As I approach my 72nd birthday, I always like to reflect back and assess the year and what would be different going forward. For this year’s birthday, I want to reflect on the process and outcomes of my first yearlong travel as a solo nomad at the age of 70 in helping others understand what it entails. As I enter my second and final yearlong travel, I hope to add to these reflections documenting what I’ve learned while experiencing the emotional and physical changes that come with aging. Here goes….Reflections.

The Decision to Travel as a Nomad at 70

I always felt a bit frustrated with the usual standard two-week vacation, especially when it takes almost a day to arrive at your destination. Managing a consulting practice also limits how much time you can stay away from clients.  Also, as one ages, you begin to feel like time is running out.  I always dreamed of traveling solo without feeling restricted in any way.  If not now, then when? Nothing like a pandemic to make you rethink life’s fragility as you also contemplate the R word.

Brief Overview of the Year-Long Journey

Once I embarked on this self-journey, very little was planned on where I was going. Much of the pre-planning was focused on the transition to become a nomad. In fact, arriving in Merida, Mexico for a month’s stay was the only logistic planning done besides the 6 week stay in New York City.  Once in Merida, it was wide open as to where to go next, other than this vague notion of wanting to stay 6 months in Mexico and 6 in Italy. To my surprise, I managed to travel through three continents, visiting eight countries, 16 cities and at least 20 neighborhoods and small towns. My travels took me through six months of Mexico’s key cities (Merida, Campeche, Oaxaca, Puebla and Mexico City), three months in Italy, traveling from Rome to Tuscany, Florence and Venice. From there a month in London, a week in Dubai, three weeks in Turkey, 10 days in Egypt, 14 days in Cape Town and 18 days in Kenya. Both exhausting and challenging, yet unforgettable.  I also had a list of personal growth goals I wanted to accomplish during my travels. A much longer list than it needed to be besides the many other challenges that come your way when traveling solo. (more on this later).

Part 1: The Beginning of the Journey

 1. Starting Out: Leaving Behind Everything….Preparing to be a Nomad  

As mentioned earlier, much of my planning was in transitioning to becoming a nomad which meant rethinking how I wanted to retire to be able to travel nonstop.   This required long hours of daydreaming and sometimes sleepless nights in the midst of the pandemic.  I knew it would require me to close my 38-year consulting practice, sell a house that I renovated and loved, and get rid of 50% of what I had accumulated.   To keep my head from being in a fog, I wrote lists of everything that I would need to do. For someone who is already a compulsive list maker, it was not much of a stretch.  The harder part was organizing the information into a workable timeline. I had three years to get this done since my BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) was to be on the road by mid 2023.   Needless to say, the workplan went through several revisions caused, in part by procrastination, a sense of uncertainty and feeling overwhelmed.  Talking to friends and my sisters helped me stay focus.  Three years sounds like a long time, but it actually went rather quickly once you realized that more could have been accomplished in the first year.

Upon reflection, one of the most challenging aspects of moving forward was the task of decluttering, which proved to be overwhelming.   Fifty years of accumulating “stuff ” brings with it great emotional connection and not wanting to let go.  I must say, I struggled with this, putting it off and being indecisive at times.  My sister Carmen tore into me when it came to packing things I no longer really needed. No doubt, baby boomers are a species of hoarders.  It got a little easier at the end, but it was indeed daunting.

The second obstacle was to get the house ready for sale which meant more decluttering, besides hiring and working with a realtor, home stager, lawyer and contractors.   The house had to be on the market by the end of January 2023 which it was and sold in a month.  This is happening at the same time that you are also reducing your clientele to free up much of your time without it disrupting the need to pay bills.   A bit of a juggling act which was eased by the pandemic incentive grant program.

Once the house was under contract is when the pressure at times was unbearable mostly manifested in my back and stomach. There was now more stuff to get rid of as you are trying to figure out what to keep, not knowing where and what your next home will look like.  Once a date was set for the closing (July 14, 2023) I had to then figure where was I going to live so that I can plan the last phase of my transition.   I selected a storage place near my sisters’ homes so that they can have access in case any of us needed something.  I packed my car with unfinished work and enough clothes for the remaining months in the US.  What was left was to continue downsizing the company and automating my life before going abroad.

I decided early on that I wanted to spend at least 6 weeks in New York City, preferably in the Chelsea neighborhood. A bucket list dream of living in the city while furthering my plans to travel.  When I look back at those weeks, I cannot stop smiling. It was such a great time to be in New York City during the summer months. It was also a time to meet up with friends to celebrate and say goodbye, at least for a while.

I was juggling a lot of planned changes and decided that I probably could not get through all of them until early fall.  I wanted to make sure I covered all of my medical and financial planning needs, which I started 6 months before selling the house. Also, automating required my getting help to move from a desktop to a laptop.   I had three more weeks in September to finalize as much as possible before jumping on a plane on October 4th while staying with my sisters and spending time with family and friends on the south side of New Jersey.   Frankly, my brain was fried by the time I booked an Airbnb and an airline ticket to Merida, Mexico. Beyond that, there was not much time to plan anything else except selling my car two days before jumping on a plane.   Did I get everything done, not quite, but close enough.

 2. Navigating the logistics: Flights, Accommodations, and Planning….  The Initial Fears and Uncertainties…. The Challenge of Living out of Two Suitcases.

Picking the city of Merida was quite easy, since it was based on an earlier trip when visiting a friend. I stayed an extra week on my own to decide whether this is where I would start my self-journey.  When I arrived, I immediately caught a sinus infection and was pretty much grounded for several days.   As I got better, I found myself a bit disoriented and was missing the adrenaline that comes from multitasking.   The dreaded R in retirement suddenly hits you with more time on your hands that ever before (no business, no clients, no house, no friends). I had a list of personal goals that I needed to start working on, but at times, found myself distracted by wanting to explore the city. I also had to start thinking about what city I would move to next within a month’s time.

Logistic planning from one city or country to the next sucks. It requires a great deal of time to ensure your comfort and safety. Safety was something that was always on my mind and I took precautions not to walk at night. Ubers and taxis are a must over a night walk anytime, regardless of what city I was in. I also took precautions not to share too much about my solo status and avoided answering questions that I thought could potentially present a problem.

Finding accommodations that are both safe and comfortable was tricky at times.  What you sign up for may not be what you expected. In fact, it never is. You are pleasantly surprised or not. Sometimes it’s the apartment and sometimes it’s the location.  Trying to get both to match up requires effort and usually is not cheap.   The other logistic nightmare is the packing and unpacking.   I started with 3 ½ pieces of luggage, thinking I needed all this stuff. I paired it down 2 ½. I try to make it work with 1 ½ but ended up reverting to 2 ½. I am confounded as to how some nomads travel with just a carryon and a backpack.  Year-long travel is just too hard to do with just one suitcase, even with less clothing.

Another challenge was my continuously getting sick from changes in the climate and the altitude making good use of my travel health insurance.  During my stay in Florence, I contracted Covid-19 when my sister visited me, and unfortunately, she also got infected. My back pain didn’t seem to decrease in the least, finding myself, at times, a bit miserable.  Once I got to London, I made the decision to get an epidural injection which helped enormously, although by the time I got to the US, I was gradually feeling my back pain return.

3. First Impressions: What it’s Like to Travel Alone…..The Excitement of New Cities and Cultures….  Learning to be Comfortable in Solitude…. The Navigating of Unfamiliar Environments Alone.

I have been traveling solo for at least 10 years for both work and leisure, wanting to do more and for a longer period of time. The difference from my early solo travels was I had a place to come home. This time, it is different because you are managing a year of travel without a home to return.  There are and still times that I deeply miss my home and the desire to be around things, places and routines that are familiar to me.   However, nothing compares with the excitement of being in new cities and countries exploring and learning about their history and culture.  My intention is to always immerse myself in the day-to-day living of communities I choose to stay in.  I have no interest in staying in hotels and resorts, mingling with tourists.  Most of the time and depending on the city, I try to stay at least 3-6 weeks living near or in the historic center or beach area.  I always prefer to rent an apartment or studio with a kitchen so that I can do grocery shopping like the locals and cook in my unit.  Eating out every day (or most days) is neither healthy, cheap, nor fun.   My first year of travel I gained 15 lbs which I have lost this year, as I am becoming wiser about how to manage my weight.   Staying fit is tough to do when you are traveling. Most rental apartments do not have gyms.  Walking is my go-to exercise and one of the reasons why I like to stay in walkable communities.   Thus far, I have not rented a car during my travel, forcing myself to use public transportation where needed. During my travels, I have taken trains, buses, trams, subways, and ferries.

Every day, you are reminded of your solitude, and you must empower yourself to form connections with individuals and communities. It does not happen on its own. I generally do this by signing up for day tours, classes, going to museums, libraries and signing up for events.  This is much harder when there is a language barrier that you must overcome. Sometimes it doesn’t work.  For sure, being alone does help you discover things about yourself and challenge you to push yourself.

This personal journey was aimed at exploring what I want the next 10-15 years of my life to entail. I aspire to embrace a more creative path in my later years and seek to deepen my passion for photography.  I have yet to figure out what this will look like.

As I mentioned earlier, I prepared a long list of tasks, projects and experiences to undertake during my time traveling. While I have been successful in furthering my knowledge and expertise in photography, there are many things on the lists that I barely pushed forward.  If you plan a 6–12-month solo trip, establish projects to stay occupied during non-sightseeing times.  I did very little night activities, preferring to stay in my apartment, working on my projects or resting.   The great thing about slow travel is that you don’t need to be sightseeing all the time (it’s exhausting).

Reflecting on my projects, I’d give myself a C.  At times, I was not deliberate enough to stay focused on getting to the finish line. I have many incomplete projects that I started but lost interest or underestimated the time it will take.  The completion of my blog requires a dedicated timeframe of approximately 3 to 5 days each month.  I am behind on both my classes and assignments and my reading list is way too long with little progress.   Traveling sucks up a lot of your time. The logistic planning alone is time consuming as is traveling from place to place.  Sometimes you are exhausted if not sick from too many changes. I kept getting colds, body pains, back problems, stomach issues, migraines, ear infection, sleepless nights and fatigue from breathing in cities with high altitudes (frankly, I was sick of getting sick).   Also, the unknown (+excitement) of where you are going causes stress and will slow you down.

 It’s important to note that no number of projects or sightseeing activities are going to conquer your feeling of being alone or lonely.  If the solitude overwhelms you, then maybe solo traveling is not for you unless you book a group tour with a tour guide and potential new friends (I have done this). Ultimately, do what makes you happy and pushes you out of your comfort zone.  Thinking back, on instances of solitude, I must say, there were significantly more moments where I experienced a profound sense of freedom,  discovery and joy.

When dealing with uncertainty, there are some great travel buddy tools that can make life easy, starting with Google, GPS and apps that translate languages, currencies and measurements among so many.  The wealth of information available about any country adds a sense of security that has helped me many times deal with uncertainty.

Part 2: Personal Reflections and Insights

  4. Lessons Learned: Becoming more Self-Reliant regardless of Age…. Stepping Outside of your Comfort Zone….The Universal Lessons from Different Cultures and People Encounters.

I look back at this first year of solo travel as the greatest experiment I have ever done.  It exposed in me a hidden desire to want to challenge myself more than I had imagined.  Aging does not preclude the exploration and pursuit of new experiences; despite the physical challenges it may present.   I am grateful that most of the physical pain and challenges that I have experienced do not have any fatal consequences at the present.  Although I am keenly aware, there could always be an incident. The possibility of being in an accident, falling, or being mugged and crippled is a constant concern for me.    In fact, there is a fear element that motivates me to be careful and to have my guard up every moment. Just because you are in paradise doesn’t mean bad things can’t happen.

There is a learning curve and sometimes a cost that comes with traveling when you are continuously moving from one country to the next.  Too many to elaborate… everything from adjusting to the customs requirements of each country, the madness and confusion of airports, ordering food, buying groceries, managing different currencies, understanding public transportation … you name it.  Not every city does it the same way.  You must quickly adjust as these experiences will make you more self-reliant, save money(honestly), and surely improve your logistic planning skills.

There is quite a bit that I can say about each city/country I visited, but that would take way too much time. Readers of my blog have access to all my stories. There have been numerous experiences, both somber and enlightening, that have affected me in so many ways that I plan to write about.   As a community development professional, I continue to be fascinated by how cities evolved in other countries much differently from the US.   I find it difficult not to view through both a community development and photographic lens what is happening to cities—culturally, socially and economically.  I aim for my photographs to showcase both the changes and the century-old traditions that are striving to stay relevant in today’s world.

My first-year travel exposed me to so much diversity in people, cultures and lifestyles and has taught me the importance among all of us to be better global citizens. I value each opportunity to engage with individuals, learn about their backgrounds, understand their culture without prejudice, and build new relationships. It does take a bit of effort to be mindful as to how you engage with people. Many times, you will need to take the initiative, otherwise the opportunity is lost. I am not the only solo traveler as there are younger and older women and men traveling alone these days who want to connect and learn from you. I am happy to have met so many of them.

I am now on my second and final year of my self-journey as I continue to explore how I can be more purposeful in both my travels and the type of projects I am working on.  Through my blog and my photos, I hope to inspire and challenge people to break that mold and step into a different zone in life. In other words, seek to live a limitless lifestyle, recognizing we all have limitations we must manage (Oh oh, had to insert my slogan).  Don’t let age be the obstacle, whether it is traveling, changing careers or saying goodbye to a relationship, relocating, starting a new business … whatever.   Like Nike said… Just Do It!