Exile lifestyle

By  |  Comments


A professionally and financially successful businessman, one day Colin Wright decided to follow his world-travelling ambitions and totally changed his lifestyle. Colin left behind his career and material lifestyle, and today his life consists from writing books and a blog, travelling full-time, being a minimalist and moving to live in a different country every four months, taking with him only two backpacks. Since 2009, when he started his life-changing journey, Colin has lived in Iceland, New Zealand, India, Thailand, Czech Republic, Romania; he has visited each of the 48 contiguous US states twice and travelled to about 30 other countries alongside his adventures.

- Colin, how did you come up with the idea of changing your ‘home base’ every four months?

- It was all about my desire to travel and explore the world. I was unsure of where to go, and had never left the US before. I had also completely changed my lifestyle and business in four months, getting rid of everything I owned, starting a new business and blog, and planning a breakup party with my then-girlfriend within that span of time. I decided that if I can get all of that done in four months, it was probably a good amount of time to spend exploring a new country, as well.

- Isn’t it hard to leave a country after a long time, simply pack and leave?

- Yes, every time. But I also know that if I don’t, I will not be able to visit and explore new homes, and that is more important to me than being comfortable in a place I love. I want to find even more places to love.

- Was travelling the main reason you chose the minimalist lifestyle?

- It was at the time. But as I got rid of more things, I realized it was a philosophy that was involved in everything I was doing. Minimalism is a philosophy that means, in short, you spend more of your time, energy, and resources, including money, on the truly important, fulfilling things in your life. I was getting rid of the excess to make more room for the things I really cared about, like travel. And I had a lot more money, time, and energy to spend on travel because I owned less.

- How did minimalism influence/change your life?

- In every way. It allowed me to focus on the things that brought me more joy than anything else, and the people who did the same. It gave me time to write and explore other hobbies and careers. It gave me the freedom to go where I wanted and do what I wanted to do with my time. It made me happy to wake up every morning and think, “What do I get to do today?” rather than “What do Ihave to do today?”.

- How long do you plan to continue this lifestyle?

- Until I find something even better. At the moment, I’m having so much fun, I don’t know why I would want to stop, but I’m open to a lifestyle that allows me to be even happier, if something like that comes along.

- Which place do you still call home?

- I’m fortunate to feel that every place I have lived is home. I can’t wait to go visit all of my homes again in the future.

- Is there a place you would like to set up for the rest of your life?

- Not just one place, no. I have been in a lot of places where I had a blast and would love to stay for a time. But even living in those places, I eventually want to leave and see more. Exploring more of the world makes me appreciate each and every place I have been all the more. I love the novelty, new people, new sights and sounds and tastes, new experiences I get to enjoy when I travel. There’s no place I’ve been that I would give that up for. And thankfully, I don’t have to.

 

You must be logged in to post a comment Login