We have been planning to take same time off ever since we returned from our world trip in 2014. Certain factors actually stopped us from leaving before, but now it’s finally become the time to go. People ask us a lot of questions about our take off, to which we love to answer, but don’t always know how to.

Like, wait, what are you guys doing? We are giving away our stuff, quitting our jobs and hitting the road to explore South East Asia. I used to live in China for a couple of years, and the engineer is thrilled by the idea of living abroad, too. We love traveling, I want to continue studying Chinese, we want to take some time off, and we want to go.

To go where? you ask, and we answer: We don’t quite know yet. Well, the big picture is somewhat clear: We’ll go to Goa to relax, do yoga and just unwind. After that, it’s Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur over Christmas. We’ve visited the city before, fell in love with it, and want to explore it more. Next step: Taiwan, to perhaps study some more Chinese and just stroll around Taipei and the other cities.

When are you leaving? Early December. We will skip winter 🙂

Why on earth are guys going? Because we want to, we need to and we can. Although nothing, absolutely nothing is wrong with our current life, we’ve got restless feet (sometimes literally, but here more as a figure of a speech.. you get it!) and they need to move. We have no kids, no pets, no-one we’d need to look after but ourselves and each other. There is so much the world has to offer, and we want to know more. I have some unfinished “business” to do, and the engineer is more than willing to tag along.

Like, what are you gonna do there? Once we’ve established where “there” is, we’ll figure it out. Study languages, explore, make a living. If things go as planned, we’ll be able to live abroad for as long as we want to. I’ve made Beijing a home before, I think it’ll be doable again, maybe somewhere else this time. The enginerd is  planning on putting together an internet business, and I’d love to find a nursing job. So in the end, it’ll be job hunting, writing this blog, and going for adventures. It will be living our lives.

How can you afford it? We have saved the money already. We have enough to keep us alive until around next summer, then we’ll be in a massive trouble if we get no income at all. But the plan is to not get into that situation. I’m looking for nursing jobs, the enginerd has his plans, and if all fails, I’ll come back to Finland for the summer to work, put together some more money, and go again. (Mom, dad, you okay with your grown up daughter couch surfing for some time..?). We have also put aside a sum of money which is budgeted just and only for when we maybe decide to stop and stay somewhere permanently. 

Why are you giving away all your stuff? Because we need to and we want to. We can’t afford paying for a storage space, and our parents’ houses are limited in volume (plus I got very clear orders from my dad not to fill up the last remaining empty corners of the place they call their home and apparently only want  to storage their own things there, how strange is that??).

After going through all our stuff lately, we also noticed we do not need the stuff we have. We’re keeping some mementos, our super expensive bed, my matching set of dishes I’ve collected since I was 19, some books and a few sets of clothes. We’ll take with us what we need, and the rest has to go. It has been a very zen like process to have less and less possessions, and we are actually looking forward to being able to carry our lives in our bags. Plus, and this is a huge bonus we never saw coming, it is the best feeling ever to give people stuff they need, and we won’t. In the future, I wish we’ll be able to give away the items we won’t need as soon as they become useless for us. Maybe we could challenge you do the same 😉 ?

Are you taking suitcases or backpacks? Backpacks, they are easier to carry.

Won’t you miss home? Yes, we will miss the place we live at now, we’ll miss our parents’ places, we’ll miss our families and friends. The air quality, the peace, the cleanliness, the easiness. We will miss our jobs and co-workers. But we will get so much more back when we go see other places. We’re not burning any bridges, we will keep in touch, and of course keep connected with everyone via social media and Skype. I will continue writing this blog, we will be more than happy if people come see us wherever we are, and we will come visit Finland.

What’s this blog thing? This blog is about telling people what we are doing, how we are doing it and also connecting with our friends and loved ones. This is our way to try and keep you updated on what we are doing and how’s it going. I, the nurse, do the writing, and the engineer helps with the informative content. We also have a ton of other social media accounts, and update them more as we go. This blog gets new content every Friday. Stories about countries will be found at the now quite empty Destinations page, and hacks and tips can be found at under the How to menu on top of the page. Ideas and suggestions, as well as your own stories are welcome.

When will you come back? We really do not know the if and when. Hopefully it will not be because we’ve run out of money. Could be next year, could be later, could be we’ll establish a home somewhere a bit farther away from here. Right now all we can think about is getting on the move. It’ll be  ♥awesome♥.

Aren’t you like really scared/ isn’t that like really stupid? Yes, in a way we are, and no, it is not 😉 What fits us is good for us, and what fits you, is good for you. We want to explore, although it might mean losing security on some level. We are not running away from responsibilities, we are not going because we have no option, we are volunteering, we are willing and yes, we have considered this for years.

What if something happens? You mean getting sick, getting hit by a car, being robbed, running into a giant spider? Not finding a job, having a nervous breakdown, not having children to take care of us, ending up wasting all our savings? Excluding the spider, how could these things not happen where we are right now? And for the giant spider, I’ve met him/ her/ them in Bali. At least 50 of them, the whole family, at once. Nearly fainted, got away, survived, still shivering. Not going back anytime soon (I know who you are, and where you live, you black, weird creatures from the deepest hell. I will not hunt you down. I will not kill you. I will stay the fuck out of your way.)

Do you actually drink as much as it appears on your blog? No, dear parents-in-law, we are not and will not 🙂 We would die if we did. The 200€ budgeted for booze in our rough budget sheet includes taking a taxi, dining in restaurants, going to movies etc. We will not, I repeat and promise, will NOT consume that much alcohol and/ or develop a liver cirrhosis.

Do you have questions you’d like to ask us, or do you get asked certain questions about your travels over and over again? Let us know 🙂