Thursday, November 20, 2014

Married With Luggage - An Inspiring Story

Imagine selling EVERYTHING but a laptop and a few clothes...from your house and your car right down to the little knick knacks on your shelves...then setting off for two years of around the world traveling.  Betsy and Warren Talbot, of Married With Luggage did just that.  But those two planned-for years became five years of travel, staying - and often settling in temporarily - everywhere from Equador to Antarctica to Chang Mai, Thailand to a yurt in Mongolia and to the more familiar countries of Europe.

Of course, they didn't do this on a whim.  They planned and saved for a couple of years,giving up all of their "extra" expenses - the Starbucks lattes, haircuts, dinners out, anything and everything that they could do without - and saved every penny until they were ready to sell everything they owned but those few clothes, a backpack, and a laptop and finally set off on their adventure.

It is an amazing story, which they tell in their newest book, Married With Luggage: What We Learned About Love by Traveling the World.  They used their adventure to learn, not only about the world, but about themselves and their blog evolved from a simple travel narrative to a relationship instruction manual.  They added to their travel fund by writing books about the lessons they learned.  The first was Dream, Save, Do, a useful manual for setting and meeting your goals, whether they be to travel the world or to buy your first home.  They went a bit deeper into the story of their beginnings with a book on how to go about de-cluttering your life with their book, Getting Rid of It: Eliminating the Clutter in Your Life.  And Betsy tackled the issue of "good girls" not following their dreams in Strip Off Your Fear: The Good Girls Guide to Saying What You Want.

Betsy and Warren are remarkably upfront about their relationship, telling not only about the romance and freedom that comes from traveling, but also about the tensions and even the fights that occur when you are bound to your partner pretty much 24/7 for months at a time.  But they use this to share the insights they have had and the ways they have learned to adjust their own behavior.

As the years went on, Betsy and Warren expanded their blog to include, not only the posts of their travels and link to their books, but a fascinating podcast in which they interview interesting fellow travelers and relationship experts around the world about everything from fitness to sex to stupid mistakes.  It is amazing to me that they were able to turn their travel adventure into a thriving business that allowed them to continue the journey for so long.

Just a few months ago, they found a place that felt like home - a little village in Spain - and made the decision to finally come to rest in one spot.  They have bought a lovely little home and fill their blog with stories of their life in the village, learning a new language, becoming accepted (and loved, I think) by the local population.  And Betsy has just set off on a new adventure - writing a series of romance novels called "Late Bloomers."

I am delighted to share their adventures with my readers.  Visit  Married With Luggage and come along for the journey!

9 comments:

  1. What an opportunity to travel the world and meet so many wonderful people. Their books sound great too, especially the one about clutter. Not that I have a problem with it (rolls eyes). Thanks for sharing their journey and resources.

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    1. Joan, I was excited to get to share this story. I have so much enjoyed following their adventures. You can subscribe to their website for updates... and the have a Married With Luggage Facebook page that you can also follow.

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  2. Your blog posts always make me want to get up right after, grab a bag of clothes and take off jet-setting around the world. I've been out of the country before, but I definitely want to travel one day just like Betsy and Warren for an extended period of time.

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    1. They would tell you to make your dream come true and do it!!!

      I am also enjoying all of YOUR travel tales! Studying abroad gives you such a broader view of the world, I think.

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  3. I enjoyed your post, Joan, thanks. Remember you for put me in touch with Warren and Betsy a few years back when they were in Guanajuato, Mexico, and I was in San Miguel de Allende. I was sorry we didn't get to meet up, but have intermittently followed their MWL blog and page. Thanks for the great overview of their activities and travels. xoA

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    1. I do remember that I told you about them when you were both in Mexico. I am still enjoying following their adventures, and recently got to be a "beta reader" for Betsy's first romance novel!

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  4. Damn filter on Blogspot! As I so recently typed and then lost, I can feel your excitement.
    Two couples I know did a similar thing, one by car and one by motorcycle. They say it really increased their confidence; "How hard can this be? I just traveled all around the world on my own." All the links are good but I like this line best: "I am delighted to share their adventures with my readers. Visit Married With Luggage and come along for the journey!"

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  5. Sounds like a life worth writing about! And what better way to fund your travels than to blog about them. Nice!

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