Funding the Adventurous Life
Hey guys, we’re back stateside (coronavirus free?) and I’m here to provide the final installment on our trip to Sicily. We’ve discussed the climbing, the lifestyle, and the food, but perhaps there’s a feeling of dismissiveness because it all seems too outlandishly expensive to go galavanting around in Europe. But is it?
Continue reading “Sicily, Part 3: Two People, Two Weeks, $1300.”
Alrighty then, welcome back to more spray-down about our trip in Sicily. If you missed last week, check out the little ditty on the beachside climbing mecca of San Vito Lo Capo. This post highlights the cities of Syracuse and Palermo, a stark contrast to the low-key coastal town we experienced in our first week.
Continue reading “A Winter in Sicily, Part 2: The Big City Life”
So last week I quit my job. And now we’re in Sicily. Greetings from the sunny Mediterranean! And sunny it is, a wonderful departure from the snowy and dark northern latitudes where our journey began. We find ourselves this first week in the small town of San Vito Lo Capo, living that peninsula life in northwestern Sicily.
Continue reading “A Winter in Sicily, Part 1: San Vito Lo Capo”
Raise your hand if you want to climb more but work seems to always take up so much time? This notion of balancing work and life is essentially the essence of what we do on this site, and there’s nobody better to discuss this intricate balance than elite-level climber and software engineer Mike Doyle.
Continue reading “Mike Doyle: A Remote-Controlled Climbing Life”
Hey you guys, it’s 2020, a new year! One of my favorite (past) pastimes is to begin each year with a plan for using all of my vacation. Studies, however, reveal that Americans are rarely capitalizing on the full gift of paid time to not work, and it’s costing us all big-time. The rippling effects go far beyond our own well-being and can affect society at large.
How much are we truly leaving on the table?
Continue reading “The Astonishing Cost of Unused Vacation”
Charles Sheldon lived over a century ago. There was no Twitter, no hashtags, no websites, and no “financial independence movement.” After a brief but lucrative career in the railroad and mining industries, Sheldon became a self-made millionaire in his 30s and retired at age 35. He used his newfound freedom to track down bighorn sheep and then, you know, became the “Father of Denali National Park.”
So, it begs the question: what would we do if we were given the gift of time?
Continue reading “Charles Sheldon: FIRE Before It Was Cool”
Do you ever pass on requesting vacation because you fear your work ethic will be called into question?
Do you avoid international travel because everything seems so different?
Are you convinced that crime is getting worse, so you should take more drastic measures to protect yourself and your family? Crime has in fact fallen sharply.
Above are just a few examples of how fear dictates our actions and inactions on a daily basis. Frankly, every week I fear that you, dear reader, won’t like what I write here. Boy, I sure hope you do. But are we letting our lives pass us by because we fear the unknown?
Continue reading “Fear: Here’s How It’s Holding You Back”
Now more than ever the parking lots at popular climbing areas across the country are being crowded by big boxy Sprinters and a variety of less-sexy creeper vans. As I’ve touched on before, the allure of climbing and other lifestyle sports is incredibly strong. The power to hit the road is so strong that climbers are increasingly dropping the creature comforts of modern building dwelling to pursue the mobile dream in the back of a van, a pull trailer, or sometimes even a Honda Civic. This, my friends, is Van Life.
At face value, assuming you think you can handle the obvious discomforts of a claustrophobic space in the dead of winter on a snowy day, the economic decision seems like an obvious win. Right?
Continue reading “Van Life: The Economics and Trade-0ffs”
We’ve just wrapped up a two-week stay in Europe, most of which was spent on Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands of Spain. As previously discussed, we jumped on what was essentially a free flight to Frankfurt, Germany, spending a night on either end of the trip there. We also leaned on our five key tips for saving money while traveling abroad. Shall we take a look at some pretty pictures and tally the final bill?
Continue reading “Mallorca: January Adventures and the Cost to Do It”
Traveling abroad is an adventure that everyone should experience at some point in their lives. And I’m not talking about an all-inclusive stay in Cabo, where you’re shuttled from the airport and kept within the confines of a protected resort. I mean going to a place and living amongst the locals for at least a couple of weeks, stumbling through a foreign language, and learning first-hand what it feels like to be a minority.
Continue reading “Traveling Abroad: You’re Paying Too Much”