Shawn Pen - A Life Without Borders

What is your age?
45

How many countries have you visited?
24

What is your greatest joy of living anywhere?
While Traveling: Bulgaria. In the USA: Santa Cruz, CA.

Why do you live in many cities in many countries?
I enjoy traveling slow. The slower travel style, more the culture experienced. However, I prefer living small towns or villages.

What is your source or sources of money?
I do freelance part-time Web Design on the Thesis Theme for Wordpress.

Also generate some income through paid ads and adsense on my sites.

How does a person prepare?

Are traveling long term? Then sell everything you own before you leave, it will release you from all attached strings. Surrender your inner attachment to your sense of home including family. I met a lot of travelers that went home early because of their inner attachments.  

Recommendations:
Try to travel slow and take in the culture. Avoid making long term reservations, it is best to create tentative plans that allows flexibility.

Don't complicate your travel style by carrying to much stuff. Shampoo cleans everything, even your clothes. 

If you visit an area where nobody speaks english, you can still get transportation, food, and a place to sleep.

What mistakes have you made, that you would recommend people avoid?
I cannot really think of many mistakes that stand out. I have walked around the block more than once looking for a hotel, and allowed my mind to be relaxed and got ripped off at some markets. I recommend travelers to look for house-sitting situations.

One Travel Tip?
Eat lots of raw food. Poor food will rob you of your energy, and get plenty of rest if you are traveling long term. Try to avoid arriving places at night.

Bio and Life Story in your own words:

Many people ask, why am I traveling? the situation just happened—there’s no particular reason. I got the idea to travel the world in the year 2000 from a housemate that shared his world travels. During that same year, I also met people that traveled, although, one thing they had all in common was that they would save a lot of money—travel for awhile and come back, save more money and leave again. I decided a long time ago, once I leave—I am leaving for a long time.

The reality of traveling eluded itself as an actuality until January of 2005. I found myself in an ideal economic situation. I started to live with a developmentally disable person, living with him at home. During this time, I started a small EBay business and did some professional massage work at home. Working at home gave me plenty enough time to research and plan to travel. I kept my plans to myself except for sharing my ideas with my best friend. I began to share my plans with family and friends after I started blogging in May 2007.

March 2006 I knew I would be leaving in the autumn in 2007. I researched the type of gear I wanted to bring and purchased everything by January 2007. I decided to leave the country November of 2007. I will be traveling at least 4 years, although it’s looking like from 5 to 7 years. From the spring of 2006, I started to sell all my material possessions. By November of 2007, I sold everything I owned except for my backpack with 25 pounds of gear.

Back in 1989, I remember buying backpacks and gear that I never used. Deep down within, I knew I was someday going to leave to travel, and the moment arrived November 11th 2007. I decided on the destination where I was going to start in March of 2006. I took a long time contemplating and studying maps for a good location to start, and what would be a tentative route. I decided, I would rather stay on the ground for the most part—not that I dislike flying—I love flying, just that I would rather walk, take the bus, train, or a boat from place to place.

As a person travels long-term the perception of travel changes in addition to the travel style.

Once the Universe tells me to stop traveling. Then I will stop and live where I am meant to live. I don’t have any plans except for tentative travel plans for the upcoming few months.

Starting in October 2011 I decided to change my travel style to cycle on a bike around the Americas as a nomad.