Work in Progress

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”

– Lao Tzu

People often ask how we finance a trip like this. There is a simple answer to that: we work. We are not rich, and we did not spend years living frugally so we could one day travel Europe.

On the upside, we did start a translation business (C-TT) seven years ago which allows us to be location independent. This does mean, however, that sometimes we have no work on and sometimes we are completely swamped. The latter is what happened over Easter. We spent most of the weekend cooped up in the camper, working. This is the first time this happened during our trip and I am happy to say that the only effect it had on us was that we slowed down. We simply travelled less and spent more than one night at a location with a good network signal.

We know that if we work from morning to night one day, we might only have to work an hour or two the next day. There is only one must: the dogs get one long walk (an hour or more) every day—in addition to the rest of their walks. When we are busy with work, it is good for us as well, as it gets us out of the camper for a good stint and we get to enjoy our surroundings in person and not just from behind a camper window.

Over Easter, it got so busy that we introduced another rule: no laptop work after 9 p.m. We need to relax on busy days as well. This does mean that some of my writing is done with old fashioned pen on paper because no laptop means no blog typing either. Basically, it means no screen time. Only e-readers are permitted and if we feel like it and have enough power, we treat ourselves to a series or film.

We are used to this pace of work. Over the years we have learned to make the most of days with little or no work and that weekends and planned time off do not exist. The only difference is that we are living life in a camper and we want to be outdoors more because there is so much to explore. The pace of our trip will largely be based on the amount of work we have and we are fine with that. Travelling while working also means we have no budget-induced deadline. If, after 1.5 years, we still enjoy the lifestyle and we are not yet finished with this trip (or each other), we can always decide to continue!

If you can’t get enough of our stories, you can find the rest here. If you want to get to know us better or simply want more of a backstory, click here.

People often ask how we finance a trip like this. There is a simple answer to that: we work. We are not rich, and we did not spend years living frugally so we could one day travel Europe.

On the upside, we did start a translation business (C-TT) seven years ago which allows us to be location independent. This does mean, however, that sometimes we have no work on and sometimes we are completely swamped. The latter is what happened over Easter. We spent most of the weekend cooped up in the camper, working. This is the first time this happened during our trip and I am happy to say that the only effect it had on us was that we slowed down. We simply travelled less and spent more than one night at a location with a good network signal.

We know that if we work from morning to night one day, we might only have to work an hour or two the next day. There is only one must: the dogs get one long walk (an hour or more) every day—in addition to the rest of their walks. When we are busy with work, it is good for us as well, as it gets us out of the camper for a good stint and we get to enjoy our surroundings in person and not just from behind a camper window.

Over Easter it got so busy that we introduced another rule: no laptop work after 9 p.m. We need to relax on busy days as well. This does mean that some of my writing is done with old fashioned pen on paper, because no laptop means no blog typing either. Basically, it means no screen time. Only e-readers are permitted and if we feel like it and have enough power, we treat ourselves to a series or film.

We are used to this pace of work. Over the years we have learned to make the most of days with little or no work and that weekends and planned time off do not exist. The only difference is that we are living life in a camper and we want to be outdoors more because there is so much to explore. The pace of our trip will largely be based on the amount of work we have and we are fine with that. Travelling while working also means we have no budget-induced deadline. If, after 1.5 years, we still enjoy the lifestyle and are not yet finished with this trip (or each other), we can always decide to continue!

2 Comments

  1. Anita

    That’s the spirit! Mooi dat julie zo’n baan hebben, de mijne zou een beetje lastig zijn, lab-aanhanger bouwen, maar dan nog 🤣. Ik moet persoonlijk niet denken aan werk met alleen maar een scherm. Fijn dat het bij jullie goed gaat!

    Reply
    • Anne

      Wij doen liever ook geen schermstaarwerk hoor, maar het doel heiligt de middelen in dit geval! 😉
      Labwerk in een camper kan heel goed, als bewezen in Breaking Bad…hahaha

      Reply

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