub, which also means lots of people. It's not known to have many beaches that you can snorkel directly off of, which means I will likely be on tours to other nearby islands to get my snorkel fix.
May & June 2024
Whenever I'm done with Bali and Thailand, I will be off to Summer in Greece! Originally, I had booked a super amazing cruise itinerary with Azamara, that would take me from Singapore through the Suez Canal to Greece, stopping at some epic ports. Unfortunately, the current War that is happening in that region is preventing safe passages through the canal, so I cancelled my reservation before the final payment was due. It's my mission to still have a fabulous time seeing somewhere new on my way to Europe so I'm eyeballing flights with Etihad Airways with a week stopover in Abu Dhabi. One rule I have set for myself is to book business class tickets for any flights over 5 hours. The lay flat seats and my own space allows me to relax and get rest so I don't feel like trash when I get to my destination. And by stopping in Abu Dhabi, which is about half way, allows me to explore a cool new place while breaking up the long haul travel. I was originally going to try and do a stopover in Dubai as I have been once for work in 2017, and want to do sightseeing whenever I can go back. I wasn't finding the best flight options though, and came across flight options taking me Doha, Qatar instead. Yet, after more digging online, I came across a better financial deal through Abu Dhabi, which has been on my list for many years anyways. As of today, it's the front runner for where I'll stop and hang out on my way to Greece.
I've targetted the island of Naxos to make my base for the summer. There is a great ferry system that can take me to many other Greek Islands, yet the island of Naxos itself has beautiful beaches and some quaint mountain towns to explore too. I think it will be a good place to make home for the summer.
July 2024 -- The Birthday Month & Start of the Schengen Shuffle
In July, I will wrap up my time in Greece and make my way over to Turkey. Izmir and Bodrum are two coastal towns that have been on my radar for a while. I'm not sure if I will see both or just one, but if I ferry from Naxos, I will likely enter at one or the other. Then I will make my way to the mountain town of Cappadocia where I want to ride a hot air balloon. This picturesque city is something I can't wait to see with my own two eyes!
What is the Schengen Shuffle?
Europe is comprised of many countries of which some are in the Schengen Zone and some are not. As a US passport holder, I can only stay 90-days out of 180 days in the Schengen Zone but that 180 days is a rolling calendar. Meaning, after 90-days, I cannot leave a Schengen country and turn around and go back in as there is no time reset. Because I want to stay in Greece (a Schengen country) for 3-months, that means I need to stay out of all Schengen countries for another 90-days for my time to be free and clear, and to be legal to enter a Schengen country again. This is why I have targeted Turkey, Albania and Cyprus, as they are three countries that are not in the Schengen zone.
August, September & October 2024
If I hang out among Turkey, Albania and Cyprus during these three months, then I can re-enter the Schengen zone in November. This is important with my end of the year plans which I'll get to soon.
As you should know by now, I don't like to move around too fast. I am leaning towards treating my time in Turkey like a vacation, so I am open to faster travels for those purposes. But then I want to slow down again. Albania will have warmer weather in August and September so I will head there first after Turkey, and then go to Cyprus afterwards. I am not sure how much time I want in either location but one sweet spot of mine is 6-weeks for 1 location. It's enough time for me to make friends and enjoy learning about life in that community. I also have friends who would like to meet in Cyprus possibly in October/November too. When they finish their plans, that could help influence mine.
November & December 2024
In November, I need to make my way to Lisbon, Portugal. I have friends who will be there over American Thanksgiving and we decided to celebrate together. Additionally, I will be taking a 2-week cruise from Lisbon to Buenos Aires, Argentina with some nomad friends. I really enjoy taking cruises to relocate continents as I get to see new places along the way and have a comfy bed for a few weeks, instead of being on a plane (or several) for so long.
Portugal is another Schengen country and in order for me to enter it legally for the duration of my stay, I need to use those 3-months in Turkey, Albania and Cyprus, to clear my previous 3-month stay in Greece. Yes, Europe is not easy for long term travel with a US passport. None of my friends and family knew anything about this because we grew up with only 1 or 2 weeks off for a vacation, so there was no need to know about long term travel restrictions and visas. I know my explanations have not been thorough enough, so it will be up to you as the reader to Google topics on the Schengen countries and Schengen zone. There are Schengen calculators you can download and put in your dates and the countries you visit, to see if you can be in the Schengen zone at a certain time of the year. They are very helpful!
When will purchase transport and accommodations?
Until I decide exactly how long I want to stay in each place, I cannot book flights, buses, or ferries to the next location. Once I do settle on some timelines, I normally look up apartment and house rentals first, and see what is available on my dates. I am more comfortable booking accommodations in advance by a month or two. And once I commit to them, then I go about booking transport. I am trying to leave wiggle room in my general plans as I really love meeting new people who bring up places I have never heard of before, or opportunities I wouldn't have considered. Last year, a highlight was the last minute sailing expedition around Raja Ampat, Indonesia. I only had 1 week notice to jump on that epic opportunity and I am so glad that I did. The only way it happened though was because my upcoming plans had free cancellations within that window, so I was not out any money for my transport or accommodations.
If you want to see my actual brainstorming in action, you can view my actual travel planning spreadsheet here. As I confirm plans throughout the year, I will update this sheet and the Itinerary section of this website.
How much will this year cost?
My estimations put me at spending $40,000 for the year. However, if I include a buffer of 15% ($6,000) for phantom costs (unexpected expenses), I should spend under $46.000 annually, or average $3,833 per month.
I came about these number by starting with the few expenses I already know for 2024. It's the end of January and I will have spent just under $5300 for the month. It was a high spend month because of New Years in Sydney, high rent in Australia, and the unexpected removals of skin cancer spots. Since I'm living in the same home in Australia for February and understand the costs for how I like to live, I expect to spend $2900 for the month. That includes monthly rent around $1700, $300 plane ticket to Bali, and about $900 for food and entertainment. I have already researched my multi-city business class ticket from Thailand to Abu Dhabi to Greece that will cost about $1800, and then I will likely stay in a hotel for a week in Abu Dhabi. So that trip alone will be about $2800. If I do this transit in May, I will estimate a high spend month of $5000 to also account for my other lodging, food and entertainment for the month. And the 18-day cruise in December is about $1800 and to account for excursions, as well as the rest of the month, I can assume I'll spend about $4500 for the month. These known expenses are in black text within the table below.
For the other months, I do more general estimations to make assumptions about how much I may spend. Typically, I rent accommodations around $1000/month and spend another $1500 on everything else (food, entertainment, transport, misc.). This allows me to earmark March, April, August, September, and October at $2500/month. Keep in mind, these months I am in Bali, Thailand, Albania, and Cyprus, which are lower cost of living countries in general. My monthly budget should be more than ample unless I go nuts on something.
I do anticipate to spend more in Greece, because I want to do overnight trips to other nearby islands. I am giving myself more wiggle room for cost of living at $3000/month for June and then $3800 for July since near the end of the July I want to do the hot air ballon ride in Cappadocia, Turkey for my birthday. That means I need to add in flights, hotel, and sightseeing for that month.
November will be a split month between Cyprus and Portugal. That means I'll have a flight and short term accommodations in Portugal. Shorter stays tend to me more expensive over longterm stays.
When I take the sum of the monthly estimations, that equals $40,000. And as I mentioned before, I like to mentally tag on about 15% (in this case $6000). You never know when something unexpected might come up, wether it's a fun adventure, replacing things I own, or health related. Having the mental buffer allows me to shrug off the unexpected.
January: $5300 | July: $3800 |
February: $2900 | August: $2500 |
March: $2500 | September: $2500 |
April $2500 | October: $2500 |
May: $5000 | November: $3000 |
June: $3000 | December: $4500 |
How do I fund my lifestyle?
I started working as a teenager, teaching dance classes, waitressing, working at gas stations or warehouses, babysitting, and more. Throughout university, I bartended, tutored maths, and worked in the math department at the university. Even in my full time professions, I always held 2-3 part time jobs, seasonal jobs, or freelanced. Professionally, I have been a high school math teacher, university professor after earning my Ph.D, and I have worked for Ed Tech companies as a mathematics curriculum developer and manager of professional development. Then I chose to apply all the skills I've learned over my 20s and early 30s to the test by starting my own business, offering editorial services in mathematics to textbook publishers and Ed Tech companies. By working very hard for well over 20 years, I learned how to save and invest 50% to 75% of my income which is mind blowing in itself!
I retired in April 2023 since my investments are healthy, and have been living off of a stash I purposely set aside for a year. However, I have some passive income sources from past years of setting things up. Like the books I wrote over a decade ago that still sell copies on Amazon. My Facebook pages are monetized through people interacting on posts, and I receive donations through my Buy Me A Coffee page. It's not a lot of income from any one source, but it does offset some costs. This year, I will start automatic withdraws from my investments and start spending down what I had been saving over the years.
Messy Planning Structure
As you can see, mapping out an entire year of travels is not simple. There's lots of factors to keep in mind (visas, weather, transport, things to do, people to see, etc.). I hope by brain dumping all of this into one spot, it gives some insight into how I live my nomadic life which can be very different from other nomads.
Happy Travels to all!