A friend of mine from high school asked me a few questions about how we afford to travel and do what we do.  I realized that these are questions Carrie and I get asked pretty frequently.  So I’m posting the answers to her seven questions in a series of posts on our site here.

Every person has to find their own path to getting whatever they want from life.  At the same time, it’s helpful in that path to have the knowledge and experience of others.  Some of this is worded pretty strongly, but as always, take what works for you and leave the rest for someone else.

Question 6.) Are you basically backpacking it, possessions-wise?

Yep and nope.  Carrie has a rolling suitcase, I have a rolling suitcase.

Carrie has a school-sized backpack, and I have a school-sized backpack.

We carry our electronics stuff with us in our backpacks most of the time.  Clothing goes in the wheely suitcase.

If you’re really moving around a lot, I recommend a big (backpacker’s style) backpack.  If you plan to actually experience a place, you’ll want to stay a bit longer.  We’ve found it’s cheaper to travel by getting apartments in various places in the world.  For this, rolling suitcases are much better both for your posture and for your stress level at the end of the day.

Clothing-wise:

Carrie travels with:

• 7 shirts
• two pairs of convertible shorts/pants (zip-off legs)
• a sweater
• 2 pairs of jeans
• 10 each of socks/underwear
• a couple of swimsuits
• hat, gloves, heavy coat (with zipper fleece lining that comes out so it can also be a windbreaker – 3 jackets in 1)
• 2 pairs of shoes (this is the hardest area for Carrie as she loves shoes)

I travel with:

• 10-12 shirts
• two pairs of convertible shorts/pants (zip-off legs)
• a sweater
• 2 pairs of jeans
• 10 each of socks/underwear
• a couple of swimsuits
• hat, gloves, heavy coat (with zipper fleece lining that comes out so it can also be a windbreaker – 3 jackets in 1)
• 1 pair of shoes
• 1 pair of hiking boots

We also travel with:

• a sharp kitchen knife (we like to cook)
• 2 snorkel masks and snorkels
• toothpaste, toothbrushes, bandaids
• deodorant (becomes very necessary sometimes)
• various other toiletries items
• power conversion stuff…

Question 6a.) Doesn’t that get boring wearing just the few clothes you’ve packed?
Sometimes. Yep. But there are always things to do and go and see. Clothing is minimal when traveling, and the less you have to carry, the better off you are.

So yes, we are basically backpacking it, but in wheely suitcases.  The wheely suitcases have always been fine, even for our brief 7-day stint (when we dragged them through mud) deep in the jungle in Costa Rica.