All tagged Lessons Learned
How to make a cheap alternative to store bought packing cubes by making your own DIY Travel Packing Cubes (and reinforcing them if needed), no sewing required! Plus, see our review and what’s worked best after nearly six years of long-term travel as digital nomads across four continents, 26 countries and 100+ cities!
There was a time when we thought getting a house sitting job would consist a lot on luck. So, it’s incredible to think that we’ve been house sitting for three years and have completed nearly 60 house sits! But, if you’ve read parts one through six of our Ultimate House Sitting Guide series, then you know that it actually does take effort and work to not only get a house sit but also fulfill the responsibilities and complete the house sitting job.
Now that we’ve shared our tips and tricks for everything house sitting, we thought there’d be no better way to complete this guide than with a few of our favorite house sitting experiences, challenges, and lessons learned/takeaways.
It’s hard to believe that Screw The Average is over two years old! It’s been and will continue to be a place where we share our journey. A journey to pursuing financially independent, retire early (FI/RE), becoming digital nomads, house sitting full time, and travel hacking adventures. And of course, it’s not just rainbows and butterflies, so Screw The Average is also a place where we share our mistakes and lessons learned.
We’ve learned a lot in the past couple of years, but seeing as how life is a continual path of learning and growth, we’re looking forward to the future!
A stop in our hometown led to a lesson learned... We’d just returned from flying around the world but we realized that we’d never really seen our hometown. This realization was a huge reminder to us to try and look at our surroundings with fresh eyes. What seems ordinary to you may be extraordinary to a tourist, so why not take a staycation and see your hometown through the eyes of a tourist?!
There’s more to long-term travel than simply finding the perfect gear and taking off. A solid, well planned foundation can avoid or mitigate many problems that could arise while living life on the road as a digital nomad, long-term traveler, or full-time house sitter.
After a year of continuous travel abroad, with just each other and our backpacks, we’ve completed what we originally set out to do!
Our first podcast appearance was on Sean and Kevin’s 2 Frugal Dudes Podcast. They made the experience super enjoyable and fun, and we had a great time talking about F/IRE (Financially Independent, Retire Early), travel, house sitting, miles and points, and much more!
Elite hotel status and its perks seem like a dream come true for frequent travelers, long-term travelers, and digital nomads. However, in practice you may not get all of the amenities, upgrades, and perks you may expect. Here's how we get the most of our elite hotel status using these tips, tricks, and hacks!
Two of the things we hold in high regard are family and elders. Our elders are the ones that are always there for us and the ones that have been there before us. They’re to be honored, respected, and listened to.
If you’re traveling for more than a few months you’ll find yourself needing a haircut along the way, unless you know how to cut your own hair of course. Furthermore, if you’re a digital nomad and long-term traveler like us, you’ll find yourself needing haircuts in cities all over the world.
Shannon’s biggest fear was getting on a plane with an ear infection and she dreaded the pain she thought she’d experience. Unfortunately, by the time we boarded the plane bound to Athens, Greece her ear was still not healed and she had to face her fears.
Athens has made it easy, offering a Combined Ticket, which includes access to seven ruin sites, including the must see Acropolis. The best parts are that the combined ticket can save you money, time waiting in line, and it’s good for five full days!
In general, we try to be incredibly careful when it comes to our health, but especially when we’re traveling long term. First, because a cold, flu, or injury could ruin the best of days. Secondly, because we’re traveling internationally and medical care depending on the country (language, laws, cost, etc.), could be challenging to obtain.
Today was the big day; it was the day we’d be seeing the Giza Pyramids!
As soon as we stepped off the plane in Cairo, you could argue that our experience of Cairo had begun. We immediately felt we were in a new place; the people, the culture, and the history of Cairo are so different from the other places we’ve been to in our current travels.
We were finishing up work, washing clothes, and packing everything in our backpacks. It was time to check into our flight for the next day....
Just because we were leaving behind the stresses of home and achieving a goal we’ve worked towards for years, didn’t mean that life would suddenly be easy and smooth sailing. On the contrary, life is now full of new challenges, ones we haven’t faced together before.
We put a lot of time and consideration into what we’d pack in our ‘onebag’ for our yearlong trip across Europe.... So, after five months in Europe, we can’t help but ask, “How’d we do?”
We pride ourselves in being able to take on most physical activities at a moments notice. This by no means, means that we do the activity at the highest caliber or that we’re winning any competitions for speed or strength. We’re just in decent health and with good overall conditioning levels.
