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This is Anya. She is originally from
Ukraine but a citizen of the world. She loves to travel slowly and explore one
country at a time. She spent almost 10 years in the United States just to realize that she
wanted to see more and experience life in other countries.
Her desire to leave America with the goal
to immerse herself in travel inspired her to start a travel resource Road Is Calling. You can connect with Anya on GAFFL. 
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SUBSCRIBEMy desire to live in different countries
around the world is my biggest inspiration! I think subconsciously I was always drawn to unknown
destinations, exotic places, new cultures, and traditions. Unfortunately, I
just didn't realize that for a long time.
It depends on what you mean by travel.
Going to another country for a quick adventure or exploring an area where I
live? If I had to answer a question about how often I travel internationally
then my answer can be surprising to many. Because on average I travel only to
3-4 countries a year.
But then if I touch upon the subject of
travel in a place where I live, my answer is going to be completely different
since I travel locally every single week, spending at least 2 full days on the
road. I do not travel in a way that many people do. For me, travel manifests
itself as an opportunity to move to a new country where I can settle for some
time, work remotely, and explore this new destination at my own pace.
I usually work for 5-6 days in a row for
10-12 hours each day and then leave for a few days to travel around the country
where I temporarily stay. The activities that I like to do are very different
and depend on what's available and what type of mood I am in. But they always
include food tours, hiking, nature escapes, meditation trips, wine tastings,
and road trips. I like to rent a car (like recently in Montenegro) and go in all
possible directions.
I have a long list of countries where I
want to go travel and stay long-term. So for the most part, I am
very flexible. My final decision always depends on the price of a ticket
(nowadays also travel restrictions), visa situation, and the type of climate in
the country where I intend to go to. Another decisive factor is the cost of
living. If it is higher than my budget, I still may end up going but for a
shorter time.
On average, each of my trips is at least
a few months long. And between them, I always go to Ukraine or Turkey where I
live part of the year. In Ukraine, I usually repack, do doctor's visits and
meet with family and friends. In Turkey, I always go shopping and spend some
time by the sea.
Since I usually travel long-term and may
travel to different climatic zones, I always pack clothes for different
seasons. My suitcase is always big (min 23 kg) and besides clothes, I always
take some medicine, my hiking boots, all my electronics, skincare products, and
resistance bands for my workouts.
And recently I also
started to pack a frying pan and my own towel. It just became too
annoying to move into a new apartment just to find out a completely ruined pan.
So I just purchased my own one (a small skillet for travel) to have it just in
case if it's missing in the apartment and also have it with me for camping
trips.
I don't really like to count countries or
places I've been to since for me it's always about experiences and things to
do. But if I have to mention, then in the US, I traveled to 44 states
(excluding Hawaii, a few central and southern states) and 50+ countries.
With country counting, it is a little more
challenging to answer because I don't know if I have to count some countries if
I visited their capital cities only. Like with England, for example. I have
been to London but I spent there only 2 days, does it mean that I've been to
England or not? I don't even know.
As for travel experiences, some of the
most vivid memories are somehow about road trips or mountain escapes. Every
time I visit the Caucasus, I just love going on road trips in Georgia country or
hiking in Greater Caucasus.
I am a very reserved person, this is why
I am very comfortable spending time with myself and my husband. Only
occasionally we can join local meetups that I find through various expats
groups on Facebook. But for the most part, we spend time with each other and
have our families visit us often.
For travel apps, it all depends on the
country. But for tickets, we use Google Flights, for the roads and hiking
trails - Google Maps and Maps.me, for hotels and apartments - Booking, Airbnb,
Expedia, or Agoda (depending on where we are).
At first, my main goal was to learn how
to work remotely, so I believed with a blog I could accomplish that. But with
time I realized that starting a blog was actually more an opportunity to work
independently on my own not depending on anyone.
Finding remote work these days is not
that difficult but in many cases, you work for someone else. With my blog, I am
capable of working for myself, making my own schedule, and following my own
routine.
And since I love to travel, my travel
blog Road is Calling was born. With it, I set a goal to help others who are
like me to find ways how to live in travel and at the same time discover
less-visited destinations.
Yes, there is a certain budget I stick to
no matter where I go. I always choose those destinations where my income will
be enough for life and regular trips or travel activities. If I spend more on
accommodation and food, then it means I can't do anything extraordinary and
usually stick to free things or travel on a budget.
But if I get to find a cheaper yet
comfortable accommodation and base myself in a smaller town where life is
cheaper, then it means I can splurge and afford more for travel.
I pride myself on managing my money very
well. So this is why I always live on a set budget, don't overspend, and also
save.
I manage my time in a similar way that I
manage money. I set up a time limit to work, plan ahead, and don't allow myself
to get distracted. Besides that, I really love what I do, so work always comes
easy.
I usually work for 5-6 days and explore
the new city where I live in the evenings (sometimes mornings). And then once I
feel tired, I just take a break for a couple of days and travel to other parts
of the country (like another city, mountains, beach), or join a tour.
The biggest challenge for me (as for many
people I guess) is money. There are quite a few destinations where I want to go
(but delaying) that are much more expensive than what my budget can afford.
Going on the cheap is not my style anymore as in some places you do need to
spend money to experience them to the fullest.
Another thing, no matter how strange that
sounds, but I don't like the act of traveling, it almost makes me sick. Just
don't get me wrong. I love new destinations and cultures, but getting to them
takes a lot of effort. I suffer from a few anxieties as well as feel pretty
nauseous on the plane. So after each trip, it takes some time to start wanting
to fly again.
One of the lessons that I learned was
that cheap travel is not always fun as many bloggers like to portray it. It can
be quite exhausting and overwhelming.
As for me, after so many years of travel
and life abroad, it is much better to travel less often but to have more
quality and meaning in it rather than just hop from country to country, ticking
it off my bucket list, without seeing or experiencing much.
As my blog says and what I adhere to, travel is not about counting countries or social media likes. It's about self-growth and never-ending discoveries.
Other cool travel stories you might enjoy!
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