We Have Been Living A Nomadic Retirement Lifestyle Since January 2018
Exit45 Travels is a blog that provides detailed destination guides, travel tips and practical advice for those looking to lead a nomadic retirement lifestyle.
Who Are We?
Jonas and I (Peta) met and lived on the Gold Coast, Australia. I worked full-time in the Education Department as a Head of Middle School, while Jonas initially worked in the steel industry before starting his own business in the aquarium industry. Both of our jobs were demanding, leaving little time for travel – especially for extended trips overseas.
After spending countless hours researching and watching travel vlogs on YouTube, we found ourselves dreaming of the day when we, too, could experience more of the world firsthand.
Our Interests
Jonas has always been passionate about photography and videography, a perfect match for a life on the move. His travel aspirations began early. After a year of backpacking through Australia, New Zealand, and Asia in the early ’90s, he was hooked.
Over the years, Jonas has lived and worked in Sweden, Norway, and Australia, taking on various managerial roles in sales and marketing across industries like telecom, consulting, advertising, IT, steel, and aquariums. When he’s not travelling or behind the camera, Jonas enjoys fish-keeping, golf, scuba diving, snorkelling, fishing, movies, good food and drink, and share trading.
Peta has built a dedicated career in education since graduating from university in the mid-’90s. She started as a Health and Physical Education teacher and advanced through multiple management roles, ultimately becoming the Head of Middle School at a school on the Gold Coast. Her teaching journey includes stints in government, private, and Catholic schools across Australia, plus five memorable years in Tokyo, Japan.
During her time abroad, Peta discovered her love of travel, spending every holiday exploring new destinations. Though travel opportunities were fewer upon returning to Australia, her passion for it remained strong. Peta also enjoys reading, golf, snorkeling, horseback riding, learning new skills, and savouring great food and drinks.
Why We Decided to Travel Fulltime
Over the years, several experiences with family and friends prompted us to consider what we wanted our own future to look like. We both shared a deep love for travelling abroad, often wishing we could extend our vacations and explore more freely. That longing led us to start planning a way to make long term travel a reality. We didn’t feel ready to fully retire, but we craved a life of full-time travel and adventure, not one where we’d work until we were too old to travel the way we wanted.
Mid way through the year 2017, the big decision was made – let’s do it! Let’s take an “Adult Gap Year” and travel. We devised an exit strategy and stuck to it. Exit 45 Travels…
Our Why…
For us, a successful life isn’t about job titles or social media profiles, it’s about the next destination we can explore. Our purpose isn’t to accumulate more possessions but to embrace new discoveries, like wandering through the colonial town of Valladolid in Mexico; new experiences, like the Chiang Mai Lantern Festival; new learning adventures, like a month-long road trip from Brisbane to Cairns; and meaningful connections, like spending more time with friends and family.
At the heart of our journey are core values that shape our choices: minimalism (when less truly is more), the slow movement (where taking time adds richness), and living authentically (following our own path rather than one defined by others).
How We Did It
Turning our dream into reality took planning, sacrifices, and intentional steps, but the outcome was worth every bit. Peta had already been embracing minimalism, gradually selling off items that were unused or unnecessary. Amazingly, the proceeds from selling our unwanted household items covered all of our first-year airfare expenses. We realized that we’d rather collect experiences that last forever than things we have to look after.
We now have very few belongings— just a few boxes at Peta’s mums house and a couple at Jonas’ dads boatshed. Shedding the burden of material things has been incredibly freeing, allowing us to fully embrace our dream life.
The next six months flew by as we organized leave from work, decided what to store in mum’s garage, and sorted out what to sell or give away. Everything fell into place with surprising ease, despite the tight timeline.
By the weekend of our departure, we had packed our remaining belongings, loaded them into a small van, and headed north to finalize the last of our travel plans.
The next month was a whirlwind of logistics – setting up bank accounts, international travel credit cards, travel insurance, flights, mail redirection, and more. When our departure day arrived, we each had only one hybrid backpack, a carry-on bag, a camera bag with our tech gear, and most importantly, an open and adventurous mindset.
Why We Continue To Do It
As you might have guessed, our “Adult Gap Year” quickly evolved into something much bigger. Since January 2018, we’ve explored countless new countries with no plans to stop, embracing a full-time travel lifestyle.
We absolutely love our home-free, nomadic retirement filled with adventure, new experiences, and cultural immersion. One of the most rewarding aspects of this lifestyle is meeting fascinating people from all corners of the world who are living similar journeys.
They come from all walks of life; backpackers on their first adventure, digital nomads working on the go, early retirees seeking simplicity and a richer cultural life on a smaller budget, or retirees searching for a better quality of life in their golden years.
As the world becomes more crowded and social media like Instagram drives tourism, it’s getting harder to find hidden travel gems. Once sleepy spots, like our favourite, Moalboal in the Philippines, can transform dramatically in just a year. That’s why we strive to experience the authentic essence of a destination before mass tourism changes it entirely.
How We Do It
Since we decided to travel full-time, we’ve often heard things like, “you’re so brave,” “you’re so lucky,” or the wistful, “you’re living the dream.” But the truth is, almost anyone can do this. It’s absolutely achievable, though it does require a bit of sacrifice and a lot of planning.
To start this adventure, we had to make some real sacrifices like selling a successful business and leaving a fulfilling career. The biggest sacrifice, however, has been being away from family and friends for long stretches.
While we may have less face-to-face time, we’re actually in touch more often through online calls and messaging. Occasionally, we give up a few everyday comforts to keep our travels light and budget-friendly, but we never compromise on our safety.
Where We Travel
Contrary to the “you guys must have won the lottery” theory, we actually stick to a budget to make our travels sustainable. Some destinations are more costly than others. For example, Europe often exceeds our monthly budget, but we balance it by spending time in more affordable regions like Southeast Asia and South America. Thailand, in particular, is a favourite, and over the years we’ve collectively spent more than a 18 months there, on and off.
We’re fortunate to have two wonderful, yet contrasting, home bases. The Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, where Peta’s family lives, has become our Christmas holiday stop, while Västerås, Sweden, where Jonas grew up, is ideal for mid-year and European summers.
We prefer to slow travel, staying in one location for 1 to 2 months and using it as a base to explore a region fully. A few of the bases we’ve had over the last 6+ years include Bangkok, Koh Samui, Phuket, Jomtien, Chiang Mai (Thailand), Moalboal, El Nido (Philippines), Luang Prabang (Laos), Siem Reap, Kampot (Cambodia), Da Lat (Vietnam); Alanya, Antalya, Istanbul (Turkey), Merida, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel (Mexico), Medellin, Cartagena (Colombia), and Quito (Ecuador).
This approach not only helps keep costs down but also gives us a chance to truly know each place. Altogether, we’ve explored 80+ countries.
Our Budget
When we first set out, our annualized monthly budget was $3,500 AUD, which was very manageable at the time. However, post-COVID inflation has prompted us to increase it to $4,500 AUD. This budget covers everything – flights, transportation (including motorbike rentals), accommodation, food, entertainment, activities, and comprehensive travel insurance. Remarkably, in some parts of the world, we can live comfortably on less than $2,000 AUD ($1,300 USD) per month without compromising on quality of life.
Accommodation Options
For most of our travels, we’ve primarily booked accommodation through Agoda and Booking.com. Our standard is a room with air-conditioning, a queen-sized bed (minimum), and a private bathroom. We prioritize hotels in central locations, ideally within walking distance of restaurants, shops, and entertainment, to keep transportation costs low. When available, we opt for properties with a pool and shaded deck chairs, especially in warmer climates. We love indulging in great food at local restaurants and savouring even better drinks wherever possible!
Backpack or Suitcase?
Unlike some long-term travellers who manage with carry-on luggage only (we’re impressed but still can’t quite wrap our heads around how they do it), we travel with a bit more. Each of us uses a Deuter hybrid backpack and carries about 16kg. These packs are incredibly versatile, making them easy to handle across all kinds of transport whether it’s motorhomes, cruise ships, planes, cars, tuk-tuks, trains, ferries, sailboats, or even motorbikes.
Why We Started A Blog
During our travels, Jonas spends several hours a day trading shares, working on his photography and he handles finding cruises and booking flights. I handle the other aspects of the planning i.e. deciding where to stay, booking accommodation, and figuring out how to get from A to B. While that kept me busy, I still found myself feeling under-stimulated.
When we first talked about travelling, the idea of starting a travel blog or even a vlog came up more than once. But during our first 2.5 years of travel, we hesitated, thinking there were already so many others out there doing it that we might not have much to add. However, as we travelled, people frequently asked us about our lifestyle – how we make it work, tips for specific destinations, advice on equipment and tech, and so much more.
We realized we had something unique to share. We’re not young backpackers or digital nomads, nor are we at traditional retirement age. This gave us the chance to fill a niche not widely covered – Nomadic Retirement Living. And, if the blog generates a little extra income along the way, that’s a bonus!
This blog is about embracing life to its fullest and sharing the valuable lessons we’ve learned through our nomadic retirement journey. We hope to inspire others and empower them to pursue the life they’ve always dreamed of.
Why is the Blog Named Exit45 Travels?
This is a question we have been asked many times and the answer is quite simple…..
- Exit 45 was the number of the exit we took on the M1 highway when driving to get home.
- Jonas had 45 fish tanks in his aquarium business.
- 45 is the mean of our ages when we started our nomadic retirement lifestyle.
Bucket List Experiences / Aspirations
It seems the more we travel and the more people we meet, the longer our bucket list becomes. The one thing we both agree on is that we enjoy “experiences’’ far more than buying stuff (although good food and tasty beverages are essential to our happiness).
Some of our current ‘Bucket List Items’ ready to be ticked off are….
- Motorhoming in Europe
- Galapagos Cruise
- More African Safaris (Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Etosha and Maasai Mara)
- Power boating and/or cruising the Danube and the Rhine in Europe
- A 1 to 2-month road trip by bus through Africa
- Visit Laos (October 2023), Georgia, Portugal, Hawaii, Cuba and Myanmar
- Stay in a house for a month or two either on, or next to a safari game park in Africa and spend our days mastering African animal photography.
- More Hot Air Ballooning and Gliding
- Antarctica Cruise / Alaska Cruise (April 2024)
- Capture the Northern Lights on Camera
- American “Food” Road Trip
- Singapore Zoo (December 2023)
- Las Vegas
- House and Pet Sitting
- Experience the process of making wine from growing the grapes all the way though to drinking the finished product.
While we are very responsible and organised as travellers, we like to keep all doors open for new opportunities that arise, hence we rarely plan more than a couple of months ahead.
We are always looking for new adventures and experiences so if you or anyone you know need a trusted house and pet sitter, photographer, boat companion or similar, please feel free to contact us. We’d love to hear from you!
Our Favourite Travel Resources
After extensive travel around the world over the years, we have tried and tested many different travel planning resources, products and services. We have spent countless hours trying to find ways to not only save money on our travels but ways of doing it smarter. Click on the link below to see a collection of our favourite travel planning resources for booking accommodation, flights, transportation, tours, travel insurance, and more.
Inspired?
Our goal with this travel blog is to take you along on our Nomadic Retirement Lifestyle journey. To educate, entertain, encourage and enrich you with the knowledge that a great lifestyle is out there once you’re able to break through the pre-conceived notions of what life is “supposed” to be like. It has never been easier to start living a life of freedom, flexibility, travel and adventure.
If you have any questions about anything travel related or what we do, feel free to ‘Contact Us’ as we are happy to answer emails. Also, if you are interested, please follow us on Facebook to see where we are at, our latest photos and what we are up to on a day to day basis.
Thanks so much for visiting our website!
Sincerely,
Peta and Jonas – Exit45 Travels