I Don’t Think I Can Live Without… Think Again. How to Remove Suburbia Stuff and Travel.
Think you cannot live without cell phones, social media, Netflix, large screen TV’s, Costco, cars?
Think again!
These things are not necessities when you travel. They are a burden, which belongs in suburbia. Actually, most do not belong anywhere, we make them fit.
While we sailed and traveled the world, our carefully accumulated suburbia treasures had to go. Rip-the-Band-Aid-off style!
Here is what you do not need to travel, and what to do instead.
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How not to miss the shiny objects?
As you prepare to travel and leave life as you know it, focus on the reasons that brought you here in the first place – desire to be with your family, leave the rat race, or try something new.
Focus on the end-goal.
Do you see the “Suggested to Watch Next for You” in your dreams and goals?
Didn’t think so.
What is it that will make you smile when you open your eyes in the morning?
You are not alone
We are neither the first, nor the only family traveling full time, on a moderate-low budget.
Our choices have been made by others, before us, and will be made in the future, because they make sense and make traveling full-time possible!
8 Suburbia Must-have’s to Leave Behind
Everyone’s life is cluttered with things. Yours might be slightly different from ours. Since I always write about what we have done, I am offering our experience.
I have a feeling you will relate.
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1. High Health Insurance Premiums
You must have some sort of health insurance while living in the US. Some prefer not to, and while I understand their reasoning, I disagree.
Traveling to other countries can save you thousands on health insurance costs. Because other countries offer great health care, which is affordable.
Sure, we have been in some sketchy places, and have done some risky activities. I try to limit reckless fun, but I must also learn to let go.
What to do instead
Get travel insurance
It will cover you in any international destination. Safety Wing is a good option, check out their rates. They are very popular with digital nomads.
We carried travel insurance, while backpacking through Asia. South Korea and Japan are expensive destinations.
Switch to a health-share program
It is a good option while still in the US. The premiums are much smaller. And the self-pay rates are usually lower. It is what we currently have.
Drop insurance altogether
It is a popular choice, while traveling to cheap destinations. We did that as we sailed. The cost of healthcare in the Dominican Republic is a fraction compared to the US.
We still do all of our dental work in Bulgaria, for excellent care at a fraction of the cost. My tooth implant with all surrounding surgery and check-ups, was a total of less than $2000.
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2. Cars
When the car is gone, so is the need for car repairs, gas, car insurance, new tires and long commute!
We sold one car to a friend for $1. We sold our other car on Facebook. Joe’s business car disappeared along with his job.
While the US is designed for life on wheels, many other countries have a well-developed public transit system.
In fact, all the countries we have visited so far, including some remote island towns, have had a grocery shop within walking distance.
What to do instead
If traveling in the US, do what a couple of our friends did – buy a used car on Facebook and then sell it at the end of your stay. One of our friends actually made money on the sale.
Use public transit – having a car in Bulgaria is a burden. When we lived there, we found it much easier to use trains and buses.
Walk – as we sailed to various islands, we picked anchorages close to grocery stores, when in need of provisioning. Every country has them. Including the US.
Grab a comfortable bag to carry everything: 19 Best Boating Bags. Tips How to Use Them.
Find the local guy to rent a car. We rented a margarita in Luperon, Dominican Republic, to do some more laborious tasks. And we rented a car in Puerto Rico, just for a couple of days, to tour a jungle and buy groceries.
All of our posts on: Boat Life @ No Texting & Tacking.
3. Smart phones.
We have made a few questionable parental decisions along the way. Giving in to a shiny promotion for 5 lines and smart phones during the Christmas of 2019, was a mistake!
If you are wondering what suburbia stuff to start with – remove the smart phones first! We did. And gave our kids the chance to catch dinner and spot sharks instead.
During our full-time traveling lifestyle, limited finances were a true blessing – no money for cell phones.
What to do instead
We all had one cell phone with Google-fi. And we called it the family phone. Everyone had access to it. Want to chat with a friend? No problem.
The phone app on the phone, anyone?
During a recent visit to Bulgaria, while touring a small town, Sophie was a bit late to our meeting spot, after going off on her own. Once she came back, she shared that she had lost her way.
How did she find us? She asked someone on the street! Not being able to Googlemap yourself out of a wrong turn, forces you to be aware of your surroundings.
But don’t the kids need social interactions? No, not via social media!
Check out our post: How we Socialize the Kids on the Water
All of our posts on: Boat Life @ No Texting & Tacking.
4. Social Media
Once we removed the phones, certain social media accounts followed along.
No normal human brain is capable of sustaining the torture of counting likes and hearts 24/7. Even if you love math.
Don’t think about it, just get rid of it.
What to do instead.
Meet people where you are. You do not need to live parallel lives.
Make new friends, embrace the traveling community around you. Get together with live people. Allow your teen to gossip behind your back with real kids.
Our kids used Discord, while we had access to free internet. It helped them connect with friends around the world, who also live on sailboats and travel full time.
We had one family FB account, because it helped us find other boats with families, as well as traveling Worldschoolers.
Everyone in the family had access to our Facebook account and was welcome to contribute.
All of our posts on: Boat Life @ No Texting & Tacking.
5. Netflix
We did not have the internet to support Netflix, while we sailed. On land, we watch some shows through relatives’ accounts.
Here are subscriptions you should consider, if living on a sailboat: 11 Valuable Boating Subscriptions and Courses.
But watching movies and shows is fun, you do not want to give that up. Neither did we.
What to do Instead
One great benefit of not watching “Recommended for You”, is that we discovered some amazing old movies to see. The kids liked them too. With no special effects, good acting shines.
We swapped moves with other boaters as we sailed. Just like we swapped books, music and groceries.
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6. Large-screen TV
Honestly, I do like them. We saw lots of films, and family movie nights happened almost nightly aboard.
We briefly entertained the idea of fitting a large screen on the boat, but every time we measured it, it became an eye sore just imagining the space it would take.
What to do instead
Watch on a laptop. Or buy a small projector, and organize movie nights at various anchorages and marinas.
We did that, while living at a boat yard, in St. Augustine, fixing our catamaran. So much fun. I don’t think the kids even cared that much about the movie.
It was just an amazing night under the stars, in a boat yard.
All of our posts on: Boat Life @ No Texting & Tacking.
7. Walk-in closets
Let’s get something straight here – walk-in closets are just as useless in suburbia as they are anywhere else!
Wondering which outfit to pick takes up time and time is a far more precious resource than clothes!
I sense many might disagree with this point, but letting go of a full wardrobe is a must, if you wish to travel full time.
On the boat, Joey and I shared a closet, with room to spare! The five hangers to the right are my outfits. I only wear two of them.
What to do instead
It is much better to buy just a few high-quality items and go from there! The so-called Capsule Wardrobes are a fun family project.
What if you need something for a particular place, or climate? Buy it from a thrift shop and afterwards resell or donate it.
We always travel carry-on only. Sophie has a bit of a hard time with her piles of yarn, but we manage.
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8. Wedding gifts
Oh, my! How many times have you really used that crystal vase, or the huge picture frame, which does not go with anything else in your home?
Isn’t it worse to keep someone’s gift in a corner, collecting dust, rather than donate/sell it to someone else who will use it and love it?
No need to tell Aunt Adriana. She probably does not even remember what she gave you.
What to do instead
Just start!
Pick one thing you will give away today, just one! It is always a step in the right direction. Don’t sleep on it, and do not look back.
Cherish the memories you have with your loved ones, not the things.
All of our posts on: Boat Life @ No Texting & Tacking.
Your Homework
Clinging to things that make our lives easier is what we do. It is what I do.
So, here is an exercise for all of us.
- Write down 10 things that you want to cling to, because they make your life easier and convenient.
- Now write down 10 experiences you want to cling to, because they bring joy to your life (hint, include people here).
- If you remove a thing from the “life easier” list, does it directly impact any item on the joy list? If so, keep it. If not – get rid of it.
Have fun!
Love it! We just got rid of most social media too and it’s been such a positive change for us! Good job at looking for the positives! And awesome for the walking!
Thank you for commenting! Some close family and friends view this a doomed social experiment. It is not easy, but we have seen the alternative. I have to say, cutting out social media and free access to YouTube was quite easy, some resistance, as expected, but life goes on. The kids are finding plenty of other fun things to use their eyes for! It makes my life a bit tricky, as we try to include as many friends as we can find around ports! Covid certainly does not make things easy either!