Reflecting on Two Years of Early Retirement

For years, I spent my days waking up early and rushing to wash, dress, and sit in traffic only to sit in a cube waiting to rush home. All that time, I was propped up by dreams of a freer life. It’s been two years since I quit my job. In some ways it’s the life I spent years dreaming of, and in some ways, it’s been very different.

Lunch in Costa Rica

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Weather Arbitrage – Snowbirding in Costa Rica

When winter comes, it’s great having a break from mowing the lawn and tending the garden. I’m even learning to enjoy the cold – surfing the Northeast into October and cold-conditioning with dips in our pool until I can’t get through the ice. While all the cold training makes me feel tough as a polar bear, the short cloudy days can leave me a sad bear. One of the things that excited me most about early retirement was the prospect of escaping these down days to chase an endless summer.

Trading -10F for 90F

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Geoarbitrage – Retire Early in Belize, Central America?

We’re always in search of geoarbitrage opportunities around the world. Many of our vacations are planned around exploring locations that offer awesome food, activities, weather, and natural beauty at bargain prices. We’ve already investigated retirement destinations in Costa Rica and Spain, so we jumped on an opportunity to fly to Belize for free. I was surprised that many  people we ran into were already retired in Belize or planning to move there.

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Loving the Local Life in Vermont

One of the things I love about traveling is the chance to enjoy mountains, rivers, forests, and cities that other people call home. In seeing how other people live, I also come to appreciate our own little backyard on this vast planet. While we search the globe for new adventures, there are also cities I haven’t visited, and trails I haven’t hiked all within a few hours of home. Since our Spain trip, I’ve been happy staying home gardening and tinkering. Instead of another long adventure, we opted to close out the summer with a short road trip to a part of Vermont we hadn’t seen.

Fresh mountain air

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Checking Out a Retirement Destination – Catalonia, Spain

Boasting a Mediterranean climate, delicious tapas, afternoon siestas, and a cheap cost of living, Spain has long been on our list of destinations. After years of waiting, we found an opportunity to go for free by travel hacking. After flying into Barcelona, we rented a car and spent 16 days exploring the beaches, cities, vineyards, and mountains of Catalonia. What we found was a premium lifestyle at bargain prices.

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How We Went to Europe for Free

In 2016, travel was one of our biggest expenses. Every few months, we get a hankering to see new things and taste different cultures. For us it’s worth it because we always return from our adventures with new perspectives, recipes, and ideas. I thought our travels would be limited after I gave up my cushy salary, but thanks to travel hacking, we’ve been going on more trips than ever. Over the past year, we’ve travel hacked close to $10,000 in flights and accommodations. Just recently, we flew to Barcelona and road tripped around Catalonia – our flights and accommodations were all free.

Cruising though the Pyrenees in Catalonia, Spain

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Our Free Adventures in Jamaica

If I ever was on an airplane that had lost both engines, I’d want to go down in the warm blue waters of the Caribbean. Maybe I could get some snorkeling in while waiting for the rescue boats. The airport at Montego Bay has a beach side airstrip. One minute it looks like you are going to land in the ocean, and a moment later you touch down on the beach. We had to deplane at the gate rather than evacuating straight into the Caribbean, but I was eager to don my board shorts and start enjoying some sun, surf, and sand.

I love the warm blue waters of the Caribbean

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