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Meet The Inhabitants - Portraits From Around The World
We all occupy this small speck of space dust together, we are all briefly caretakers for our planet, we are all going in the same direction..
Meet The Inhabitants - Portraits From Around The World
We all occupy this small speck of space dust together, we are all briefly caretakers for our planet, we are all going in the same direction. No matter what you think of people from different cultures, you are all the same. You all have problems, you all think strange thoughts, you are all just trying to make your time here worth living.
Hopefully this brief collection of portraits taken from all around the globe will inspire a little humanity in everyone and remind us that we are all human.
Though some men took dancing too far, this wandering baba was all too happy to dance all day (in a non-creepy way) with me during Holi in Varanasi, India. Photo by Lost With Purpose.
Youngsters riding in a kart on Koh Rong island, Cambodia. Photo by Ana Coast River.
A young girl helping her mum serve near the town square in Guanajuato, Mexico. She was an expert and watching her make our esquite (corn cup) was so mesmerizing, she fought to hide a smile when we asked to take her portrait. Photo by Feather & The Wind.
In a small village in The Gambia a girl ran up to say hi, and show us the flowers in her hair that she was so proud. Photo by Travelboulevard.
Young busker plays to support her scholership fees in the middle of a market in Chiamg Mai, Thailand. Photo by me (Taran) check out more of my work here.
Colourful Thai ladies greeting travellers at Wat Arun, Bangkok. Photo by Roam Naturally
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"Put your bags down and join us for some chacha*" - an invitation you'll often here when in Georgia! (*chacha is the national drink of Georgia, a strong spirit distilled from the grape residue left after making wine, contains 60 - 80% ABV.). Photo by Journal Of Nomads.
A Indonesian man shares the treasures of the region where he grew up, Dieng, a volcano in Central Java. Photo by Marie Duthu.
Two young girls in Ghana buying water chanted 'obruni' as we walked past. We turned around to talk with them, but they just giggled, struck a sassy pose, and went on their way. Photo by Travel Outlandish.
A 3-year-old Dukha girl and her personal reindeer, living in the remote taiga region of Northern Mongolia. Photo by NOMADasaurus.
This man was playing in the street with his dog laying by his side. When I asked if I could take a photo of him he lit up and started talking about a trick that he did with his dog. He went on to show me the trick and I captured it on film. It was wonderful to see the pride and love this man had for his dog and their friendship when he had very little else. Photo by Alia Thomas Photography
An elder monk sits with his young apprentice in the sacred temple Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Photo by me (Taran) check out more photography here.
Thanks to all the photographers who made this possible with their great work!
Thanks for reading!
Taran here, owner of Nomad'er How Far. I'm fond of psychedelic rock, photography & videography, anything to do with space and I'm also partial to the odd gaming session. Oh and I love to travel :P Get to know me here!
Be social and come follow me across the virtual world!
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Liberated Elephants - The Muddening
The sad thing about all this is that these elephants will never be released back into the wild, primarily because..
Liberated Elephants - The Muddening
Visiting elephant in Thailand was always something I was extremely wary about, there are so many places that treat these beautiful creatures badly that still in 2017 get tourists visiting them.. It really does blow my mind to see posters advertising elephants riding and actually think that people my age are doing this sort of stuff!
The big problem is ignorance. People just simply don't care enough to do any research into what they throw their money at. If anyone was to actually look into the kind of practices that take place to condition these elephants into submission so that they allow people to ride them, they would be horrified! But then again, if people were to look into the kind of life a cow or chicken is given before its turned into food they would probably never eat factory farmed meat again.. But then again this brings up the subject of the horse meat scandal in the UK, where people value one animals life higher than another, people can be disgusted by the treatment of elephants and then happily sit down for lunch to eat a animal which suffered all the same. (PS: I don't believe eating meat is a bad thing, if you eat meat that has come from an animal that lived a good life and wasn't mass farmed or stuck in small cages then that's fair enough)
Anyway, the elephants, that's why we're here! As you can probably guess, I visited a elephant sanctuary where a small number of elephants who used to be used for riding are now free to roam the fields and do whatever they like (as long as they like getting muddy, swimming in the lake and eating lots of food fed to them by humans).
The owners who used to make money from the riding tourism have been visited by the Elephant Nature Park founders, who introduced them to the idea of tourism that means no harm to the elephants. This way the owners are happy, the elephants are happy and the tourists can leave happy!
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The day consisted of feeding the elephants breakfast followed by a hour or so of 'free time' in which the elephants just roamed around their fields and ate grass, this was an amazing experience being able to just walk freely amongst these massive creatures, it was also a great opportunity to photograph them behaving naturally.
Then it was time for the humans to be fed, we walked with the elephants towards our little shaded hut and had a great vegetarian lunch. Afterwards was time for the muddening to begin.. we gathered around the mud hole and awaited their arrival, sure enough they came.. and they sure got muddy! And so did everyone there, the elephants kicked and squirted mud everywhere and we threw some mud back at them.
Bathing time was up next, we joined them in the river to splash about and enjoy the sounds of enjoyment coming from them! The day finished with another feeding session, and then we watched them wander off to enjoy the rest of their day as we left..
The sad thing about all this is that these elephants will never be released back into the wild, primarily because they will just be caught again, they have become tame to humans and this is there downfall, capturers will have an easy time luring them back into captivity. At least with this current trend towards 'no riding' in the tourism business, elephants who once faced a life of performing, torture and captivity can now enjoy a life of less misery.
Planning on visiting a elephant sanctuary while in Asia? Let me know how it went in the comments..
Thanks for reading!
Taran here, owner of Nomad'er How Far. I'm fond of psychedelic rock, photography & videography, anything to do with space and I'm also partial to the odd gaming session. Oh and I love to travel :P Get to know me here!
Be social and come follow me across the virtual world!
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Koh Phangan By Scooter - Travel Guide
So your thinking of visiting Koh Phangan? Well if you aren't, you surely will be when you see this..
Koh Phangan By Scooter - Travel Guide
So your thinking of visiting Koh Phangan? Well if you aren't, you surely will be by the end of this article.
Koh Phangan is an island in South Thailand that's world famous for its massive full moon party's, but the party is only a small part of what the island has to offer. This smallish tropical island is fringed with palm laden beaches with clear blue cool waters, stunning view points and some brand new smooth roads that are just perfect for the scooters that South East Asia is famous for.
Check back to this map for reference points on the locations the pictures were taken.
ไปเลย! - Here we go!
Renting a scooter on Koh Phangan is kind of essential to seeing most of the islands hidden treasures; sure you can jump in the back of a 'taxi' but you will end up spending much more! As of 2017 scooters prices on the island are 250 Bhat a day which is more than most places in Thailand, but this island is notorious for its reckless backpacker crowd.. If you rent for more than 4 days you can barter and get a much better deal, for instance, I managed to get mine for 150 a day.
After jumping on your new mode of transport and most likely making a stop at the petrol station upon realising the garage gave it to you empty, you will find there is a pretty easy to follow route around the island, but stopping every now and then to check google maps might come in handy. Starting from the pier, one of the first sights (1) is this great lookout above which gives a great view of the coral reefs.
Your ride will then take you along a long stretch of road meters away from the water, which is where you can also spot a few (2) leaning palms that are doing a tremendous job of supporting themselves far out over the sea. If you're here during the low periods (in-between full moon party's) then you will have no trouble getting some awesome photos without too many people getting in your way.
One of the next stops you will see is at the top of a steep hill climb, where you can pull over on the roadside to get a (3) awesome view of the bay that is home to Secret beach and the crazy 'desert island' looking restaurant built right on the edge of the rocks! Definintly one worth checking out.
Upon reaching the north-west of the island you will find (4) a beach that has a small sand pathway leading to a tiny island named Ko Ma. It's a pretty picturesque place and is also home to some great snorkelling sites.
When you hit the north of the island you will come to (5) Chaloklum Bay which is home to a small fishing village which is a lot quieter than the rest of the island. The sand here is clean and white and the water is bright blue. This is a great place to stop for a bite to eat as its cheaper than the more built up areas where the hostels are located.
Coming down through the centre of Koh Phangan you will want to make a stop at (6) Phaeng waterfall, after a good few hours of riding in the sun, the refreshing water pools will be just what you need to cool off in. During the wet seasons (September to January) these falls will be flowing nicely, but during the dry season as pictured above the water is but a trickle.. still, the pools will be deep enough to go for a little swim!
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The next section of the island will probably be best to visit on your second day, although if you are short on time and don't mind quick visits then you can see it all in a day, I wouldn't recommend it though, I came here for a few days and ended up spending 3 weeks! Anyway, you will be heading to the east of the island this time, with your first stop being (7) Than Sadet waterfall, a fast flowing rocky place that doesn't have much room for swimming but great for just dipping your feet in.
A few minutes down the road you will come to (8) another section on the river which has much bigger spaces for swimming, it also has this awesome pile of balanced rocks (a cairn). Disclaimer: I cannot guarantee this will be here when you visit :P
Finally you will reach (9) Haad Than Sadet beach. This is an awesome place for swimming considering most of the beaches on the west side are extremely shallow, this beach drops off quite rapidly. It also comes complete with amazing palm trees, an awesome swing and great views from the surrounding rocks like above!
After a full days adventuring your gonna be feeling hungry... and Koh Phangan has some (10) amazing food markets! This one in particular, located in the central built up area quite close to the pier, has all kinds of foods and is much cheaper than any road side restaurant on the island. Be sure to try the insects if your not vegetarian..
Now for the sunsets..
After finishing your awesome meal at the local market you will want to head straight for a great place to watch the sun set over the sea. Koh Phangan is regularly surrounded by storms out at sea and this can make for some incredible colours lighting up the clouds! The above picture is taken at a little bar called (11) Apichada Lookout which is an incredible place to come at any time of the day giving you a panoramic view of the jungle below, the sea out in front and the opposite island Koh Samui. This little bar is pretty under the radar, is never crowded, they play chill out tunes and serve great fruit shakes. Be sure to say hello to the owner Eigo!
(12) Zen Beach is where this beauty was photographed. Its a quiet beach that is known for having people play live music during the sunset and practice all kinds of activities, and its got a very old skool hippie vibe to it. The sun sets right in front of you, giving one hell of a show if your lucky! Oh and its also a nudist beach ✌
Finally my favourite sunset from my time on Koh Phangan was watched while sitting next to the awesome (13) leaning palm from earlier in the article. The water here is extremely calm which makes the colourful reflections even more beautiful.
And there you go, you're all set to have an incredible adventure on this epic island!
For more great information about this beautiful island, check out Local Nomad’s complete travel guide!
Thanks for reading!
Taran here, owner of Nomad'er How Far. I'm fond of psychedelic rock, photography & videography, anything to do with space and I'm also partial to the odd gaming session. Oh and I love to travel :P Get to know me here!
Be social and come follow us across the virtual world!
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My First Time: Observations from Solo Travel So Far
I am coming at this from someone in a relationship who hasn't been alone, or ever travelled alone, in pretty much 4 years...
My First Time: Observations from Solo Travel So Far
I embarked on my first solo adventure only a short a week ago.
From the warm comfortable bosom of Australia to the mildly chillier but breathtaking New Zealand, I flew toward the unknown, scared but mildly excited...
Wow. How can just one week stretch to feel like a lifetime? One roller-coaster after another of conflicting emotions.
During such a time of drastic change (from one half of a couple to a complete loner) each day has to be taken as it comes, with no one day being entirely good or bad, merely a mish-mash of moments, some where you felt great, some okay, some terrible.
I have to preface that I am coming at this from someone in a relationship who hasn't been alone, or ever travelled alone, in pretty much 4 years. That's a lot of attachment and co-dependence to try and negotiate through in a new country and a new city.
At best, its an inconvenient transition; there's nobody to aid you in yanking your backpack off the airport conveyor belt, nobody to hold something for you whilst you rifle through your stuff for your wallet, nobody to marvel at your new surroundings with, nobody to guard your collection of crap whilst you run off somewhere to pee, nobody to share a knowing look about something funny or silly.
At worst, its how these moments reflect the truth of your situation, that yes you may have had that someone, but for whatever reason or choice, for now, you are entirely alone and it's scary. You might make acquaintances and friends along the way, but nonetheless, you are the only person taking care of yourself, your stuff and your needs.
You are suddenly confronted with your own company, habits, thoughts and behaviours, independent of other peoples opinions or interference.
You might learn a truth you always suspected, that you are an out-right weirdo, and that no wonder you used to annoy people forced to be with you 24/7...or you might learn that really you're not that bad a person and you should cut yourself some slack.
You may also learn that you really appreciate cuddles.
Note to self, instead of sitting on my phone and doing isolating things when in the company of others, I will cuddle them instead.
Maybe up to this point, you thought you were semi-independent but not until that was the only mindset you could be, did you realize that you very much like having someone around.
Hey, its natural! It's natural to want balance, and to want to talk about the amazing things you are experiencing with a real live person that you love.
In their absence, you certainly do learn the ways in which you relied on that someone, and they likely were very helpful in every-day life.
You do miss that person who has come to know what you need and want in a practical sense, whether its helping start breakfast while you hastily shower, someone to decide what to cook for dinner when you might spend 20 minutes umming and aahing your way into starvation mode.
Someone to share the burden of mastering each day relatively smoothly.
Basically, solo travel is a whole lot more tiring.
These are not really complaints, just facts of what this transition feels like.
Amongst these observations I have had some real moments of positive clarity that reaffirmed my original reasoning for wanting to try some solo travel. I do feel satisfied that I did this.
I suppose I had a somewhat wistful view of how it might be from the off though.
I'd wake whenever I wanted, go take photo's of buildings, or stop in a coffee shop and people-watch, then meet lots of new people in the hostel, engaging with new experiences without my usual buffer of a boyfriend.
You might say, you could do most of those things with your partner, and more, which I have done and I always managed to have fun doing so.
However, there is an appeal to living out your day precisely as you feel like doing, with no consideration for anyone else. We all need these kind of days.
We all need alone-time and maybe I did take that to an extreme of sorts by opting to fly thousands of km's away for mine, but, it has been beneficial.
I hoped it would be, but at first, in my hostel in Auckland, I was just anxious and tearful, regressing to a child-like state of wanting my person (I'd say wanting my mummy but for a while its been Taran, no offence mum!).
It doesn't help that I do suffer generalized anxiety anyway, and I have been known to get overwhelmed even when I am in a fully supportive environment.
But mental health tendencies aside, I did fall into a semi-comfortable feeling amidst this solo travel lark, only really a couple of days ago though...
As cliché as it sounds to say, I have formed a better understanding of myself and I have become reconnected with some valuable truths, even in such a short time.
I'll never be social butterfly.
(Are butterfly's super social?). I'll never be gregarious and the life and soul of a conversation, and that's totally cool.
We all have our reasons for being solitary, or not.
I've had time to realize that I am naturally inclined to talk lots to random people about random stuff when my mood fits, but in general, my energy is better suited to recharging in a peaceful creative space and staying connected with people who know me well to stop me feeling lonely.
I haven't been completely isolated this past fortnight, thanks to good ole world wide web, I've also not pretended to be something beyond what I intrinsically am at my introverted core.
We are all different (shock horror) and as much as I have beat myself up for years about my differences seeming on the wrong end of that spectrum, I now know for sure that I am not inferior.
I got this far and I will get further, despite my insular nature being what some people perceive as a limiting factor.
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Watching people eat alone makes me feel sad and this is a very silly thought.
When I'm eating my two-minute rice, its one of the happiest two minute segments of my day... maybe improved if it was something that took longer than two minutes to prepare but still.
Why would I assume anyone feels sad as they stuff their yummy's into their mouth?
I've learned not to get stuck in the melancholy of aloneness and recognize that myself, and others, choose and need moments where we can just be present, enjoy our meal or drink or book or Youtube video, and it doesn't mean we are sad inside (but sometimes we are because two-minute rice actually sucks).
Small gestures, a smile, a thank-you, just giving a little bit of help or guidance to a stranger are kindnesses worth doing every day where possible.
I smile and greet people more when I'm alone and I find myself more inclined to recognize when someone needs my help, no matter how small their problem is, and I respond to that instinctively.
We should look out for each other in all walks of life, be it in a hostel in New Zealand, or any place else, anywhere in the world.
I sure would of appreciated this when I got on a packed city bus in my donkey form laden down with baggage, to then be forced to stand in the aisle (the only standing person), and then proceeded to drop my change, at which people just stared at. Maybe they were all fricking jedi's and they were trying really hard to stare my change back into my pocket, but I don't think so. I think they just let themselves stay in their bubble of distraction and inaction out of habit. Maybe they thought 'dumb backpacker, coming here, spending all their money supporting my economy, gah'.
Well, solo travel has forced me out of this bubble, out of a place of thinking we should all fend for ourselves 100% of the time, and I don't intend to go back into it.
There's nothing that interesting on my smartphone that means I should sit alone eating lunch in a cafe in a foreign land, and not take my eyes off it.
I feel more engaged in my environment, more aware of my surroundings, not just from a safety standpoint but just because its the perfect time to think.
How many hours of our day do we try to stop our thinking, escape our minds wanderings, or distract ourselves, usually with our devices. We habitually do this, sometimes entering a state of disassociation from our environment so strong, so powerful, that we miss stuff that's really happening.
God forbid a puppy walk by without us stroking it, or an alien spaceship lands, or I don't know, we miss the opportunity to prevent someone's death.
I have enjoyed lounging around in my brain more. Thinking and observing, forming memories, snapshots of life around me, building understanding and insight.
If my smartphone failed to show me the meaning of life up to now why do I think just one more scrolling sesh is gonna change things. There's nothing wrong in being absorbed in a good book or article but if I'm paying to be in this city, paying to explore then goddammit I'm going to explore; I'm going to walk, look around, sit, eat and look some more.
There have been many more fleeting thoughts and minor revelations along the way, most prominently the fact that for me, solo travel can be personally impactful even if only done for a little while.
It is good to miss someone and let yourself miss them, but carry on functioning anyway.
In fact go beyond functioning and enjoy yourself.
It's fun to have little stories to tell for the rest of your life, coming from your own unique singular perspective.
It's okay to have something entirely for yourself.
I do prescribe to the words of Christopher McCandless (ultimate solo traveller, see the film 'Into the Wild') and his line, 'Happiness is only real when shared'. But maybe that's true of certain kinds of happiness, and maybe happiness is different in different circumstances.
Maybe he meant that we can go seeking something amazing and true, and feel exhilarated in the process, but when we find it, we wish we were finding it with someone.
Well I think that maybe we can become better equipped to build bountiful and beautiful shared experiences, in travel and in life, if we at first take time alone to reaffirm who we are, what we want and fundamentally, learn how we can bring the best of ourselves to that ultimate happy pairing.
In being a little selfish, a lone wanderer for a short period, we can actually end up becoming a more self-less partner, friend and family member in the end.
Happiness, in the ream of travel, really is a spectrum of different experiences. From tour groups to couple's travel to solo expeditions, it all holds the potential to make us feel, learn, love and grow.
Thanks for reading!
Want more reads like this? You can now find Hannah in her own online space, Good Intentions. Minimalism, mindfulness, conscious living and self-love; all the good stuff centred around being kinder to yourself, and kinder to the world.
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Couple's Travel to Solo Travel: Going Our Separate Ways
No, we didn’t make a boo-boo and book the wrong flights, we have actually decided that some solo travelling is calling us..
Couple's Travel to Solo Travel: Going Our Separate Ways
Two years have passed nearly, since Taran and I left the UK and began this roller-coaster of a travel adventure in Australia.
Seeing as two years is all us POM’s get before we get thrown back out into the world tanned, kicking and screaming, it’s time to plan for our next destination.
Asia was very much the loose plan for a while; hit up all the usual spots, relax, enjoy some of our last Aussie wages.
And then one day recently, during our big Aussie Outback road-trip, we had a conversation about some stuff that had been playing on both our minds, and that brings us to this blog post…
In around a week I, Hannah, will be flying to New Zealand, and Taran, will be flying to Thailand.
No, we didn’t make a boo-boo and book the wrong flights, we have actually decided that some solo travelling is calling us and now's the perfect time to embark on individual adventures.
Why Now?
When you are with someone for 4 years, 2 of which spent in constant close confines, you can inevitably get a little lost in one another.
Sometimes you are so deep in a set of routines, from routine affection to routine bickering, that you no longer feel as connected or as enriched by your surroundings.
You can start to not bring out the best in one another, or maybe one of you feels held back, or the other feels like they are doing the holding back.
You might be unable to remember the last time you did something on a whim of your own choice, in the exact manner you wanted to do so.
You might also feel like you are going along with certain plans that don’t truly fit, and you end up expressing this in passive-aggressive ways.
Sometimes you argue over irrelevant things purely because there’s an uncomfortable truth sitting in the pit of your stomach that feels too scary to confront.
You basically end up needing space. Space, to as corny as it sounds, to find yourself again.
There won't be any shouting into the void 'WHO AM IIII?', but maybe there will be the time and peace to ask that question by living out each day exactly as you want to.
Space to be a little selfish, develop your own interests, meet different people that you might not usually meet.
Space to remind yourself of what you need and what you want.
The Nature of Love
This need to be alone, of course, can happen in any relationship, but when travel is thrown into the mix, it can present different challenges to what we might have gone through had we been co-habitating in England.
Much of our 2 years has been spent in that place of stress in-between 'backpacker' jobs, when your wages stop and suddenly it feels like the fun does to.
There’s very little security or comfort, even less so than in ‘normal’ life, which for some is the appeal of perpetual travel, whilst for others, like myself, it is a constant source of stress.
I don’t enjoy moving between 2-3 different jobs throughout a year, none of which I truly want to do but merely have to if I don’t want to be forced to return home.
I also don’t enjoy when my partner is unable to find a good gig and things become very unbalanced as a result.
Its upsetting when all you want to do is travel but one of you doesn’t have the funds to do it, but, you are already in it, already amongst other travellers in a place you want to be, yet you are held back because there are two bank accounts to think about.
It can basically suck trying to juggle the differences in your approach to travel.
I wouldn’t say that I am a luxury traveller to Taran’s budget traveller, but I probably do feel more stressed by financial stuff, and I have always been that way inclined.
It isn’t just about money; it really boils down to two people suddenly realizing they want to do travel differently.
At the core is a difference in our goals; I want to start building my career and I want to combine that with travel, whereas Taran is happy to just keep riding the wave of laid-back travels and jobs.
I hope that we can both feel satisfied following our own chosen paths for a while, no matter where we end up with our goals.
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Travel Didn’t Ruin Everything
It’s possible that travel hasn’t wedged a knife between us, and we are just living out a normal situation in a slightly different (and heightened) environment.
In fact, travel has brought us closer through such a big and beautiful shared experience.
Beyond all the doubtful moments or feelings of anxiety, there has been a solid reason to keep at this.
I only have to scroll through my photo’s or read this blog to be reminded of what a truly insane and amazing collection of memories we have made together.
At this point our love and respect for each other is immense.
Our certainty and trust for one another is quite lovely. We have in fact felt very happy and connected since we made the choice to separate as funny as that sounds.
It’s possible that we are living out the idea of ‘If you love someone, you let them go’ and it feels right in some way. It feels grown-up and healthy.
It feels wrong some days though, when we are laughing and holding hands.
Why on earth would be want to be apart for any length of time?
Why would we want to be away from what we have?
Its this simple: our desire for each others happiness is superseding our need to live in one another’s pockets, because right now, our goals are a little too different for this lifestyle to continue and thrive.
Love for one another is not enough when two people stand at a cross-roads and can’t seem to pick the same route. Its logistical, not emotional.
Compatibility might not last a lifetime, even if it has been there for 4 good years, or even 40.
Sometimes people have these moments of realization, and the love doesn’t just stop in this scenario, it just has to be channelled differently.
Who knows where our individual travels will lead us. The uncertainty is part of the reality of choosing adventure, solo, or as a couple.
We both want to return to the UK for Christmas, but after that, things are unclear. Its likely Taran will join me in NZ at some stage this year, but yet again, uncertainty and spontaneity is the nature of this travel lark.
Future Of The Blog
We sincerely love what we do, and it’s pretty amazing to write this blog together, for Taran to make his films and showcase his amazing photo’s. So even in this time of being separate, this blog will continue on.
There will still be beautiful beaches to photograph, mountains to climb, hostel antics to gripe about and truly wondrous moments to be had.
I will be writing from a new perspective, that of solo-female traveller, something I feel truthfully terrified about. For an independent-minded person, I have gotten very used to having someone always around…
Taran too, is a little scared, and feels the same expected separation anxiety, but I know he will make the best of it all, and as usual, befriend people easily (he could find common ground with Donald Trump).
And on that note..
Thank you, to all whom have followed us these past 3 years, and I hope you all know that we are excited to share what comes next.
Thanks for reading!
Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!
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We Are All Human: Finding Peace In A Troubled World
Sitting and wondering about our origins, marvelling at the world and space, is something which makes all the horrendous wars and acts of selfish violence, seem so incredibly irrelevant.
We Are All Human: Finding Peace In A Troubled World
*This post, originally published in 2014, has been slightly updated to reflect recent current events and in 2016 its message remains very apt*
In 2014, Taran and I watched the BBC series, Human Universe, which follows Professor Brian Cox (a famous English physicist and now TV guy) discussing the origins of the human race, our evolution from 'ape-man to spaceman', and how remote communities in Ethiopia are where it all began.
Asides from being generally interesting, talking about how the primate evolved into the humans of today, and how our brain's have enlarged yet the capacity has remained the same for thousands of years etc, it also got me thinking a bit deeply about the state of affairs in our current world.
The horrid awfulness and remarkable inequality that is occurring out there is something I ended up dwelling on when I could of just been thinking "oh monkey, monkeys are cute. Look at Brian's wrinkle-free face. I love him".
Alas I decided to get all angry and confused.
I personally feel fortunate for being relatively untouched by many of the worst things happening daily, when so many others are in the thick of it, losing their homes, families, lives.
But it is a sad truth; many nasty things are happening in the world, but they always have and they always will.
The same old, same old.
We haven't always been faced with such horror; cowering in fear of international terrorists, facing an uncertain future, surrounded by complex conflict. Oh wait, we did that, during the cold war.
Society moves in cycles of war, resolution, and new beginnings.
Going back many moons ago there were different threats; we were scared of Spanish flu (rightly so in retrospect) and witchcraft (not so justified), but the bigger society has become, the more a climate of fear we enter into.
Is it because the world is scarier? Well, somewhat. But more now than ever before, it appears and feels a lot scarier.
Social media and communication technology break down geographical borders but also remove any camouflage; today's world does not support living in ignorant bliss. It does however lead to a raft of new conversations, debates and disagreements around how the world should be run; it simultaneously motivates the liberal and bolsters the conservative.
Emotion is what underpins much of these debates, from fear, that turns to hate that becomes harmful words and actions. Donald Trump is a product of this kind of terrified and illogical society.
Going back to the start.
Let's go back in time a bit, to the days Brian Cox talks about, the very dawn of our existence, when we were living basic lives which were based around literally making it one day to the next.
We would have faced human conflict on a far smaller scale, but we also would have been seeking the best way to survive by co-existing, sharing skill-sets and forming relationships.
We sought out ways to grow and thrive, and we did.
But fast-forward to now and it's evident, with evolving comes a whole host of complication.
Sitting and wondering about our origins, marvelling at the world and space, is something which makes all the horrendous wars and acts of selfish violence, seem so incredibly small, pointless and utterly devoid of meaning.
The average citizen wants to lead an uncomplicated life with love at the center, but then whole swathes of those people have to contend with war, poverty, famine, terrorism, displacement and then, the fear and prejudice of others, often those they aspire to live alongside and share in their relative comfort.
When we desire to malign and curtail the simple desire of those who want a chance at happiness and safety in their brief lifetime upon this earth, we are, for want of a better phrase, being fucking assholes.
When we do so due to religious differences or racial ignorance, we are being uneducated fearful assholes.
Imagine all the people, living life in peace.
The lyrical articulation of this vision that I have, from the late and very great John Lennon, is one of complete simplicity, a fact I do recognize.
So call me naive and simplistic if you wish.
Maybe I see the world from a comfortable and safe place, and so the ugliness can seem nonsensical and pointless to me; I am not directly experiencing and witnessing what goes on in war-torn cities, so of course I can't relate to it or fully understand it.
I am not religious so I am not laying down my life to fight for some imagined almighty. I am not taking a weapon in my hands to defend myself or those I love.
I am not one of the victims of the worst atrocities that others in my privileged position are inflicting pain upon, actions informed by complex dysfunction.
I am simply not right amongst the troubles in the world but they are close and sometimes they feel like they are only getting closer.
For only so long can the world place importance on something other than fixing the inherent problems killing its people in all corners, not the just the white or rich ones.
The only solution
When looking at the world from the eyes of an innocent and inquisitive child, who stares at the night-sky, enchanted, we step back in time, to what the very first humans did . A child (whether today or 200,000 years ago), isn't born accustomed to tragedy and complication, it simply wishes to live, learn, grow and love.
All of us deeply seek contentment and should seek for all those around us.
Many of us are watching from the sidelines, powerless and at the same time powerful. If we live our lives positively and consciously, then that's how we create power and influence. That's how generations before us have nudged along progress and sought to keep good winning over evil.
In truth, the battle between good and bad is entirely within the individual and the choices they make each and every day.
To judge, or to try to understand?
To discriminate or to treat everyone as our equals?
To recognize the humanity in a stranger like we would in the eyes of our own children, or to focus on only our own self-interest?
Seeing the beauty of the world and embracing that, not hatred, racism, conflict, religious extremism and political quarrels, is the only way to live out your life with authenticity.
If you believe you can achieve contentment and fulfilment whilst ignoring your role in the destiny of other people's happiness, well, I don't see you ever getting there.
We must endeavour to be aware and educated, on many topics, and be aware of how we can make a difference to the world.
Short of giving our whole lives in the pursuit of a sustainable and eco-friendly world, or 'world peace' or an end to world hunger, it takes more than just one person to fix things, but it's a good place to begin.
Care, and speak up about why everyone around you should to.
Seek to understand that which frightens you, instead of destroying or imprisoning it (or them).
For me personally, I want travel to mean more than just sleeping and eating in different countries. I want travel to help me live this way wholeheartedly.
Leaving my physical comfort zone I want to know the places and the people I share this planet with. I want to share in the universal human experience.
Experiencing travel may be a selfish thing, only available to the privileged, which mostly fulfils your own happiness and focuses on your own self-development. Yet when we engage with different cultures, we are closer to supporting those who need us, and we are no longer simply living each day in a safe bubble, ignoring those far-away communities we consider alien.
It's a unifying force, travelling.
I am in a privileged position with access to money, education and thus travel. But anyone, absolutely ANYONE, in any circumstance, can acknowledge how special and insane our existence is, and appreciate that our time on this planet is far too short to fill with misery.
To try and lead a happy life is not to ignore the pain of others, it is to embrace others but also the beauty that is found in every forest, on every coastline, in every ancient ruin.
True and selfless happiness is found in looking to the past, living in (and cultivating) the present and making a better future.
Witnessing and taking in all that makes us human and all that makes this world so spectacular, is to pay respect to all those who came before us and pave the way for all those yet to arrive.
Travel (and live) with heart and give your time, love and thought to the world, in whatever way you can, because at our core, us humans are good, and we all have the same capacity for love; it can always be found, tended to and it can grow, as fast as any conflict; we are our own worst enemy but also our only saving grace.
Thanks for reading!
Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!
Be social and come follow us across the virtual world!
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14 Photos That Will Inspire You To Travel
Travel might be a great way to meet new people, grow, discover adventure, and learn about yourself, but primarily, its a feast for the eyes and the soul.
14 Photos That Will Inspire you to Travel
Travel might be a great way to meet new people, grow, discover adventure, and learn about yourself, but primarily, its a feast for the eyes and the soul.
We have brought together some amazing photographers from around the world who have captured it in all its majesty. We hope these photos will awaken your desire to wander and see it all for yourself.
// United States Of America
Vernal Falls in Yosemite National Park in California - a bit of a hike up from the bottom, but definitely worth the effort! - Laurence Norah is the author of Finding the Universe, a travel & photography blog, as well as the Superstar Blogging Photography course, where he shares his photography tips and tricks with the world.
// Australia
Here is a photo we snapped while on Magnetic Island, Australia, during one the the best sunsets we have ever seen! It definitely helped that the scenery around us was so picturesque.
// Russia
"This was taken at the spiritual Shaman Rock on Olkhon Island in the middle of Lake Baikal. Olkhon Island didn't have running water until very recently and most hostels didn't have it installed when I visited, so I spent three days using outdoor squat toilets in -30 degrees Celsius and brushing my teeth with sparkling bottled water. TIP: When walking on the frozen lake, remember to look closely under the ice for fish swimming below you!" Moomads.
// Chile & Argentina
"This photo was taken on top of Paso de Jama, a main road connecting Chile with Argentina. Since we first came to the Andes we have been astonished by their beauty. Although they can look relatively barren, the rock formations are often so colourful that they can take your breath away. The air is extremely clean, so you often get clear blue skies of unbelievable vibrancy and crystal-clear reflections in lagoons." Dare2Go
// Australia
Whitehaven Beach on the east coast of Australia, some of the clearest waters in the world coupled with some of the whitest sand in the world. Its a combination that makes this place the perfect beach.
// Faroe Islands, part of Denmark
"Driving around the Faroe Island is a slow and time consuming matter - not because the roads are bad, but because the landscapes are simply too beautiful to be true, and you'll want to stop around every bend to take a picture. The weather in the Faroes is cold and rainy pretty much year round - as a result, the grass is the greenest we've seen, and there are waterfalls literally everywhere. This is Gásadalur waterfall, next to the village of the same name, and barely 10 km drive from the international airport. It was the first place we visited during our recent trip to the Faroe Islands - it is one of the most photographed locations in the country, spectacular year round and in all kinds of weather." The Crowded Planet
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// Egypt
"This shot is of Khafe Pyramid in Giza - as a history lover seeing the Great Pyramids in Egypt was one of my favourite travel experiences this past year!" Jessica Norah is the writer at Independent Travel Cats, a travel blog focused on couples travel, travel history, and luxury travel.
// The Galapagos Islands
"The Galapagos Islands; where the land is made from fire, the birds can't fly, and the lizards live underwater (some of the time anyway). Nothing here quite makes sense" Lisle Gywnn
// Mexico
"This photo is of the gorgeous Cenote X'Canche which is located just 1.5 miles from the Mayan Ruins of Ek Balam in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Visiting this cenote after exploring the ruins makes for a perfect day trip. I absolutely loved swimming in the vibrant turquoise-coloured freshwater with lots of little black catfish. My friends and I were the only ones there which made for such a tranquil and magical atmosphere." Brittany Thiessen.
// Australia
We took this beauty at sunrise on a quiet beach in Cape Hillborough, Australia. We had heard via word-of-mouth that it was a great place to see kangaroos in the wild, and as you can see it truly didn't disappoint!
// Iran
"Roaming through the grassy hills outside Palangan, a mountain village in Iranian Kurdistan. Rippling grasses, blue skies, and fields filled with shockingly red poppies make Kurdistan one of Iran's most charming and colourful regions." Lost With Purpose
// Hungary
"After visiting many cities across Europe, Budapest is without a doubt our favourite city. There is so much to see and do and the history and architecture of the city are interesting to say the least. This is our favourite picture from our time there, looking across over to Pest and Margaret island from Fisherman Bastion." Flashpacking Duo
// Chile
Torres Del Paine national park. This stunningly diverse landscape in Chile's Patagonia region was captured by our good friend Chie.
// Mongolia
"Wild horses roam the Mongolian steppe at sunset, just outside of the capital city of Ulaanbaatar." NOMADasaurus
Need more inspiring?!
Thanks for reading!
Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!
Be social and come follow us across the virtual world!
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Living With Anxiety - How To Cope And Thrive
So, you've read the title, and now, you know the truth. My big secret...
Living With Anxiety - How To Cope And Thrive
So, you've read the title, and now, you know the truth.
My big secret...
Although,it's not really a massive revelation is it?
I have certainly alluded to the fact that I am not an infallible and unflappable lady, and have indeed had 'issues' in the past.
But I want to make it clear in this post that my anxiety is very much alive and well, as is my nomadic lifestyle.
Hiding my truth like its a third nipple.
For most of my travels, and indeed my life, I have withheld information about myself from those around me and in the last 2 years, those who read my blog.
The kind of anxiety I dance with daily is not generalized, natural or normal every day worries, its a state of being and overthinking that alters my behaviour, decisions and daily choices.
For me it reveals itself in a few different ways. It comes out in OCD tendencies (which I don't want to over-focus on) as well as times when I wake up with an inexplicable and wildly overpowering feeling that something is about to go horribly wrong. It sometimes makes me feel completely empty and void of passion for anything, other times it makes me miserable and unkind.
Anxiety comes forth when I am making changes in my life, like when I start a new job or plan a new venture. It tries to dominate my mind at every turn of my life's path, and it almost succeeds at making me recoil and retreat from the things, and the people, that I love.
I wrestled with my anxiety so hard throughout 2013/2014, that it made me physically ill and nearly stopped me from coming travelling.
Seriously, it wasn't until the week before I left that I let myself believe it was going to happen and I was going to like it.
Anxiety is trendy.
It's not suddenly cool to suffer a mental disorder, but its certainly popular to talk about right now.
More people, from everyday folk to other bloggers and creatives, are speaking up about how anxiety affects their life beyond the usual idea of being a 'Worry wart'.
The reason I have held back this truth, the reason I don't admit it to people who have actually witnessed me having an anxiety attack (I just tend to cry and sob then refuse to say why, just a tad alienating) is because I feel shame.
I don't shy away from much, but I have sat down to write this post approximately 8 times, each occasion talking myself out of it. I have walked to work mentally writing it out in my mind and then mentally sent it to the trash.
The thing with anxiety is that you feel anxious admitting to suffering with it... nature of the beast an all.
Why do I feel shame? Well, I don't want certain people to perceive me as weak; be it in my job, in my freelancing or amongst my peers. And even by Taran.
The belief that I should quash down this part of me isn't helped by the fact that someone, not long ago, made me feel incredibly guilty for not being at my best. I was made to feel pointless and useless, because they couldn't deal with my humanness.
I get that there are people in society who marginalise those with mental illness and many of them do so because they suffer in silence or have a loved one who's mental illness might have negatively impacted them. These people might try to cut down those who represent a hard truth, one that threatens their self control and ability to keep it together.
And then there are those who are simply uneducated or bigoted. Those people are indeed the weakest of us all.
Their knowledge and understanding is weak, their desire to know more and care more is weak, but I don't judge even the most closed minded, because anxiety or not, I'm gonna do my thing and I'm gonna do it well.
This isn't mind over matter or ambition over adversity, this is evidence based thinking. I know that despite my anxiety I have succeeded at many things that have truly mattered in my life so far.
I bet all of you have done amazing things, and mundane things, just perfectly, despite your powerfully anxious thinking.
I was able to start and grow a new loving relationship. I also struck out alone and started my own small business.
I have also then gone and jacked that in, in favour of travelling indefinitely...
I haven't exactly made life easy for my anxiety and its punished me by laying the worries on heavy and thick!
So I know that I might have up until now, felt this horrid inhibiting shame and not wanted to share a large part of my truth, but regardless of that shame, I know that nobody can call any of us sufferers, failures or weaklings, because we live our lives the best we can despite our mind and physiology fighting us.
We aren't sufferers, we are fucking warriors.
We try hard, time and time again. When we do focus on ourselves, and ignore the judgement and treatment we receive from others, we recognize that we can have a fulfilling life, we just have to work a little harder to get there.
I no longer care what someone thinks of this part of me. In honesty, I am usually proud of the fact that I am not them. I would rather be emotional and sometimes frightened, and endure my afflictions, than be a nasty, vacuous or close-minded individual.
Awkward when you suck so much someone would rather live with a mental illness than be remotely like you, the supposed embodiment of strength and success, HA.
Anyway, truth bombs dropped, let's get specific.
Anxiety warriors tend to prefer routine and predictability as a way of coping and I am no different. Sometimes they desperately want to try new things but spend months going back and forth in their head before they do it, or they just simply never end up feeling able to.
The last 4 months have been marvellous in that I have had time to unpack, settle and just stop; stop having to plan our travels or deal with tent-living or force myself to interact with new person after new person.
And yet, it has also been a time of challenge, with my work not being overly steady, my income being way less than hoped, and just the fact that our brief period in Australia being sucked up by our need to be employed.
It's been a mixed bag of emotions and I am now so ready to go and travel again that I am chomping at the bit to get going.
That's why I am a traveller right now. I want to explore and I want to live outside my comfort zone but that small part of my anxious mind would prefer it if I didn't.
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How I travel with anxiety, and in spite of it:
I don't follow this advice like I've read it in a book or adhere to it like a diet pan. But I do try to remember these things each time I am on the brink, and it often helps me nip an anxious thought in the bud before it builds momentum.
I hope this advice can help any and all my fellow warriors, not just the ones living out of a backpack.
Balancing Today with Worries Of Tomorrow
I worry about money, an awful lot, and the only way I have found to counter this is to try my damnedest to be present and mindful.
As a particular worry grows in volume, I will tell myself 'Take life one day at a time' because that's all anyone can ever do.
If we don't at least try to do this, we either make impulsive emotional choices, afraid of some imagined future event, or we simply retreat into ourselves and ignore the positive things happening right that moment.
There is a right amount and wrong amount of time to spend thinking and planning for the future, and we tend to end up on the wrong side of that.
But when we recognize that we can indeed cross our bridges when we get to them, and not a month before, we become more present and more calm.
Accepting The Worst Case Scenario
For me, right now, the thought of having to prematurely return home is a big anxiety trigger. The thought of my dream being cut short due to financial reasons feels akin to someone cutting my oxygen supply.
So over-bloody-dramatic! Get some perspective woman!
Travel is a privilege and it is not the only avenue to feeling happy, but my anxiety would have me believe that the alternative is way worse than it is.
The best way I have found to overcome this and actually enjoy the travelling I am doing is by making sure I stay in contact with my loved ones, stay engaged with what's happening there and remind myself that home is never ever the worst place I could end up.
Not Trying So Hard
By this I mean caring a little less about those steadfast ambitions that feel as if they are the be-all and end-all; yes, I want to be a successful writer and one day a published author, but my goodness, if it doesn't happen, is that the end of the world?
Unless your life is truly horrible as it is, and unless you are trying to recover a lost career or even your health, having a dominant and all-consuming ambition is draining and frankly, its self-inflicted stress.
Why can't ambition be a slow process, one that has things in perspective and recognizes that no dream is worth sacrificing your now? Are you living and breathing for the right things?
What if you work so hard you get burnt out in the process and end up loathing what you once loved?
Just something to think about, applicable even to someone who isn't trying desperately to be anything other than a travelling bum.
Revelling In Joy Wherever I Can
I LOVE my morning walk to work with my headphones and 30 minutes of podcast time. I GO CRAZY for hugs from Taran. I INHALE chocolate and BATHE in cups of tea. And when we are on the road, I jump out of planes and rescue Koala's...
The little things AND the big things; I'll take them both.
I don't just feel the hard shitty parts of my day, I wholeheartedly enjoy the simpler moments, the ones which are able to happen because I am alive, healthy, and okay.
Anxiety can feel like it taints the good things we seek out in life and takes us far away from feeling the joy, but like I said, even the simplest of practises can bring us contentment.
Turning Down The Volume
When you have a headache because the TV is too loud or suddenly the radio is just super annoying, what do you do? You turn down the volume.
What do I do when my thoughts are vying for hours of my time and emotions, I turn their volume down.
I distract myself with writing, reading or listening to meditative podcasts, or even watching a movie. If my mind and my attention is taken up with things other than thinking, it stops the worry in its tracks. It might not erase the worry but it makes it quieter for a while, until some time when I deem it relevant to actually confront that worry.
This isn't about escapism or suppression, it's about giving yourself needed breaks from over-thinking and the havoc it wreaks on your behaviour and those closed to you. Inevitably you will still spend large chunks of your time given over to anxious thinking but a few periods of distraction amongst that will help.
Viewing My Weakness As A Strength
I find that I am usually the most organized person in my relationship and I have always been known for being reliable and trustworthy; my anxiety simply won't let me be any other way.
I am never late to anything because the idea fills me with dread; I might not turn up at my perkiest but I sure as hell will turn up.
I make provisions for the future to prevent my worst case scenarios actually happening, by being frugal and thrifty where possible.
I might try to live one day at a time, accept my worst fears, take it easy with my goals, revel in the small joys and distract my busy mind, but I also thank my anxiety on occasion, because it isn't all bad.
I'm not all bad. Neither are you.
Anxiety makes us feel acutely aware of the negative things in life, in people and in the passing of time.
We are all complex individuals with different motivations and differing amounts of time in which to achieve our goals, but at our core we are a beautiful concoction of processes.
I could see my anxiety as an indicator of the scary world in which I inhabit, or I could see it as a reaction to wanting to so desperately be part of the beautiful world which I also inhabit.
My anxiety makes me reach out, give love and accept love, because I fear losing the chance to do so. My anxiety forces me to weigh up decisions carefully and whilst it might have nearly stopped me coming to Australia, it also helped me prepare for it properly.
I treat my anxiety like a parasite; I feed off it and convert its strength into mental energy for myself.
It is possible to take the bad, with the good, and thrive in spite of what our mind fears or what actually happens to us; anxiety can be painful and feel impossible but anxiety also means we care and that means we are able to feel hope, faith and love. That means we live, not simply exist.
Thanks for Reading!
Want more reads like this? You can now find Hannah in her own online space, Good Intentions. Minimalism, mindfulness, conscious living and self-love; all the good stuff centred around being kinder to yourself, and kinder to the world.
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Budget Travel Will Turn You Into An Adventurer
Travelling on such a small budget will force you to make crazy decisions that you might never have made if you...
Budget Travel Will Turn You Into An Adventurer
When you travel long-term, life becomes a whole lot more unpredictable, but in a good way. You open yourself up to seeing and experiencing things that make you feel incredibly alive. That's why it becomes addictive, knowing that you are going to have your mind blown and your heart made full, exploring beyond your immediate surroundings.
When you know how it feels to travel, how it truly makes your senses heighten, and your stresses melt away, you will never want to stop.
And the best thing about travel, is that it can be done on a budget!
We came to Australia with about £3000 which may sound like a lot of money.. but we made that moolar last 6 months before we did any sort of paid work; in turn I know people who have spent that amount on a 2 week holiday!
Travelling on such a small budget will force you to make crazy decisions that you might never have made if you could afford the comfortable alternative.
When we first landed in Melbourne we set to work researching all the different ways we could travel the 10 hour journey to Sydney, as we knew we weren't going to hop on a Greyhound coach, not just because of the price, but because we kinda feel it takes the adventure out of the experience. We also didn't fancy spending hours sat on a cramped bus, catching brief glances of Australia out the tinted window, not stopping anywhere but at the designated drop-off's.
During our search we found a website called Co-seats, which is a kind of pre-arranged and paid hitch hiking deal; drivers can advertise their car journey, or you can advertise your preferred destination, and you then look for a match, send a text or make a phone call, and agree to pay a certain small amount towards fuel. It really is a super simple process. We got ourselves a ride with a really friendly young couple, who picked us up just after sunrise from a street corner, at the beginning of another busy day in Melbourne.
Over the next few months we continued to look for cheap and alternative ways to travel; we spent a month living in a two man tent and working for accommodation in Byron Bay, at the same hostel featured in the Inbetweeners 2 movie. Hannah cleaned toilets 3 hours a day, and I helped do some basic maintenance across the site, we worked 2 days on, 2 days off.
This saved us so much money and we made some great friends during our time in Byron Bay. We also got into the habit of hitch hiking as much as possible and although we've had some long waits and some strange people pick us up, you just cant beat the unpredictability of it.
We love the idea of the sharing economy that makes up so much of travelling; opportunities to get food and accommodation in return for a few short hours a day of work, plus the social nature of hitch-hiking, where people often love to pick you up just to hear your story.
One of our most memorable experiences so far was the time we met a hippy named Spartacus in Bellingen, who told us about a festival coming up in Nimbin called Mardi-Grass. He offered us a lift in his van (which is also where he and his son Apollo call home) for the 4 hour trip it would take to get there.
It was pouring down with rain that day, and it just didn't stop for the whole journey. We were diverted from a main road due to a massive accident, and pointed in the direction of a small one-way back-road. Headed down a narrow road more akin to an English country lane, after a few minutes of trying to see the road through the windscreen wipers, a feeble effort with the lashing rain, we spotted something sitting on the side of the road.
A cat? Surely not out here in the middle of nowhere..
We wish we could of got a better picture!
We stopped the van, and jumped out as Spartacus said excitedly, 'it must be a Koala!'
We both got a bit excited as we had been yet to see a Koala and weren't really keen on going to a zoo just to hold a docile one for a quick photo op. And then before we could even actually prepare ourselves, Spartacus had wrapped it in his jacket and was bringing it back to the van!
We grabbed some towels as it was really wet and cold, and then we got our first look at it before we wrapped it up like a little baby! Hannah then proceeded to cradle the baby Koala in a state of disbelief and cute overdose, while we drove to the nearest town after contacting a Koala rescue team.
This was such an amazing experience and we still look back at it and cant believe it actually happened.
There's very little chance something like this would of happened if we had just hopped on the Greyhound bus!
Watch the video below if you wanna see how it all went down:
We're not telling you that something like this will happen to you, as we are very aware it was extremely lucky for us to have had the experiences we've had. But we do believe that when you seek out cheaper and more adventurous ways to travel, amazing things can happen, and you get to see a side of a country you probably wouldn't have otherwise.
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If you stick to the pre-arranged tours and activities that are peddled to you as a backpacker, you will only ever experience the same thing everyone else does; you will stay in an pre-determined comfort zone.
For example...
While on the East Coast of Australia, we were searching for a way to experience the famous Fraser Island. We had seen all the various backpacker tours and day trips and knew that we wouldn't be paying their crazy prices, and our plan had been to try and hitch hike around the island; we did end up doing this briefly while on the island, getting a lift down the beach, but lifts are few and far between with everyone's 4x4's packed with supplies.
In the end we got to the island because of a job. Way back in April 2015, we happened across an advert for a remote campsite on the island, and from then on, we sent our resumes multiple times each time the ad resurfaced on Gumtree. Finally, in October, we actually got a response and then a phone interview! We secured the couples position and looked forward to finishing up our farm-stay to start working and saving up again; and of course, visit the mythical Fraser Island.
To actually get to the island, we were treated to a 4 seater plane ride over the island with a beach landing. Long story short, we ended up spending 2 months living and working on the worlds largest sand island, living in a tent, spending every day without phone signal let alone internet access.
Two months of being totally disconnected, the only possible way to communicate with the outside world being a hike up a massive sand dune. Two months of living in a tent that needed constant repairs. Two whole months of being exposed to light pollution-free night sky's full of stars; this was an experience we will remember forever, and we know that going on a 2 day party tour of the island just wouldn't have been the same, nowhere near.
You must try and challenge yourself when you travel.
It doesn't matter what kind of traveller you are, be it a luxury hotel frequenter, a hostel bunk-bed addict or a camping master, you can still experience a crazy adventure and all you need is a little imagination and the right mindset.
By sharing some examples of our improvised travelling method, living every day way out of our comfort zones, we hope to inspire you to seek out the road less travelled; it's the best way to create a travel experience that's entirely unique, utterly unforgettable and completely life-changing.
Make sure to share this with your friends who you think will benefit from it :]
Do you seek adventure? It may be easier than you think (and cheaper) https://t.co/5RYWVVJwIK #adventure #travel pic.twitter.com/IfiN8uUSH2
— Taran & Hannah (@Nomaderhowfar) June 3, 2016
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Thanks for reading!
Taran here, owner of Nomad'er How Far. I'm fond of psychedelic rock, photography & videography, anything to do with space and I'm also partial to the odd gaming session. Oh and I love to travel :P Get to know me here!
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Latest Travel Inspiration:
The Ultimate Guide To Boosting Your Blogging Strategy
Looking to up your blogging game? This all-in-one guide will take you to the next level with tips and fixes including...
The Ultimate Guide To Boosting Your Blogging Strategy
Yes!
I'm finally writing about my biggest passion of the last two years (besides travel, minimalism, food, pugs, and finally, Taran): BLOGGING, to bring you 40 simple steps to making a better blog!
I believe that I was always destined to write, from a young age; I wrote anything from poetry to short stories to songs even. But when I was a teenager and trying to find my creative outlet, blogging was in its infancy. I had no idea that one day this would be my thing.
We grew up together, blogging and I.
I liked the idea of journalism, but I also always wanted to help people, provide advice or guidance, but did I have a single clue via which channel I wanted to do that? I truly didn't, until 2 years ago.
This blog is one of the best things I have ever gone through with, from its small beginnings to what it has grown into today.
I've had so many ideas about blogging advice jumping around my brain for months.
The last 2 years have been a major learning curve for me as a blogger. Even the last 2 months have brought me reams of new ideas. I now read about blogging more than I read about travel which might seem odd to admit as a travel writer.
No offence to my fellow travel bloggers! I love peoples travel chronicles and advice, but when I get downtime from travel, I use my days to hone my blogging craft.
I have slowly figured out some solid ways to boost my own blogging strategy, through trial and error, lots of time on social networks and other blogs.
Ready to totally up your blogging game and follow 40 proven steps to success?
Below is an 8 part guide, which centres on the different areas of blogging strategy.
1 - Review your blogs user friendliness
2 - Engage with other creators in your community
3 - Review your newsletter strategy
4 - Build a deep and sincere relationship with your audience
5 - Utilize social media scheduling tools
6 - Create great content upgrades
7 - Audit and repurpose old content
8 - Improving your writing
1. Review your blog's user friendliness
We often get disconnected from the user experience of our readers when we are in a routine of writing, publishing and sharing.
How often do you actually sit and use your website as if it wasn’t your own? Do you ever take a moment to actually enjoy your own stuff, whilst also critiquing it?
Use your website instinctively and intuitively.
This isn't about analysing your writing quality, that we will discuss in a part 8; this is purely about design elements, technical issues and general user-friendliness.
Write down anything which sticks out to you as needing immediate changing, from small details, to overarching flaws. Note what is working well and see if you can build on this across your site to deliver a more consistent and stream-line look.
Struggling to critique? Consider this:
Are your most recent, and most popular blog posts easy to find?
Your blog might have a deep archive filled with content that doesn't match your current style, theme or message. In time you probably intend to edit or remove these posts, but meanwhile, you want to ensure that your new readers come into easy contact with what you know is 100% current, as well as your evergreen content. We personally use a gallery tab on our homepage which shows 5 of our most read posts. We then share our most recent content nearer the bottom of that page. We also have a category in the top navigation bar for latest and popular. We basically make it super simple for anyone to find the content we want them to see first.
Are your sharing buttons well-placed for optimal visibility?
If people love what they find, at almost any place on your site, can they easily share that on multiple social networks? We favour using AddThis to display our sharing buttons on the left side of the page for desktop and at the bottom for mobile. We originally relied on social links at the top of the page, plus a floating follow widget that followed the page as you scrolled down, as well as sharing links at the bottom of the post. I have noticed a lot of popular or high-quality blogs who do this is also, only including share buttons at the very bottom of a post. I do ideally want people to read all the way through a post before sharing, but not everyone will read the whole she-bang before they feel the desire to share it. I like the placing of our buttons because they don't detract from the bulk of the text whilst also making it very easy to share the post.
Can your readers easily ascertain who you are and what you do, without having to read your 'About' page?
Something we have tried to do here at Nomad'er How Far is ensure that we use a bio on the homepage, and at the bottom of every post, using our keywords to get across our blog's purpose. We also created categories for all of our blog posts displayed along the top bar, so that readers can get a quick idea of the key things we are all about, no matter which section they land on. Our homepage uses an video in the header if you are viewing on desktop. We also have our sidebar present on every page, displaying our logo, names and social channels.
Do you use one readable font type across your site for a simpler viewing aesthetic?
We go through phases where we hate our font and want to change it, we often stumble upon a dream font somewhere online and then can't find a worthy match. For now, we are mostly a-ok with this font because we know it's readable. We did however make our font smaller, which makes our longer posts much easier to take in. We also now use our Heading 1 and Heading 2 correctly, as this has a lot to do with improving SEO; our blog title at the top of the post is always Heading 1, and any subsequent sub-titles, Heading 2. This is something we had just brushed aside until recently and is such an easy mistake to make, we genuinely felt a bit silly when we realised what we were doing.
Is your colour scheme and layout easy on the eyes?
We have used the same colour scheme since day one, although I did gently encourage Taran to lighten the background because I love black on white, whereas he thinks the pop of colour is better. It is actually good for our blog because it visually complements our logo image, and is a continuation of our branding.
Focusing on these elements of design have helped me spot a number of things that needed addressing on our site; I found that many of my blog posts weren’t using the best header images, and I also found weird glitches in fonts, where my bottom bio was all messed up. I couldn’t believe I'd missed this stuff before, but I hadn’t been looking for it.
My forever solution to this problem is to regularly audit my content. I go back through the archives, pick old posts and edit them to ensure they follow the design of our newer posts.
HOLD UP, we will discuss this more in Step 7.
2. Engage with other creators in your community
Lately I have loved being social, present and chatty across our social networks. I'm a chatter box by nature and I have to kerb this so as not to babble all the time. Like I was about to, just then… So recently I have massively upped my game across the board, from Facebook groups, to twitter conversations, to talking more to the bloggers who inspire me the most. I have also become addicted to podcasts and I now use my walk to work for lots of inspirational brainstorming time.
As bloggers we can become solitary figures, locked down to our laptops, typing away endlessly, and trying to go it alone in creating great stuff, and sharing it. But I have to remind myself that blogging is fundamentally, my hobby, so I should try and enjoy it more. Sure I get days and even weeks where I avoid everything to do with my blog, which I call, my blogging overwhelm. But right now I am striking the balance between engaging often and brightly, with my fellow bloggers, as well as creating meaty content.
I especially love talking to and sharing the stories of those who are just starting out in blogging, travel or minimalism, because we were all new to this once upon a time!
5 Things To Consider:
Do you regularly share others content, which you have read and can truly advocate?
I believe its more important to share other people's content less frequently, and focus more on the quality of what you share, furthering the message and purpose of other bloggers you personally respect. As bloggers I believe we want to encourage each other in our quest to produce truly engaging and life-changing stuff. But also, it makes sense that you don't deliver to your loyal followers something that you can't provide 3 solid reasons for why they should read it. You don't want to fill up the feeds of your fellow bloggers and your audience with things that aren't worth their precious attention. Plus, if you share absolutely anything, of any quality, it does nothing for your credibility as a voice worth listening to.
Have you created a spreadsheet to collate your favourite posts from other bloggers or websites?
This is a massive time-saver that I recently brought in, so that I can save any links I have read and shared, and make it easier to re-share them again in the future. I also utilize Pinterest and Feedly, for when I want to source new bloggers or content worth sharing; I look at my saved pins and newsfeed, and pick a few things to share on other platforms. Yet again, this saves time and carries forth a message in-line with your own, curating social spaces that are unequivocally suited to your niche or target reader.
I have also been making better use of IFTTT, which if you haven't heard of, is a neat site which allows you to connect different processes through what they call 'Recipes'. I've connected our Twitter to my google drive, so that all the tweets I post are saved into a spreadsheet; this helps make twitter sharing quicker in the future.
Are you regularly commenting on other creators posts, offering positivity and friendship?
I develop blogger and youtuber crushes constantly when I find people who are hitting it out the park with their stuff. I don't necessarily mean established and well-liked individuals, I mean people similar to myself, who are maybe not yet pro-blogging, but headed that way. This might seem like a purely social activity not geared to improving your blogs success, but it truly is.
Some of my favourite podcasters, some of whom are super successful personalities, often bring on fellow creators to share their wisdom, and these people aren't just their guests, they're their friends. When you move forward in your creative journey, it makes sense to bring others along with you, to complement one another in your different outlets, and make the long process of growth far less lonely. But also, by being massive and consistent supporters of our fellow creators, we foster mutually beneficial friendships, not short-term business connections.
Do you play an active part in Facebook communities in your niche, offering advice and opinions, not just links back to your website?
I try hard where possible to help others via the various Facebook groups I am currently in (including a minimalism group of around 7000 people), but more often than not, I am the one seeking help. I am still a relatively new blogger, and there is an awful lot that I yearn to understand. Thankfully, these communities are full of people willing to share their wisdom, open to building others up, because its the cool thing to do. We are all in this together, and whilst competition exists, there isn't ever going to be one standout winner in this game. If you are someone who wants to succeed and become the top in your field, and you choose to chase this in a selfish and one-sided manner, you're not really here for the right reasons. Sharing IS caring.
Have you reached out to any of your blogging companions via email to discuss a collaboration?
I personally struggle with this one usually because of time limitations; I'm so caught up in my daily life and blogging routine, I neglect to broaden my content variety by inviting others onto the blog or reaching out to guest post on other sites. I just never get down to writing out thoughtful emails to people who I genuinely want to collab with out of fear that they will either say no, or simply be too busy, in which case I feel bad for bothering them aha! People-pleaser disease. I am definitely going to be working on this big time in the coming months.
This idea, as well as the other 4, will benefit your blog in terms of content variety and authority, but at the core, it’s a fun and important part of staying sane in the blogging game.
We're all here to cultivate something special and real aren’t we? Being engaged and creative within the communities which we rely upon and want to be successful in, is a key part of that.
Step 3. Review your newsletter strategy
We currently use Mail-chimp, because, duh, it’s free...up to a certain point that we are nowhere near reaching.
We have seen a huge rise in our newsletter sign ups in the past 2 months. We believe this is directly linked to the addition of a call to action to join our email list, placed in the middle of our longest and best content. We don’t have a welcome mat or a pop-up (we find these mildly annoying even if they do apparently convert to list growth) but so far, increasing the opportunities to join the list across our blog posts has more than sufficed.
For the longest time we sent out a weekly newsletter pulled from our RSS feed. This is surely a pretty boring email to receive, plus these often end up in people's promotional folder, not even their main inbox. It's great for our readers who need reminding we exist, but, it doesn't provide extra value to those who have willingly handed over their email address in the hope of getting something great.
Recently we made some changes based on the fact that we suddenly had this growing audience on our email list who had signed up assuming they’d receive bonus content, and we simply were not delivering on this.
We still keep to only 1-2 emails a week, but we now bulk out the RSS email with a conversational style of email. We share more personal info that links well to recent blog posts and we try to give a little extra detail than what our audience finds on the blog.
But the biggest change has been the addition of a mid-week email. I create a relatively long-form email which will relate to a recent post, and make mention of my minimalism eBook. In-depth and thought-provoking, this email levels a question at readers in the end. The answer to that question could well lie in the product you are promoting be it free or paid, or in the very least, it makes your readers think, and interact.
You really cannot underestimate the connection you can build with your reader via email, so consider these 5 ideas:
How often do you email your list, and what are you current open rates?
We review our analytics for our open rates and click-throughs via Mail-chimp, and it's always a good way of measuring which email format is working best. But because we only alternate between an RSS-driven email, and a more long-form chatty one, there is little room for drastic comparisons. We generally use this as a rule of thumb for if we need to up our game further, for example, by creating a better email subject line in future emails.
Do you often share something valuable, and bonus, making the members of your list feel like they are part of an exclusive club?
We send emails to our small (but steadily growing list) which are more conversational to encourage more interaction than the average blog post might do. We also expand on our current posts, or discuss something relevant but not yet published on the blog. We have also brought in content upgrades only available by joining our list, but in the future we will periodically send out content upgrades to our list, as well as incorporating an opt-in to a landing page, which will be a piece of evergreen content.
Are you including a call to action at the end of your email, plus 1-2 links within the text?
Research into getting your emails not flagged as spam might suggest against too much link dropping in an email, but you should still include at least 1-2 links within the text, otherwise you are missing out on a targeted traffic-driving opportunity. I definitely keep it to a minimum however. I also add a call to action to the bottom of the email which relates to the key topic or takeaway of that email and directs readers back to my website or product.
Is your sign up link visible across your site, during your content and at the end as a call to action?
Our list growth can be directly attributed to the increased visibility of our sign up link, now included in the middle of posts, often at the end, and in the side-bar. We have seen a 1000% growth in our list. Yes, 1000%. For months we only gained 2-4 new people a month...to now getting 2-4 a day.
And you know what, we haven't used any annoying user-interrupting methods or pop-ups to achieve this growth! It is purely from having more sign-up links across our posts, combined with a couple of content upgrades in some posts, but only a couple so far.
Have you made this sign-up link enticing, but not promising of too much that you can't deliver?
We generally keep it short and simple, and we ask, 'Like What You're Reading?', so when people sign up, it's a vote for YES, your stuff is good, and I wanna hear more.
We don't promise a specific type of email as we are still in the process of improving our email content strategy and don't want to make false promises. We believe its mostly important to have a great piece of content, because then you gain list sign ups based on the quality of your writing and the message this infers, that whatever your emails contain, it will probably be good.
I know this blog post is a long read. I mean, LONGGGGGG, so I have also created a printable checklist for all 40 steps:
Sign up to our newsletter and get it sent to you instantly!
See what I did there ;)
4. Build a deep and sincere relationship with your audience
Of course your email list, your social media sharing and your actual blog posts all go a great distance in building your audience, but do they facilitate a deep and lasting connection?
Do you convert one-time visitors to long-term readers? Are you true to yourself and yet true to your audience and their needs?
42% of the world’s population now have internet access, and right now, around 3 billion people use a variety of devices to access it, but not all of whom are reading blogs (stats courtesy of we are social). That’s a lot of people all searching for inspiration and information, online. But then again, there are also 6.77 million people producing blogs.
But how many of these blogs are in your niche? And how many of them are producing content of a consistently high quality? Well, for starters, you need to be confident enough to say that you are... You need to be sure (via step 1 and later, step 8) that you are producing stuff worthy of an audience.
But really, it doesn’t matter what the numbers say, or how scary your level of competition is. You can still make a place within an over-saturated marketplace if your blog impacts a few people each and every day; you are going to gradually increase awareness, grow your audience and become a useful resource to a small but valid part of those 3 billion people.
Do you reply to comments promptly, address the commenter by name if possible, thank them, and think before you respond?
This is pretty much the most basic thing for audience engagement. We don't receive a constant stream of comments so its relatively easy for us to do this for every comment, always. I get its harder for larger blogs to keep up with but I still think its a worthwhile practise. I know you can't drop everything to immediately respond to a comment but even taking 10 minutes twice a day to do so, is still prompt enough for most people.
I really dislike it when a blogger replies to my comment with a perfunctory response that shows they speed-read my comment and probably found even that level of interaction an inconvenience. I think it all boils down to knowing your purpose; do you write for yourself, for your audience or to generate customers? For many creators, you are basically nothing without your readers, and you would be speaking to a brick wall if none of them felt like respected commenters.
Do you pepper your content with provocative questions, or statements, to make your readers think and respond?
We used to end every post with a question but it didn't really work, and maybe that's because we were focusing too much on this one question, neglecting all the points in our post that might have got our reading thinking, and wanting to speak. And it's not about asking more questions than you answer, but it is about placing a couple of well-worded sentences, which might even contest the point you are actually making. I believe we should assert our advice and be confident in it, whilst still showing a consideration for other perspectives. For example, in this post, we delivered a firm stance (albeit on a mildly trivial topic) but we still suggested ideas in support of those of the opposite stance. That brings me nicely to my next point...
Do you write about something from a fully-informed place, and use secondary sources as support?
I think its very important to not just use disclaimers (more in point 5) and refer to external sources across your blog, in places where you recommend products or specific ideas, but also, you should expand your readers knowledge on a topic, beyond the points you yourself present as truth. I make good use of social media to drive this but I also try to refer to external research in a blog post, sometimes that I myself conducted. I find this helps me to not make assumptions about the pains of my readers, or deliver unrealistic advice. Also, in certain posts when I am delivering a perspective from my own personal experience, I use my own situation to help my readers avoid the same outcomes. If we simply sound off about our own pains and basically put out negative vibes, what value does that provide others?
Are you honest and true to yourself in your creative output?
This might be hard if you cultivate a persona based on indomitable strength and success, who prefers to always keep up the appearance being an iron-clad authority in your field, and nothing else. But most of us show some level of weakness because it appeals to our audience, and because we want to keep it real. We want to be a respected authority but we don't want to steer so far away from sharing our imperfections that we lack personality and hold back our truth. This is important for building reader connections because we come across as real people, with real concerns, and the solutions to match, who care about our readers lives more than just being business-like 24/7.
I always go back to my reasoning for beginning this blog, which was to chronicle a phase of my life which I knew would be momentous. It then changed over time because I realized that I could marry my desire to be a helpful advice-giving person with my minimalist travel adventures, and maybe, just maybe, turn it into a part-time job. My fundamental goal starting out was centred around creativity, expression and honesty, something I never want to stray from in the pursuit of blogging success. My audience, every day real people (not companies), and the truthfulness of my content, is of my up-most concern. That brings me smoothly to the next point...
Is your blog over-run with self-promotion, external ad's and sponsored posts?
I talked about this topic super in-depth a little while back because it had been majorly bothering me. I get that plenty of the biggest and best blogs out there will have ad's and self-promo in abundance, and that great content can co-exist alongside these things. But for a number of reasons, this can really turn off your readers and distance you from them. I want to be drawn in and delivered something of value on the blog I have chosen to read, and I want to be offered, in small subtle ways, invitations to develop my knowledge, which may be via your affiliate, eBook or course. But I don't want to click on a link, having been tempted by a Pin or tweet, to then find a website I can barely load for all the ad's its running. I won't even read the post in this scenario, I will click off before my browser implodes (my tiny laptop is not built for much).
If you aren't striking a nice balance between furthering your professional goals, and also delivering a readable website with consistent and high-quality content, your readers will suffer, and eventually, you will to. We would love to build an income from our blog, because we're nomads and work is not a stable facet of our lives; we basically need to find a way to make a sustainable living to keep on travelling. But you know what, we currently both work casually and part-time (we often end up washing dishes or doing housekeeping) and we go without, every week, but we still pay our website fee, and we still invest all our free time into this blog. We have turned down numerous sponsored posts and limit our ad's to 2/3 sidebar spots at current, because we have a clear idea on how we want to do this blog.
Our passion costs us time and money that we don't really have, but that's love folks. Love for our audience, love for helping them, love for our creativity, and a belief in a bigger purpose to what we are doing here.
5. Utilize Social Media Scheduling Tools
So this step goes hand in hand with engaging in your communities.
Do you use an automated and efficient sharing process for your own content and that of other people?
Our favourite tools for sharing (and engaging) include Tailwind for Pinterest. We invested in the full paid version because not only is Pinterest our number one traffic source (thanks to some semi-viral minimalism pins that no longer fit our style and look kinda ugly, ha!) but it’s also my favourite place for curating and sharing content I love and can learn from.
I share some pins right away but schedule about 70% into our Tailwind queue. This means I am constantly building our boards at a rate I couldn’t without the scheduler. I also love Tailwind for the analytics as it shows the virality and engagement score for your boards and group boards. This helps us know where our tribe is most active and where we should pin to most regularly.
We use Twitter regularly to chat with fellow bloggers and know it’s where our professional circle spends a lot of time, along with Facebook communities. So I love to use Tweetdeck combined with my twitter lists. Twitter lists are actually my favourite new thing that I have been using to make the crazy nature of Twitter, easier to navigate. I find this is the easiest way to see the latest content from my favourite bloggers and quickly add it to my scheduled tweets, which I then specify to go out at a specific time and date. I try to space these out across the week, and to post early in the morning and late at night (I tweet live during the day).
I see Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter as a great way for curating content that I love, as well getting my own messages out there.
We also use Tweet Jukebox to send out a list of our key important links each week. We edit the tweets weekly as Twitter isn’t a fan of duplicate tweet content! We include things like our Patreon sign-up, our email list sign-up, YouTube channel and 2-3 of our best evergreen posts.
It’s quite obvious that if we are ever-present and providing valuable sharing, beneficial to our readers and our comrades, then we will also create more awareness for our own stuff.
But that’s not to say that the key reason for a solid sharing strategy is to ultimately lead to our own growth, but its a cluster of activity that helps elevate your brand as well as lift others up.
5 things to think about:
Are you automating and spacing out your sharing as much as you can?
Tailwind is great for this purely because everything is added to a schedule which posts your pins to nominated boards in intervals which you can specify. Also, via Twitter and Tweet-deck, I like to live tweet/re-tweet/like throughout the day and have 4-5 things pre-scheduled to go out at other times, so that I am present across the different time zones, and can build engagement in my sleep. We also schedule Facebook updates to ensure our content is seen by the time-zones that our largest demographics come from.
Do you utilize free tools as well as premium sites to help you share consistently?
We love Tailwind but its currently the only paid tool we use. We utilize all the free tools previously mentioned such as Tweetdeck and Tweet-Jukebox as well as Canva and free stock photos for our sharing designs. We are always on the look-out for new free tools because we are still a small-scale operation. But the main justification in our minds for forking out for Tailwind is because Pinterest is our biggest traffic source. If we have any intent of growing then some investment in our social tools is necessary. I believe even bigger bloggers can seek out frugality in the running costs of a blog, but realistically your social tools should reflect your audience size and how well you can manage it and grow it. Don't spend money on social tools if you can do most of the work on the free ones.
Have you looked at your Twitter/Pinterest/Facebook analytics to see if your current schedule is working?
As much as I love Twitter, it is a tiny source of traffic for us. But Twitter has a bigger purpose as we use it for building and maintaining our relationships with other bloggers as well as learning stuff from our favourites. I still have a regular sharing strategy because I know that if you have a large audience on a social network, then some of that audience will be made up of your readers. Being present in a variety of channels that your readers might want to find you is a solid idea, but, we can always play around with social strategy to ensure we balance out being engaging with our counterparts and engaging with our audience. Its important we regularly check if we are reaching certain goals via our current social activities, whatever those goals may be. When your goal is measurable, such as gaining new readers, then reviewing your analytics will help you know where to always show up. When your goal is building business relationships, then it makes sense to change the way you interact on certain platforms.
Could you alter the way you contribute to your social spaces to better meet your core goals?
One thing we have done recently is delete pins on Pinterest to make sure our boards are continually of good quality and engaging. We also like to ensure we are chatty and honest on Twitter so that our followers and fellow creators see us as more than just link generators. Furthermore, we like to do live videos on Facebook as this is a rapidly growing feature that we want to take advantage of to actually share the travel side of our blog. Basically, each social space is different and can be curated to show different sides of your blog and your personality, when used correctly.
Have you looked at expanding your reach to different social networks e.g. Stumble-upon, Google+, Snap-chat or Periscope?
We have taken a few light steps in Stumble-upon and are still none-the-wiser to Periscope so this step is advice we too need to act on. I think it's all too easy to stick to what you know works or to believe that you are already adequately reaching your audience, but you could at least experiment in these different spaces. Your audience are often trying out new social networks, so it's probably wise that you follow suit. But you can still have a strategy in mind, and look at the optimal ways to deliver value in these new spaces, not just replicate your strategy from other social networks.
Step 6. Create great content upgrades
I'm super new to this, mainly because when we were travelling non-stop (before we took a travel pause to work and save up) I had barely enough time or internet to upload a post let alone create a content upgrade.
I have tried recently to focus more on this because not only is it an incentive for email list sign-ups but it provides your audience with double the value they expected to receive. You deliver something great, and then some. That 'then some' can set you apart, or just better imprint you in the memory of your readers.
Even if I don’t always read or use the content upgrade I might find on my favourite posts from other bloggers, it is suggestive of a quality and committed creator who wants to help me as much as they can. And, they want to do it mostly for free.
5 things to consider:
Would some of your older posts which still deliver traffic benefit from an email list content upgrade?
I am currently in the process of creating some content upgrades for older posts, be they just a downloadable PDF (which requires email sign-up) or an activity workbook, but for me, its a slow process. The best way to go about this might be to review your top-performing posts and see if they might also convert readers to email sign-ups. Do these posts max out on value or could value be added with an upgrade?
Are your current content upgrades converting in some way, and if not, how could you make them better?
We recently published a post in our super popular minimalism section which included a content upgrade. It has resulted in a few email sign-ups but not a whole lot. I think the best way to overcome this is to give the post some time to grow its audience (being that is reasonably new) and see over time if it converts to sign-ups. But if it doesn't convert we will probably adjust the sign-up link text to make it more enticing. We might look at the placing of the sign-up and ensure that it will be seen as a highly relevant solution to the problem discussed in that part of the post.
Have you isolated the best content for upgrades or do you place them across all your postings?
It might seem that placing upgrades on all your posts or just the ones which get the most views is the way to go, but those posts might not actually be suited to an upgrade. I think its probably wiser to spend time on one amazing upgrade that is completely useful within a given post, even if it isn't a highly popular post. This is a great way of improving an older post and driving new traffic to it, meaning that when you go to re-share it on social media you can make mention of the new awesome content upgrade.
Are your content upgrades actually good and something you yourself would want to download?
Taking on the challenge of bringing in content upgrades can add a lot of stress but not necessarily a lot of value. If you allocate a lot of time to develop your upgrades, and want it to build your audience engagement significantly, you want your sign-ups to receive something they will be more than satisfied with. Focus less on developing multiple upgrades for multiple posts and instead, build occasional upgrades which are extremely in-depth and useful. It takes a lot of time and energy to construct a blog post that people will love and share, so it makes sense to not try and add to this commitment by creating too many sub-par upgrades.
Have you considered creating one great upgrade applicable to more than one blog post or topic?
I currently publicize my eBook as a great supplement to my minimalism posts but of course anyone can buy this, they don't need to sign up to my email list to get it. But, you could introduce some short-term incentives for existing products in your inventory, by creating a discount on a paid product, only available via your email sign-up. You could then insert this into relevant posts, see how it performs and adjust it accordingly. If you want to create new products, be it a free eBook or course for example, then these should be something solidly relevant across your whole site.
Providing discount incentive sign-ups on paid products might seem like a bit of a pushy and salesy thing to do, but people can take the offer, or leave it. If you put lots of effort into creating a brilliant product worth buying, which you want to generate passive income on, then a content upgrade will help you do so; you already did a lot of hard work to create your product, make sure you give it the best chance to succeed.
Step 7. Audit and repurpose old content
Those of us that have been in the blogging lark a while are probably regularly auditing our websites, reviewing our traffic, SEO, keywords, meta data and imagery, then making slight improvements to our content along the way.
It’s something I have been majorly lacking on recently; being engaging and social leaves little time for this which I find quite a daunting task. Having produced our blog for over 2 years, there are a lot of pages and posts to audit and edit. There are some things I know desperately need fixing, some I am too afraid to look at, and then others I know could really boost our blog if updated.
The benefit of a blog audit is to know where you are at, how your blog is performing across the board and thus establish where you need to change things. When an audit is combined with repurposing, you can create new content from what you already have, potentially boosting your traffic and improving your brand cohesiveness. Many of your best blog posts will have been buried somewhere down the line, unless they have taken on a viral life of their own. And so many could do with updating to ensure any new visitors land on content that is totally in-line with your current keywords, voice, visuals and of course, your email list sign ups and content upgrades.
In part 1 we used our blog as if we were a reader. We may have isolated different things we needed to immediately change or edit. But within part 7, we can now set aside time to audit, edit and repurpose, one post at a time, one day at a time.
5 ideas to think about:
Are your recent and popular posts the best they can be, in terms of spelling, grammar, layout, visuals, social sharing imagery and of course, calls to action?
We always make sure to review each week which of our most recent and popular posts are gaining the highest traffic, and we proceed to re-read them, edit and ensure that we didn't miss anything when we originally published them. There's nothing worse than a new post gaining great virality, and only then do you realize it isn't the optimal representation of your best creative practise. We combat this by re-reading a post when we go to share it, be it 1, 2 or 3 weeks later.
Have you got old content with great potential but which needs a total revamp?
We most recently altered a super old post which was garnering fresh activity on Pinterest. The post itself is 2 years old, and highly simplistic compared to more recent posts on the same subject. Instead of removing it or changing it drastically, I made sure it was grammatically correct, created a new pin and matching header image, and added a comment at the top inviting people to read our more recent and in-depth posts on the same topic. I basically invited people to the stuff I would prefer they read, which is broadly better, but the post itself still holds some value, so I of course encouraged readers to continue. This post then saw a surge in traffic even though I didn't re-share it in all its up-to-date glory. It most importantly lead readers to the rest of our content on the topic, simply by adding the new opening sentence.
Many of our older or original blog posts lack several things we now include as standard. They don't simply look weird and wrong but they are either extremely short and basic, or just not in line with our current style of delivery. But if we took the time to write on this topic way back when, surely we cared about the idea or thought it was worth discussing. So part of our current auditing process is to pick things from deep in archives, which probably get no reads at current, and completely revamp them, change the publishing date and re-share.
Are you categorizing all your posts clearly meaning people can easily find your different content, not simply your most popular or latest posts?
Of course its important to always re-emphasize your latest creations and direct people to your most popular stuff, because, well, we know there's a high chance they will like it. But we should also make sure that our readers can actually get into our archives and can easily read further into a specific topic if we have talked about it numerous times.
We make sure we have a search bar in our side-bar so people can look up anything on our site. We also have our posts categorized which then display along the top-bar. This helps readers spend more time on the site, which of course builds a deeper connection and helps elevate your brand over time. We are not the sum of only our best offerings, or only appealing and worth reading based on our most recent stuff. Our blogs grow and develop over time, and some people want the chance to experience that, know us on a deeper level and extract value across all our creations.
Do you link to older or similar posts in several places, also including a list at the end of each post for relevant suggested reading?
I don't do this enough, but somewhere I recently implemented this, was on our 'Start Here' page. Instead of just talking about our topics, I straight away list 5 useful posts that people should read, which takes them through our blog purpose and ethos. Our tag-line states that we changed our spending habits, embraced minimalism, ditched the 9-5 and started afresh, so we list 5 posts which help our readers do the same. We also list relevant internal and external links to posts which expand on the given topic (or one particular point within the post). Sometimes one post is highly relevant to another but slightly different in topic matter, but by linking to a relevant read, you are making yourself appear like a bottomless pit of interesting info.
I feel like people are more responsive to a bulleted list of links, titled by what that blog post is about, not simply peppered through as in-text links, because they can sometimes get lost in the process of reading. I have admittedly used in-text links in this post purely because this is a super long read with those links only supplemental to the actual points.
Have you looked at repurposing certain pieces which might work better in video, audio or infographic form?
Blog post repurposing and auditing can go hand-in-hand I believe. If you find a post that could work better or could engage a different audience via another form, then consider why and how. Don't try to convert a blog post into another format just because you can, try to locate things which can be expanded on or explained better in video, audio or infographic form. There are many ideas on what you can repurpose your stuff into, with Darren at Pro-blogger and Melyssa Griffin offering great advice on this tactic.
Step 8. Improving your writing
After all that's said and done, you have looked at the ways you can improve website user friendliness, engage more with fellow creators, refine your newsletter, build a deeper relationship with your audience, simplify your social sharing, devise great content upgrades and improve old blog posts.
You want to boost your blogging strategy, up your game, and just get better at what you love to do, via these proven methods for success.
You've ticked many a box, but this step pales the others in comparison.
If you don't have great writing, you have nothing. Well, you have something, just not something worthy of you or your audience. But you do have something you can build up, change and improve.
No matter what in the blogging game, you can always improve!
I am constantly working on all the other steps but I realized recently that I don't spend enough time educating myself on how to write really, really, well. One thing which got me thinking more deeply about this was a free email course I joined a few weeks back. 'Unboring Your Writing' from Rosie Morley at Hedera House, and its been a great experience for me. I'm sure there are plenty of courses out there and I'm eager to find them too.
Rosie's course got me thinking about my writing beyond the actual story; she got me thinking about the active voice, expletive constructions and contractions, in ways I never had before. I recommend it for anyone who wants to give their writing some real attention.
When forming a blog post, do you edit as you write or let your thoughts flow without a pause?
I recently began brain dumping, something I read about when seeking some blogging inspiration. Basically, you write non-stop, letting everything come out in its organic state, without editing yourself in the process. This seriously helped me with the major blogging block I was having, but it also went against my normal mindful way of writing. I would usually go slower, editing each word even before I had wrote it down, which I now realize works well some of the time. However when it feels right, letting yourself go with the flow, tumbling out your words, and altering it later on, helps bring forth some real gems. If we over-edit ourselves during the writing process we might stunt our creativity and suck the soul from our writing.
Beyond your grammar and spelling, do you structure your sentences to be concise and clear?
I have been known to write crazily long sentences, full of words that don't need to be there. This was a major criticism of my work during my Uni studies, and I think it will always be an issue. But, by spending a bit more time during my writing and editing process, I have learned to craft my sentences better. I now include a mixture of shorter and longer sentences, made easier to read with the right punctuation placement. I have also learned to space my paragraphs to make certain points more impactful. I have also placed more focus on ensuring I don't repeat myself too much and focus on having multiple valid sentences that all have a good reason to be there.
During the editing process, how often and for how long do you re-read your post?
If you stare at one particular word long enough, it starts to look strange. The truth can be said of blogging, that if you read through your own block of content repeatedly without taking a break, it starts to not make sense. You also might fail to spot key errors or notice areas you could expand on or refine. When I finish a blog post, I leave it alone for an hour, or even a day, and then return to it. If any new ideas have come to mind in that time, I will make room for them. I will re-read my post and of course check for grammar and spelling, but also make sure I have said all I truly can. I don't want to press publish and realize 5 days later than I skimmed over certain vital points because I was rushing.
Are you getting across your natural personality and language, tweaking it for a broader reach?
I am generally someone who likes to laugh, to try and be funny, and to wax lyrical. I try to combine all this to create content with personality and value but I don't want to over exaggerate my natural traits and alienate readers. I do this by peppering my post openings with small personal details, delivered in a concise yet conversational manner; I get to the point of the blog post quickly but not without first setting the scene and clearly communicating my vibe and tone. I couldn't write any other way because I am unapologetically me, but I'm not so silly as to think that I can be myself to the nth degree. If you are writing to help, guide and inform a broad sect of people, you have to speak in a way that makes people want to listen.
Do you regularly use a set of specific words to bolster your branding whilst also expanding your vocabulary?
In Rosie's email course, she mentions that we should use certain words or phrases recurrently which helps to define our style and branding. I try to employ certain terms consistently in this manner, but I also like to shake things up by expanding on the descriptive terms I might use, especially in my travel-related stories. This creates a nice balance of language that is predictably 'my style', combined with something fresh, clever and interesting, for myself, and my readers.
If you want to truly up your blogging game, you should want to expand on your knowledge and language, so you can craft better stories that people will want to read, love and share.
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Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!
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How I Went From Down And Out Graduate To Debt-Free Nomad In Less Than A Year
Recalling the path I was on 3.5 years ago, I shudder a little bit inside, I was embarking on...
How I Went From Down And Out Graduate To Debt-Free Nomad In Less Than A Year
Recalling how my life was 3.5 years ago, I was embarking on a new business venture, creating a self-employed life as a dog-walker and pet-sitter. This was the result of leaving my previous job, and bumming around unsure of what to do with myself for 3 months.
It didn't feel like it at the time, but the spring of 2013 was about to be major turning point, after 2011 and 2012 had been pretty painful.
At the end of 2012, I was in debt and pretending I wasn’t, continuing to spend mindlessly, buying new trendy stuff I didn't need, trying to make myself feel better. I was also kinda lonely, having been single for a good few months. I didn't have the best social life and my whole week was being swallowed up by my crappy job in a bank.
It was a bundle of laughs guys, truly.
My debt wasn't disgustingly huge and ridiculous, but I believe it was around the £3000 mark by the end of 2012. It was mostly credit card debt but also an overdraft from University.
It doesn't sound a lot, but it was for someone who was on a low income, whilst avidly pursuing everything... Literally, trying to consume every single thing.
I gave in to my sadness and disappointment at where I was in life, and continued to build my mini mountain of debt, partaking in window-shopping that turned into a shopping spree. Always having had a weakness for pretty things, I was going beyond that, consuming too much, too often. I would put things on my credit card willy-nilly and worry about it later.
The funny thing is, for the longest time as I entered my early 20's, I never had a credit card, nor even considered it. I spent what I had, and didn't spend what I didn't have.
A (very smart) part of me knew that credit was a bad idea for someone with my mentality. I loved buying clothes and other random things, and I had grown up accustomed to having what I wanted when I wanted it.
God, spoilt much?
Fortunate and well-cared for, definitely. Spoilt? maybe a tiny bit...
Anyway, I knew that as soon as a credit card came into my possession, my eyes would roll into pound signs and I would see it as a free money despite my better knowledge.
Why the hell did I get a credit card then?
I can’t remember the precise reason, but it was mid 2011, and I was going through some big life changes; moving in with a boyfriend and going into my final year of study. I do remember the cherry-popping card had an 18-month-interest-free period, the ultimate clever incentive of essentially free credit for almost 2 years!
That is a dangerously long grace period of being able to let debt mount up without accruing interest on top.
I think that's a key part of consumer debt psychology; people ask themselves, how long can I use credit and not really feel pain from it? How long can I pretend that I'm not living beyond my means whilst not trying to change them? Well, the credit card companies will always have a solution for you.
So the credit companies are the enemy?
Many credit cards are built on solidly decent perks, beneficial to those who know how to use them; people with self-control and probably a decent income, able to make each monthly payment whilst gaining air-miles or whatever. But that wasn’t me, and yet, because my income was of a certain level, it was as simple as filling in an online-form and BAM, a credit card with a £2000 credit limit now had my name on it.
That’s a lot of money to someone who was earning under £1000 a month and was new to this idea of adult financial freedom. For a while after my card arrived, I used it cautiously, paying for small amounts with it near the end of the month before pay-day. I promptly re-paid the full amount when it was due.
It wasn’t until a few months later, when I experienced a fairly traumatic and unexpected relationship break-up (from the boyfriend I had moved in with), that I suddenly looked at my credit card, and it looked at me, and we gave into a full-on passionate affair.
Takeaway meals when I was too depressed to cook, online shopping when I was too sad to leave my house, my credit card was my crutch.
I fell into debt not out of necessity, nor because I had bills to pay or some big holiday planned, I simply used credit for random daily spending, with the full intent to pay it back as and when. Underpinning this spending was a story I was telling myself, that I deserved this 'free' money. This credit card bought me the things I thought I wanted, or needed, in order to overcome my sadness.
In my hazy state I perceived junk-food and new clothing that I wouldn’t even remember in 3 years time, as my treats. I didn't buy self-help books, or invest money in trying new experiences, which sounds like a healthier approach, one I was simply incapable of in my down and out state. Maybe that's a stage you reach a little while after the initial impulse spending blow-outs following a break-up. But I didn't reach that point for months to come...
You’d have thought that the spending would have stopped a few weeks later, when I emerged from my sad girl cave and re-joined the functioning humans, but it was too late, I had already formed bad habits.
A few months later, life was mostly back on track. I graduated Uni with top marks, and I was on the cusp of entering real adult professional life. The first financial decision I made in my new grown-up life, truly was a nightmare dressed as a daydream (I just quoted a Taylor Swift song and it works); I got a brand new expensive car on finance.
I didn’t know anything about car finance until right before I took it on. I truly believe it was a win-win situation and I failed to account for how much of a commitment it was to take on.
I remember the precise moment, when walking through the supermarket car-park, when I fell in love with this little cream car. Sat there, all alluring and feminine, I knew, as soon as I laid my eyes on it, it had to be mine. It was a nippy little cream Fiat 500. So petite! So cute! So out of my price range.
Until someone said, ‘Did you know you can get the same car on finance?’
Interest piqued.
"What is this finance you speak of?"
Okay, so lemme get this straight, I hand over a little bit of money as a deposit, and I get a brand new shiny car. All I then have to do is pay £129 a month for the next 3 years, and then it's entirely mine? I can afford that so it must be a good idea!
Plus, I deserve it, I DESERVE a brand new car. I was still peddling that woe-is-me story to myself...
I thought this was an awesome turn of events. Car finance was helping me live out a dream of luxury. Little did I know it would be a short-lived buzz that would take me further away from the dreams faltering at my core.
I still feel guilt at the way I fell in love with that car far deeper than I ever did for my starter car, a little blue Vauxhall Corsa. I feel actual sadness that I gave that silly tin can away. But at the time, it was a fun change and it was just another part of my effort to feel better about myself.
The steering wheel on my pristine new baby felt so smooth and agile, and the car was so clean, and just, beautiful. I felt accomplished, like I had stepped up a rung on some invisible ladder of life success. I had a nice, smart card, nd I believed it helped me appear, to the outside, that I was winning at life.
But the reality was more like this:
I was working full-time in the same job I’d had since I was 16, a small supermarket where I jangled my keys as a supervisor and general checkout operator. This little weekend job had stayed with me throughout 3 years of university, and then turned into my main gig.
It wasn’t inspiring or fulfilling, at all, it was convenient, and familiar. I was trying to move into something better, namely, something that earned me more money. Whether the job truly suited me and my core values, was a secondary thought, a bonus in fact.
I wrongly sought out something that would bring me more money to buy more stuff to be more happy. But had my consumption made me happy up to that point?
I ask myself this question a lot...
Was I unhappy because I spent my money impulsively to fill a lonely void, and thus wasn’t planning for a fulfilling future based on real experiences. Or, was I just suffering from a mental illness and using the incorrect tools to fix it.
I'm certain that I was unhappy in myself and perceived buying things to add to my image as a way to attract the right kind of people who could fill the space in my sad ickle heart.
I sound as if I'm making light of my situation, but I was, in fact, headed for clinical depression. I got there eventually and I fell into a dark pit that I tried to escape every time I went to a clothes shop. I was desperately hating my job in a bank, where I had to partake in awful sales stuff as well as be responsible for people's real actual money. To this day I hate sales-y people or anyone who targets me with bull-shit for their own monetary gain.
So that job didn’t work with me, at all. Yes, I had money, I was able to shop more, and show off my nice car to my colleagues, but I wasn't actually a happy or sane individual.
I had some traditional markers of success and yet, I was also deeply disappointed. In the pit of my being, I was asking, is this it? Is this my life, from now on and forever?
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How Did I Change Things For The Better?
Well, I overcame that difficult time through a variety of avenues. Prescribed pills were involved (for a short while), falling in love played a large part, and of course, time was a big healer. I moved through my issues gradually, grew my little business as a dog-walker, and I was finally engaging with the world in a healthy manner. I eventually began making exciting plans.
My exciting plans had no room for debt or financial over-stretching; they were geared to financial freedom.
I got rid of my car out of necessity. My expensive gift to myself was now a chain around my neck on my new low income, and it didn’t suit my business as a dog-walker. So I went through the rigmarole of advertising it, temporarily clearing the finance with a family loan, then repaying that back when my car sold. Yep, a total effort.
I rid myself of that 129 a month and then focused all my energy on debt repayment. I kept a diary of all the amounts I owed and to whom. I decided to clear the smallest debt first, because it would be a surmountable goal that would boost my morale. There was no doubt in my mind that I would clear all the debts, because I had a goal for doing so, it just made sense to me to start small.
My exciting plans were that I wanted to travel Australia with Taran. I did the research and got sucked in by the absolute beauty of this very far-away land, and I just knew I had to get there.
I didn’t want to just go away for a year, I wanted to travel for a long time. I decided that being out there in the world, exploring it almost without purpose, would be the optimal way to reconnect with all the best parts of living.
Driven by this goal, I threw literally as much as I possibly could at my debts each week.
I got paid sporadically due to being self-employed so if my money came in drib's and drab's, I threw it at my debt in drib's and drab's. If I had an unexpected booking that led to a lot of extra money, I didn’t hold onto that money for a second, I sent it on a one way debt-clearing journey.
That is certainly one of the difficult parts of paying off debt and an obvious reason for why people delay repayments. We see our pay-check as having a better or more exciting purpose in the present, instead of going into a black-hole that brings nothing. But it does bring something eventually. It brings back financial clarity, control and an ability to plan for the future.
I think even if I hadn’t wanted to save up for travelling, I would have put my new positive financial situation to a good purpose, and I would have developed smaller, every-day goals, centred around family, relationships, and experiences.
When my life lacked greatly in these areas, when my time, money and energy was going purely to consumerism, I was miserable.
Then again, it goes back to my question around shopping addiction as the cause or effect of my depression. It was mental health versus financial health, and neither side was fighting strong.
That's why the true approach to tackling debt goes beyond the common tropes of spending less, working more and going without. Those things help clear the debt, but they don't deal with what lies underneath. They don't prevent debt occurring later on, or alter your mentality away from consumption as self-prescribed therapy.
It’s a truth, not merely a pleasant idea, that we should build our finances around sustainable, long-term and deep fulfilment.
My motivation wasn’t to explore in order to ‘get it out my system’ or escape the trappings of real life, it was about creating a whole new path, based on experiencing far-flung places, doing crazy things beyond what I believed I could and ultimately, discovering myself. I believed that my long-term fulfilment could be built on solid foundations formed from these experiences.
The Key Is To Not Go It Alone
Many of my peers and fellow graduate millennials often say that they wish they had the money to travel. In truth, some definitely do have the money, they just choose to allocate it to other things, and that's their business.
Many people however are bound by extortionate outgoings and financial commitments, as I was, and are navigating the same personal battle I did. I came through it thanks to the support of friends, family, and of course, Taran. That's why I recommend surrounding yourself with people or positive influences that will encourage you on your journey to being debt-free.
If those around you bolster the behaviours that are the most detrimental to you, then it's time to get real, have some honest conversations, and be clear in your motivations for changing things.
If you lack a supportive circle of like-minded individuals, I get that it makes debt repayment hard. But plenty of people out there are super into these lifestyle ideas, of thrift, frugality, and minimalism. In fact I wrote a whole book on that last topic. And the idea of being 100% debt-free, as in owing zero to anyone and clearing a mortgage earlier, is a major movement.
There is a tribe out there with open arms awaiting you, without a doubt.
Some of my favourite finance-oriented and majorly inspiring people:
My journey from down and out, to who I am now, has been a relatively long one, but I've finally got to where I want to be.
A year into travelling, and 2 since I became debt-free, I’ve worked as a farmer, a cook/receptionist/housekeeper and a cleaner. These are definitely not dream jobs, but they are short-term ventures targeted at a specific goal. But that's just the boring necessary stuff.
I've also camped on a completely deserted paradise island, with ocean so clear my eyes couldn't believe it. I've jumped out of a plane, held a snake, stroked a kangaroo and rescued a koala (not all at the same time).
I opened myself up to the unpredictable nature of life, embracing what scares me.
The result is that I have lived, and it's been an awfully big adventure.
What did my debt experience teach me?
I learned in my early 20's, that debt, whilst sometimes unavoidable, can often be prevented if we are open and honest with ourselves and those around us. I lost control of my life because I was suffering alone, smothering my inner truth, and favouring my unhealthy spending habits over the challenge of building new ones.
But I don't do that any-more, and I'd like to think that others can escape that spiral too. We can spend our money mindfully today, in the pursuit of something amazing, someday.
And that someday needn’t be so far away that we can't picture it and keep focus.
We can take stepping stones, steadily moving to the other side, to a place where we can start over again, begin listening to our core values, and live by them, forming new habits that will fulfil our truthful needs.
What motivates you to become unencumbered by debt?
Thanks for reading!
Hannah here, one half of NomaderHowFar. I love reading, the beach, proper fish and chips, and a good cup of tea. But I mostly like to chat about minimalism, simplifying your life, the beauty of travel and sometimes I get a bit deep. Get to know us here!
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Create A Quality Cover Letter That Gets A Response
The first thing your employer is going to see when you apply for a job is the cover letter, so it better be good!
Create A Quality Cover Letter That Gets A Response.
So this master-class is gonna come at you in three parts.
If you can't be bothered to wait around for part 2 and 3, 'Creating a CV/Resume that Sticks Out From The Rest' and 'Being Interview and Job-Ready', just head over to my Fiverr, where I can help you out with a resume AND a cover letter one-on-one for only $5!!!
Alternatively, join the email list and you will receive notice when these posts are live.
I might even send ya some bonus stuff like a printable cover letter checklist or PDF for your future reference, because I am nice and spontaneous that way...
I am writing this from the perspective of a traveller working in a travellers job market. But this advice could be useful to anyone seeking assistance in getting to that all-important interview.
So, you've seen an ad online for a job you like the sound of. You jump at the chance to reply to the email address. You fall over yourself in a rush to type out something quickly because you reallllly like the sound of this job and you just know that you are perfect for it.
Well, you might just be, but the employer doesn't know this.
Stop, read the ad again, and consider might it be worth a little more thinking time before you hammer out your cover letter or inquiry email. You might have zero clue where to begin in crafting an email that sticks out amidst the 100's of others clogging up the employers inbox.
This master-class suggests a simple method to use when you face this clueless yet exciting mess of enthusiasm, and need to channel it carefully to secure a result.
I know a well-thought-out cover letter, can get results, because using this layout and formula helped me secure a job, literally within a day. I had tried numerous cover letter styles previously and all were either too long or irrelevant, and thus failed to get my message across quickly and clearly. This cover letter got a phone call a few hours later, an interview the next day, and then a job. I'm not saying it was simply the cover letter that did it, but being the thing that the employer reads first, the impression it gives sets off the rest of events that can result eventually, in a job.
Some employers will focus mostly on the resume, ensuring the person matches the skills or at least displays potential. But still, it can be a pretty solid life-skill to be able to compile a cover letter that will set you apart from the competition, to make you a triple cover letter/resume/interview threat.
The Cover Letter Email That Got Me An Interview:
Why Did This Work?
- Its short, succinct yet detailed. I introduce myself quickly in the opening sentence, and describe my work experience right away.
It also suggests that in my previous job I surpassed the basics of the job role by training my colleagues.
Showing that you might be even over-skilled for the role, infers you will meet the basic requirements but also have high standards and take a lot of pride in your work. This is what might set you apart even further.
It rounds off with some food for thought; this individual can back up their skills with referees, so they're resume will be worth a look.
I attached my resume to the email which contained all the evidence to back-up my claims and provided the reference contact details. It also contained my phone number but I evidently forgot to include this in the email sign-off, which I do recommend doing.
So a Cover Letter is important because...
You need to tick boxes to even have your resume read these days. Your cover letter should deliver the important info up-front, making the employers life a helluva lot easier. The resume will expand on all the boring other info, the cover letter sells you much faster.
So, you want to know how to craft a perfect cover letter/email that gets a reply? No worries, I can show you how.
1. READ THE AD AND NOTE THE 4 W'S:
Who is the employer/business/ contact name, What skills does the suitable candidate need and what responsibilities will they have ,When is the role due to start, and Where is the job located.
2. BEGIN YOUR EMAIL/LETTER WITH A SHORT INTRO:
Address to the Who, introduce yourself by your full name, age and location (where are you based currently or where are you moving to, dependant on whether the job is far away or local).
3. DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN THE TERMS THE AD USED:
With this opening sentence include a line about how you are well-suited to the role based on recent/previous experience.
For example, if the ad title was 'Hospitality Professional' then you'd say 'I am an experienced hospitality professional', providing that you are applying for a job you do have experience in.
If you can't describe yourself exactly in the terms of the job title, describe yourself using other terms found in the ad.
If the employer emphasizes that they want people with certain skill-sets, and you can truthfully describe yourself as containing related skills or experience, then do so.
4. OUTLINE HOW YOU MEET THE WHAT:
What have you actually done that makes you well-suited to the role. If you haven't yet done that said role, draw on your related experience and transferable skills. For example, someone who may worked in a certain setting, e.g. a hotel or a restaurant, and is applying for a front-of-house host, but previously worked as a waiter, is still going to be familiar with the inner-workings of such a business.
Don't make mildly tenuous links e.g. if you worked at McDonalds you might not quite be ready for the role of cook in a major restaurant. But then again, being familiar with how certain environments run, is still going to help you appear somewhat suited if not totally suited.
Be realistic in how your transferable skills translate over to the job role. If you try to stretch the definitions that the ad put forward for what it needs, you may get discounted right off-the-bat because you will simply seem in-experienced.
Focus on your most relevant skills, not the random or most interesting ones. Demonstrating relevant and inter-linked skills makes the employers job easier; he can size you up quickly and assess how much training you might or might not need.
5. DON'T JUST MEET THEIR NEEDS, STATE HOW THE JOB MEETS YOURS:
A short sentence, with not too much exaggerated language, outlining why you want the job so much, can help your case and differentiate you from the rest.
When people send out cover emails or letters every day, not really caring which job they get because they are just spamming every ad they see, they can become a bit re-miss in this aspect.
Ask yourself what appeals about the job role, the business or the type of responsibilities.
Does your personality mesh well with the type of environment, e.g. an energetic person who thrives in a loud and busy workplace. Can you thus represent yourself as even more suited to the role by outlining, briefly, just why this particular job role appeals to your other strengths and interests.
A satisfied worker who chooses a job based on how well it suits them naturally, will be a harder worker. A harder worker will be a respected worker. A respected worker will stick around awhile and make the employers life a lot easier.
Examples on how to use these ideas:
So, let's put this into practice. We are going to do a little exercise.
I have looked online for a few job-ads and I am going to create what I believe would be a memorable cover letter than will get the resume read, the phone call made and the interview secured.
The cover letter will alter slightly in style based on each ad. I have chosen 2 ad's for their differences to prepare you for the different ad styles you might encounter.
I used gumtree.au, a popular site in Australia where people can find everything from sofa's to boats to, you guessed it, jobs. I also used another popular Australian job-site, Seek.com.au.
Bear in mind that often the right move may be to telephone the number provided in the ad right away. Some ads will even advise to call and email, others will say only contact via email. If the case is that they want you to call and email, or just call, sometimes its good to send a cover email and resume through just before making a phone call. That way you can tell the person over the phone that in your keenness you already whizzed them off all the info they need to read.
1.
So this is the typically short ad you will often find on gumtree. Its usually because the job is simple, self-explanatory, and the job is expected to go quickly due to this. Still, a decent covering email can help with what appears a simple job application.
THE COVERING EMAIL:
Afternoon [insert name],
My names [name], I am 25, and I am a locally-based experienced waitress and barista.
I have previously worked in a commercial kitchen, taking orders, then delivering them to the kitchen, then taking the meals out when ready. I also took coffee orders, and successfully used a full coffee-machine to make a full range of normal coffee's and iced drinks, single-handedly.
I thrive in a fast-paced environment, having worked at a busy cafe on the most popular family resort on Fraser Island, and will bring an energetic and friendly mentality to the team.
I look forward to speaking further regarding this role, and can be contacted on [number] to chat.
I attach my resume for your reading.
Many thanks,
[name]
So I have kept this covering email relatively short seeing as the ad was short, however I got a lot of relevant info into the email. In this scenario I would have then telephoned the person, informed them of the sent email and had a conversation about the role.
2.
So this Ad is a little bit more meaty, and gives you much more material to be creative with in your covering letter. This ad was on Seek which requires you to attach a covering letter by uploading a word document, or you can write one out in the box provided for each job when you apply.
THE COVERING LETTER:
Aena shekhikhi!
Yes, I am fluent in Dothraki and my sense of humour is renowned across the seven kingdoms.
But am I king material? Well, I am considered a bit of a sales superstar by my previous employers, [employer name/business], delivering consistent sales meeting daily set targets often [outline any figures of sales met]. I worked within the sports industry also, and being personally incredibly fitness-oriented, I thrive in an environment where I can talk about it passionately with potential clients.
I love being part of the sales environment, where personality and outlook is key, with a presentable appearance and a fun yet professional approach also important. I get to be my usual enthusiastic self, but translate that into a rewarding career also.
I love to travel, being a traveller from the UK, it's important for me to not just experience Australia but also learn from the best in its marketing industry, build on my sales skills and take my knowledge to the next level.
I am available for interview immediately, and can't wait to get started.
Thank you,
[name].
This was personally, a challenge, because the ad makes references to Game of Thrones, which I know NOTHING about, other than that its super popular and that I can't be bothered to watch it and hide from spoilers my whole life (I already do that with Walking Dead). Anyway, I thought this was a good example for where you have to demonstrate that you have read the ad thoroughly and responded accordingly. I didn't introduce myself by name or age, because they will see this in the application and the attached resume, but I did sign off with my name.
In this letter you are demonstrating the sense of humour they require, not simply saying that you have one. You are also showing previous experience in a similar role, where you excelled, which makes you job-ready but also suggests that you are self-confident and good at dealing with customers face-to-face. But in this scenario, if you didn't have sales experience, your best bet would be to think of the ways all your current experience lends itself to the skills listed under 'What our clients are looking for'.
You essentially pepper the covering letter with some references to Game of Thrones, just like the ad did, but you don't over-do it. You get to the heart of the matter, show your experience, and show your ambition as well as your personality.
So there we go, two very different examples, but also the common types of job ad's you might come across as a working traveller.
KEY THINGS TO TAKEAWAY:
- Your covering letter whilst heavily built on the language in the ad, shouldn't look like a copy and paste job. You need to contextualize their language by relating it to your own experience and skills.
- Match the length of your cover letter to the ad, and then add a few lines. If the letters too short it might not grab the interest strongly enough (bearing in mind all your competitors) but if its too long they may lose interest. As long as you cover the key ideas they talk about in the ad, with a bit of explanation, you can't go too wrong on length decision.
- A great covering letter should only suggest things that the resume or interview can back-up. Your resume will be a jumble of information only really useful for the few keywords that jump out at the employer, so the covering letter might be the main thing they read thoroughly and thus remember, so its important to be honest and truthful.
MORE GREAT READS FOR TRAVELLERS:
Thanks for reading!
Hannah here, one half of NomaderHowFar. I love reading, the beach, proper fish and chips, and a good cup of tea. But I mostly like to chat about minimalism, simplifying your life, the beauty of travel and sometimes I get a bit deep. Get to know us here!
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Our Biggest Challenge Yet As A Travelling Couple.
We have had our ups and downs over our 3 years together, but this has been mostly down...
Our Biggest Challenge Yet As A Travelling Couple.
For almost 2 months now we have been settled down in Noosa, Australia. Our bedroom has lime green walls and a cat that sits on the windowsill the same time every night. The sun shines most days and the winter wind is making its way through.
The reason we stopped travelling was because we needed to earn some more money to keep going. Working travel is not funded by fairy dust. Whilst its a pause made out of necessity, it has been a great time to work on our blog and my book.
Why Noosa
We hopped on a train, and then a bus, for a few days by the beach after a week in the big Brisbane city. We had been here only a day, enjoying this place that we hadn't really seen properly, even though we passed through it one night last year.I had a good feeling, and could see myself settling here. There's definitely a buzz, also a beautiful beach, all combined with a safe small-town vibe.
And so, I rushed out a few emails at 7am one morning on our 2nd day here (I was super productive thanks to jet-lag waking me up at 5am), and I got so ridiculously lucky because by the next day I had a job.
I wasn't just applying for fun, I was acutely aware of our decreasing bank accounts, so now seemed as good a time as any to stop and earn. But getting a job that quick? it certainly doesn't happen that way out here usually folks.
And then, a few hours later, we had a room in a house, that has now become home.
I couldn't believe it, I had never had such a quick turn-around from unemployed and anxious, to having an income again, and feeling secure. I was so relieved. Taran was happy to have found a spot with some good surfing and water sports nearby. It seemed like we were going to have a really cool few months even if we weren't on the road where we truly wanted to be.
Fast forward a few weeks, nearly two months, and I still have my job, which I'm enjoying, whilst saving up a little bit and paying my bills.
Taran on the other hand, remains unemployed, having had not so much as one interview.
Despite his decent resume and his constant trying, its been impossible. Many of the people we have been in contact with are useless at calling back, replying to emails or are just saying no.
It has really brought us down.
It is really not an understatement when we say that this has been the biggest challenge for us as a travelling couple, so far.
In 3 years of being together we have always been equal partners. We share the costs of our lives together, and we treat each other on special occasions. We are obviously minimalists and money isn't a big motivator for us, but still, we have both been relatively secure and able to enjoy our time together.
Right now, we are so unbalanced in our situations that it has almost ruined our relationship.
Poor Taran is trying super hard to find work, whilst doing a hell of a lot of work on the blog. I help him where possible, and we spend time looking for opportunities together, I then help write emails and perfect his resume. We are trying to deal with this crappy time as a united team. But it's been extremely hard to do this.
I am currently paying the majority of the rent each week. I buy all of the food despite Taran eating a small portion and a limited menu.
We go without constantly.
My mobile phone is 90% broke and needs replacing desperately but I cant afford it.
We never get to do anything, go anywhere further afield, or even just treat ourselves.
We are basically living a relatively small, extremely quiet and restrictive life in a place where we shouldn't be. This wasn't what we signed up for.
We should be doing all the awesome water-sport's Noosa has on offer. We should be exploring the quaint and beautiful towns surrounding the sunshine coast. But most importantly, we should be saving up enough to sustain our travel dreams.
We aren't just travelling on a whim, we fully committed to this lifestyle two years ago. We both gave a lot up back home to come to Australia. It hasn't been a light journey, its been up and down, but never has it felt so stressful as it does right now.
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We fight even though its the last thing we want to be doing.
The tension between us has peaks and troughs. Sometimes we feel fine, we muddle through, and we focus on the positives. Then other times I feel so frustrated and believe that we are just wasting time, and money, paying rent whilst not building our savings.
The only way we have survived thus far is by being honest and by talking things out as much as possible...
There have been some hard conversations, like me telling Taran that I doubted him and his efforts, and then him evidently showing signs of extreme stress at his situation, which has put us into a cycle that can only be broken by one thing: Taran getting a job.
Why don't we just leave town?
You might be wondering, why don't we just leave Noosa.
There's a number of reasons...aside from loving our house, and the time that settling here has given us to work on the blog, and me, the right environment to write my book.
But also, I am not willing to leave a good job in order for Taran to find one elsewhere. I had such a tough time in a previous job in Australia, that I just want to live out this lucky time to its fullest.
Maybe that's selfish but it fills me with major anxiety to walk away from a good opportunity, with not a lot of savings, having essentially wasted 2 months, and yet be no nearer our goals.
I committed to my employer to at least 3 months, and I had a figure in mind for what I wanted to save up; we both did. And we won't have achieved that, not by a mile. But there is another valid reason to stay put.
For tax purposes, it is beneficial to remain in one place for 6 months in Australia to ensure maximum tax rebate come the end of the financial year. To be considered a resident for tax rebate purposes this is generally a requirement. I am just trying to make our life a bit easier down the line when we go to try and recoup the thousands of dollars we will have paid in tax.
If we stay here and work for 6 months, we won't simply save a lot via our earnings, we will be saving up lots in tax too.
We haven't yet lost all hope or succumbed to the idea that we have to start over elsewhere.
We know that an opportunity could arise at any moment, and our worries could be gone, just how it happened for me.
We have however realized that based on present circumstances, its possible Taran will actually have to leave me. He may have to move further away to find work. That is not what we want, obviously.
Space is sometimes good, absence can make the heart grow fonder and all that, but when you set out to experience travel with the person you love the most, being torn apart by money, is a very sad prospect.
We are already thousands of miles away from home. We are already isolated from the others who we care about the most. We are already limiting our experience by not having the funds to enjoy our temporary home. We are struggling enough, we don't want to throw separation into the mix. But it might have to happen out of necessity.
We didn't sign up for this, but its real life.
I think the distance could be painful and I could end up wanting to leave my job sooner than I can. I just generally fear what the time away could do to us if I am being completely honest, especially seeing as we don't just work together on the blog, but we are best friends.
We keep each other laughing, happy, entertained, grounded and creative. We give each other encouragement and energy.
We can be really good for each other, but right now we aren't...
I really hope this situation changes soon and that we will have good news to report back. I also hope we can overcome the stress this has put on our relationship, and that we can become equal again, because for money to force us apart, that would truly truly suck.
Thanks for reading!
Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!
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Getting a Job In Australia: 9 Do's and Don't's for Backpackers.
Being a backpacker and getting a job In Australia is far easier with these 9 Do's and Don'ts...
Getting a Job In Australia: 9 Do's and Don't's For Backpackers.
Job-hunting pretty much always sucks, no matter where you are in the world.
It's competitive and sometimes demoralizing, especially when you go into place after place, essentially begging someone to give you money, and you realize that it isn't anybody's concern but your own if you can eat that week or not. Maybe your parents, but not the people who see backpackers every day, all trying to get the same job's, so they can save up for more travels.
A lot of the time a business owner would prefer to employ a local person not someone who has become voluntarily unemployed to follow their wanderlust....yeah, it makes us seem like we might have our heads in the clouds and leave as soon as we make even a little bit of money.
Some people will give you a chance, and usually if you can give them at least 6 months commitment, you can strike it good.
But sometimes you will be faced with a brick-wall. Some employers in Australia simply won't consider someone from the travelling community, who have a reputation for being flighty and unreliable. In reality that is the minority, as plenty of travellers actually value when someone gives them an opportunity, and end up being a really good member of a team. Plenty of aussie employers know that, and will embrace the positives of having a willing and enthusiastic person on-board, even if it's not forever.
That time we spent two months working on a desert island...
To summarize, when trying to find a job in Australia you are up against 3 things: competition with other travellers, unwilling employers, and other Australians.
But fear not, young backpacker, you can find work, you just need to approach it differently:
1. Don't land anywhere expecting to find work in a week.
In fact, expect to not find a job. I'm not saying that to be pessimistic, but have the mindset that you will need to try super hard to find work sometimes, and so you should always budget and make plans accordingly. Try to find a job before you need one, cause by the point you need one, it could be too late.
2. Don't turn up to establishments looking like a backpacker.
By that I mean, consider not wearing just wearing swim-wear and flip-flops out that day, maybe even buy a cheap but smart outfit, so that when you walk in somewhere, you aren't immediately pigeon-holed as a traveller. Sure, soon enough they'll figure out that you are, but they are more likely to see you as employable if you show you've made an effort and stepped out of your backpacker uniform for a minute. If you take yourself seriously, others will to.
3. Do perfect your resume and make sure it focuses on real experience and transferable skills.
Not all employers will care if you volunteered or worked for accommodation, this might be something you can bring up at an interview, but lets be honest, anyone can commit the couple of hours day that a hostel usually requires for work for accommodation, so it isn't a sparkling addition to your resume. They need to know what you can do, and what you might be able to learn. Always list experience from home (even though there won't necessarily be references an employer can verify) as well as recent experience, as it can create a broader picture of your skill-set and personality.
4. Do visit places in person, even if they advertise online, and usually suggest you email through a resume.
Only replying to a job ad via an email means your resume will probably be lost among all the other ones, whereas if an employer meets you in person, with your resume in hand and a smile on your face, you've made their task a lot easier. Do go into places even if you have no idea if they are hiring, you never know if they might have lost someone that day, or just haven't placed an ad yet.
5. Do send emails sometimes, for example, if you are job-searching far away from the place you want to find work, then consider sending them to employers or companies which interest you.
Be concise, introduce yourself briefly, and list your recent experience and skills, in a few lines, no more. Tell them why you want to work for them, display some knowledge of their brand or business, and make it personalized to them, addressing the email to an actual person's name if you can find it. Let them know at the end that you are contactable by phone or skype for a conversation, leaving the ball in their court, whilst making yourself appear assertive and confident. Be sure to include a photograph in the email or as part of your resume, its much harder to ignore someone when you've seen their face, and they become more than just some words on the page.
6. Do follow up on these emails if you don't receive a response in a few days.
People are busy, sometimes they need a nudge to prioritize your email. A polite and short re-iteration of the initial email should be enough to secure either a yes, no, or a maybe, which is better than no response at all. Always proof-read these emails, use indents, and sign off with a thank you followed by your contact tel.
7. Don't oversell yourself, on paper, or in person.
Aussie's all have top-notch bull-shit detectors, and they are usually not favourable to a backpacker who is just blagging it, flat-out lying, and is irritatingly over-confident from the get-go. They just want someone who will turn up on time, not smell of alcohol and do the job well, not be a winner of Personality of the Year. Then again if you are going for a job at a travel agent, as is common with backpackers, then feel free to ooze charm from every pour...There is a fine-line between confidence and arrogance in all walks of life, but a backpacker fresh off the plane needs to remember they are suddenly a small fish in a big pond full of backpackers, and it's a competition of skills and experience, not who's the most gregarious.
8. Do use a multiple of job-search avenues, such as gumtree, seek and indeed, plus the Facebook accounts of brands or businesses you like.
Try to check these sites first thing in the morning and then again later on, as new opportunities go up all the time. Apply to pretty much everything that is even a little bit relevant to your skill-set. Don't be afraid to ring a number if the ad requests it, it's always nerve-wracking reaching out for an opportunity on the phone or in person, speaking to someone you don't know, but you will miss out a number of chances if you don't take a pro-active stance.
9. Don't be picky when searching for jobs or applying, or consider yourself too experienced.
You can't wait out for the perfect job description with the optimal pay, whilst your bank balance continues to wither away. It's much easier to look for a job that is more suited to you or more fulfilling, when you are already in a job. Plus, no job when your a backpacker is forever. I've come across people who at home, worked in finance, nursing and advertising, who have had to adapt to their surroundings, and now work in housekeeping jobs, including me. I had my own business in England, and was my own boss for two years, and generally I prefer jobs where I can use my brain. However I am still quite content making beds and polishing tap's (not just because I am a clean-freak) but because it means I am in a better position than a lot of other backpackers; I am being paid and can save up to keep travelling, as well as, ya know, eat.
Working on a farm in Australia can be a big learning curve...
So the bottom-line of getting a job in Australia as a backpacker, is respecting the needs of the employers, matching your needs with theirs and appreciating that the competition will be strong; you will need a stellar CV, a great cover letter and a professional approach, for an employer to take you seriously. Happy job-hunting!
Thanks for reading!
Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!
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How To Capture Epic Photographs
Want to learn how to use the MANUAL mode on a camera and take amazing photographs? This masterclass will teach you how...
How To Capture Epic Photographs
Since setting out on our adventure we have witnessed some wonderful sights, sights that just cried out to be snapped! We travelled for 7 months just taking photos on our GoPro and phones.. But then we forked out and bought ourselves a Canon G16. Its a fairly mid range camera with no external lens, but we did our research and the picture quality this camera can give really speaks for itself:
This was a truly beautiful moment for us, waking up at sunrise and meeting kangaroos on a beach in Australia. And the new camera certainly proved its worth! "But how did you get such a picture" You may ask.. For the above photo I set a ISO-80 and f/2.8 and then chose a fairly quick shutter speed of 1/320.
Okay so some of you may have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about.. These are the things your camera will take care of when you have it set to AUTO mode, and while this will work most of the time, you will find that you can create photographs that are way more epic on MANUAL mode. Okay so lets take a quick course on the values and what they mean, and trust me, they aren't that scary when you get your head around them :P Lets start with the thing that took me the longest to figure out..
The F-Stop Value
The f-stop value refers to the size of the cameras pupil, in many senses it works the same way your eyes pupil does. A low value of f/1.8 will mean that the pupil opens up wide and lets in the most light, and you guessed it.. a high value of say f/8 will reduce the pupils size and let in less light. Below is a little graphic to help you understand:
But this is not the only thing affected by the value.. Low value f numbers will have a lower depth of field, meaning you can take those close up pictures with blurred backgrounds. Similarly high f numbers will produce an image that will have close and distant objects in focus.
So to summarise:
LOW F VALUE (f/1.8 or similar) = MORE LIGHT + MORE BLUR
HIGH F VALUE (f/8 or similar) = LESS LIGHT + LESS BLUR
The ISO Value
ISO numbers are basically a measure of how sensitive the camera is to light, low ISO numbers mean the camera will be less sensitive and high numbers make it more sensitive. This can be very handy when taking pictures at night or inside as it will allow you to keep a fast enough shutter speed to stop there being any blur.
But this added sensitivity comes with a drawback, the higher you set the ISO the less quality you will get in your pictures, generally when taking photos outside you will want to keep the ISO as low as possible as there should be enough natural light to keep the camera happy :] Here is a comparison of two photos but to be fair the low ISO side came out brighter just because the sun was shining straight through the window...
To summarise:
LOW ISO VALUE (ISO-80 or similar) = LESS LIGHT + MORE QUALITY
HIGH ISO VALUE (ISO-3200 or similar) = MORE LIGHT + LESS QUALITY
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And Finally, Shutter Speed
Okay, so finally we have shutter speed, I've saved the easiest till last. Shutter speed refers to how long you want to open the shutter for when you press the capture button. Opening the shutter for a very short amount of time will let in only a tiny amount of light so you will need to turn up the ISO, but you will be able to capture shots of fast moving objects without blur. Our Canon G16's quickest capture setting is 1/4000 of a second.. which is kind of ridiculous for most photography unless maybe your trying to capture a speeding bullet or something :P
On the other hand opening the shutter for longer will (you guessed it!) allow more light in. This can be very handy if you taking pictures in a dark room or at night, but you will need a tripod to keep your camera very still or the image will be blurry. This photo below was taken with the shutter open for 30 seconds in a area of low light pollution:
And so to summarise:
LOW SHUTTER SPEED (1/400 or similar) = LESS LIGHT + MOVING OBJECTS WONT BLUR
HIGH SHUTTER SPEED (30 seconds or similar) = MORE LIGHT + MOVING OBJECTS WILL BLUR
Now lets move onto the less technical skills, starting with: Focus
Sometimes there will be something that just stands out to you in the foreground of a scene, the best way to bring attention to it is to shift the focus to it! If you get a little bit further away from the object and then zoom on it you can get a good balance on the background being blurred.
Framing And Foreground Objects
A natural frame for your picture can draw your viewers eye to what you wanted them to see in the picture, as you can see above I have used part of a tree as a frame here and it doesn't overpower the image. Also the addition of a figure in the water completes a triangle of interest between the big leaf, the sun breaking through the clouds and the figure, this keeps the viewer looking for longer.
Combining Those Skills!
The above photograph was taken just after a sunset at the waters edge, I set the f value to f/8 so that the clouds and the tree where in focus. The ISO value was turned all the way down to ISO-80 to let in the least amount of light, as I was aiming at the area that the sun was still lighting up. I then let the shutter open for 15 seconds, which was needed to let some light in with the other settings, but it also gave the water an awesome effect that makes it look like mist!
Experiment!
Capturing lightning can be a tiresome thing to do.. It includes a lot of waiting around and hoping you have the camera pointing in the right direction! The picture above was taken on our GoPro silver, this was good because the wide angle lens makes it much easier to get a whole lightning bolt in the frame.
I found the easiest method was to set up the camera with the lowest settings possible on the GoPro, ISO-100 and that's all you get to change haha! Then mount it on a tripod, point it in the general direction of the lightning and turn on the time-lapse mode with the shutter speed set to 20 seconds. This way you don't have to keep pressing the capture button, you can leave it doing its thing for 30 minutes and then take a look at the results!
The Milky Way
Photographing the stars is one of my favourite things to do! To capture something like this you will need to set up your camera on a tripod preferably, I then used the settings ISO-800, f/1.8 and took a 15 second exposure. You will probably want to open the photo up in an editing program to do a few touch ups to bring the colour out and adjust the contrast (this ain't cheating by the way, no one ever gets pro Milky Way shots straight off the camera).
The above photo was compiled on the camera! The Canon G16 has a feature which does all the technical stuff for you, And gives great star trail results :P But there are some great free applications out there that will basically do the same! StarTrails.de is one example.
Any Questions? Just Ask In The Comments..
Thanks for taking this short master-class! There are a few links to the cameras and tools I used to get these photos and if you click these to purchase anything, you will be helping to keep our site running at no extra cost to you :D
Now check out our first year of travel in 12 stunning photographs.
Thanks for reading!
Taran here, owner of Nomad'er How Far. I'm fond of psychedelic rock, photography & videography, anything to do with space and I'm also partial to the odd gaming session. Oh and I love to travel :P Get to know me here!
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1 Year In Oz - Photography
Will these 12 reasons be enough to get you on a plane to Australia?!
1 Year In Oz - Photo Book ☀
So its been 12 whole months since we left the UK, the time really hasn't gone fast at all.. In fact its gone quite slow!! This past year has felt like a lifetime in Australia, but that's what happens when you change your routine all the time. We have had 4 different jobs in that time and are just about to start new ones, travelled to beautiful islands, partook in a cannabis festival, took shelter for two days while a massive storm destroyed the camp ground we were staying at, hitch hiked up the east coast, watched whales migrate to warmer seas, spent Christmas on a isolated desert island, jumped out of a plane and so much more!!
So here we are, our 12 most favourite snaps that capture the journey we have been on so far! Enjoy!
1 - Port Stephens, a small area home to the largest sand dune system in Australia! We really did feel like we had just been dropped off in the middle of a desert..
2 - Crystal Falls near the old fashioned town of Bellingen, we went on a trek into the local rainforest filled with views like this!
3 - We worked for a month at a beach resort in a small beach town called Bargara, the views of the milky way were spectacular! Another shot taken on a bloomin GoPro!!
4 - Second year visa farm work in Australia ain't all bad, we landed WWOOFing positions on a small macadamia farm in the middle of know where. This photo was taken during one of the forest burns we took part in (That was Hannah's 4x4)
5 - The storms over our farm house! We spent hours just sitting out on the balcony watching the lightning and listening to the thunder. We also had to run out into and get wet :P
6 - This haunting photo was taken just after sunset on our GoPro in the town of 1770. You can even see a few stars starting to shine in the sky!
7 - After working on the farm we headed to Fraser Island to do some paid work at a camp ground. Over the course of the 2 months we spent there we spotted so much wildlife, this is one of the native Dingos patrolling the beach.
8 - This is Fraser Islands west coast, none of the tours go to this side of the island, which made it such a peaceful experience. Fraser truly is a beautiful place!
9 - The Whitsunday Islands, home to the famous Whitehaven Beach. We got dropped of by a small boat and spent 2 nights camping on the island, during the day the beach was full of day trippers, but in the evening we were the only people on the island..
10 - Sunset on Whitehaven beach, an empty beach and a warm beer (next time we will take a cool box) perfection! We had so much fun here that we would recommend it to anyone travelling in Oz.
11 - Cape Hillsborough, a small area near Airlie Beach. If you go to the beach in the early hours of the morning just as the sun is rising, you will be greeted by a group of kangaroos and wallabies! They all seem to love the attention and pose for the camera like professionals.
12 - Finally we have Noosa, our current base. An up and coming beach town with a beautiful river system running around it (also great views of the mountains as you can see above).
The year ahead will be quite different, as we head up to the rainforest's of Cairns, then into the dusty red outback. We can't wait to see the real and raw Australia!
Thanks for joining us on this epic adventure!! ✌
Cheers for reading!
Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!
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Sell Out or Miss Out? [The Travel Blogger Problem]
It's a problem most of them neither care about, but..
I can see this post being received in a couple of ways. They’ll be a few who will agree with me, nod their head in sage agreement. Some might agree even though they are kind of the subject of the blog. Then they’ll be some who are downright offended.
And I welcome them into the discussion.
Sell Out or Miss Out? - The Travel Blogger Problem
Travel blogs have gained popularity and thus commercial value in recent years. As a result, there is a trend toward a formulaic style of travel blog, designed to market the blogger as a good salesperson, in response to what is supposedly commercially appealing. They use their blog as a way to sell themselves, doing what it takes to get freebies, press-trips, product placements and sponsorship deals. Cause’ obviously that’s the only way to afford travel right?
Photo of attractive individual in a perfectly photographed shot, check! ‘As seen on…’ various websites, check! A tagline about your unique approach to travel, check! I get it, any travel blog aiming for the big-time needs bold branding, and wants to demonstrate their gravitas by highlighting their total online domination.
But since when did a travel blog become less about great content, genuinely useful tips and above all, storytelling, and more about marketing, bragging, image, and money?
Blogging grew from a niche hobby people were embarrassed to admit to, to a fully-fledged business model, with successful blogs on every topic out there in the world wide webs. Over time amidst the rise in blogging popularity, a dumbing-down of sorts has occurred. People begin a blog with the express purpose of it becoming their job. Now with thousands of travel blogs out there, bloggers end up rehashing (side-note: check out South Park episode, '#REHASH') content shared by other blogs, barely making any effort to cultivate an original voice. They become a content pumping machine without much regard for quality.
Admittedly, some people think there isn’t an original thought in existence these days, so what hope does the blogging world have?
But in pushing for the further commodification of our blogs, are we not also bastardizing what can and should be a beautiful expression of life-changing adventure?
Definitely loving that I got to use the word ‘bastardizing’ there.
Maybe I am bringing too much of my own prejudices into this. Maybe I am just envious of the success of others. Maybe I have to accept the fact that anyone can start a blog, and that they certainly won’t all care about content as much as I do. Maybe I am just a hateful individual who vomits in their mouth several times a day whilst looking at other travel blogs. Maybe. But I do believe it’s a positive thing that many of us are able to make a living off of our talents, because some of us are actually talented. Then again I know why I began blogging, with no thought of money in mind, and I always remind myself that each time I write. I always ask myself if I actually believe in what I am sharing, and I always do, considering I write a travel blog not advertising copy.
THE UN-RELATABLE TRAVEL BLOG
Often when visiting the more popular blogs (and the ones trying to be), I am made to feel like I just can't join this group of people who are generally quite pleasing on the eye. The back of my head with its curly ginger locks looking at a view just isn't that aspirational. My hairs really average. A focus on image and appearance is understandable in the fashion/beauty blogger realm, but ours?
Well, I suppose people can't help if they are attractive, but then again there is a widespread attack of the filters and overly posed photography across many travel blogs.
When I see articles pop up on pinterest, or see a blogger has made it onto some trashy news site, my attention is often drawn to the appearance of the bloggers, not their ‘amazing’ story. That’s because they look like frickin’ supermodels.
Our best attempt at a piss-take model shot haha!
They don’t look anything like I do when I’ve just hiked 3 hours up out of a rainforest, or even just walked 2 minutes to the shop in the Australian heat. I rarely see much of the sweat and sun-tan lotion combination that is the key everyday look of the average pale traveller in hot exotic land (disclaimer: this is not pitch for free sun-lotion).
Even on the blogs created by so-called relatable budget travellers, it can still feel like they are pandering to being a marketable product void of edge and self-awareness.
I can’t imagine Christopher McCandless posing up a storm whilst listing his achievements boldly and intimidatingly, alienating those regular folk who just want to read a well-told story and look at some pretty pictures. Nor can I imagine him purporting to be unique or special, as if he is doing something nobody else is doing or has done, when in reality, there are a lot of travellers out there (not all of whom travel into the Alaskan wilderness and eventually die). Very few travellers ever blog about it, some just travel, embrace it, enjoy it and don’t feel the need to try and make money out of it.
Of course its great to share and be proud of your achievements, if you put in the hours being creative, you deserve the joy of sharing that. But when your achievements all lead back to numbers and figures, then you just aren't that relatable any-more as a travel blogger. Just remember how it felt that day you had 1 visitor and then that day you had 100. That's still pretty cool. And much more a common occurrence for most bloggers.
Others, like us at NomaderHowFar.com decide to share things. In a selfish sort of way, we like to believe our words make a difference. We write out of compulsion and love, whilst also hoping to find some modicum of an audience, to engage people, and potentially inspire them. But I cringe at the idea of ever representing ourselves as anything other than normal people.
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GAINING FINANCIAL FREEDOM THROUGH BLOGGING
We are not against the idea of travel bloggers earning an income via blogging which enables them to keep travelling. But of course when they do, it kinda takes them further away from the members of their audience who aren’t being paid to travel.
We are naturally very open to the idea of making an income from our blog. Why? Because obviously we don’t want to spend our entire travel life going from one short-term and uninspiring job to the next. It’s often quite demoralizing. And let’s face it, if a company wishes to pay for my lifestyle of choice, then I am not going to throw it back in their faces. But I also won’t compromise my world view for a payday.
But a major reason why it might be nice to earn a bit, is because we bloody love creating. We love writing, taking photo’s and making movies.
Whitehaven Beach was an amazing place, this is the view in the evening when all the tours leave!
We pour love into all that we do, but money (or the lack of it) won’t alter the way we do things. Even though the short-term jobs we take on, pull us away from our creativity and temporarily ground us, blogging is still the thing we do most evenings and weekends, out of pure passion. It has been for two years, and we have never made a penny from doing it. But its a priceless collection of memories for us, and the connections and conversations we have as a result, are pretty awesome too.
Some of the bloggers that I genuinely do put on a pedestal, are not the ones that everyone would immediately recognize by name. They are the ones who found success naturally and over time, their own small pocket of opportunities and travel experiences, which does technically mean their blog is also a business. But the humble manner, and content-focused way in which they conduct themselves, is done with so much more elegance and integrity, it feels right to aspire to them.
It’s refreshing to witness their success via their continued creativity and engagement with their audience, as opposed to seeing them shout from the social media rooftops, just how great they and their blog are.
WHEN EMULATING SUCCESS ANNIHILATES INDIVIDUALITY
I suppose it is a double-edged sword. We witness bloggers gain commercial success, we look at the way they sell themselves, and we copy them.
We all dream the same dream and end up resembling a queue for the X-factor auditions; we all have our own life stories of hardship and how travelling is the dream we just have to live out. And the other edge is that we try to write stuff which will be frequently clicked and read, based on the algorithms of trends, social media sites and hashtags. We create differently, we alter our natural output, do some nipping, tucking and censoring, occasionally raising feathers with attention-grabbing posts when we believe it will equal clicks.
We iron out the kinks of our own individuality, because we think it’s the only way we can be successful.
Conversely, we over-push the thing about us that we believe is unique, and thus create a vast distance between story-teller and reader.
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION TO THE TRAVEL BLOGGER PROBLEM?
So you want to make a living travel blogging but you don’t want to compromise your integrity? Well, that might be a bit tricky. The marketplace for bloggers is a competitive world, and the advertisers and companies helping them make money, are pretty much all looking for the same thing; a marketable blogger of the aspirational kind, who can get high traffic that will provide a return on their investment.
If you can get high-traffic and commercial success whilst being your completely honest self, to the nth degree, then more power to you.
If you have the passion for storytelling, but still decide to follow the blueprint of others, and focus on the money, then you need to regain perspective on not just blogging, but the thing you are blogging about; travel. The truth and purity of that dream, the purpose behind it, goes way beyond your blog.
Long-term travel is something people have done and will continue to do for a long time. They will have amazing, challenging and complex experiences, and yet, many of them won’t make a commercially successful blog in the process. They won’t sell out, and they will certainly not miss out.
For more food for thought, check this this awesome piece 'Travel Bloggers are Lying to You'
Thanks for reading!
Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!
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Making Your Own Rules: Ditching the 9-to-5
...Are we feeding the corporations and depleting our souls in the process? In not seeking anything other than what is easily presented to us, are we really going to find true happiness? The time-old debate of 'Can money buy happiness'...
Making Your Own Rules: Ditching the 9-to-5
I recently had the pleasure of reading Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (only the craziest activities on my Friday night's) written by David Cain of Raptitude.com.
It was a succinct, interesting and truthful look at the relationship between our '9-to-5' lives and consumerism, and the negative implications; it explains the way our work life pushes us toward mindless spending, that serves 'Big Business' thus building a lifestyle based on instant gratification and overindulgence.
Are we feeding the corporations and depleting our souls in the process? In not seeking anything other than what is easily presented to us, are we really going to find true happiness?
Throwback, to February 2009. I was 18, and taking a year out to travel.
At the Grand Canyon, loving life!
I was unsure about what my future job or career might be so I put off my studies for a year.
I was also having the time of my life, seeing this amazing place being a highlight of my US trip.
No worries or negative thoughts can dog your mind in such a breath-taking setting.
So much has changed since this photo; after my US trip and university studies I became a self-employed dog-walker/blogger, part-time girlfriend to an amazingly annoying lovely person, and just, a little bit more confident and less cynical.
I guess I have grown into my skin, and into my life. Yet some things never change, or at least haven't changed yet...
I remain unsure about where my skills are best-placed, and which career I would be most comfortable in, but this isn't something I am keen to fix, not right now.
I don't wish to define my life by a job-title, or by the achievements of a career, and that is a big reason why I became a nomad.
It isn't for the want of a long holiday, or for 'putting-off' the process of houses, weddings and babies, it's because it's what I want to do. Knowing what I want, and it NOT being based around a job/career, feels good; freeing, and not at all extreme, rebellious or lazy as I expect some would believe.
'Working 9-to-5, what a way to make a living' - the wise (and very rich) Dolly Parton.
So a glance at my resume would show I hold a BA Honours in Media; I loved the debate, the politics and the passion of my degree, but did I learn anything practical? Maybe at times, but it was broadly just a fun and interesting degree, not so much one for career preparedness.
My work history shows I spent six years as a supervisor in food retail; being an organised and efficient person, I enjoyed this role for a while, but I was also stressed and unfulfilled, and left this job when I finished my degree.
I also completed work experience in admin whilst at Uni, spending 1 day a week at a children's charity; I learnt that people seemed to spend a very small portion of their 8-hour day actually working, and most seemed quite disenchanted with the repetitiveness of their routine.
So before even the age of 21, the world of work and the 9-to-5 life made me feel miserable and uninspired, and I wasn't even in it properly yet.
Was this all I had to look forward to?
Well then came working as a customer advisor in a bank. Shit got bad. I HATED that job; my maths was terrible, my boss was a bitter and bored, and maybe had I not left after 4 months, I too would be a haggard angry woman by now.
In summary, I am evidently not work-shy or un-educated; I do value my independence, having a focused routine, and feeling purposeful.
But I still can't imagine doing only one job forever or flitting from one thing to the next.
Never have I wanted to enter into a comfortable job that saw me through, paid the bills, gave me some semblance of a 'nice' life, one actually based on material things and repeated mindless consumerism. If I am spending the majority of my life doing something that isn't fulfilling within itself, and is purely a route to material comfort, something I don't crave, then what's the point?
But the desire to reject this, not just avoid it, has grown in the last two years, massively so.
We all have so much crap.
In 2014, I developed this massive urge to cut-back and refine my surroundings. This coincided with me trying to refine my spending habits and save for my travels, so I was very much trying to untangle myself from my consumerist and cluttered past.
From deleting app's on my phone, to throwing away clothing or make-up, I looked at every place I could in my home to rid myself of material weight.
Is this just a phase? Or is it more a re-imagining of my life and my approach to consuming and therefore the pursuit money in general. None of the stuff in my cupboards or drawers will I take with me forever; on my travels or in death (that escalated). So why do I need it all now?
"We buy stuff to cheer ourselves up, to keep up with the Joneses, to fulfil our childhood vision of what our adulthood would be like, to broadcast our status to the world, and for a lot of other psychological reasons that have very little to do with how useful the product really is. How much stuff is in your basement or garage that you haven’t used in the past year?" - David Cain.
David points out why we accumulate reams of things that we either set aside and forget, or throw away in the end.
He goes on to say how having more money but less time means he's too tired or overworked for the hobbies he would of enjoyed before his new job; "I’ve only been back at work for a few days, but already I’m noticing that the more wholesome activities are quickly dropping out of my life: walking, exercising, reading, meditating, and extra writing".
By re-entering the 9-to-5 life, he is again positioned into a mould that is brilliant for Big Business, but not so much for him; a lifestyle that millions are existing in, where you are encouraged to fill your short amounts of free time with meaningless spending in pursuit of entertainment.
Your work life dictates your whole life, delineating what time you have to serve your own needs, and the less time you have, the easier you find yourself spending excessively; as David points out, more money, less time, and so happiness is sought in the form of random spending, or 'treating' yourself.
Big business wins, and I win what exactly?
The debate I am having here might be not be a new one, nor a revelation, but it is something worth thinking about and so I repeat... Do we feed the corporations and end up depleting our souls in the process? And add, are we all losing, whilst big business is winning; do we realize, and if we do, do we even care?
I would say that many people are savvy, and willing to partake in the whole system; whether you can relate to it or not, many people are happy with their lot. They have grown up in this system and whilst they have the intelligence to question it, they are willing to stay with it.
Comfort, financial security and routine are not bad things to strive for.
I would NEVER, repeat NEVER, tell anyone how to live their lives.
I am not telling you that the solution is to reject everything and as David Cain puts it, '...shun the whole ugly system and go live in the woods...'.
There is essentially nothing truly horrific about the 9-to-5 way of life and people suffering the poverty of unemployment would give anything to be in that situation.
BUT, I will for the sake of this post, and out of my genuine respect for hard-working people, conclude with the following instead:
It is all about personal choice and not criticising each others life passion's. You are entitled to work as hard, or as little as you wish. If you want millions that's great. If you want to accept a low income in exchange for small pleasures, that too is fine, and not a bad way to spend your days, as long as you are living consciously, kindly and feel fulfilled.
Life is short and it is yours to shape. The key word being 'yours'; not the Corporation or those in power. But then again I respect your ability to choose that life also.
So; in not seeking anything other than what is easily presented to us, are we really going to find true happiness? YES, with a few small changes we can.
For me, travelling, not being defined by a job or the need to pay for a mortgage, is what makes me happy right now. One day I may settle down and resume a more regular lifestyle when it makes sense for my own personal and emotional needs.
By simply questioning our lives and our place within society, we can better understand our desires and needs, which ultimately will bring us closer to that thing Pharrell Williams sings about. Unless you are already singing with him, if so, cool.
Back to the 9-to-5 thing, I am not telling people to follow me and Taran, and adopt a nomadic lifestyle, forgoing most material comforts, but at least, respect and understand us and others who choose to.
Recognise we are neither 'hippies' nor lazy or undecided about our lives; we just choose to opt out of the system we were born and raised into.
We ditched our jobs and lives in England, and now explore the world, and then bring it to your computer screen or Facebook feed. We will deliver the world to your door, but not to merely entertain, but maybe inspire you, to one day open it, step outside, and say goodbye to the 9-to-5... at least for a little while.
Note: These Are Hannah's own personal thoughts on this topic but she quotes content from this Excellent Post By David Cain in order to argue her points.
Thanks for reading!
Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!
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Why You Should Give A Shit About Minimalism
Up to now much of my writing on minimalism has been subtle and instructional, but I am about to get a bit more deep and personal...
Why You Should Give A Shit About Minimalism
Today I happened upon this video on YouTube,'The trap of materialism'
Its message comes from an ethical standpoint surrounding why materialism is bad on so many levels; bad for all of us and this planet. From the history of capitalism, and its seemingly unstoppable power, to the hippy retaliation of the 1960's, right to the 9/11 terrorist attack.
It is a scary commentary on the world we live-in but it does offer positive solutions that we can all be part of.
Up to now much of my writing on minimalism has been subtle and instructional, but I am about to get a bit more deep and personal...
We write about our travels here on nomaderhowfar.com, because our lives are about travel right now, but we could not have gotten here, without first changing our mindset away from spending our money. To list the most basic benefits of minimalism, available to everyone, I would say that minimalism saves you money, time, stress and gives you back control over your own fulfilment and happiness. Money takes on new meaning because it isn't for satisfying impulse spending urges but its for saving up to reach some bigger goal. It serves a more healthy purpose, and you are no longer giving your valuable time away in the pursuit of a consumerist buzz. Nor are you contributing to the acres of landfill taking over our planet.
Minimalism has seen a rise in popularity among many people in recent years, with numerous books, blog posts and video series based on how to live a simpler life. Alongside this has been the continued promotion of materialism to the younger generation within the blogging and YouTube sphere, through a new type of celebrity, the 'vlogger' and blogger, who share not just their everyday life, but most prominently, what's in their shopping bags. The minimalist counter-movement really resonates with Taran and I. We have both suffered the same disillusionment with the status quo, a dissatisfaction with being ensnared in the materialism trap. 3 years ago, I worked in a job I hated and my only reward seemed to be shopping; I was really quite unhappy with life, but buying things seemed like the only pass-time that might make me feel better.
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And when on occasion I couldn't buy the things which made me feel that i was fitting in, I felt isolated.
But I didn't realize the linkage between the way things are within modern society, and the way I felt.
I simply put my feelings down to hating my job and feeling a bit alone. This was a time where my life was just not that exciting, put simply. I was working all hours in a terrible job, earning crap money, which I then spent on, well, crap. What do I and many of my peers have to thank for this status quo and the resultant negative impact on our mental health, well, that would be capitalism...
I won't paraphrase the entire film. watch it here.
The general gist of the documentary relates to how capitalism developed into something all-encompassing and endlessly powerful; and now has damaging implications for the future of this very planet. Big business has honed its ability to cultivate a culture of desire and envy, via the rise of advertising agency's and their use of our own human psychology against us, in order to get our money.
Some part in both Taran and I, has always struggled with society and its expectations. I might not have been able to label why but I knew on some level that my life would not be as fulfilling and authentically happy if I didn't step out of the 9-to-5 consumerist ring. Taran, since I've known him, has never been materialistic in any way. He has probably not bought a single item of clothing, even when he might have needed to. He really just does not care about fashion or buying new shiny things. He is so in-tune with just embracing what he has, making the best of his things and loving them in a way that the materialistic world doesn't want to you love your things. It wants you to consume more, all the time, and it does not care what the social, environmental and emotional impact is.
And that is why you should give a shit about minimalism. Because minimalism gives a shit about you in a way that materialism intrinsically cannot and never will.
You aren't a kid in school any-more, where being a fashion-conscious consumer was ingrained further into your psyche through bullying and peer pressure. You have the emotional maturity to change things, not worrying about what others think of your 'hippy' ways. You can dismiss the idea of the jones's and the competitiveness of trying to keep up with them. In minimalist thinking, your home is a sanctuary, not a closet, and your hobbies should bring you peace and deep happiness, not superficial short-lived buzzes.
Your whole life course is altered when you embrace minimalism.
If you have less need for stuff, you have less need for the money to buy it. And if you are someone who despises your career or wants to leave behind the 9-to-5, adopting minimalism can help. Some of us are always wondering what our actual passion is, what we should be doing instead of what we are, and we basically stumble on in a sense of constant disenchantment....well I certainly did and I know many people in the same position. And I also know how much minimalist thinking can help. It is so much more than de-cluttering your house or putting a spending ban on yourself. It is a retraining of your thought processes.
For many years you might have become addicted to the short-lived buzz that shopping gives you and so in a way, you are trying to cure an addiction. You are taking on a challenge that sees you give a big middle-finger to much of the rest of society who will frown at you and misunderstand your approach, in a way that might alienate you. But they soon might follow. People simply need to see that there is another way to be happy, and it is sometimes the only way to find it on a deeper level, separated from the stress of money.
Minimalism is not a religion, nor a rigid set of judgemental rules. There is no minimalist heaven, there is just the present, one that you can change, and a future that you can guide.
#minimalism is the key to reversing the damage of #materialism. https://t.co/Niohj7MTBo pic.twitter.com/wdYORxW84p
— Taran & Hannah (@Nomaderhowfar) February 20, 2016
By the way,before you leave, the original popular series, The Minimalist Life Cleanse has been re-purposed and expanded on, and now comes in the book below, available NOW.
Thanks for reading!
Want more reads like this? You can now find Hannah in her own online space, Good Intentions. Minimalism, mindfulness, conscious living and self-love; all the good stuff centred around being kinder to yourself, and kinder to the world.
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5 Essential Steps to Travel
So many days have gone by that have been actually, pretty life-changing. From being super relaxed in the tranquil heaven of Whitehaven Beach to having an adrenaline overdose jumping out of a plane recently, its been exciting and challenging.
5 Essential Steps to Travel
When I think about how much really fulfilling living I have done in the past 1.5 years of travelling, its overwhelming.
So many days have gone by that have been actually pretty life-changing. From being super relaxed in the tranquil heaven of Whitehaven Beach to having an adrenaline overdose jumping out of a plane recently, its been exciting and challenging.
That's not to say its been months of constant awesomeness.
There's been some real moments of difficulty. We have had to deal with a horrible boss in a stressful job, and there was 3 months where we worked outdoors on a farm, and that was definitely a major leaning curve.
Either way, I wouldn't swap a moment of it for having been at home, where the days always passed too quickly and too routinely in a way that left us both lacking vitality and passion for life.
Travel has reignited something within us both, and we want people to have the chance to experience the same.
Here are 5 essential steps on how to bring the magic of travel into your life:
Fix Your Finances
Before you embark on an adventure, be it 6 months or be it forever, you want to have your finances neatly tied up.
I don't mean writing a will, I mean paying off all your debts. In the year before Taran and I left England, I cleared around 1500 pounds in credit card debts. I did this through sheer determination. I made it so that my income was directed at my debts straight away, throwing as much as I could at them each week.
Unexpected income meant unexpected extra debt clearing!
I used the snowball method whereby I cleared the smaller debts first, which spurred me on. It helped that I was living at home, and was thus able to keep expenses low.
If you really want to get out of debt, then you do need to consider cutting back wherever possible. Sometimes it means 2-3 months of absolute suffering and then maybe 2-3 months of mild discomfort, but it is worth it for the sense of freedom and relief when you can finally say that you no longer owe any companies any money.
Building A Savings Account
Once you have paid your debts, this is when you can focus all your energy on building a healthy savings account to allow you to begin your travels.
Taran and I set up premium bonds, which meant our savings were kept entirely separate from our bank accounts. It also meant we got entries to the draw that means you can win anything from 25 to 25000 pounds.
It goes without saying that of course you need money to go travelling but you don't need as much as you might think.
We took around $10000 dollars between us, which when broken down was about 7000 from me and 4000 from Taran. That 7000 when back into pounds is around 3500. It really isn't an unreasonable figure to save. And the reason I say this is because I was running my own business, earning between 700-1300 a month (and one month only 400). My job was very changeable and so my income was unstable. And yet I was able to clear my debts and save up a good portion of that money within around 6 months.
I could have saved more, had I taken on new clients or got an extra job, or even just spent less. Where there's income, there's a way. It certainly is possible to save up a decent fund for any trip length, if you are willing to adjust your spending habits and make small sacrifices.
De-cluttering Your Home
My favourite part of the run-up to travelling was getting rid of my possessions and organizing my bedroom.
This was a really logical step for me, in getting prepared for my future, one that would be far more minimalist and frugal. I loved rifling through old photos and mementos, and found it super satisfying ridding myself of clothes and random things that I never used. I even did a car boot sale which gave me a little bit of pocket money, but was mostly just a fun way to give my stuff a new home.
I found that this step was integral to helping me see why I was making this big life change; why I was throwing hundred of pounds at debts I had previously avoided and why I was going without things in favour of saving.
I was steering my mind away from a path previously marked by materialism and a focus on acquiring things that I believed would make me happier. Thus this step was therapeutic and calming. I couldn't wait to actually pack my bag and walk away from the lifestyle of excess that had entrapped me in the past.
Making Peace With People
So this is a rather unconventional step not revolving around money. In the lead-up to our travels I made a conscious effort to leave my friends and family on solidly good terms.
I wanted to mend rifts and reconnect with those who mattered most to me. I wanted to feel like I was leaving behind people and relationships that were healthy. I wanted to go out into the world feeling that I could be free but also have people that I could talk to and share this life-phase with.
I was conscious of people understanding that I wasn't abandoning them or unable to relate to their life choices any more, I was simply following my heart.
Your life can't always revolve around the routines of family and friendships because if you, at the centre of it, are not content with your lifestyle, then you are foregoing the chance the fix that by staying with them.
Travel doesn't have to be permanent and home will always exist, but instead of a weighty anchor it can be a place you think of fondly and return to when you have experienced what you need to in order to feel fulfilled.
Plan Where To Go
You don't need a 5 year travel plan, but maybe a 6 month one is a good place to start.
Deciding on the first destination is important for many reasons, not simply for getting excited about all that there is to see.
You do need to plan for medical and insurance, as well as maybe topping up your vaccinations. I had to organize for some mandatory medical tests that I get for free on the NHS in England, so I made sure I was in tip-top condition before we left.
We knew that we wanted to see all of Australia, and so we found out what was the best way to get the maximum time out there. It worked out that us being aged 25, we were able to do a working visa which gave us 1 year, and if we did specified work, we could get a 2nd year. So we planned for maybe 2 years in Australia, and that is what we told all our families and friends much to their initial horror.
We worked out where was cheapest to fly into and when was cheapest to fly via kayak (and nowadays we'd use google-flights). We got a vague idea of hostel prices and food, to predict how far our savings might stretch. But in reality you can't be sure how well you will go financially until you are there. If your a hotel kind of person, checking rates is an essential part of travel planning, HotelsCombined provides awesome accommodation deals to help manage your travel finances.
Australia has obvious appeal but also the ability to work as we travelled, and in short-term positions, was a key part of why began there.
The most important thing is to figure out what you want out of the places you plan to visit, and launch from there when deciding where to visit and for how long.
Travelling isn't ever a perfect journey of endless smiles, although there are many days where I have felt so deeply happy I just wish I could bottle the feeling and sell it. Instead I just come here and blog about it.
Thanks for reading!
Hannah here, one half of NomaderHowFar. I love reading, the beach, proper fish and chips, and a good cup of tea. But I mostly like to chat about minimalism, simplifying your life, the beauty of travel and sometimes I get a bit deep. Get to know us here!
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Taran & Makoto here, together we form Nomader How Far photography.
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