Travel Inspiration and Information Series: Ryan from Pause the Moment

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This Travel Inspiration and Information Series is an on-going collection of stories from fellow travelers. They come from all walks of life, they all travel differently, and for different periods of time. 

The only common focus is: They travel.

Travel is a dream for many, but many see it as unattainable.

These stories are meant to inspire as well as inform others on ways to make a travel lifestyle happen. A travel lifestyle that fits them.

If you’d like to contribute your story beaming with travel inspiration and information, please click here.

This story is from Ryan from Pause the Moment

*What did you do before?

I’ve worked a wide variety of jobs in my life. Everything from delivering moonwalks (bouncy castles and other party supplies) to lugging 170lb oxygen tanks in and out of hospitals and patients homes. I’ve worked as a PC technician at a local IT company that serviced small to medium sized businesses on the south shore of Massachusetts. My last job (2010) had me managing and overseeing a warehouse that dealt with the distribution of CPAP equipment for patients with Sleep Apnea.

*What made you want to travel and live abroad long term?

This is sort of a two part answer.

1. My father inspired me to travel. He used to bring up old stories of when he was in his late teens and he would save up enough money for a one way ticket to Europe. He would hop on the flight with little to nothing in his pockets and just make it happen. He traveled all over Ireland, France and other parts of western Europe. I wanted to follow in his footsteps in a sense. Just with more money in my pockets, of course.

2. I took my first solo backpacking trip to Europe back in 2008 and thought it would be the last chance I’d have to travel before getting back to the states and getting back to work. Those three months of wandering around Europe ended up completely changing my life. Along the way I met fellow travelers who had been on the road for 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and more. At the time I had never imagined that many people went on trips longer than 3 months at a time. I was completely boggled at the fact that these people were able to sustain a life on the road. After I returned from Europe I decided that I would head back to work for a year and a half or so to save and then I would take off again, this time I would explore life outside of Europe and embark on an around the world trip. It was the best decision I could have ever made.

*What hurdles did you have to jump in order to make this life possible?

When I began to save for my travels I set some financial goals in my mind and stuck to them. This meant that I would sacrifice my social life in order to save as much as possible for my future travels. I literally had no life other than work, work, and more work. I worked every chance I could and when I wasn’t working I was either eating or sleeping. I don’t regret it one bit. It’s part of the reason why I am where I am today.

*Do you still have any struggles that you need to overcome?

I’m sure we all have things we want to work on in life. Nobody is perfect.

*Where have you been? Where are you? Where are you going? Where have you lived?!

I’ve been to 40-something countries at this point. I’m currently in Athens, Greece and I’m spending another month and a half here in Europe before heading back to Playa del Carmen, Mexico (my home base) for the winter/spring.

*What do you do abroad/online to sustain your travel/live abroad lifestyle?

My blog funds my lifestyle at this point in time. I also do a little bit of freelance work such as website maintenance, some design and other random web related gigs from time to time.

*What do you want others to know about what you do/what do THEY need to do to get where you are?

You absolutely need to make sacrifices in your life in order to get where you want to be. Very few things in life are easy. Also, you need a hell of a lot of passion for what you’re doing. For example, you can start a travel blog in hopes to create an income stream that will fund your travels but I would estimate that 99% of the time you will fail. Why? Because it’s not something you’re passionate about. You have to be passionate about the content you’re sharing in order for you to have a chance to make any sort of money when it comes to blogging. With passion comes opportunities and with opportunities comes money.

*What motto do you try to live by? / What would you tell others who aspire to have this lifestyle?

“Life is short so be sure to live life to the fullest. All day. Everyday.” — This is my tagline. It reminds me that I need to take advantage of every single day because you really never know where you’ll be tomorrow, next week or next year. I use this line to keep myself grounded and acknowledge that what I have today may not be here tomorrow. For me, it’s the best reminder that I’m very fortunate to be where I am right now.

Bio:

Hey, I’m Ryan! I’m a location independent blogger, occasional freelancer and world traveler with a passion for adventure. In May of 2010, I kicked my 9 to 5 to the curb to take a six month trip around the world. More than five years later and I’m still on the road.

Website: Pause the Moment

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