Our Freedom Years

Financial independence, early retirement & slow travel

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    • Europe
      • Albania
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    • South America
      • Colombia
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  • 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
  • Portugal

    5 Tips for Experiencing Beautiful Lisbon Without the Crowds

    February 25, 2024 /

    We came to Lisbon to see a destination famous for architecture, scenic lookouts and historic trams still running across town. What we weren’t expecting was the huge number of other tourists.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 2 Comments

    You May Also Like

    The Very Last Chapter in our Four-Year, Around-the-World Adventure 

    October 6, 2024
    Alfama, Lisbon, Portugal

    5 Important Lessons that We’ve Learned About Full-Time Travel

    November 5, 2023
    Gillian cross-country skiing in the countryside

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

    March 3, 2024
  • Real Costs,  Romania

    Why Brasov is the Ultimate Base for Exploring Transylvania

    September 17, 2023 /

    Let's be honest: the city of Brasov in Romania is a little on the small side. And yet we stayed for an entire month. 

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 2 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Novi Sad Offered the Authentic Serbia That We’ve Been Dreaming of

    September 26, 2021

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

    December 12, 2021
    How Expensive Is Fethiye?

    How Expensive Is Fethiye?

    May 9, 2020
  • Hungary,  Real Costs

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

    July 30, 2023 /

    I honestly think that our impression of Budapest was maybe ten years out of date. We thought Budapest was supposed to be the less expensive alternative to Prague

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 2 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Boat cruise on the Danube in Budapest

    Most People Come to Bratislava for Just One Day; We Booked an Entire Month

    July 2, 2023
    Brasov, Romania

    Is Beautiful, Gritty Budapest Still a Low-Cost Destination in 2023?

    August 6, 2023
    Alfama, Lisbon, Portugal

    5 Important Lessons that We’ve Learned About Full-Time Travel

    November 5, 2023
  • 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

    How to Score the Airbnb of Your Dreams Every Time

    February 28, 2021

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

    March 6, 2022

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

    February 27, 2022
  • Colombia,  Real Costs

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

    January 29, 2023 /

    Medellin is a city that has been on our bucket list for a really long time. We knew that whenever we finally got to South America, Medellin had to be on the itinerary.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 4 Comments

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    Gillian in a plane

    We Never Want This to Happen Again: We Got Stranded at the Airport in Colombia

    April 2, 2023
    Snowy Toronto in January

    We’re Saying Goodbye to a Very Adventurous 2023 – and Hello to a New Chapter

    January 7, 2024

    The Very Last Chapter in our Four-Year, Around-the-World Adventure 

    October 6, 2024
  • Ecuador,  Real Costs

    Is Cuenca Really as Affordable as its Reputation?

    December 25, 2022 /

    We’re always on the hunt for value when we travel. We don’t mind spending a bit more as long as we see great value for our dollar.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    It’s Been Three Years of Full-Time Travel and Still Nothing Ever Goes to Plan

    September 1, 2024
  • Mexico,  Real Costs

    Why Mexico’s Top Foodie Destination is Worth the Trip

    September 11, 2022 /

    We’re always on the hunt for authentic travel experiences; we don’t want our trip to be all about fancy restaurants and tours.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 2 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Winter Escape to One of the World’s Most Vibrant Cities

    March 10, 2025

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

    June 19, 2022
    Springtime in our town

    19 Countries, Amazing Memories, Countless Mistakes: Our Nomad Life Recap

    June 2, 2024
  • Mexico,  Real Costs

    Why Mexico City Blew Our Minds (and Our Budget)

    August 15, 2022 /

    We came to Mexico City thinking we feel overwhelmed by the traffic and and crowds. After spending a month here, our main issue is that there’s just way too much fun stuff to do here.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 6 Comments

    You May Also Like

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

    June 19, 2022

    It’s Been Three Years of Full-Time Travel and Still Nothing Ever Goes to Plan

    September 1, 2024

    It’s England’s Most Beautiful Hike – and We Got it on Video

    June 1, 2025
  • Mexico,  Real Costs

    The Picture-Perfect Town of San Miguel de Allende Doesn’t Come Cheap

    July 17, 2022 /

    When we arrived at what’s billed as one of Mexico’s most beautiful towns, we were feeling a little worried about our month-long stay.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 15 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Funchal Madeira

    Lisbon in 2023 was Even More Crowded Than We Expected

    December 3, 2023

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

    June 19, 2022

    It’s England’s Most Beautiful Hike – and We Got it on Video

    June 1, 2025
  • Mexico,  Real Costs

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

    June 19, 2022 /

    We were looking to spend a month at the beach and we could have picked literally anywhere in Mexico.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 2 Comments

    You May Also Like

    The Picture-Perfect Town of San Miguel de Allende Doesn’t Come Cheap

    July 17, 2022

    Why Mexico’s Top Foodie Destination is Worth the Trip

    September 11, 2022

    Why Mexico City Blew Our Minds (and Our Budget)

    August 15, 2022
 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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