FAQs

Where are you going?

Hands down, the first question people ask us. Without going into too much detail (so you have to follow to know exactly where we end up, and since we don’t even know exactly where we end up): South America (SA), Australia (OZ), New Zealand (NZ) and Southeast Asia (SEA) are our current targets.

Why these places?

First: We need our money to last as long as possible, so cheap destinations are important - hence SA and SEA. We will spend the most time there.

Second: We want to hit the places that are far and not suitable for shorter vacations that we can do later. So while OZ and NZ are expensive destinations and less ideal for long-term travel, they do suit our second goal, because we want to spend a good chunk of time there and it takes so long to get there from Canada. 

But what about your jobs? Are they safe or are you quitting?

We have both taken advantage of amazing opportunities offered by our employers.

Matt is a teacher and is doing what’s called an “X over Y,” in which a teacher teaches for X years and takes year Y off. Income is averaged over all of the years, so he actually gets income during our year off. It sure makes budgeting easier, and has tax benefits too.

Jenna is a federal government employee is taking a “self-funded” leave. This works in a similar way to an X over Y, so she too will receive some income while we are away.

Both of our jobs are protected! So we are in a relatively comfy situation. 

Are you working while you are away?

No, while working is a fantastic option for those who have extremely limited cash resources, we have a healthy budget and will enjoy a true “year off.” We would like to volunteer at some point, however. We are looking for a place where we would want to spend a chunk of time as most volunteer commitments are at least a few weeks long, and we are looking for a cause we really stand behind. 

What will you do with your house/cat/car?

Realistically, we can't afford to pay our mortgage and travel at the same time, so we've rented out our house (furnished) while we are gone. The beauty of this is we can build equity even though we aren't making money. We are going to want our car when we get back so it will parked in Jenna's mom's driveway. And our tenants have agreed to take care of our cat!