Our Freedom Years

Financial independence, early retirement & slow travel

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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
  • Plan for Travel,  Real Life in Retirement

    Money, Travel, Relationship + More

    October 8, 2020 /

    It’s been a full year of early retirement. In celebration of this year of ups, downs, surprises and discoveries, we’ve opened the floor to questions.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 7 Comments

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    Do You Have to be a Minimalist to Travel Full Time?

    February 14, 2021

    All the Practical Details that You Need to Know About Full-Time Travel

    August 27, 2023

    5 Crucial Lessons About Full-Time Travel That You Need to Know

    November 5, 2023
  • Retire Early

    Biggest Financial Mistakes When Trying to Retire Early

    September 3, 2020 /

    In the spirit of learning from our mistakes, we're putting aside our egos to share our worst financial blunders with you.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 3 Comments

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    Mindset That Helped Us Achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early

    October 7, 2020
    How To Manage Risk In Early Retirement

    How To Manage Risk In Early Retirement

    May 14, 2020

    Staying Motivated To Retire Early

    May 21, 2020
  • Retire Early

    What We Got Right to Retire Early

    August 10, 2020 /

    In order to retire so early -- when Gillian was in her 30s and I was in my 40s -- we got a few things right.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 0 Comments

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    Why You Shouldn’t Retire Early

    September 10, 2020

    Biggest Financial Mistakes When Trying to Retire Early

    September 3, 2020
    How To Save More Than Half Of Your Income For Early Retirement

    How To Save More Than Half Of Your Income For Early Retirement

    April 30, 2020
  • Real Life in Retirement

    How to Plan Life After Retirement

    July 23, 2020 /

    You’ve put in your last day of work; you’ve got your finances all lined up; what happens next?

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 12 Comments

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    Travel During COVID, Money, & Nomad Life Q&A

    March 21, 2021

    What Life Really Looks Like In Early Retirement

    October 1, 2020

    Five Things You Won’t Miss About Work Once You’ve Retired

    January 10, 2021
  • Real Life in Retirement,  Retire Early

    Money Worries And Retirement

    July 9, 2020 /

    Before we reached financial independence and said goodbye to our jobs, we had a lot of worries about making this significant change in our lives.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 3 Comments

    You May Also Like

    What Life Really Looks Like In Early Retirement

    October 1, 2020
    How To Manage Risk In Early Retirement

    How To Manage Risk In Early Retirement

    May 14, 2020

    You Don’t Need a Job to Have a Fulfilling Life

    January 23, 2021
  • Retire Early

    How to Introduce Your Partner To Financial Independence

    June 4, 2020 /

    It could be the best conversation that you ever have with your partner. Or it could be the conversation that launches a thousand fights.

    read more
    Our Freedom Years 1 Comment

    You May Also Like

    Could Country Living be the Perfect Lifestyle For Us?

    July 4, 2021

    Mindset That Helped Us Achieve Financial Independence and Retire Early

    October 7, 2020

    Is This the Year You Can Finally Quit?

    April 25, 2021

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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