Preparing for Takeoff

Our cat Callie the night before she moved back in with Ivy’s family.

World Trip Prep:

After our flights to Tokyo were purchased, it became easier prepare for our trip. Before leaving for Japan, we wanted to have flights to our next country purchased. Having proof that you have a flight or other mode of transportation booked to get you out of the country you are visiting is recommended before landing and going through immigration in most places. We also wanted all accommodations booked for our time in Japan. We ended up having the first 23 days of our trip planned out before leaving home and are trying to keep up with having at least two weeks planned out from where we are throughout our travels. Booking the first two flights, as well as accommodations was probably the easiest part of our preparations for leaving the USA.

Health Prep:

Beyond planning the first 23 days of the trip itself, there was a lot to get done at home before we took off on our new adventure. We started this process by visiting a travel health clinic and receiving the recommended vaccinations for traveling to the regions of the world that we planned to go to over the next year. The vaccines we decided were necessary for our personal travels based on our research and this appointment included: Covid-19 (booster included for entrance into some countries), Hepatitis A, Typhoid Fever, and ensuring we were up to date on our Tdap vaccines. It is important to note that we are traveling with bug repellent and also plan on taking Malaria pills for our time on a safari in South Africa this summer. Beyond the vaccines we received, we also needed daily prescriptions filled for the first 6 months of the year and a hefty supply of contacts. (We both wear daily contacts…) We also needed medical travel insurance, in which case we decided to use SafetyWing. There are dozens of options, but after a significant amount of research this one seemed to fit us best. Accidents do happen, so the insurance covers everything from catching a strange virus to getting in a car accident, and even losing your luggage.

Home & Belongings Prep:

Having a start date for our trip helped us create a timeline for things, such as last-minute doctor and dentist appointments (as mentioned above), when we should submit our work resignations, and a final date for when we needed to have our home and belongings packed up by. Resigning from our jobs was pretty standard. Andrew was employed at a smaller company, so he gave a three-week notice, and I gave a two-week notice. Everyone at our jobs seemed to be understanding of our decision and some even looked forward to following us on our journey. On our last day of work we celebrated by going out to dinner and seeing a comedian, which was a nice end cap to our five years of employment. After our last day of work we had ten days to pack up our house. This was such an underrated task. We spent days going through clothes and other items that we had accumulated over the years and made throw away, donate, or pack up piles. We finally finished this task on our LAST day at home. On this final day we also moved our cat Callie to my parent’s house where we spent the night and had them drive us to the airport in the morning for our first of many long travel days!

Budget Prep:

It’s no secret that traveling costs money. After researching other blogs, vlogs and budgets of full-time travelers that we have followed for the past few years, we decided that an average budget of $120 per day for the duration of our travels fit us best and would give us something to work towards. Long term travel can be done cheaper, and of course could be much more luxurious as well. We wanted to be a few steps above staying in hostels and backpacking but knew we couldn’t splurge as much as we normally would on a vacation. In developing this plan, we’ve looked at how much it costs on average to spend time in certain countries, and for the most part we’ve chosen destinations where the US dollar can stretch further. It is all about balance - countering high spend travel days with low spend days. The budget also must be strict, if we find ourselves routinely overspending - our travel year could end much quicker than we planned.

-Ivy&Drew