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Speak a New Language With Confidence on Day 1

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How to Vagabond: Complete Guide to Long-Term World Travel

vagabond travel reddit

Most of us travel short-term. At most, a few months during the summer.But there's a different way to travel.It's travel that doesn't have a deadline, nor a specific agenda. It's called Vagabonding.

Vagabonding is about taking time from your normal life to explore overseas for an extended amount of time. It could be for half a year, a few years, or even a lifetime for those daring individuals. ‍

Enter Rolf Potts

The person who popularized Vagabonding is Rolf Potts, with his bestselling book Vagabonding.

Before writing his book, Rolf has reported from more than sixty countries around the world for some of the world's most recognized media outlets, including The New York Times, Slate.com, Sports Illustrated, and more.

Learn more about Rolf here .Today, his book Vagabonding is recognized as 'the bible' for all aspiring travellers, and is known to have inspired many travel influencers around the world, including Tim Ferriss and Matt Kepnes.

"In my view, if long-term travel and backpacking had a bible, this would be it."-Matt Kepnes, Founder of NomadicMatt.com ‍

Travel is Not a Wealthy Person's Sport

One of the biggest arguments (in our opinion) that Rolf makes in Vagabonding, is that travel does not have to be a wealthy person's sport. Nor is long-term travel meant to be a trend.

Thirty years ago, this may have been a different conversation. Information wasn't nearly as accessible, online communication tools didn't exist, and transportation wasn't as efficient, and therefore more expensive.

Today, the world is more connected than it has ever been. Most of us know how to speak a second language , we can speak to anyone in the world in seconds, and most importantly, the costs of travel have dropped significantly. ‍

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Some have gone as far to claim that anyone can travel the world with $50 USD a day. And there are even those building successful companies while traveling/living across the world, including Buffer, Wordpress, Toptal, and our company Rype. ‍

How to Get Started

Before we go any further, we should mention that this isn't meant to be a typical 'how-to' guide on Vagabonding. There is no 'specific' way to vagabond, since it's going to be a different experience for everyone, depending on your purpose of travel, length, and where you go.What we will provide are tips and guides to help you get started that we hope will be valuable, no matter where, when, or what you want to get out of your vagabonding experience. ‍

Financing your travels

This is probably the biggest hurdle that most aspiring vagabonders face. The lifestyle of vagabonding does not necessarily require more money than your regular lifestyle (depending on what your personal burn rate is). But needlessly to say, long-term travel requires money to support your day to day lifestyle.Here are just a few creative ways that have been tried and true.

  • Find an opportunity overseas: there's a few ways to go about this, whether it's getting transferred to an overseas office at your current job, or finding work overseas.
  • Start an online business or a 'muse' : making money online has never been more possible than today. You can start a website or mobile app for less than $100 , and run your entire company from your laptop. *Note: This is also how Rype runs its operations .
  • Rent out your current place: using AirBnB , craigslist, or other rental listing services, you can charge a premium price for short-term stays at your current place, while you are traveling overseas.With the right location, you'll be surprised how much you can make -- just make sure you have someone you trust to manage it for you.
  • Offer consulting: before we started Rype, this is how I personally funded my travels around South America by consulting companies in the US. The majority of the small funding to start Rype also came from this income source! Here's how I got 30 consulting offers in 30 days .
  • Teach a language : you could also teach a language that you already know, such as English or Spanish. There's no shortage of people who want to know how to speak a new language . ‍

rype-map

  • WWOOF (or other volunteer initiatives): which stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms is always looking for new volunteers to help out. In exchange for your labor, you'll get food and accommodations covered by the farm you're assigned to. ‍

Where to stay

  • AirBnB : The great thing about AirBnB is your ability to book places on-demand, with their feature Instant Booking. With over 34,000 cities around the world (at the time of this writing), you're sure to find a place to stay.

vagabond travel reddit

  • Couchsurfing : If you're seeking a free solution to accommodation, you can check out Couchsurfing. It's also a community of travellers, which enables you to meet and be hosted by like-minded individuals wherever you go.
  • Nomad List : As a digital nomad, finding places that are affordable, start-up friendly, with great internet are rare, but golden gems. This is a great place to start if you want to figure out where you want to stay. ‍

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Getting there

Once you've figured out how you're going to be financing your vagabond, and how you're going to get there, it's time to figure out how you're going to get there, in a budget-friendly way.

  • Spirit Airlines: Spirit Airlines is recognized as one of the cheapest airlines in the world. They offer a lot of upsells, which is how they generate a lot of their profits. It should also be noted that the airline flies only to select places around North America, Central America, and South America.
  • Flight Aggregators ( Kayak , Hipmunk , and Skyscanner ): Using flight aggregators are also a great way to find the cheapest or most convenient flight tickets in the market. Make sure you use Incognito mode if you're visiting any flight ticket websites, as they can often increase prices if they know that you're a return customer within a certain timeframe.* Hipmunk also has a useful feature called Price Graph, which shows you the price of your desired travel destination within the next 90 days. ‍

hipmunk

  • Visa requirements: CheapoAir’s tool is a great place to check if you need a visa to enter a new country ‍

Things to prepare

We'll skip over the basic necessities, such as your passport, phone, wallet, laptop, and other essentials.Here are key things you may want to pack to prepare for your long-term vagabond:

  • Ethernet cable : WiFi will not always work. Especially when you least suspect it!
  • Unlocked smartphone: This will allow you to buy a pay-as-you-go local SIM card, whenever you visit a new city. Unlocking your phone will only cost around $50-100, but it will be well worth it over time in terms of saving you money and time.
  • Kindle : There's only so many books you can carry with you. With Kindle, you can download as many books as you want, without taking up any more space.
  • Skype number : This is used as a secondary number in case something happens with my main phone. You can also use Skype to make international calls for a small charge, if you don't have international calling on your data plan. Highly useful.
  • USD dollars: The US currency is highly exchangeable, and is known to be a more stable currency to the outside world than other currencies.
  • Currency converter : Currency prices are always changing on a daily basis. Using a currency converter app can help you get the best exchange deal for your money.
  • Timezone converter
  • Notebooks/Journals: One of the best parts about long-term traveling is discovering new things that you didn't know about yourself, or uncovering great ideas when you least suspect it.
  • Portable stretch balls: Trust us, these will come in handy! Acuball is a portable one we suggest.
  • Ibuprofen: For any injuries, general pain, or headaches.
  • Copy of your passport: If there's anything to have another copy of when overseas, this is it.
  • Running shoes
  • Portal chargers & travel adapters ‍

Did we miss anything important? Share in the comments section for people to explore. ‍

Length of travel

There is no right answer for this. However, practically speaking, 3 months is an ideal timeline to shoot for if you want to live in several places while having enough time to enjoy your current city.This is because most places have a 90-day rule for tourists, where you have to leave the country and return if you want to stay for longer than 90 days.

Again, use CheapOAir's visa directory to check if you require a visa before visiting!Here are some reasons why ~3 months is the ideal amount of time to allocate for:

  • Constraints of a typical visa as a tourist (as mentioned)
  • Time to relax, explore, and focus without stressing yourself out:The advantage of vagabonding is your ability to live as if you're a local while in the mentality of a temporary visitor. You can be adventurous without rushing to complete everything on your must-see list.
  • Reduces cost:Having a longer term stay than just a week allows you to negotiate special terms on housing, cars, etc. ‍

Recognizing the downsides

It wouldn't be a complete guide on how to vagabond, without mentioning the downsides of long-term traveling. Like everything in life, the grass is greener on the other side, so it's important to know what you're sacrificing when you vagabond, such as:

  • Saying good-bye as often as you say hello
  • Maintaining friendships you meet while traveling or back at home
  • Sustaining love relationships you foster while traveling or back at home
  • Getting tired of traveling
  • Homesickness ‍

Ultimately, long-term travel takes a certain type of person to enjoy over time. And even those that fit the profile will likely get tired of the constant traveling, and it's useful to know this before you experience it. ‍

The Mindset

This is perhaps the most important part to nail down before you begin your vagabond experience.

Things will go wrong, especially when you least suspect it. Be focused enough to have a sustainable plan, but flexible enough to steer through the grey clouds of unexpected obstacles during vagabond experience.Long-term traveling can be one of the most amazing experiences anyone can have. You just have to develop the right mindset, and embrace the inevitable diversions along the way.

"As for the tourist-circuit, slowing your travels down will automatically lead you off the tourist trail. When you aren’t racing from 'attraction' to 'attraction,' you’ll quickly discover that the best experiences come from the diversions along the way."-Rolf Potts

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Speak with confidence on day 1.

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A Practical Guide to Vagabonding and Long Term Travel (Part 6): The Cost of Living on the Road

You’re doing it. You made the decision to travel long-term ; decided how much money you needed to get started; took care of all the pesky details ; geared up for the road ; and figured out your niche for earning money abroad . You’ve made it!

Vagabondish is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Read our disclosure .

Now we come full circle a bit, to touch upon the cost of living while you are on the road. If you weren’t sure of how much money to write in the various spending categories in your journal when you started , here are some practical tips to help you make sure you budget the right amounts and don’t go overboard.

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How Are You Paying for Things on the Road?

I’m a big fan of using my credit card for almost everything . So wherever I can and for a variety of reasons, I pay for things with plastic. However this isn’t always easy to do depending on where you go, especially if you are visiting small cultural markets or wayward towns and are hoping to get a bargain. For that, you’ll need cash.

I also must note that I am an extremely disciplined person, with the ability to spend within my means and pay off my credit card balance in full every month. If you can’t do this yourself, then do yourself a favor and leave the plastic at home .

Actually, sadly you can’t. You’ll need a credit card in many cases to book travel and accommodations, and will have to present your card at check-in to verify the purchase. But if you know yourself well enough to know that spending can be a problem with credit cards, then ask to have your credit limit reduced to an amount that won’t put you into a financial tailspin if you overspend, but will allow you to make travel arrangements as needed.

Managing Your Finances

Hopefully at this point in your vagabonding journey, you have automated your bills and are able to handle all your banking online with ease. With a simple internet connection once in a while, you can manage your finances without much ado.

  • Log on to your bank account at least every two weeks to check for strange activity and monitor your own transactions (eg: ATM withdrawals and associated exchange rates).
  • Transfer any excess balances in your bank account (if you are lucky enough to receive ongoing income electronically or have deposits made for you, for example with rental income to your high-interest savings account .
  • Pay your credit card on-time, if not early, every month. Be sure to monitor the exact charges to your card and keep an eye on the exchange rates in so doing.
  • Change your passwords regularly. And choose passwords with both letters (upper case and lower case) and numbers for higher security. When you enter passwords in public places, be sure to type in such a way that an onlooker can’t figure out what you’re typing.
  • If using a wireless connection on your laptop to do your banking, as soon as you are finished, disconnect the wireless internet option entirely, and shut down the computer, to prevent a hacker’s malicious intrusion on your accounts.

Food Expenses

Aside from accommodation and flights, food will be your biggest budget-eater while living the life of a vagabond, especially if you’re not careful.

It’s all too easy to get sucked into going to dinner with new friends and other travelers every day of the week. And with a round of beers bought here and there, all of a sudden you blew the budget for a week in just a night or two.

Recently, I went out for a “Taco Tuesday” special with a number of other travelers. It was a great deal for Hawaii: $2 beers, and $2.50 tacos. Most of the travelers managed to eat dinner prior and nurse a few beers over the course of the night, with maybe one taco ordered for good measure. Their bills: well under $10 each. But one traveler who hadn’t quite grasped the idea yet made the ultimate faux pas: he went overboard. $30 later, he was full of tacos and beer, but $30 lighter: an amount that could have paid for more than a night of accommodation or a week of healthy dinners made at the hostel.

Here are a few tips to help you keep your food expenses manageable:

  • Prepare your meals instead of eating out, and get creative . Not all budget meals have to consist of boiled pasta with salt & pepper.
  • You must make sure that you maintain your health on the road. There’s no point in being a vagabond if you are ill all the time. Make sure you get all the nutrients you need — all the food groups, please!
  • Carnivores: consider the life of an omnivore. My boyfriend was a devout carnivore before we started traveling. Meat (or fish) had to be a part of at least two meals a day in order to be considered a meal. In one of the places we ended up doing some work-trade , we were incredibly remote and eating meat regularly wasn’t possible. So, we bought dried beans and made batches of rice (or wheat berries, or pasta, or quinoa, or couscous) and beans that would last a few days. One night we’d use it as a base for a stir fry; another night it became Mexican; and another yet we tossed some Indian spices in there for a biryani to die for. Not only did he find the meals incredibly satisfying, but we saved tons of money and he lost 30 pounds of excess weight without even trying.

Accommodation

We touched on the concept of working in trade for accommodation already, and depending on the type of travel you wish to experience and where you want to go , there is no way to determine definitively how much money you’ll need. Your options include:

  • House or pet-sitting
  • Working in trade for accommodation
  • Hostels (often dormitory style lodging, where you sacrifice some privacy but pay much less and can cook in the kitchen facilities)
  • Hotels, resorts, bed & breakfasts
  • Camping (in many ways, camping can cost more than you think, with permits, food, and equipment; camp carefully and wisely)

Buying Stuff

You will be overwhelmingly motivated to buy stuff while you travel. No really. With a variety of different sights and smells dominating your senses, and a culture of materialism behind you, you’ll want to dress like the locals, buy their crafts and wares, and you will surely at some point try to justify that touristy little souvenir as something you’ll treasure for life, or maybe even get some use out of.

Beware of buying stuff you only need temporarily. It can kill a vagabond’s travel budget very quickly.

Or — you’ll convince yourself of all the things you need — absolutely need — to survive through the few months you are stationed in one place. You can sell it afterwards and recoup at least some of your money, right?

Guilty as charged: in Hawaii I got sucked into buying fishing gear, snorkels and masks and fins, and a variety of other items that would surely pay for themselves with usage and be entirely saleable when we leave. In some cases, we got some fair use out of what we bought. But in almost no instances were we able to resell what we bought and recover any money outlaid. Beware of buying stuff you only need temporarily. It can kill a vagabonder’s travel budget very quickly.

vagabond travel reddit

Are You Traveling Sustainably, or Going All Out for an Adventure?

By now, you are a seasoned vagabond, even if you haven’t left your couch. You know all the basics of long-term travel: mentally preparing yourself and setting goals , planning for and managing your finances , taking care of the little details , getting the gear you need , earning some cash to supplement your travels , and managing your expenses frugally on the road.

And ideally, you have already figured out the answer to the big question in the preparation and soul-searching process of becoming a vagabond: do you plan to travel in a sustainable manner, or go all out for an adventure?

Friends of mine sold their belongings and became vagabonds for one year. They managed to make a hefty profit with the sale of their house, and responsibly tucked away the principal for setting up shop again when they went home, and took a chunk of the profits for the trip of a lifetime. In one year, they spent $30,000. They admit that in many cases they could have curbed expenses and cut corners, but that was not the idea of this trip for them. They wanted to really do whatever they wished; and they did.

But now they have the travel bug, and are planning to go home to work and save money, and return to the world of travel — this time on a considerably more frugal budget. They have no regrets, and a treasure chest of worldly experiences that would make any traveler drool.

Do you have the cash to go all out on such an adventure? Would you like to use the money you saved to travel perpetually with no need to earn money along the way, and return home after six months or a year to save up and do it again?

Or would you like to make your vagabonding choice a more permanent one, and attempt to sustain yourself on the road for as long as the travel bug ails you? You’ll have to make some sacrifices along the way — in not always taking the excursions you may wish, going out with new friends, or buying stuff on a whim. You’ll also have to work part-time (earning money online or otherwise) along the way to keep the travel account from depleting.

Being a vagabond in essence means breaking the rules. Don’t be afraid to hang it all out there in search of your dreams, going against what others may think is best.

But to live a life on the road, creating your home wherever you may be, meeting new friends and expanding your horizons constantly, and appreciating culture and the world for what it is — is priceless.

Either way — go with your heart and desire. Being a vagabond in essence means breaking the rules.

Don’t be afraid to hang it all out there in search of your dreams, possibly going against what others around you think is best.

Don’t be afraid to change the rules of the game mid-way if something isn’t working for you; this is your playing field, so you get to call the shots.

Be sure to make responsible decisions every step of the way; don’t tear apart your life and wantonly spend every penny you have partying on the road, only to find yourself older, unhealthier, lonely, hung over, homeless, and lost. That is not what vagabonding is.

Becoming a vagabond is about the journey through change. Everybody travels for different reasons: to find something or somebody, to learn, to redefine themselves, or to just be able to experience and share some killer stories of high adventure. Whatever your reasons are, they are valid.

So … what are you waiting for?

You are a big fan of using my credit card for almost everything.

I use my credit card as less as possible. In Asian and African countries it can happen easily that your credit card is being used by others then you.

It might sound stupid, but I spend a few years traveling, never used it because I knew problems could happen. I bought just 1 thing with my credit card and after I got back home my credit card company informed me about strange expences I made.

Be careful with credit cards use it only for big stuff, like expensive hotels and air tickets.

For accommodation try Couchsurfing or TravelersForTravelers

I’m with Marco. I try to avoid using credit cards at all times. I never put my bank card in an ATM unless it is at a physical bank location. Once you swipe and punch in your code, you have no idea who has you info.

I will agree that credit cards are to be used carefully, especially if discipline in spending is questionable. But there is no getting around its need for booking tickets and itineraries, and credit cards aren’t all bad. Here’s an article on just that topic: http://www.wisebread.com/top-seven-reasons-why-i-use-my-credit-card-for-everything

Or you could just use your debit card

Credit cards are to be used for emergencies. Now, if only I could tell my husband that.

People are always “searching” for something in themselves. They will never find it within because nothing on this Earth can satisfy. Only the power from above, a knowing of Him can be the true fulfillment. I hope and pray that each one of you consider and come to the light of love. It’s only through Him that we are happiest. And that is what I found on the road.

@Tyler – It’s funny; I just had this conversation with somebody else yesterday – he’s a traveler who realized that the search is really internal. He still travels, but acknowledges that his physical location has little to do with his happiness.

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Travel Meditations From a Stuck-at-Home Vagabond

Rolf Potts, the author who inspired wanderlust in many, has mastered the art of ‘engaged travel,’ which makes you see home with fresh eyes.

The writer Rolf Potts is shown in portrait, wearing a sweater with a wool shirt buttoned over the top, looking directly into the camera.

By Kelly DiNardo

Rolf Potts didn’t have a passport until he was 25. Now, more than a quarter of a century later, he has traveled to over 60 countries across six continents and has written several books about his adventures. His best-selling book from 2002, “Vagabonding,” heralded the ethos of long-term, unstructured travel, and the pandemic inspired a follow-up, “The Vagabond’s Way,” a series of daily meditations on travel.

“The years 2020 and 2021 were the first time since 1995 that I didn’t use my passport,” said Mr. Potts, 52. “My wife and I got into the habit of reading to each other at the outset of each day.”

They read poems by the nature-inspired poet Mary Oliver, lyric essays by Ross Gay, spiritual meditations by Vietnamese Buddhist monk and author Thich Nhat Hanh. “The ritual helped ground us, and it felt like the readings put us into conversation with the greater world,” he said. “I came to realize that this reading ritual was a form of intellectual travel that paralleled physical journeys. So I decided to create a book [“The Vagabond’s Way: 366 Meditations on Wanderlust, Discovery, and the Art of Travel”] that mimicked the arc of a journey, and aimed to put travel into conversation with the lives we lead at home.”

Mr. Potts and I spoke by phone about how travel has changed, how he plans for trips and how the meaning of home has shifted for him. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

It’s been about 20 years since “Vagabonding” came out. How has travel stayed the same? How has it changed?

The human experience of engaged travel hasn’t changed that much. When we’re away from the routines of everyday life, it can force us into a kind of attention we’re inured to at home. That gratitude we have for experiencing or tasting something new, those very human pieces of travel are the same.

What has changed is the technology and how we experience that travel. When virtual reality first became a buzzword in the late ’90s, we talked about traveling the world without leaving home. Now with smartphones, you can travel the world and bring your home with you. You’re reading the same news. You’re talking with the same friends. Rather than looking for crowds full of locals eating, we’re crowdsourcing where to eat on our phones.

There’s so much that’s useful in the phone. It has GPS, language apps and so many useful tools. It’s hard to tell people to not use it at all, but I do encourage people to leave it at the hotel for a day. Or use it in a way that helps you engage with the people and place. Instead of using your phone to research where to eat, spend the same time figuring out how to ask “Where do you eat?” in the local language. Or ask someone to draw you a map to the restaurant; you’re going to have the experience with a person instead of your phone.

You’ve defined this as “engaged travel.” What is that to you?

We can escape into the tourism bubble of things that insulate us from the actual place we’re visiting. In part, it’s because of this idea that’s been advertised to us, even in Instagram feeds, of travel as an escape from the stresses at home. It can be. But, at its best, travel can be a conversation with our lives at home. We see new places, and that helps us see our lives with fresh eyes. We can see how other families live, how other cultures work or how they eat, and we can take that home. When we’re open to experiences like that, experiences that can change our perspective, that’s engaged travel.

How do you choose where you’re going?

It depends. Every trip is different. I went to Southeast Asia a few years ago because I wanted to experience it in my 40s and see how it compared with my experience in my 20s. I got married during the pandemic, and we went to see my wife’s family in Norway. There’s this vernacular in the travel industry of going to places because it’s hot or fashionable. It’s strange to me. Why not channel our passions and hobbies into our travel? Why not go to New Zealand because you love rugby? Why not go to France for wine or ballet? It doesn’t matter what takes you to a place — it’s what you do when you get there.

How do you plan for a trip?

I’m a big fan of research and knowing my options but not my destiny. Part of the charm of traveling to a place is that you get a mediated familiarity with it. You’re smarter one day, one week, one month into your travels than you were sitting at home planning the trip. I think one of the worst things you can do is micromanage your itinerary. Research is great, but it’s equally important to be willing to throw that out and let the journey surprise you.

A lot of people — including you — talk about the journey as a metaphor for life. What does travel teach us about being human?

I think it reminds us that attention to a moment or a place is important, whether that’s on the other side of the world or at home. We don’t dance to get to the end of the dance; each step is the pleasure. With travel, it’s not about getting to a point on the list. It’s about the aliveness we feel on each step of the journey. We’re paying attention in a way that gives us perspective about who we are and who we can be. We’re paying attention in way that can remind us of what’s important. We’re paying attention in a way that reminds us that we can do this at home.

Where or what is home to you?

That was a tougher question for me when I was younger. I thought I’d live in a place that was fashionable — Portland, Ore., New York, overseas. I was living the idea that you leave home to try to find it again. In 2005, inspired by how other people pool resources, I bought 30 acres of land in Kansas with my parents. I had this delightful surprise of coming full circle. It was also where I had my first Bumble date with my wife during the pandemic. Now, home is where she is.

What keeps people from traveling or vagabonding?

Fear. We have a hard time giving ourselves permission. I hear this a lot in the form of questions like, “How do you save your money to do this?” or “Is this place safe?” But what people are really asking is, “How do I give myself permission to do this?” The pleasure of travel begins with anticipation. Even if you’re planning a trip you’re saving for, it makes the work more pleasurable. The journey really starts when you stop making excuses.

I’m not a huge fan of overplanning, but research can be reassuring. Maybe you’re a mother of four in Virginia. Well, Google “family travel,” and you’ll see that other people are already doing what you want to be doing. People who aren’t luckier or richer than you are out there doing it. There are people who have overcome those fears, and you can, too.

Do you have places you go to again and again? Or that you want to return to?

Absolutely. Paris is a place I’ve been going to each summer. I’m there in July and August, and most of the Parisians are gone, but it’s still wonderful. I love Thailand and the American West. Give me the Rockies. I like going to Mongolia because it’s like Kansas on steroids. Korea is close to my heart because I lived there. I love Egypt because Egyptians are so cool. I want to go back to Norway. Travel deepens as you age. You can go back to the same place but not have the same experiences you did before.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook . And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to receive expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places for a Changed World for 2022.

A Guide to Meditation

Find a comfortable spot and get ready to relax..

Meditation is a simple practice available to all that can reduce stress, increase calmness and clarity, and promote happiness. Here is how to get started .

Building a routine doesn’t have to be hard — it can take as little as five minutes as soon as you wake up .

This weeklong plan of five-minute meditations  won’t solve all your problems, but it can help you through life’s challenges.

Closing your eyes and focusing on breathing can be hard for those who are easily distracted. But it is possible .

Want to expand your knowledge of meditation? We asked mindfulness experts and scientists to share their favorite beginner-friendly books on the subject .

To jump-start your practice, you might be tempted to download a meditation app . Here are the best options , according to Wirecutter.

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Rolf Potts

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Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel

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Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel Paperback – December 24, 2002

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  • Print length 240 pages
  • Language English
  • Publisher Villard Books
  • Publication date December 24, 2002
  • Dimensions 5.21 x 0.5 x 7.98 inches
  • ISBN-10 9780812992182
  • ISBN-13 978-0812992182
  • See all details

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  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0812992180
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Villard Books; First Edition (December 24, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780812992182
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812992182
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.21 x 0.5 x 7.98 inches
  • #39 in General Travel Reference
  • #47 in Travel Writing Reference
  • #81 in Travelogues & Travel Essays

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About the author

Rolf Potts is the author of five books, including Vagabonding (Villard Books, 2003), and The Vagabond's Way (Ballantine Books, 2022). His adventures have taken him to six continents, and he has reported from more than sixty countries for National Geographic Traveler, The New Yorker, Slate, Outside, The New York Times Magazine, The Believer, Sports Illustrated, and the Travel Channel. His stories have appeared in numerous literary anthologies, and more than twenty of his essays have been selected as “Notable Mentions” in The Best American Essays, The Best American Non-Required Reading, and The Best American Travel Writing. He is based in north-central Kansas, where he keeps a small farmhouse on thirty acres with his wife, Kansas-born actress Kristen Bush.

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A Vagabond Life

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Travel stories, a vagabond life, destinations.stories.planning, explore the globe with a vagabond life, your trusted companion for travel insights and inspiration. we provide detailed destination guides, essential planning tips, and engaging stories from a lifetime spent exploring. whether you’re curious about remote villages or bustling cities, our content is designed to spark your wanderlust and help you navigate new terrains. join our community of adventurers and gain the knowledge to travel smarter and experience more. dive into a world of exploration and discover what it means to live a life on the road with us., latest stories.

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Vagabond Life is a unique brand for travel lovers like you! We wanted to create unique products for people who are passionate about traveling the world while being environmentally conscious.

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  1. Define Vagabond: What Is A Vagabond And How Can You Become One

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  2. Wanted to share a couple of Vagabond art pieces here in the reddit that

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COMMENTS

  1. The Digital Home for Vagabonds and Houseless Travelers!

    Reddits Home for HOUSELESS Travelers! Created by Vagabonds, for Vagabonds! Hitchhikers / Trainhoppers / Rubbertramps / Vandwellers / Skoolies / Backpackers / Biketramps / Boatpunks / Dirty Kids / Crustpunks / Squatters / All Houseless Travelers Feel free to share stories and pictures about your adventures on the road, or share advice and tips with newbie greenhorns, and curious lurkers ...

  2. vagabonds with travel blogs... is it worth it? : r/vagabond

    Making money from a travel blog is going to be tough. Check about. There are millions of "travel blogs". Unless you have some special selling point, or are doing something to stand out, it's going to be near impossible to get enough views. The successful ones will be putting in alot of hours for each post.

  3. Posts from travel, vagabond

    Hi everyone, I travel for work and company pays for all expenses (I pay with my CC then company reimburses me). Whenever I fly, I'm only allowed to book economy tickets unfortunately, but the airline I'm about to fly with is offering me Business class for an 8h flight from DXB to CGK for 679$.

  4. How to Vagabond: Complete Guide to Long-Term World Travel

    At most, a few months during the summer.But there's a different way to travel.It's travel that doesn't have a deadline, nor a specific agenda. It's called Vagabonding. Vagabonding is about taking time from your normal life to explore overseas for an extended amount of time. It could be for half a year, a few years, or even a lifetime for those ...

  5. A Practical Guide to Vagabonding and Long Term Travel (Part 6): The

    You'll have to make some sacrifices along the way — in not always taking the excursions you may wish, going out with new friends, or buying stuff on a whim. You'll also have to work part-time (earning money online or otherwise) along the way to keep the travel account from depleting. Being a vagabond in essence means breaking the rules.

  6. Travel Meditations From a Stuck-at-Home Vagabond

    His best-selling book from 2002, "Vagabonding," heralded the ethos of long-term, unstructured travel, and the pandemic inspired a follow-up, "The Vagabond's Way," a series of daily ...

  7. Expert Vagabond • Adventure Travel & Photography Blog

    Backpacking Afghanistan. One of my most memorable travel experiences so far was hiking over 100 miles through the mountains of Afghanistan with locals. Check out the video, and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more adventures! Popular adventure travel blog featuring inspirational stories, photography, and budget travel tips ...

  8. Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel

    Now completely revised and updated, Vagabonding is an accessible and inspiring guide to • financing your travel time • determining your destination • adjusting to life on the road • working and volunteering overseas • handling travel adversity • re-assimilating back into ordinary life Updated for our ever-changing world, Vagabonding ...

  9. Vagabond Awake

    Welcome to Vagabond Awake, the YouTube Channel for VagabondBuddha.com. I teach people the best places to retire cheap internationally. I have 900 boots-on-...

  10. Getting Paid To Travel The World (This Is How I Do It)

    Display ads on my site bring in $12,000 - $18,000 per month. 6. Paid Public Speaking. As a blogger, you can also get paid to travel by speaking at conferences and events around the world related to your topic. So in my case, I've spoken about travel photography and led some photography workshops.

  11. Vagabond Travel Guitar

    2,876. Dec 7, 2008. #1. Just picked up one of these yesterday for a song on craigslist. Wow! I'm very impressed. Kudos to the luthier Kevin Smith! I bought it because I wanted to use it as a dedicated Nashville/high-strung tuning guitar, but first I put regular Elixer .011s on it just to get a sense of the guitar's natural/normal voice.

  12. A Vagabond Life Travel Site

    Explore the globe with A Vagabond Life, your trusted companion for travel insights and inspiration. We provide detailed destination guides, essential planning tips, and engaging stories from a lifetime spent exploring. Whether you're curious about remote villages or bustling cities, our content is designed to spark your wanderlust and help ...

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    Our travel accessories are the best keepsakes for travelers. Discover our collection of unique products that all travel addicts will love! Collect your travels with our engraved country rings by adding them to your Vagabond Life travel keyring or necklace. They are also the perfect gift ideas for any travel lovers.