As the cost of living continues to rise, many Bay Area residents are making changes to their daily lives. Some are cutting spending; others are downsizing; an increasing amount of people are taking out risky loans. As it turns out, a few older residents have actually packed up their lives altogether — to hit the road and live as modern-day nomads.
Vicki and Bob Enteen, 76, who currently live in Walnut Creek, are part of the “Senior Nomads” — a group of thousands of retirees from around the U.S. who have given up their fixed residences to travel the world. The couple is originally from New York and up until 2019, were living in various short-term Airbnb rentals around Europe.
“There are a lot of us who, as retired people, gave up our homes and just started traveling around the world,” Vicki says. “Some people choose to come back for various periods of time, but we were nomads for 4½ years. We didn’t have a residence and didn’t return to the U.S. during that time.”
Many of those people have been inspired by Debbie and Michael Campbell, a Seattle couple who began their nomad adventure in 2013. Now ages 66 and 77, the Campbells have been to 90 countries in the past nine years and are the founders of the Senior Nomads blog and Facebook group.
“In 2012, we were late in our careers, our kids had left, and our daughter was home for Christmas. She lives in Paris and she asked us if we had heard of Airbnb. We had not, but she said we should retire and live in Airbnbs and travel around the world,” says Michael Campbell said in an interview via Facetime.
The couple had just landed in L.A. when they picked up the phone, having stepped off a plane from Paris a few hours earlier. They’ve recently completed a trip to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Tunisia. Next up is Palm Springs for Thanksgiving and then it’s back to Seattle to finish out the year.
“At first, I didn’t think there was any way we could afford it, but we ran the numbers and concluded that if we sold our house then we could travel the world for the same amount of money that we would spend if we were just sitting in our rocking chairs in Seattle,” says Michael.
The pair have since written about their journey in a book, “Your Keys, Our Home.” The Senior Nomad Facebook group, which started with 20 people, now has over 4,200 members.
“When we left, nobody knew who we were or what we were doing. We never expected to be in a situation where we would get this much media attention and have all these followers,” Michael says. “Every time people want to meet us along the way or write to us and tell us that we changed their lives; it’s just so rewarding.”
Budget travelers
Vicki and Bob Enteen haven’t met the Campbells, but they know all about their story. They too have always been big travelers, selling their New York home in 2006 to move to Paris. After seven years there, they moved to the East Bay to be closer to their two daughters, who live in the area.
However, the travel bug didn’t fade, and they soon decided to head back to Europe after retiring from their jobs in marketing and journalism. They again gave up their home, packed up a few belongings and headed out to become nomads like the Campbells.
“We had met a couple from Sunnyvale on our travels who had been living as nomads for 15 years. So that kind of inspired us. We just ended our rental and got rid of a lot of our stuff,” Vicki says.
“We went to every European country except for five of them; all the way from Ireland in the west to Turkey in the east. We spent a month in Istanbul and then we went to Israel, Morocco, Ukraine and Bulgaria. We’ve been to about 65 countries in total now.”
The average time they would spend in one place would be about a month, though sometimes it was longer or shorter. They used Meetup, a social media platform that brings people together in certain areas, to meet new friends. They would often rent cars to explore smaller towns and villages, while returning frequently to Paris to see friends. Amsterdam was another favorite spot, especially in the summertime. Winter was spent in sunny Barcelona.
It might sound like a dream to many, but Vicki and Bob actually found themselves saving a lot of money.
“We found living in the East Bay to be very expensive. We were saving an average of $1,000 a month doing this,” Vicki says.
“We were budget travelers. We used public transport a lot. We cooked all of our meals. We paid a flat amount for our Airbnb rentals, and often negotiated. When you think about it, when you stay in an Airbnb you don’t pay extra for internet, water, electricity; all of that is included. So it can be a pretty frugal way of living.”
The Campbells agree. “You can control your environment. You can live in an expensive place like Ireland for a while, then you can pull back and live in Albania for a while to save,” Debbie says. “And you’re not paying for bills, gas, car insurance or any of that stuff that adds up.”
Considerations
The Enteens traveled with nothing but their clothes, papers, a few kitchen tools and a box of spices. Their pet cat Jasmine also came along for the ride, pet passport in tow. “She had been to 25 countries by the time she turned four years old,” Vicki says. “A great traveler”.
When it came to deciding where to go next, they would try to plan four or five months out. Weather was a big consideration, as they didn’t have a lot of clothes. A lot of Airbnbs wouldn’t accept pets, so that had to be thought out, too.
The Senior Nomad Facebook page was a big help, as were other members of the group. Language also proved to be much less of a barrier than they expected, as most people where they visited were able to speak English.
In 2019, Vicki and Bob decided to return to the East Bay to be close to their daughters again. There were also a few other issues that pushed them back stateside.
“The one thing that is important when you’re a senior is health care. Our American insurance doesn’t work in Europe so you have to pay extra,” Vicki says. “Travel days could also be stressful, but we found ways to make the transitions easier and it was always so exciting.”
The Campbells have managed to find reasonable insurance that works internationally, so the medical side of things isn’t too much of a concern on their part. However, they do return to the U.S. for their annual check-ups. “We usually go back to Seattle once a year to see all the doctors and get ready to go for the next year,” Michael says.
“We have faith in doctors around the world but there is some value in the consistency of going to the same ones. Especially because we’re nine years older than when we first started this.”
“Nine years ago we were moving a lot faster; we’d get the bus and handle our own bags and do everything ourselves,” Debbie adds. “Now, we’re more likely to get a car at the airport and that type of thing. We try to take it a little easier.”
The Enteens have also been taking it easy since moving back to California, but it was tough to adjust to living in one place again — especially after the pandemic hit. Now that travel restrictions have mostly lifted, however, Vicki already has her planning book back out.
“We’re hoping to go to Vietnam and Cambodia soon. I recently investigated my Canadian citizenship — my father was born there — so that’s also a possibility,” she says.
“When we tell people our story, they’re shocked. It’s something that a lot of people wouldn’t think of doing in a million years but it’s just a fabulous way to retire. Aside from it being a money saver, it’s also a great way to stay young. It keeps your brain cells and energy going.
“Every day was a bit of a challenge but also a great learning experience. When you retire, instead of thinking about making your life smaller, maybe use the opportunity to do things that you never had time to do in the past.”
The Campbells also recommend the nomadic life but they do have some warnings. “You have to be willing to trade things for experiences. You have to be really curious and a lifelong learner,” Michael says. “And you wouldn’t want to do this with anybody but your best friend. It either brings you closer together or pushes you apart. Fortunately, it’s brought us closer together. We just celebrated our 44th anniversary.”
“We’re always just a plane armrest away,” Debbie adds with a laugh. “But it’s not for everyone. People have a hard time letting go of their possessions and their homes. I’ve cooked in over 300 kitchens, which not everyone would enjoy. But if you’re comfortable even renting your house for a year to go and travel, then do it. You’ll see places you’ve never seen before and learn so much.”
The Campbells also have plans for next year, starting with a trip to Mexico. “We’ll keep going as long as we’re learning something new, we’re in good health, we’re close to budget and we’re still in love.”
To learn more about the Senior Nomads, go to www.facebook.com/groups/SeniorNomads
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