Experiment with
a life less ordinary.
Thirsty to Learn How To Travel But Not Sure How To Get Started? Well, This Page Is The Place To Start!
What exactly is The Nomad Experiment you ask? It’s actually pretty simple. This is a place for all sorts of conversations, motivation, self-improvement and tough-love shenanigans to help us all level up a little bit in life and travel. It started simply as a hankering to learn how to travel, solo travel specifically, having never done much in my life. But it soon turned into a conversation about travel, life, love, and just working harder to be better day by day.
But one thing is for sure; I’ll be real with you about how scary AF it is to dive into travel—especially solo travel—if you’ve never done it before…nomatter how old you are when you’re getting started.
I was in my late 30s!?
Spoiler alert: It’s like most things—
one foot in front of the other my friend.
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The “Force Yourself Not To Sleep In Your Own Bed” Experiment
A few years ago I started with a lot of dreaming about what my life could be if I made some major changes. Could I travel more while still making a living? As a wicked analytical person, there was a lot of method in my madness. So here are some early articles before the real madness began. To be clear, this time was scary, since I had to learn how to travel solo.
But look at me…I’m still alive…and hella happier to boot.
(wink, wink, nudge, nudge…)
Around this time I made a goal each year of not sleeping in my own bed a certain percentage of the year. Then I upped it the next year! I forced myself to get more comfortable with being on the road and overcoming my fear of solo travel. First year was 1/4 of the year (92 days), next year 1/3 of the year (122 days) and so on…
The Nomad Experiment: Overcoming Fear Of Travel, Budget Travel Options, And Preparing To Start…
Truth Be Told, I’m Scared Sh!tless
How To Be A Better Human in 4 Simple Steps
Travel Resources For Noobs
Bucket Lists Are A Little Bogus
Re-Engineering Your Resolutions
Books For Inspiration & Motivation
You Might Have Too Much Underwear
Do I Sound As Monotone As I Look?
Budget Alternatives To Typical Travel
Hostels 101 – And Why I Love Hostels
Fear of Travel? Just Buy The Ticket! (Video)
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The “I Think I Should Buy A Van And Then Actually Do Buy A Van” Part Of The Experiment
As things continued to progress, and as my “don’t sleep in your own bed” experiment kept on, I started taking longer solo travel adventures while balancing working on the road. Multiple week-long trips and a lot of introspection. I also really started digging into video to help tell the story.
I thought about…and then actually bought…a van. I figured that if I was seriously considering van life…I should give it a try first. Then I sold said van six months later.
I started tossing around the idea of selling my house and truly cutting strings with a single location and becoming location independent. Yep. This whole “Nomad Experiment” was getting interesting.
Learning To Travel, Questioning The Joneses, And Going With Your Gut
Can You Be Part-Time Location Independent?
12 Bullsh!t Reasons I Still Own My House
1 Thing Changed My Travel Perspective (video)
Yesterday I Almost Bought A Van. Almost.
My Van Is Only As Creepy As You Make It
When Budget Travel Plans Go Bad
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The “Buy a 1-Way Ticket To Mexico And See What Happens” Experiment
OK. So I bought a van and sold a van. Dug vanlife but just not that van. Maybe I would just build out my Jeep.
But I still had only been to 2 countries outside the US at almost 40 years old.
The next step was to stop conjecturing about whether I would like nomadic, solo travel out of a backpack and to actually give it a try. So I bought a 1-way ticket to Mexico and decided to learn by doing and go for as long as I was able to push envelope.
Talk about getting outside of your comfort zone.
It was messy…and scary…and lonely at times. But it was also invigorating…and inspirational…and beautiful…and eye-opening…and full of new friends in new places I never thought I would ever see.
Three weeks, two cross-country bus rides, and three cities—ending in cracked ribs surfing and a decision to return home only because of the pain of the injury. Comfort zone? Significantly expanded my friend.
Facing The Fear Of Travel: The Beautiful Experiences & Places You Can Find When You Do
First Mexico Trip: 10 Essential Spanish Phrases (video)
Fear And Loathing In Las Nomad
Street Art & Graffiti In Mexico City
Bus Travel – They’ll Straight-Up Leave Your Ass…
12 Beginner Tips For International Bus Travel
Oaxaca, Mexico Street Art & Murals
Admitting Defeat? Leaving Mexico 10 Days Early
My First Digital Detox
The “I’ll Never Be “Ready” To Sell My House So Now Is As Good A Time As Ever”…Sh*t Just Got Real…Experiments
Once I had questioned all the things about upending my life, battling back at the Joneses, and writing a new narrative, I guessed that the next thing to do was just leap.
Actually, I didn’t guess, I was actually ready. Well, at least as ready as I was gonna be.
I realized that when I was traveling (at that point over 1/3 of the year if not more) I almost never thought about my house. And when I did, it was about chores and all of the strings (and sunk money) that came with it.
I had gotten so comfortable—and happy—not being at my actual home that being without that home all of a sudden made sense.
Yep. It only took about 3-4 years of mildly-methodical comfort zone crashing to completely change my outlook and what my life looked like. That might seem like a lot, but to me it happened really quickly. That’s the crazy thing that happens when you’re chasing something that lights you up. Something that’s adventurous and different and invigorating…and scary AF! Time Flies. (If you’re not sold yet, hit me up, happy to chat.)
So I decided to sell my home of 11 years and simply rent a place when and where I needed it to allow me to travel and be truly location independent and just live and work (yes, in that order…) wherever I chose.
Then I slept in my Jeep traveling the US for 2 months…
The Nomad Experiment: Embracing Big Life Changes And Hitting The Road To Explore The U.S.
Adulting, Life & Motivation Videos Playlist
Downsized: 1400sqft to 40sqft? (video)
I Just Got Two Rountrip Flights for $22 (total)
Travel Resources For Noobs
I Love You And Other Things We Don’t Say…
Hot Air BalloonFest Statesville North Carolina!
Street Art Mecca: Denver RiNo Arts District (video)
Yellowstone National Park Planning Guide
Tide Pools…And A Mild Emotional Meltdown (video)
Listening To Your Inner Voice (In Redwoods NP) (video)
US National Park Video Playlist
Snow In July!? Grand Teton NP (video)
Lack Of Planning FTW: Kings Canyon (video)
The “Get A Tooth Pulled In Budapest? Why Not!?” Experiment
OK. So In case you’re behind. Bought a van, sold a van, don’t sleep in the bed, 1-way ticket to Mexico, sell the house, drive across the US, tooth pain that made this big old baby cry like a…um…baby?
Oh wait. I jumped ahead. So as I was finishing that solo travel roadtrip, some old tooth pain came back with a vengeance. Long story short, instead of spending $5-6000 out of pocket in the US, I decided to fly to Budapest, Hungary and start the process for less than half the cost.
Did I mention that at this point I had now only been to 3 countries outside of the US in my life? Haha…Yeah.
So I did a lot of research, then hopped the pond for two months. Now that my strings were cut, there wasn’t much stopping me but fear, and I’ve gotten fairly good at ignoring that.
What came next was a whirlwind 2 months through 7 countries in Europe. And a lot more comfort zone crashing…and adventures…and highs…and lows…and homesickness…and tattoos…
First-Time Solo Travel Through Europe, Medical Tourism, And Epic Hiking
Travel Hacking Fail: I Just Lost $2400 (video)
Virtual Mailbox 101: Getting Mail On The Road
“Burn The Boats” – The Problem With Quotes…
Packing Carry-On Only for 10 Weeks in Europe (video)
Ireland – The Epic Aran Isles (video)
Oops. Enjoying Life’s Unplanned Adventures (video)
24 Hours in Budapest, Hungary (video)
Getting A Tooth Pulled in Budapest (video)
6 Tips for Homesickness During Solo Travel (video)
The Bone Church – Sedlec Ossuary, Czechia (video)
2 Pockets Picked…Simultaneously – Travel Tips (video)
Now What? Well, That My friend Is The Question.
First, let’s get back to the reason (I hope) you’re still reading this. Look, I never in my life thought I could change my story the way I have. It took a ton of people, both family and friends, along the way.
Moreso it just took getting fed up with wondering “what if” and “planning to travel” at some point in the future.” Then starting to put one step in front of the other, knowing that falling back to the old way old life was is always an option.
I mean, we already know how to do that, right?
I hope this all helps. At this point, if you’re not following or comfortable reaching out or starting a chat on the facebook thread, I’ll say it one more time: I would love to help you do the same. I’ll answer whatever questions I can, in the group so we can help others with the same questions, or direct you towards other travel resources.
I couldn’t have made these changes on my own. Period. End of that story. Don’t try to do it on your own. There are many others thinking the same way you are! (Here’s a big old group of us—and literally the place I started by the way!)
Check back here often as this experiment grows and please subscribe on youtube, as that’s the best place to keep up.
Cheers friend. See you out there!
— Jason
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About Jason Robinson
Jason is the author of “The Beginner Traveler’s Guide To Going Nomad,” as well as the voice behind the words and the eye behind the lens for The Nomad Experiment. “Planning to travel at some point” wasn’t actually getting the job done, so nearing 40 he decided to make it a priority, nomatter how scary that was. A few years later—through the pandemic and a type 1 diabetes diagnosis at age 42—now living a life of nomadic travel, he’s speaking out to encourage others of any age, or with any serious medical diagnosis, to live an unconventional life.
Tough Love, Tips & Strategies To Help You Finally Kick-Start Your Travel Life…Or Go Full Nomad!
Been wondering how the hell all those digital nomads, location-independent travelers, and remote workers, travel “full-time?” Maybe you’ve thought about living that life one day, but you’re really not sure where to start.
Beyond giving you the stepping stones to dive into short-term domestic and international travel, this book will show you how long-term travelers extend those tools, maximize their budgets, and turn weeks into months…or even years…of traveling the world indefinitely.