Slow Travel in (early) retirement is how Earth Vagabonds roll

Hello! We are Ellen and Theo (Ellie & Tedly) – and we are experts at budget slow travel in early retirement. Our dream lifestyle has been a reality since 2015 when we began to wander the planet full time.

We haven’t stopped since then! Not even during the pandemic, when we stayed in the Philippines and did some humanitarian work during those crazy years.

If you’re wondering how to retire early and slow travel the world — on a budget — visit this page. Otherwise, keep reading for an overview of who we are, and to get the general gist of what we do.

More about Earth Vagabonds

Ellen quit her career at 43 years old. Theo retired at 52.

Early retirement was an intentional decision. It took years of planning, saving and investing, and wise spending. It also took a shove from the universe.

As we got closer to the time for a decision about early retirement, Ellen’s company laid her off. So, after some months of debate, we looked at that life-changing event as a shove from the Universe to live our dream of budget slow travel in early retirement.

Life is Now is our mantra.

If you long to leap into this rewarding but unconventional lifestyle of budget slow travel through FIRE (financial independence retire early), we have a great pep talk just for you.

If you want to learn more about why we believe our budget slow travel lifestyle is a dream come true, keep reading here!

Our early retirement dream

We always loved international travel. While working, we looked forward to global wandering.

This dream motivated us to set goals and make lifestyle decisions that allowed for more savings. Frugal choices led to financial freedom before traditional retirement age.

We lived below our means, put money into retirement accounts, made other investments, didn’t have children, and we didn’t buy junk we didn’t need.

Do you want to retire early and travel the world? Check out this page on exactly how we did it.

Is this long-term, budget slow travel lifestyle in retirement the right fit for you? Check out this page on how you can test it.

Worried about boredom? Fulfillment? Keep reading!

Giving back

We usually stay in one place for a month (or two or three) at a time. Sometimes, opportunities pop up to give back to the communities where we’re visiting.

We often don’t publish the details, out of respect for the dignity of those we help. However, we do share our work when it is out in the open and it’s obvious what we are doing, as with our disabled young friend in Pokhara, Nepal, or at a refugee camp in Greece.

Our greatest, and longest, commitment was during the first two years of the pandemic. We were in a rural area of the Philippines a short ferry ride away from the famous Boracay Island – the crown jewel of that country’s beach tourism.

We used our unspent travel budget to help local Filipinos survive without tourism, and we brought water, electricity, and jobs to mountaintop village. Today we call the indigenous Ati tribe friends for life.

This particular self-appointed volunteer experience – in conjunction with kind overseas donors – changed our perspective on the world — and on travel. Sure – lazy beach days and active adventures are nice, but even we can get bored without ‘working’. Also: faith without works is dead.

We believe in human unity, and in giving back.

Time for hobbies

This website is a hobby. We each write a bit about our experiences to share with others – and to keep a record of our travels. So we write more, and we read more. Ellen has time for meditation and daily exercise. Theo has time to learn options trading and drink more beer.

Whatever it is you want to explore more outside of the ‘working world’ is totally possible when you have ample time in a budget slow travel lifestyle.

Medical challenges during slow travel in retirement

Health care is one of the reasons people delay slow travel in retirement, and we totally understand that. But we believe it shouldn’t hold people back — especially Americans who are used to outrageous prices and unfair insurance coverage.

This site shares personal experiences with medical experiences during our travels to prove health care can be affordable – and high quality – in countries around the world. From mosquito viruses to broken bones and breast cancer — we’ve experienced a lot of various health care in many nations.

Ellen was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer following a routine mammogram in Croatia during our third year in early retirement. She had a double mastectomy in Zagreb — without reconstruction — in 2018.

She now travels the world as a fabulous “flattie” – with no evidence of disease since the surgery. We kept traveling because it makes us happy, and this is the lifestyle we always wanted.

We also have much experience with mundane health issues, like eyeglasses and dental visits and preventative care in several countries around the world. Most of our medical care experiences have been excellent – and affordable.

Our most recent health care issue was a visit to a Malaysian emergency room for a freak snakebite. Ellen was lucky – the bite wasn’t from a dangerous snake, and the emergency room visit was only $74!

For a ton of information we handle health care during budget slow travel in early retirement, please see our free guide to health care without travel health insurance. (The information will also be helpful for those with insurance.)

Don’t forget: this site uses only experiential information — there is no AI here (although AI steals from us). And we don’t run ads, we don’t use sponsors or affiliates, and we rarely accept guest posts (and only from people we personally know).

To anyone on the fence about traveling the world now or later, we say do it now. The clock stops for no one and we live for today (with a plan for tomorrow) because – again we say – Life is Now.

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Budget slow travel in retirement is affordable

We enjoy showing people that nonstop travel can be a real possibility. It truly can be ‘endless, if you spend less’. Our travel adventure is going on ten years now!

The proof is in the numbers — we share our monthly and yearly budget breakdowns from our slow travel in early retirement. Budgets are relative, but ours is $2,000 a month in developing nations, and $2,500 to $3,000 in developed countries. Often, we spend part of the year in each category for a mix of monthly outflows.

You will find money-saving techniques in places all over the globe on this website through our direct experience — whether you are retired, or early retired. As 2025 gets underway, a recent example is our grocery price comparison in East Asia (Japan, Korea, and Taiwan).

We invite you to explore this site, which we keep as a hobby – and as a record of where in the world we’ve been so we don’t forget as the years and destinations pile up.

Contact us anytime.

Maybe one day we will see you out here somewhere on this fantastic planet Earth.

since 2015:

• 4 continents
• 27 countries
• 100+ cities and villages
• Hundreds of apartment rentals & hotel rooms
• Countless beautiful friends
• Endless unbelievable experiences

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