How I Became A Part-Time Global Nomad

Reflection

When I returned to Vancouver in March this year, I came back with a severe bacterial infection in my right foot. I had to go to the Emergency Department of a hospital as soon as the plane landed. I was in and out of the hospitals for the next month or so. A typical question would be, "What were you doing in West Africa when you contracted the infection?" My standard answer would be, "I was on my annual six-month journey in West Africa." Then people would conclude that I was extremely wealthy to afford traveling for six months at a time. When I told them that I have visited 94 countries so far, I instantly became their idol, living their dream.

I reflected on what brought about this itinerant lifestyle of mine. I had a serious car accident back in January 2010. Even though I was making a decent living at that time, I was stuck in a dead-end job that was highly stressful. I kept working for another five months after the accident, and then I took a year of unpaid medical leave. I had time to think about life and to take care of my physical health. Because of the stresses in that last job, I acquired a whole bunch of chronic diseases such as hypertension, bladder spasm, skin problems, gynecological disorders, etc. In the meantime, I also looked for a new job but I was not successful in landing another job.

When pressed for an answer, I told my boss I would not return to work in June 2011. In July, I planned for a six-week trip visiting Russia, Mongolia and China. Even though I was still relatively unfit for extended travel, I felt wonderful during that trip. Subsequently I made a decision - I would only do things that made me happy from then on. I would travel as much as I could afford. I was living on my savings so I only considered budget travel like backpacking. I would travel as slowly as possible and staying at each place for a longer time. I was living in a one-bedroom apartment in a housing co-operative. Housing shortage in Vancouver was near crisis level around that time. To give up a large one-bedroom unit in a housing co-operative seemed like an unthinkable thing to do but I did.

I rested for another year and most of my health issues were resolved. My weight went down by about 20% in a year's time. In January 2013, I embarked on my first six-month journey to Oceania. I had hopes of finding a place in the South Pacific to call my new home. On March 1st, 2013 while visiting Tonga, I had a bicycle accident. I had to cut short my Oceania Odyssey. I returned to Vancouver for medical attention. In early September 2013, I resumed traveling. I flew to Mumbai and toured Southern India and flew to Sri Lanka from Chennai. Then I visited Malaysia, Indonesia and flew to Rarotonga in December. I was hoping to catch a cargo boat and visit a remote island from Rarotonga, Cook Islands. That plan never materialized. I ended living in Rarotonga for four and a half months until my visa expired.

When I returned to Vancouver in April 2014, my parents sold their house. When they told me that I could not store my belongings in their garage after they moved into their much bigger new house, I spent that summer selling and giving away my stuff along with a whole lot of items that my family collected over the past four decades. My plan was to rent a small locker where I can store my stuff when I am not in Vancouver. From then on, whenever I am in Vancouver, I would continue reducing the number of suitcases and boxes in storage. To this day, I still have a 125 cubic foot locker year-round.

The search for my new home did not end after the two attempts in the South Pacific. I heard that the cost of living is relatively low in Central America. That fall I flew to Mexico City and tried to make my way to Panama by mid-April. By mid-January 2015, I got an email from my sister that she had to return to work after taking a family sick leave for three months. I had to make a short turn around in Nicaragua and return to Vancouver mid-February to take care of my mother who had suffered a stroke. I was her primary caregiver for seven months.

By the time that I got on the plane to fly to Nairobi in September 2015, I realized that things did not work out the way as planned. I have in fact become a part-time global nomad. I don't believe in buying travel insurance. If I can live anywhere in the world, I can also die anywhere. However, I should have some kind of medical insurance coverage. Solution: Travel no more than 182 days in a calendar year to maintain a Canadian resident status. If I get very sick or seriously injured, I would come back to Vancouver for medical attention as soon as I could. Plane tickets are almost always less costly than travel medical insurance

After spending two winters in Vancouver since my early retirement, I also realized that I should always go away during the cold and rainy months since my body does not take the damp and cold weather too well subsequent to my car accident in 2010. Vancouver still has the best summer weather in the world. I would just have to bear the high cost of living and the apathy in this hometown of mine. Meanwhile, I give back to the community that I grow up in by volunteering as much as I can whenever I stay in Vancouver.

Summertime in Vancouver