Our Freedom Years

Financial independence, early retirement & slow travel

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    • Europe
      • Albania
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    • North America
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    • South America
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
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    • Asia
      • Thailand
  • About Us
  • Welcome
  • Binge!
  • Popular
    • What’s New
    • Plan for Travel
    • Airbnb Living
    • Real Costs
    • Travel with Dogs
  • Destinations
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • Austria
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Romania
      • Serbia
      • Slovakia
      • Spain
      • Ukraine
      • United Kingdom
    • Middle East
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Mexico
    • South America
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
    • Asia
      • Thailand
  • About Us
  • Machu Picchu
    Peru,  Real Costs

    We had a Once-in-a-Lifetime Visit to Machu Picchu (Now We Know What it’s Really Like )

    May 5, 2024 /

    I’ve wanted to visit Machu Picchu for many years but I hadn’t anticipated what it’s like to visit a wildly popular world heritage site with tourism on the rise. Whoops.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 4 Comments

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    Gillian cross-country skiing in the countryside

    We Planned Another Exciting Trip to Peru – and This Time We’re Actually Going

    March 3, 2024
    Stephanie and Gillian at home

    Finally, the Big Reveal of our New Home

    April 7, 2024
    Stephanie with Jasper and Huxley

    After Four Years of Retirement, I Have a New Job – Sort of

    May 5, 2024
  • Airbnb Living,  Real Costs

    What the Full-Time Airbnb Lifestyle Really Costs 

    February 26, 2023 /

    There’s no end of information available about how to save money while traveling. But none of the usual advice was quite right for us.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 4 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Living in Airbnbs Full Time isn’t Easy

    June 6, 2021

    The 5 Worst Airbnbs We’ve Ever Stayed in (and How to Avoid Them) 

    February 27, 2022

    Our Top 5 Favourite Airbnbs (and Why They Weren’t Perfect)

    March 6, 2022
  • Real Costs

    How Much it Really Costs to Travel Full Time

    May 9, 2022 /

    We haven’t been honest about how much travel costs. If you’re serious about travelling, there are a slew of other costs you need to know about.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 4 Comments

    You May Also Like

    How To Budget For Year Of Slow Travel

    June 11, 2020

    What the Full-Time Airbnb Lifestyle Really Costs 

    February 26, 2023
    How Much To Budget For Two-Week Trip To Lviv, Ukraine

    How Much To Budget For Two-Week Trip To Lviv, Ukraine

    April 4, 2020
  • Albania,  Croatia,  Greece,  Italy,  Malta,  Real Costs,  Serbia,  Spain,  Turkey

    7 European Destinations that Won’t Break the Bank

    January 2, 2022 /

    Since we’re traveling full time, we love it when our money goes a long way. We’re always looking for places where we can get the most value.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    How Much for a Month of Luxury on the Albanian Riviera?

    December 12, 2021

    Our Top 5 Favourite Airbnbs (and Why They Weren’t Perfect)

    March 6, 2022

    How Much for a Month in Albania’s Biggest City?

    October 31, 2021
  • Real Costs

    How to Travel the World on Any Budget

    March 7, 2021 /

    We’ve really tried it all. We’ve been shoestring backpackers, we’ve done the luxury travel thing and everything in between.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 2 Comments

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    A Month of Spanish Food, History and Culture at a Surprising Price

    January 23, 2022

    How To Budget For Year Of Slow Travel

    June 11, 2020

    Can a Month in Istanbul Really Be This Cheap?

    January 24, 2021
  • Real Costs

    How to Travel the World Without Blowing Your Budget

    January 17, 2021 /

    Despite the global pandemic and travel bans, we still managed to travel to five countries this past year and come in on budget.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 5 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Honest Thoughts After a Month in Medellin (and What it Costs)

    January 29, 2023

    Why Mexico City Blew Our Minds (and Our Budget)

    August 15, 2022

    Is a Month in Seville Worth the Splurge?

    February 13, 2022
  • Real Costs

    How Full-time Travel Keeps Our Costs Low

    October 15, 2020 /

    Back when we were working full time, travel was a luxury. Now it's a great way to manage our cost of living.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 3 Comments

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    We Came to Budapest to See if it’s Still a Low-Cost Destination

    July 30, 2023
    How Much Does It Cost To Stay In Krakow For Two Weeks

    How Much Does It Cost To Stay In Krakow For Two Weeks

    April 4, 2020

    Living Large in Affordable Belgrade

    September 5, 2021
  • Plan for Travel

    Medical Coverage Abroad

    July 30, 2020 /

    It’s everyone’s least favourite part of planning for travel. And yet it could turn out to be the most important.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 6 Comments

    You May Also Like

    The Truth About Life On The Road

    June 20, 2021

    What Not to Pack for a Year of Travel

    May 23, 2021
    Lessons From Long-Term Travel

    Lessons From Long-Term Travel

    April 2, 2020
  • Canada

    How Much is the Cost Of Living In Toronto?

    July 2, 2020 /

    Upon arriving in Toronto, we had two weeks of quarantine and since then we’ve been sheltering in place. So how did that affect our cost of living this past month?

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 14 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Climbing a mountain in Albania

    It’s Official: We’ve Given Up On Travel — For Now

    February 4, 2024

    Could Country Living be the Perfect Lifestyle For Us?

    July 4, 2021

    Why We Can’t Wait To Get Back To Europe

    June 27, 2021
  • Real Costs

    How To Budget For Year Of Slow Travel

    June 11, 2020 /

    It's the number one question we receive from our audience: How much does our life of full-time travel cost?

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 3 Comments

    You May Also Like

    What You’ll Find in Puerto Escondido, Mexico’s Most Underrated Beach Town 

    June 19, 2022
    How Much To Budget For Two-Week Trip To Lviv, Ukraine

    How Much To Budget For Two-Week Trip To Lviv, Ukraine

    April 4, 2020

    How Much for a Month in Albania’s Biggest City?

    October 31, 2021
 Older Posts

ourfreedomyears

Stephanie & Gillian
🌎 Traveled the world with our dogs
❤️ Now making a home in Ontario
⬇️ Watch our latest video

When we look back on 2025, it’s hard to believe ho When we look back on 2025, it’s hard to believe how much we packed into one year. 

🇲🇽 slow travel in Mexico

🥾 100+ miles on the Cotswold Way,

🐕 time inside a 400-dog shelter

🇬🇪 an unexpected detour through Georgia

…and a few big reflections on life after financial independence.

It was a year of travel, volunteering, and learning (again) that freedom looks different in every season.

We’ve wrapped it all up — plus a new podcast conversation with @OurFamilyInvests about what comes after the career ladder — in our January newsletter.

📬 Read the full story — just click on the link in our profile.
Living in Ontario’s snow belt means one thing: we Living in Ontario’s snow belt means one thing: we must escape winter. We’ve been hit with multiple snowstorms since the beginning of November and there are still months of snow and ice ahead of us. 

As much as we love seeing our little village blanketed in white, a few weeks of winter is enough to satisfy for the year. 

After a few misfires during our years of full-time travel (rainstorms in Florence, a chilly apartment in Malta, an unseasonable cold front in Izmir), we finally know exactly what we’re looking for in a winter base.

For the winter of 2026, our wishlist got very specific:

☀️ warm weather
🥗 great food
🏋🏽‍♀️ a decent gym
🐶 stylish Airbnbs that also happen to be pet-friendly
🌳 easy access to nature
✨ enough variety to keep us entertained for three full months

We compared many wildly different options—Taiwan, Argentina, and Cyprus to name just a few—and yes, there was a spreadsheet and a scoring system involved.

So where did we finally choose for winter 2026? We’re sharing the full story (and the big reveal) in this month’s newsletter.

👉 Read now by clicking on the link in our profile.
A final glimpse of our time in Georgia — medieval A final glimpse of our time in Georgia — medieval villages in Svaneti, misty mountain views, and a whirlwind wander through Kutaisi. 

Don’t miss the full adventure on YouTube, including our unforgettable stay at @baias_wine — complete with warm Georgian hospitality, a feast of traditional dishes, and more wine than we could drink in a month. 

Just click on the link in our profile to watch now.
There were plenty of misadventures to go round, bu There were plenty of misadventures to go round, but we still managed to have an incredible time on our first trip to the country of Georgia. Watch the full-length video by clicking on the link in our profile.
It's part two of our trip to Georgia, and this is It's part two of our trip to Georgia, and this is where all our carefully-made plans started to fall apart. 

The misadventures began when our easy 45-minute flight to the mountains was replaced with a 10-hour odyssey by train and mini-van. However, despite all ups and downs of the trip, we still managed to enjoy the highlights of western Georgia, including the medieval villages of the Svaneti region and a ridiculously huge feast at a winery.  

You can catch the full adventure in a new video going live this Sunday. See you then!
The final round of shots from our time in Tbilisi. The final round of shots from our time in Tbilisi. We just couldn't get enough of all those atmospheric mansions and apartment buildings as we wandered the neighbourhoods. 

If you haven't seen our video yet, it's a whirlwind sampler of Tbilisi highlights from our first day on the ground. You can check it out by clicking on the link in our profile.
It's our first full day in Tbilisi, and we're brin It's our first full day in Tbilisi, and we're bringing you along for the ride. Check out the full video on YouTube -- just click on the link in our profile to watch now.
We're back from our trip to the country of Georgia We're back from our trip to the country of Georgia, and what an adventure it was. This trip was exciting and interesting but also demanding in all kinds of unexpected ways. 

We're excited to share the entire journey with you, starting with a new video this Sunday. We're bringing you along for our first day in Tbilisi, including powering through some of the major sights, tucking into classic Georgian dishes, and a look at a truly spectacular Airbnb. 

See you then!
The final batch of photos from our beautiful 10-da The final batch of photos from our beautiful 10-day hike along the Cotswolds Way. This is a hike we'd recommend for anyone who wants to start off with a hearty English breakfast and then spend the day passing through some truly lovely countryside. The adorable lambs and spring blossoms are just a bonus. 

#cotswoldway #cotswolds
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