Last updated on May 3rd, 2018 at 04:06 am

 

By now, I am sure you have some travel related questions about Mr. K and me. Here is a bit about ourselves where I hope to shed some light on our chosen lifestyle.

This post is about how and why we travel, what we find important and many other aspects. So many people asked very similar questions. Thank you for the inspiration and asking. 🙂

03 what we do for a living

Where are we from?

Mr. K is originally from Almaty, Kazakhstan and I am from Moscow, Russia. We both lived in our respective countries until we were teens and then moved to Canada. We call ourselves Russian-Canadian.

How did we meet?

In a basement of Mr.K’s duplex through a friend. I came to his shared house because my computer broke. It was right before St. Patrick day in Montreal, Canada. It was a beautiful sunny and warm Sunday afternoon that we spent in his basement trying to fix my laptop for 16 hours.

After that, I knew he was a keeper. I also brought donuts with me and, after three hours of work, offered to make tea. That is how he knew I was a keeper. 🙂

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What do you do for a living?

Mr. K is a software developer, and his work depends on an internet connection. As for me, before having a blog to work on, I used to work as an interior designer.

I was involved in both commercial and residential projects in a firm in Montreal. I also provide marketing and brand consultancy to Mr.K’s several companies.

How can you afford stuff?

Many people assume that if you get to travel, then it means you are rich. To that, I often answer that it all depends on your priorities in life and spending. We can afford our lifestyle because we do not have any debts, loans, or outstanding interests.

Also, there are no car payments, mortgage, kids, or any other payments except for rent and everyday expenses like food and entertainment.

A monthly budget helps us to save and keeps us on track of our spending. Maintaining a budget contributes to determining how “rich” we are in a particular country. It shows us how long we can stay there.

For example, in Australia, we could afford to go out to a modest place once a week, while in Taiwan, another first world country, we could go to a good quality restaurant every day.

01 how did we meet

How do you travel? What do you use?

We prefer planes and high-speed rail for transport. We do use cars only when local infrastructure does not permit walking or taking public transit. We own one backpack and three suitcases. Recently I have downsized to two bags for the three of us. 🙂 Now it is one big one and one carryon size one. That’s it!

I have one purse for going out and one that carries everything when we are on the move. I am going to publish my packing tips in a separate post.

How long do you stay per country?

Recently, we have decided to stay, if possible, at least three months at a time per country. The longer we stay, the more time we have to assimilate and learn about a local life.

Extended stays give an in-depth view on nation’s culture and values. Furthermore, long periods do not disrupt our work schedule, workout routine, and sleep pattern.

Where do you stay?

We prefer to rent apartments in a nice residential area next to a park or a quiet street. I prefer apartments because I like to cook and it gives me freedom to do so.

It is a lot cheaper and bigger than renting a hotel room. There is a sense of privacy and freedom at the same time. You just cannot put a price on that!


Check out my recent posts about my favorite place in the whole world here!


Do you have a routine? What is it?

Travel lifestyle is hard on a body and sometimes spirit. To stay upbeat and healthy our routine is about work first and leisure second. It is very close to a regular people schedule.


Read my recent post about “How to avoid a travel burnout?” here


Yes, we do have the freedom to just not to do anything. Our day consists of mainly work, then going to the gym, and house chores. When we have free time, it is then we go sight seeing. If the time is up, we have to leave, and there was a missed opportunity, it is possible that we will come back to it.

When/Are you planning to settle down?

This question also partially answers why we chose to travel.

We started moving because being in one place was daunting for us. In our minds, we could not understand how a person can live all his or her life without knowing what is out there?

How do we know that this is the best place to live? We started traveling because we wanted to see the world (I know it does sound a bit cheesy). There are so many countries we haven’t been to that we are in no rush to settle.

No, I do not think we will ever settle down entirely. If we do, it is going to happen when we have children. Even then, I believe that we will continue to travel. Some people find happiness in having the American dream; we find joy from learning different cultures and taking a walk in a park in a different country every three months.


Read my guest post “The truth about traveling with a baby” here.


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When are you going to have kids?

Though it is a personal question, it does occur quite often.

Mr. K and I got married initially to have a family. Having a child is a natural step towards our family. However, it is not the ultimate goal. If you decided to have kids earlier, it is your choice. For us, it is going to happen later. When?


Update: Just celebrated our first year as a family with my son. 🙂


Imma_and_IThose were the most popular questions. Hope this post was insightful and that it gave you a glimpse of who we are. It turned out more than 1000 words!


Read the second part to other popular questions about buying a foreign property, travel wardrobe, and how do we spend our time here!


Do You have a question that you did not see an answer to? Please feel free to ask away! If you enjoyed this post please give it the “Thumbs Up”

Author

Always improving one's surroundings.

5 Comments

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