World Travellers: Nicole and Michael from Suitcase Stories!
In the latest in my series on World Travellers, I catch up with the nomadic Aussie couple Nicole and Michael. They are currently in Costa Rica living their travel dreams and running their website Suitcase Stories, Don’t Stop Living got a peek inside their suitcases and passports…
Who are you?
We are Nicole and Michael, an Aussie couple in our 30’s and we are traveling the world indefinitely!
Where are you from?
We are from Perth Australia originally but we moved to Brisbane 9 years ago and thats where we lived until we left Australia. Now, we’re ‘homeless’!
Where have you been?
We have plenty left to see but so far we have traveled to: New Zealand, Fiji, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, 27 US states, Canada, Netherlands, England, Ireland, Iceland, France, Monaco, Spain, Caribbean, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peurto Rico and Costa Rica.
World Travellers: Nicole and Michael of Suitcase Stories…down the waterfall wherever it may take them…
Where are you now?
We arrived in Costa Rica a few days ago and we are loving it! From here we go back to NYC and Toronto for a short visit then off to Barbados for 8 weeks – Nice!
What are the top 3 places you’ve visited?
We both love Barcelona to bits! Nicole’s favorite city is NYC and we both loved Amsterdam too
What is the best travel experience you’ve had?
We would have to say the last 13 months have been the best experience! We are living the life of our dreams of full time, I don’t think it gets any better than that!
What is the worst travel experience you’ve had?
We’ve been really fortunate not too have had too much go wrong. However I did get ripped off by a taxi driver in Buenos Aires and a Laundromat in Mexico! So other than losing a few dollars we have been very lucky!
World Travellers – Michael from Suitcase Stories talks to Don’t Stop Living
What is the funniest travel experience you’ve had?
During our road trip across the states, we booked our hotels day by day because we didn’t know where we were going or how long we needed in each place. So one night I booked a hotel for the following night in a town I thought was about 50 miles away. However, I booked a hotel that was 300 miles away!! The towns had the same name which is why I didn’t pick it up until we put the address into the GPS and it told us it was 300 miles away! We were heading that way anyway so we kept the booking and just did a full day of driving.
What is the scariest travel experience you’ve had?
We have been really lucky not to run in to any problems during our travels, both short term and since we’ve been traveling full time. I expect some day we may have a story to tell but nothing so far.
What 3 tips would you give a new traveller before they set off on their adventure?
Research research research! This covers locations, budgets and everything in between!
Sunset at Venice Beach in LA, captured by Suitcase Stories!
What are your future travel plans?
We have a lot going on this year actually. We dont normally plan our travels too far in advance because we like the freedom and spontaneity of an open itinerary but for some reason we have managed to plan out the whole year! Costa Rica – NYC – Toronto – Barbados – Italy – Greece – Croatia – Amsterdam – London – Dublin – SE Asia. Our plans to tend to change a bit so who knows if we will stick to that but its the plan at this stage!
Biography
Nicole and Michael are an Australian couple in who gave up their careers, sold their possessions and left their ordinary life behind for a life of the extraordinary. They have been traveling full time for 13 months and see no end in sight. Their blog, Suitcase Stories, is where they share their stories, travel tips, photography, destination guides and much more. They hope to inspire others to travel and to show people how long term travel is not only possible but affordable.
Links:
http://www.suitcasestories.com
http://www.facebook.com/suitcasestories
http://www.pinterest.com/suitcasestories
http://www.twitter.com/suitcases2
Thanks to Nicole and Michael at Suitcase Stories for being the latest in my series of World Travellers! If you travel the world and run a travel blog or are a travel writer, please get in touch, you can be featured (there’s a waiting list at present), either e-mail jonny (at) dontstopliving (dot) net or head to my contacts page and get connected! You can also subscribe to Don’t Stop Living by filling in the form below! Safe travels!
Nice to get to know you guys a little and looks like travel has been amazing so far! How do you support yourselves financially on the road?
A cool couple Forest – worth checking out their site and getting connected with! The oddest thing about a lot of the world travellers on here is my site seems to attract couples!! Not a bad thing of course, special to enjoy the journey with someone else…
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be part of your interview series Jonny! We had a great time answering your questions 🙂
No problems guys! Might even bump into you somewhere on our travels, thanks for the interview and safe travels…Jonny
Wow! Nicole and Michael are maniacs! Turning a 50 mile drive into 300 on the spin of a dime – heroic!
I agree Maria – that’s a crazy trip – Nicole and Michael also love to do housesitting on their travels, which is something I haven’t delved into yet but will consider at some point! Jonny