Learning the way of the traveler

[crow pearson]

Nice to meet all of ya. My name is sean pearson (but i prefer to be called by my nickname crow). Today i opened up a new bank account to save up money for my travels. 2 years from now i plan to leave my country and live as a vagabond. But even tough i am dead serious about going through with this, i have no experience at traveling great distances, let alone doing it by foot.

So i came to this forum to learn the way of the traveler, i am hoping that you can teach me how all of you get around, how you travel and how you make sure you have enough money to continue your travels

Anyways nice to meet all of you, i have great expectations of this community.

 

[Tude]

Well nice to meet you and welcome - good to plan! You've come to a place with a wealth of resources - cool places to go, what to expect, items people prefer to take and more. Check out the different subforums as the admin has coordinated the topics into easy to find info!

 

[Jaguwar]

Hey Crow, welcome aboard.
I myself,am saving up for traveling, mostly getting funds for gear and a few months of worry free traveling. When I run out of money, I'll look for temporary jobs. Or beg, if I have to. Whatever it takes, as long as I'm not tied down longer than I want or need to be.

What kind of traveling are you planning on, mostly hitch hiking?

 

[Anagor]

Hi! Welcome to StP!

I had my first days being (really) abroad in The Netherlands. Eindhoven and Maastricht.

Do you plan to hike or to hitchhike?

 

[crow pearson]

I plan to do a mix between hiking and hitch hiking. But i am a great fan of nature and exploration so i don't think i will stick to the touristic routes, so when i cross nature i think i mostly plan on hiking. But a hitch hike every once in a while will probably be a big help if i want to cross a large distance or enter a new city quickly.

 

[Deleted member 20]

My name is sean pearson (but i prefer to be called by my nickname crow)

Welcome my nickname/username/road name is highway,highwayman or mayhem but I prefer to be called by my name Kevin by friends. You sure dont need a bank account to travel as a vagabond. I dont vote, do the census, pay taxes, own a bank account, drive a car or have a drivers license or passport & life is pretty good for me today. I neither want or need to waste my time with those things, I have learned to function without them. In fact if the idea of financial security still exists in your psyche then you will most likely not fare well. Try to think outside the box of consumerism & capitalism to solve the basic needs of your life. We think outside the box here & share what we have learned & sometimes withhold a secret or 2. You may already practice things like acquiring food, shelter & transportation for free in your daily life as many do to offset the costs of a for profit society. Since you live in the EU you probably have access to relatively cheap or free education, health care etc & most likely have a decent quality of life. I believe we all have access to everything & anything we need as vagabonds but we must constantly learn & relearn how to not only survive but to thrive & survive in style. I dont travel everyday & I am not houseless, I think its normal to have a homebase for most; especially those who have children & families.

I believe striking a balance between needs & wants & having true happiness is the key to life. I dont need money or possessions to achieve happiness since obtaining money steels our most valuable & only important resource; TIME! Dont waste time if you can since none of us will live for ever & some wont live tomorrow. I am not against work to save capital to fund your life & even though I do not own anything larger than a bicycle & that doesnt mean I am against owning a piece of land or a vehicle that I can live in. I actually have a fridge that only the freezer works & the anxiety I have about carrying downstairs to throw it away & or replace it outweighs the fact that I cant keep food cold. Just today I am content with what I do have. Most of everything my apt is stuff that I could leave today & never miss. My belongings could fit in a small pickup truck where as my daughter & wife have sentimental attachments to every scrap of paper, cheap plastic toy & or garment. My life is measured in positive experiences that I have had, places that I have gone & good people that I have met.

That word vagabond portrays some romantic idea of a depression era hobo. Time & time again I see the lost & confused come here for guidance with preconceived ideas; then they get let down with reality. Perhaps you can get a dose of reality here on STP before your life changing epic journey begins in 24 months. I dont know what I will be doing next week so I commend you on your methodic approach to the next chapter of your life. I will be busy living every day while you are preparing all though most days I too am sitting on my ass doing nothing. I actually need to get a job to help pay for lifes expenses of being a father & a husband so that I can fuck off again & wander without a penny in my pocket. Once I get some bills caught up I then roam around & combine my love for traveling with going to concerts & volunteering places. Eventually I want to rely solely on my wifes social security disability payment & other forms of government assistance & barter my housing costs away yet still travel even more.

i am hoping that you can teach me how all of you get around

Since you are "dead serious" & are asking for me & other users to teach you; heres some of my advice. Read as much as you can here on STP, dont be a planner; just be a doer. Much of your education can be found here if you can effectively filter through the banter, jokes & sarcasm. Dont believe all that you read & or take anything too seriously. People are very much so the talkers & rarely the walkers especially online. I am all about dreaming & encourage even more dreaming after that. Never stop dreaming or exploring. The trick is figuring out how to actually do the things you dream about & use the experience you have acquired to accomplish even more dreams all while raising the bar of your life.

You have come to the right place! Welcome

 

[sean p]

Good luck brother that's all I can say.
Oh an just even be scare of nothing meaning people or just flat out asking for shit.

 

[crow pearson]

Mr highwayman you told me that if you rely on the idea of finical stability that i would most likely not come far. But you also mentioned you don't travel everyday and that you have a "home base".

I plan on leaving my home without any intention of coming back. So it will come in handy if i have some money in case of an accident or other circumstances.

As for the over romanticized idea of a vagabond. I don't really mind cold nights, hunger, thirst or not having a roof above my head. I'm pretty up to date as to what i'm getting myself into.

But i thank you for your advice and i'll be sure to take it into account.

 

[Anagor]

You sure dont need a bank account to travel as a vagabond.

I agree. First I want to say I'm a noob. I was backpacking for two months on paid vacation so far. But I plan to hit the road again in a month. Not on paid vacation this time. And for indefinite time. Maybe 2 months. Maybe 2 years. Don't know. No plan is the best plan. And it always depends on circumstances you can't predict now.

@crow pear and @Jaguwar wrote they want to save some money to travel vagabonding style some time in the future. In my humble opinion that doesn't make much sense. That's backpacking (like I did) and not vagabonding.

I think the distinction between "vacation" (aka backpacking) and "vagabonding" is that a vagabond is self-sustained. Only my humble opinion: A vagabond doesn't have much money or even if, he/she keeps it for emergencies only. A vagabond makes money (whatever he/she might need, depends) on the road while traveling. No need for savings. May it be doing programming stuff with a notebook, working at hostels, trading skills for accommodation, flying a sign, whatever.

You can survive without money at all (dumpster diving for food, asking for leftovers, sleeping rough, hitchhiking). I would need some money cause I smoke and drink (both are not available at dumpsters normally, unfortunately) and perhaps I would like some bed now and then as well.

Gear? Just get a 30 quid backpack, a 40 quid sleeping bag, clothes you already have, get some comfortable shoes/boots and a few other things.

(Disclaimer: that is when you are not trying to live off the grid completely, like camping in Alaska in winter. Then you would need more, of course.)

Don't get it wrong, I'm not the expert here. But I just think the idea "I want to be a vagabond, so I'll save money for 2 years" a bit ... hmm ... doesn't make much sense for me.

Just my thoughts ...

 

[Jaguwar]

Hmm... you misunderstand. I saving because I don't HAVE gear, because for the first bit I need a car (got people to visit who won't understand not having timetables), and because I'm AFRAID. I'm not ready to let go completely with the fearlessness of youth. Besides, I have BILLS to pay off before I can turn my back on bills, perhaps forever.

At the same time, I have no problem with the idea of dumpster diving (done that, actually) or finding temp work when I need to. Hell I'll beg if I have to. The money is for a few comforts I don't wanna have to worry about, too, from gas to my Spotify subscription and prepaid car insurance, you know? If I were on foot, I'd do it differently.

 

[Kim Chee]

Take a look around, there's a lot of great info here. I hope you have some great times traveling and that you share along the way.

 

[crow pearson]

Well first of i need to stay in the country for another 2 years to finish my education. And second like i said i don't plan on returning to my home after i set of. Meaning that if i ever get tired of traveling i have something to establish a life with. And beside if you're traveling in a country like, let's say south Africa, and you break a few bones, if you're completely on your own with no money for a hospital you're in deep shit.

The way i see it we both have something to fall back on in case things turn real bad. You have you're family (or something similar, i assume) and i have money.

 

[Deleted member 20]

Mr highwayman you told me that if you rely on the idea of finical stability that i would most likely not come far. But you also mentioned you don't travel everyday and that you have a "home base".

I have been traveling for the last 20 years when possible & I have collected 2 children age 18 & 10 somewhere along the lines. Currently I am 6 months behind in rent with all my utility bills, cell phone etc at risk of collapsing into true poverty yet again. I still travel between 20k & 30k miles a year when I am working on zero budget. My wife has never worked & usually has the task of letting the landlord & bill collectors know that we cant pay them because of x,y,z. Really its because I know about everything that we have is all extravagance. If I didnt have school age children or a non traveling wife then in theory I would live an even more nomadic lifestyle.

It seems that you are still in school & most certainly still learning. You didnt mention having a family & or children so I assume that you are fairly young.

I have no intention of going to South Africa, breaking a leg & or requiring money saved to fund any future catastrophes. Life is a 4 letter word at times, probably more so on the continent of Africa. Bad things happen at the worst times but worrying about doom & gloom doesnt help anything & either does a bank account full of cash. For all I know my family & I will be living in a large tent or hexayurt while I try to get more income coming in from a job. It dont bother me much. I am confident that we will be safe & together as a family just as when us 3 lived in a small car when my daughter was 2. That same daughter was diagnosed & treated for stage 4 neuroblastoma (cancer) at age 4. These things happen regardless of how much money we have. Money doesnt prevent anything & sure doesnt fix anything. The Rainy Day fund most likely would have been used up many yesterdays ago if there was such a thing in my life, lol.

How greedy are you to travel around as a vagabond & depend on the kindness of fellow poor strangers to fund your adventure all the while knowing
that you have money?? You do know that STP accepst financial contributions to keep this fine website up & running, feel free to donate.

Imagine me vagabonding around begging for rides, food, money, shelter, showers from some poor working stiffs when I have a bank account somewhere just hording money & assets. Most people in the US get but 2 weeks of vacation off per calendar year. There is so much wrong with this! I would want nothing but bad luck to befall me & anyone else who does this. I am not greedy! I usualy have a dollar amount that I need to eat, do laundry & buy some sort of ticket or something that I raise when traveling. I dont fly cardboard for a living, I am not a scumbag junkie! I dont need, more,more,more of anything including money. I see $.35 cents on the table & I am not lieing but that is how much currency my family has & we are just as happy as if we had more. Life gets complicated with money as it should & I only try to balance the needs of my dependents with it.

I plan on leaving my home without any intention of coming back. So it will come in handy if i have some money in case of an accident or other circumstances.

What you describe is some bucket list post college adventure. You already go to college for free/cheap & you want to depend on others to save even more money. Why should we teach you anything??? You are a cheap fuck & deserve as much bad luck as you will get.

The way i see it we both have something to fall back on in case things turn real bad. You have you're family (or something similar, i assume) and i have money.

Life is always turning, sometimes its good, bad or indifferent lol. Thats life. I have no family who we can live with, borrow money from or anything that may resemble assistance; No one can or will allow us to live in their home if we are homeless. but I usually have a place to eat a holiday meal once a year. I bet my family will visit me in the hospital & or attend my funeral if/when I die. True Wealth is not measured in dollars & cents!

Do you have not have any family members & or home to return to because you sold them all into slavery & sold everything because cash is so much more liquid?

I am glad that you have money but I am sorry that you thing that it will protect you from anything. Life can suck. People still get hurt, sick, robbed,killed put in jail, deported etc, etc, etc. Perhaps you can buy something that helps you live a better life & makes you happy. A vehicle like a motorcycle, car, RV, or sailboat sounds much better than walking. Perhaps you can buy a property & open it up for free to any & all travelers who come thru to visit in exchange for all the good karma you plan on stealing. Maybe you can open up a free clinic in South Africa, Mr. Moneybags. That would be noble!

 

[Deleted member 20]

Would it be too late for me to ask you for some money @crow pearson ?

 

[Jaguwar]

.... I'm not sure where you got the idea that he's being cheap??? I don't recall him saying anything about begging if he had to , that was me. Anything else he does once the money is gone is his business.

Incidentally, you should talk about living off other people, we all know you genuinely need it, but your attitude reeks of dependence. I'm glad your family is happy, but you can quit lying to yourself any day now.
There. I've said it.

 

[Deleted member 20]

Perhaps Vagabond has a new pay to play definition that I am unaware of.

Dependence? What do you mean?

 

[Deleted member 20]

I am completely sober of all mind altering drugs, alcohol & or tobacco products if that is what you mean @Jaguwar

I am dependent of luck & recently over the last few months I have done little to improve my own luck much. I usually make my own luck by working a little every year for a short time & earning a good amount of money for my wife to pay the bills. I havent done that this last year.

 

[sandpaper cowboy]

Deleted

 

[Deleted member 20]

I will admit after thinking about how happy my family is, they would probably be more happier if we werent at risk of having to move. I am happy but that doesnt mean I cant get happier.

Perhaps my interpretation of words such as vagabond were too literal. I had no intention to attack @crow pearson ,more so his rationale & hopefully no feelings were hurt in this correspondence. I have seen many come on this site for the last decade but never have I heard of people becoming a vagabond in order to save money. It seems selfish to me is all like the image of an old dirty homebum with a brand new Caddy & house in the burbs.

 

[sandpaper cowboy]

Deleted