Don’t aspire to have a great career; aspire to have a great life. — NomadsWithVan

The guest interview for this week is one for this week is: Tamara Murray from NomadsWithVan or from her personal website.

What’s crazy thing that she is doing? She is travelling full time across North America with his husband while working as Digital Nomads in her van.

R: How did you earn money to travel with your van with your husband?

• Tamara: My husband Chris and I are “digital nomads” — we can work while we travel. Our income consists of my freelance consulting work, my book sales, his two online retail businesses, and a rental property. We learned early on that it’s important to have a diverse set of income streams; if one is struggling, we have others to fall back on. Before we started traveling two years ago, we were working full time which enabled us to build up some savings; that helped us take the leap!

R: What advice would you tell or give yourself at 18–19 years old?

• Tamara: Don’t aspire to have a great career; aspire to have a great life. Many young people in the United States are raised to believe that work and career are everything. It’s the question we typically ask when first meeting someone: what do you do? This breeds a dangerous kind of workaholism. A career — a sense of purpose — is very important, but it should only be one piece of the puzzle. Develop and grow beyond your career: learn languages, travel, meet new people, play the sports you love, volunteer, spend time with your loved ones. Don’t let work be a substitute for life.

R: What’s your daily routine/life?

• Tamara: Chris and I are typically parked at a campground. I am a big fan of lazy mornings: make coffee and read the news leisurely while sitting outdoors. Depending on where we are, we might go for a hike or visit a new town. Sometimes we’ll find a public library or coffee shop to do some work, other times we’ll do other activities like play tennis, talk with our campground neighbors or go on a bike ride. We usually cook at our campsite, although if we are in a place with good Mexican food we will always stop for tacos!

R: If you could go 5 years in the future from now, what do you think your daily routine/life will be like?

• Tamara: Wow, who knows? Five years ago we were slaving away in our offices to pay our oppressive mortgage and look where we are today: traveling North America in a minivan-turned-camper. My guess is that in five years we’ll be spending each season in a new city / changing locations every 3–4 months. Still traveling and learning about new places, but much more slowly.

CHECK OUT HER LAST PHOTOS ON INSTAGRAM.

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