Sell Everything and Travel the World with Digital Drifters

About This Episode

In this episode, we are joined by Brock and Ilene of Digital Drifters. They are an American travel couple who sold it all in 2017 to live a travel lifestyle. They grew up in different parts of the United States, but found each other online and fell in love with one another and travel. We talk with them about what they do for work while on the road and how they made the decision to sell everything and travel the world.

Introduction:

Six years ago at the time of this recording Brock and Ilene met on an online dating website. Brock was in a 9 to 5 after getting a mapping degree, and about a year into their relationship he began his own mapping business.

Brock was raised in a family that went out road tripping which fascinated him with travel. He also went to study abroad in Costa Rica while in college. Ilene rarely went on trips with her family, her first international trip was in 2015. It was Brock taking her on trips that made her fall in love with travel.

In 2017 and into early 2018 they had a townhouse in Phoenix and wanted to sell everything to get away from the normal routine of their lives. With Ilene being able to travel nurse and with Brock’s business being mobile, it was the perfect time to move on and start their travel lifestyle.

Part One: Travel

We always ask our guests a simple two word question: Why travel? For Ilene travel is about being able to explore other countries and immerse herself in the culture. For Brock it is all about understanding other people and environments.

They were last in Mauai, Hawaii, where Ilene asked her recruiter to place her there for nursing. They are currently in Costa Rica and are traveling to Chile next. After that, they know of places they want to visit, but nowhere in particular. Mauai for them was diverse with the beaches, volcano, jungle, and so much exploration there is to do.

Brock talks about the most rewarding experiences are the places they visit where it is so difficult to get to. The places off of the beaten path. Their most embarrassing travel experience came when they were in Cuba when Ilene had to get to the bathroom while she was waiting outside of the fort for the group of guys were taking their time inside of the fort. We then talk about their worst travel experience which also came while in Cuba. They went spearfishing way out into the water. One of their group members began taking in water while Ilene was with him and everyone else was ahead of them. They made it back to the shore, but it was a close call for their friend.

Part Two: Relationships

We talk about the importance of getting over arguments as soon as possible in order to enjoy every moment that they have on the road together. Especially when you are spending every moment together, it is incredibly important to not let things linger and to work together to get over things.

As far as planning their travels goes, Brock states that Ilene more or less tags along. Brock enjoys the mapping and visual aspect of planning a trip and knowing where he wants to go and where he thinks that Ilene wants to go. They also enjoy having the flexibility in their trip to be able to squeeze things into their itinerary.

One destination that they would recommend to someone with similar interests would be Menorca, a small island off of Spain. They visited Barcelona and Valencia, and then they visited the island. For them they really enjoyed the island life and having to hike to get to a magical island with crystal clear water. There are some historic towns on the island to visit as well. They loved it so much that they changed their flight to enjoy more of the island.

Their final advice for couples in regards to their relationship while traveling would be to really enjoy the time that you have together and understand that a lot of people do not get to travel the world with their significant other.

Part Three: Making Travel a Lifestyle

Brock owns his own mapping business that allows him to work from anywhere in the world. This includes mapping for clients who are interested in the spatial information for a specific area. Ilene is a nurse and is able to be a traveling nurse. At the moment in Costa Rica she is volunteering at a clinic. For her it is really important to be able to volunteer wherever she goes and to help provide health care to people who cannot afford it. It has really helped to be able to arrive at a destination and then to look to see what is available, whereas being back home and searching there is a disconnect as to what is available.

The big thing about how they are living their lives is that they do not have any rent or car payments. The biggest thing they have is their student loan payments. This allows them to be able to afford a lifestyle like this. Their advice is to sell yourself on this lifestyle. It is a risk for sure, but there are so many things you do not need. Getting over the hump of accepting that you do not need that lifestyle of having things, it is easy from there.

As far as living day-to-day, they talk about controlling your expenses. In Maui, daily expenses were greater but Ilene and Brock were both working so they were able to afford it. Whereas in Costa Rica, daily expenses are less and only Brock is working so they are able to afford it. They stay at fairly inexpensive AirBnBs and control their food expenses by eating in their rental unit and maybe eating out once a day.

Their final advice for any couple wanting to live this lifestyle is just to go for it and appreciate the moments that you share together. If this is something you want, you should discuss it with one another and see how doable it is in your life.

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