In 2006, Nora sold everything she owned in Canada (including a busy financial planning practice) to embrace her dreams of long-term culturally immersive world travel. She traveled full-time for 12 years, before returning to Canada to establish a home base from which she continues to travel for about 6 months a year. On her website, Nora teaches people how to travel full-time in a financially sustainable way, while also sharing her many travel adventures (and mis-adventures). You can connect with Nora on GAFFL and follow her adventures closely on TheProfessionalHobo.com.

Why I Travel

I actually started my full-time travels with a partner, but we broke up on the road (which was an eye-opening experience about how travel accelerates the natural progression of a relationship). Since those days, I’ve traveled solo and with various partners and friends. All in all, I’ve spent at least 6 years on the road cumulatively as a solo traveler. 

I love solo travel because it is liberating (I can do what I want, when I want, where I want), and it’s often easier to meet people as a solo traveler. Also, it’s a bit easier to balance my online career when I’m not beholden to a partner’s agenda. 

In this article, I break down the pros and cons of solo travel, as well as a couple of travel and family travel.  

In this video, I share tips for traveling alone as a woman. 

I’ve Met Many People During My Travels

I don’t even know where to begin! I’ve met dozens - hundreds, even - of new people on the road and I stay in touch with a huge number of them. 

If I were to choose one fun memory to share it would be when I was in Jakarta. I had actually been staying in Bali when Mount Agung started erupting and I felt the need to evacuate because I was worried about getting trapped on the island with the airport closed due to ash eruptions. Through a friend, I knew somebody in Jakarta, and they agreed to host me in their home for three weeks prior to my scheduled onward travel plans. I landed in Jakarta and met a perfect stranger who, along with his family, became my own adopted Indonesian family. 

To describe the picture I attached, I was invited by my friend to a party she was attending with other women in her community. What she neglected to tell me was that these women always chose a theme - a color, or a costume of sorts, and everybody would dress according to the theme. (They were big into selfies and pictures, and these themed parties made the pictures more interesting). As you can see, the theme was yellow. Not knowing, I wore green. Haha!