Hey there! What’s crackin’? I just posted the below on our About page, but I figured it’d make a good first post as well. Right then…
We are Ang and Ryan. We’re a couple – with crazy little dog named Louis in tow – who love to travel the world, live different places, get to know people and new cultures, learn languages, and do lots of sitting in cafes. Not that we don’t work or anything. Fortunately for us, we’ve put ourselves in a position to be location independent, and it just so happens that it’s also the way we prefer to live.
It all started when we were young, traveling around, learning languages (collectively, we speak English, French, German, some Spanish, and a smattering of many others), and being utterly fascinated by everything that it entails. As kids, toys were replaced by language books; and thanks to our parents, the World Book Encyclopedia, various subjects of the Time Life series, and massive collections of National Geographic all became indispensable reading. We’ve traveled all over, as much as we could, and eventually left our home in Chicago to become expats in Berlin, Germany.
We have loved Berlin, loved (and hated) learning the language, and loved becoming part of the wonderful city that it is. Now that 2012 is upon us, certain changes we made to our lifestyle and the way we run our business has allowed us to become location independent. Beginning late in the summer, we will become nomads, living wherever we see fit, taking life and travel slow, and enjoying being in all the new places that we’ll find.
Europe? Africa? Asia? South America? We’re not sure yet, but everything is on our list! If you have a suggestion as to where we go next, feel free to contact us here, leave a comment, or visit us on our Facebook page. We love meeting new people and exploring new places, so don’t hesitate to give us a shout!
Oh, and why “Jets Like Taxis”? We have always loved to travel, and one of our friends once said, “We take jets like taxis.” That’s not exactly true, but it was a great statement that we thought was fitting, even if we don’t live the high-class, jet-set lifestyle. We’ve had the domain forever, and figured now would be a great time to use it. Right? Sure, why not. Time to actually write something about all of our (mis)adventures!
It shall continue being a wild ride, and we look forward to every minute of it…
Yours from the road,
Ang, Ryan & Louis
We couldn’t be more excited for you about this next adventure, if a bit parent-apprehensive (I guess that’s normal!). If any two people can do this successfully, it’s you! I love the blog and will read it avidly. As two people who have moved and travelled quite a bit ourselves, our best advice (for anyone listening) is to always respect the people and culture your visiting and to make friends wherever you go. We’ve known too many people who had the attitude, “We’re only going to be here for awhile, so why make friends?” and have missed out on some of the best experiences of life. Go for it, Rye and Ang! We love and support you all the way!
Of course, Mom is first to comment! Thanks for everything, we’d never have gotten this far if it weren’t for y’all. We look forward to having you visit us in all sorts of places.
2 years. That all I got to say.
That would – I mean, will – rock. Ang said H will read it and be like, “Two years? What’s this two years? What’s happening in two years, Ben?!” Haha.
It’s a pretty wicked ride :) I’ve loved every minute of it so far for the past 4.5 years. Not sure where you have a plan in mind for, but I know I’ll be heading back to Eastern Europe some day…as much as I love Latin America, there’s just so much I loved about my time in Bulgaria and the regions surrounding.
Mediterranean region is also just amazing…I’ve been to separate sections but I think in the next 3 to 5 years I’m going to put together an excursion and go on a backpacking trek along the coastline for a few months.
Gaaaah, so much to see, so little time :)
Thanks for the comment! Your site helped lead us on this path, even though the timing was quite a bit sooner than we thought.
I’m honestly not sure where we’re going to be yet, a lot of it will depend on our visa situation. We’ve got a 2-year in here, but once our plans/changes are announced, I have a feeling they’ll pull the plug on that. Which of course means we’ll have to be out of Schengen for 90 before we can come back. I hate the 90/90 rule, or more so, I hate that one such rule can cover such a wide region.
I’ve spent time all over Europe, Argentina, and Mexico, and I love all those places. Of course, there are plenty of new places we’d like to stay on the ‘slow travel’ train for 3-6-12 months at a time. You’re not the only person who’s raved about Bulgaria, and I’d definitely like to see what’s going on there. If we have to leave the EU for a bit, we were thinking maybe Tunisia or somewhere relatively close, before we make a big jump to Asia or Latin America. We’ve also got a friend in Turkey we should visit.
A trek along the Mediterranean coast sounds incredible as well. From Spain all the way to Greece, nearly every inch of that is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. I was looking at flats in Montenegro last night and I almost had a heart attack from the scenery.
Suggestions are always welcome, and we’ll have to narrow it down over the next few months. Good times through chaos!
Glad I could help.
I don’t know if you follow his blog (http://www.wanderingearl.com), but he just spent some time in one of my favorite mountain resorts in Bulgaria a few weeks ago and is heading back to the country to spend more time there after he fell in love with the countryside. He’s been doing this for like 12 years now, so far beyond my level, but I only discovered his blog about a year ago. Another good place to find travel ideas/people to network with.
Croatia is another country you should look into, especially if you dig campgrounds. There are so many coastal regions that are packed with campgrounds where you can rent bungalows on the beach with Internet and grill and AC and fully-kitted out…for 400-500 Euro per month. Super cheap, and it’s like there you are…with nothing but the beach, forest and little cities dotting the coast.
I’m pretty content in Latin America right now, but I have a pretty solid business plan for expansion that won’t likely be finished until 2016/17. After that, I think I’ll be heading back to the Mediterranean, or at least Bulgaria to look into buying a small farm/vineyard near Burgas. I may take the aforementioned hiking trip before then.
I’m also toying with the idea of putting together a group adventure with half a dozen or so digital nomads, but a lot of stuff is hinging on my secondary plan at the moment. I should know more by the middle of June.
No doubt. One thing we were talking about that we love regarding this community is how most of the people are so helpful and willing to talk about their experiences. In so many areas, it’s about hiding your “advantages” and seemingly not wanting others to succeed. We figure people in the location independent arena are a bit more open because they’re actually happy, instead of sitting in some life-sucking cubicle somewhere and hating on everyone. Not to say that location independent folks are always willing to share their business secrets or anything, but I’d consider that a different animal from the life on the road, living the way we should be mindset, which everyone seems to love to share and be communal about.
I’m definitely interested in Croatia, and I’ve always wanted to get there. I looked up some bungalows like you mentioned, but if you can or want to email me any specific places to look, I’m all ears. Most of the places I find are for UK vacationers in UK prices; not exactly our market.
Thanks for Earl’s link. I’ve already been reading his blog (found through the myriad of sites, same as I found you); he’s great and he certainly takes this whole lifestyle to the next level.
Some day, I’m also going to privately query you about the, ahem, “security situation” in Mexico. I’ve read some of what you’ve written about the hype and all that, but there are still some intense things going on. Never once had a problem on our trips to Mexico and everyone was great with us (spent time in Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos, and DF, most recently in 2010), but I’m also not trying to become collateral damage haha.
Good times!
Depends on where you are in Mexico. North is absolutely dangerous, along the border with the U.S. Even my Mexican friends say don’t go there. But here in Cancun? They protect their baby like nothing else because this place is a HUGE cash cow. However, I have a LOT of friends here in the city who have lived all over Mexico, from all walks of life and all different countries, and they all tell me the same thing; stay away from Chihuahua and the north and you are fine. Pretty much most of Mexico is safe, as long as you aren’t walking around with $5,000 worth of gear on you, and even then they will just rob you, not kill you. And the drug cartels are NOT worried about nomads/expats/tourists; they are only killing each other, and unless you happen to be unlucky enough to be collateral damage in a bar bomb (which mostly only happen up North), you will never know you left suburbia while living in Mexico.
Everything outside of there is completely safe. I’m sure you’ve seen the numbers talked about in the book (not sure if you read 30 Ways in 30 Days or The Expat Guidebook), but like….Cancun has a 2 in 100,000 murder rate, compared to 31.4 in 100,000 in Washington D.C. Mexico City is the same as New York City; 8 in 100,000. Those numbers are as of 2010. However, random pick-pocketing and mugging are still a threat…just as they are in ANY city of the world.
Then again, there’s also Mexico and then there’s Mexico. The vast majority of intelligent, educated Mexicans realize that most Americans are not filthy rich; they understand how dire the economic state is, and they realize that most people living here as expats aren’t filthy rich, but just regular, normal people. And as long as you make an effort to speak Spanish and communicate on a basic level, they will accept you and you will blend in. Most Mexicans couldn’t give a rat’s behind where you come from; they are a genuinely gracious people. There’s also a dark underbelly to that in the sense that they’ve been viewed as America’s janitors and gardeners for so long that there is a sense of buried pride that has been nearly stamped out by years of overwork and pitiful wages, but it’s getting better.
You’ll still find people in this vein (digital nomads) who view everyone else as competition and thus refuse to work/play well with others. Personally, I don’t believe in non-mutually-beneficial arrangements, and I’m a huge proponent of affiliate programs and working relationships. With that being said, ,I’ve met plenty of LIP people who aren’t; there have been a few I’ve actually stopped following after it become evident they weren’t going to become allies/partners/co-travelers because they were still stuck in the “Well you are selling something similar to what I’m selling, thus you are my competition and I don’t want to work with you for fear of you robbing my sales”. Or you’ll come across those who only want to focus on their own things and kind of shut out anyone they view as competition.
I prefer the “everyone work together for maximum profit” type of guy, because 50% of something (partnership) is better than 100% of nothing (working solo).
Let me check my notes. I think I still have a backlist of Croatian campgrounds somewhere, but it may be lost. No promises lol.
Puerto is nice…we go there for weekends to just relax, get away from the tourist crowds. Playa really isn’t my thing; it’s a carbon copy of Cancun, just with a more European feel, which is actually kind of nice, but since it’s a copy of Cancun I don’t really have a reason to go there unless friends want the beach. But Puerto is easily my favorite relaxation spot close to where I live…just a quick 30 min collectivo and bam…blissful relaxation, heheheh.
Ryan and Ang,
How exciting to read about your forth-coming adventures! You’ve certainly chosen places I’ve never thought about visiting: Croatia, Bulgaria, Uruguay (which you mentioned on the phone). But then that makes it all the more interesting for Mom and me! Enjoy this new-found freedom, plan well, and lean into the future. Love, Dad
Thanks, Pop! There’s a lot out there to see, and just because it’s not on the cover of the travel section every week, doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out. :) Thanks for the inspiration; we look forward to seeing you in some interesting places.
Found the old brief. The website is http://www.camping-adriatic.com. You can find prices ranging from 5 Euro per night all the way up to 30 Euro per night, depending on how luxurious you want your accommodations. Run-of-the-mill is about 15 Euro per day. That’s about €450 per month or about $600 per month, give or take depending on the exchange rate.
Their website has dozens of campgrounds listed all across Croatia. They also have a lot of nudist colonies there as well, if you are into that type of thing.
Premium packages run about 60 Euro per day to rent the whole house/bungalows if you want the full package, so that can get a bit expensive, but it all depends on your personal needs for luxury.
I guess our other thread got too long; I can’t reply to your last message. Anyway…I do remember what you wrote in your ebook about the crime rates and such. Negative situations can happen anywhere, no doubt about that. I’m from Chicago, so I’ve had plenty of experience with it. That doesn’t mean I’m not occasionally apprehensive about the goings on in Mexico, though.
That is, of course, not to say I haven’t spent some time there. I love it: the people, the culture, the food, the scenery, the history – it’s all amazing. I think you may have inspired me to write a post about our trip to Puerto Morelos and such. Regarding Playa del Carmen, I will stand up for myself and say we stayed off the tourist reservation ha. Hopefully I’ll get myself to do that blog post.
Thanks for the Croatia info. Those sites look very interesting, and they seem to book up pretty fast. (One place I just checked was only available for one day in a two-month period. Whoa.) I’m going to investigate it more and see what I can come up with. I did find some bungalows before that were in the same price range you mentioned. The setup was pretty incredible. I’m not unwilling to go to a UK holidaymaker-oriented place, but you know…If I’m going to Croatia, it’d be nice to actually be around Croatians haha.
Thanks again, your advice is indispensable.
Croatia is unbelievably popular as a vacation destination for people in Eastern Europe, so yeah…they book up fast. My ex-mother-in-law used to go at least twice a year with business partners for weekend getaways.
There’s some good deals on that site, with cabins as low as 11 Euro per day.
My favorite was one of those campgrounds we stayed at just outside of Rome for a few nights. It was 5 Euro a night (without Internet) for a cabin with AC, fridge, bed, hot water, full shower/bathroom, so 10 Euro for 2 people. Was a 15 minute bus ride away from the last subway station in Rome on our side, then another 10 minutes or so to centro, but it sure beat paying 100 Euro per night or more on cramped, dingy quarters in Rome itself. More money for spending on fun stuff =P
Yeah, Croatia is a bit chaotic with all the UK holidaymakers and whatnot. But, I know there are still places that are quieter, and I’d love to visit in the off-season (thinking September and later).
I think I read about the Rome campground in your e-book, no? I know I’ve read that story somewhere. It’s funny you say that, because I’ve always been the type of person who wants to stay at least vaguely close to where the center is. The problem with doing so is that, unless you know the area really well, you’ll end up not seeing or ever learning about the ‘real’ city, outside of the main sights and hordes of tourists.
A lot of the time, we’d stay in places that weren’t directly in the center, but could certainly be walked to in 10-15 minutes from there. (E.g. in DF or BsAs we stayed in somewhat ‘hip’ – but not-so-touristy – neighborhoods, and in certain cities we just stay wherever we want if we already know the city quite well.) It has never really occurred to me to stay so far out like that, though.
Then again, things are changing quite a bit for us – we’ll be able to stay in whatever city we want, and simply leave if it’s not our thing. And since we’ll be very minimal and baselining quite a bit, I won’t have any intention of staying smack dab in the center of any city.
Still trying to zero in on the first stop. We’ve got about 90 days left here in Berlin as we gave our apartment notice yesterday. (3 months’ notice is required on leases here.) So…where will it be? Still figuring that one out.
I mentioned the campground in one of the books, yeah; can’t remember if it’s 30 Ways in 30 Days or in The Expat Guidebook. Prices have gone up a bit since then; I think it’s like 9 Euro per person per day now, but still super cheap.
90 days is plenty of time to figure something out. Easiest thing to do would be head to a country that has a minimum three month passport stay allowed, give yourself a few months on the ground to see if you like it, and if you do you can apply for an extension/renter’s visa. That’s why I loved Mexico to begin with, because I could stay here for 6 months without needing a visa. And all you need for proof of income is about $1,000 a month. Bulgaria is even less than that for a renter’s visa, and while you used to be able to stay for longer, once they joined the EU they tightened up immigration a bit, so now you can only do 90 days if you are U.S. It’s longer if you are a EU citizen/resident.
Lot of places to choose from in the world. Best part about this lifestyle is you don’t have to make a choice :) Just pick one and go and then try something else on for size until you find something that fits :)
Maybe you should find out which was which in the books, and then we’ll know what we should buy first. Ha.
Regarding visas, it’s always (not) fun being a U.S. citizen. Schengen killed a lot of what was awesome about roaming around Europe back in the day. The whole 90 in/90 out thing. However, my latest thoughts about the Balkans (Montenegro in particular) and Bulgaria have led me to do a bit more research outside of the standard ‘google something and read vague and often incorrect info on a travel site.’ I *think* I figured out how it works for U.S. folks on the entire continent, both in and out of the Schengen Area. I might do a blog post about it, seeing as how most other blogs or travel sites have out of date or mildly incorrect information. This also leads me to the peculiarity of Bulgaria, which I will touch on, or we can email about, as it is EU but is *not* Schengen.
I agree about Mexico, too. It’s lovely that they give you six months and don’t think for a second that it hasn’t already taken a special place in the storage locker of my brain.
You are right, though. It’s best to just pick somewhere and do it. And we should, instead of looking at 10 countries and trying to find the best option. Focus will give us more, um, focus and actually let us plan something. The only caveat is our visa situation here. As I said before, we have two-year residency visas in Germany. Once we make our business changes here, they will most likely axe those, and one cannot stay for 90 days of travel in Schengen just after a residency permit expires. (You can apply for a 90-day extension that can be used for travel in Schengen, but that’s a whole other bag of worms.)
But, given that the Balkans and Bulgaria and a few other countries aren’t part of that, we should probably just pick one of those to be safe, and worry about the rest later. I’m kind of partial to the mindset of starting closer (Europe, North Africa, Turkey, whatever) and branching out to farther distances as we get into the groove; as opposed to just up and going from Germany to Argentina or Mexico or Thailand or whatever.
Thoughts for the day. And thanks again for all your insight; I am definitely enjoying (and learning from) our discussions.
Devlin put me on this blog. Glad to see you’re doing what you’re doing Ryan. Inspiring. I always wanted to create a business that allowed me to be wherever I wanted to be.
Caught the bug when I closed a deal on a battle ship on Hawaii.
I’ll be following this blog weekly.
Heyo! Nice to hear from you, man. Thanks for the kind words as well. As for location-independence, it can be done in more ways than one, even with what you do. It just takes a whole lot of determination and a ton of work haha. I hope you and the fam are well!