10 lessons I learned the hard way as a nomad (part 2)

10 insights gained, and the evolution of vagabonding

Author

Kelsey Reaves
July 07, 2023

10 things I wish I'd known before becoming location-independent (part 2). Part 1 can be found here.

#6. Stick to a routine, rather than letting it slip away. Otherwise, you’ll start to go soft in the middle from treating yourself to too many chocolate croissants and your energy will be scattered. Wake up, meditate, stretch—do whatever it is in your morning to get you grounded and centered before starting your day.

#7. Only take advice from people who have actually been there. As soon as you mention your plans to visit a certain destination, you'll notice people inundating you with articles about missing tourists or safety concerns. However, these inputs aren't particularly helpful, as you likely had prior knowledge of such risks. Simply thank them and move on to getting credible information from nomad communities or close friends who have been there.

#8. Less stuff = more peace of mind. Laptop, charger, phone, wallet, passport, clean underwear. Those are pretty much the essentials. The rest you can get when you’re abroad. So don’t be hyper about packing everything for every hypothetical situation. You can acquire all other items while on the road, and often, at a more affordable price.

#9. Don’t be afraid of hostels. Growing out of taking questionable shots at hostel bar crawls doesn't mean disregarding hostels altogether. They can provide valuable information, with hostel-goers and staff offering better advice on where to go and what to see compared to guidebooks. Even if you don't stay at a hostel, simply having a coffee in their restaurant and striking up a conversation with the barista can give you an up-to-date pulse check on worthwhile activities.

#10. True wealth is time. You have to grab time, it’s not just given to you. And that’s the beauty of living this lifestyle—it empowers you to witness and partake in the experiences you've long desired. Therefore, if you’re not enjoying a certain city, move on to the next. Time is your most precious resource. Make sure you’re not wasting it.

Hey, this is Kelsey, founder of SiteSee. I’ll send an email like this every Friday where I’ll share my musings from my travels, the latest research undertaken by our travel writers, as well as recommendations for travel products, interesting podcasts, good reads, and more.

I read the book Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts in my senior year of college. It was during that period when I first incepted the idea that I could travel the world AND have a serious career.

For the longest time, I thought those were mutually exclusive.

On my drive back from California this week, I listened to this podcast episode Rolf did with Tim Ferriss about his new book, The Vagabond's Way: 366 Meditations on Wanderlust, Discovery, and the Art of Travel.

What I love most about their conversation is how they always come back to the idea that travel is inherently spiritual. It connects you to the now-ness of this moment.

And the beauty of travel is that you give your full attention to an experience. You’re not thinking about what your colleague meant in her email when you’re watching the sunset over the pagodas in Bagan, Myanmar. You’re in the moment. Drinking up every last ray of sunshine.

What a gift.

We took a philosophical approach to content this last week. Rather than focusing on product round-ups, we directed our attention toward the broader perspective:

Thanks so much for reading, and if you found something useful or interesting in this email, mind forwarding this newsletter to a friend (or having them subscribe here)?

Otherwise, thanks again and feel free to reply here. I open and respond to everything.

Onwards,

Kelsey