Oooh! The economics of a travel nomad lifestyle – how fun!
I’ve been asked a few times if I either “hit the lotto” or if I’m spending “too much” money on my current lifestyle. Let’s backtrack a little bit first before I can answer the question.
I owned my house for almost 20 years in Manchester, Connecticut (USA). Every year, I paid my mortgage, taxes, and the maintenance of my house religiously. Towards the end of 2023, I was paying roughly about $4000 a month by myself for a three bedroom house.
I am a single woman whose kids are two independent adults living their own lives. My expenses included the mortgage payment, maintenance (snow removal, leaf collection, landscaping and the upkeep), all my utilities (electricity, heat, water and sewage, wifi), plus car insurance for two cars, a car payment and of course the basics like groceries, personal expenses, going out with friends, and some travels here and there.
In February 2024, I decided to sell my house. I closed on my house on March 18. Most of my belongings were either donated, sold or given away to friends. I only kept a few things in storage around the corner from where I lived and on March 31, I got on a plane headed to Bali.
The cost of living in Bali was definitely different. I was very shocked straight from the beginning about how inexpensive things were, but I did not realize how much of a shock I will go through after I came back to the US. So I decided to compare everything I spent between April 1 and May 24 which is how long I stayed before I returned to Connecticut.
Throughout that time, I stayed at Airbnb‘s where I paid anywhere between $13 to about $35 a night. The rate included a private room in a family’s homestay, Wi-Fi, electricity, a fully functional bathroom, drinking water, air conditioning, a cleaning person – the higher priced locations also included a full breakfast. Nobody was in my business. I came, and I went as I want it. To be honest, it was the most blissful time I have had in a very long time.
The most expensive thing I paid for in Bali were my tattoos, which were somewhat planned, and of course, Starbucks.
The food, besides being ridiculously delicious, was also very inexpensive. I could eat for less than five US dollars a meal with a drink included. There were some days where I wanted to splurge a little bit and have some wine, so I would spend maybe $20 or $25 and that was very rare.
I traveled throughout Bali on GoJek (Uber) or I would hire a driver, which I know sounds a little pompous, but it’s the way things are done there. If I wanted to head out of town, my driver would charge me around $25 and would spend the whole day taking me to places I wanted to go and showing me around. Otherwise, for local rides, I would pay no more than $3 for a 20 minute ride either to a store, a restaurant or one of the beaches farther up near Sanur. Getting to the beach was usually about one dollar and I paid that only because I did not want to get hit by a moped or a car trying to cross the Bypass which is one of the busiest large avenues in Sanur.
So it should not surprise you when I say that I was sticker shocked when I returned to New York where I paid about $10 for a coffee and a pastry at the airport. I don’t think it was at Dunkin’ – the nerve! The next thing I paid for which was ridiculously expensive was a bus ride to New Haven from New York City, which cost me about $150 and then I had to grab an Uber from New Haven to Hartford, which was an additional $50.
I traveled around a bit for about four or five weeks after I returned to Connecticut. I went to Puerto Rico to spend time with my family and check in with them because I missed them, then I went to see my mom in Florida, I visited my kids and grandkids in Texas, and I finally returned to Connecticut in late June. I could not believe how much I spent just in hotels and car rentals. I don’t regret it, but… there I was. In hindsight, I should have booked AirBnBs all that time if I was not staying with friends or family.
I almost went back to Bali, but decided to hold off a little bit. I’m getting ready to go back as I am writing this from the Dominican Republic where I am still working remotely, shifting priorities and figuring out what’s next. It has not been too expensive to be here, but it’s definitely not Bali.
I only have a few more weeks left, and depending on the outcome of a few projects that are about to start, I may head back to Connecticut before returning to Bali. It really is not about the money, but it does make a difference when I can live my life and not have to worry about finances or running both my business and my savings dry.
