4 Things To Do ~ 4 Months Before Travelling

Vittoria
Nov 22, 2017
4 min read

There are only 94 days left until we leave London for good to go see the world in all its beauty! We have made so much progress in the past 2 months: we have packed most of our things, we have sold a lot of our possessions, we will leave our flat in a week to move back in with my parents (so we can save money before March), and we have found a great insurance and bank account. So overall we are doing great! This past month I have been working on our itinerary, calculating the miles we will travel and the impact it will have on the planet, to make sure we will move around using the best option available. Adam is building up some amazing clients to fund our trips, so we are very optimistic.

We still have few bits to look into. Here are the 4 things we have focused on the last month to get a step closer to becoming digital nomads:

1) Re-home Our Pets

Almost one year ago we adopted two adorable female rats from a lady who takes care of abandoned animals. Two of her rats had unexpected pregnancies so she had a lot of kittens to re-home. We named our girls Willow & Sage and we loved them from the very first moment, more than words can express. We would have never taken them if we had the smallest suspicion we wouldn't have been able to take care of them for their whole lives. However life is unpredictable. When we decided to embark on this adventure we were aware of the fact the day would have come when we had to part from them.

We put adverts on several adoption agencies that help owners find new potential families for their pets, and I shared pictures on multiple rat related Facebook groups to spread the word. After few weeks a lovely lady inquired from one of the groups on Facebook and we thought she would have taken perfect care of them. She already had other female rats, she had the same cage as we did, and she asked the right questions. With a heavy heart we let them go, but from the pictures the lady sent us, they look at home already.

2) Buy Gear

Finally we have started buying the gear for our trip! I have been working on our backpacking list for 2 months now, and it changed a great deal from the first draft. To keep on top of it, I made a spreadsheet on excel divided in category, object, link of where I could buy it, and price. I researched each item, read reviews, cross-referenced the price on different sites to make sure I bought it at the most economical price and I checked every outdoor shop in London. Last two paydays I ordered most of it, and as everything arrived I ticked each item off the list.

I previously mentioned in my post "6 Things To Do ~ 6 Months Before Travelling" that my criteria to select our gear was based on the below qualities:

Durable
Good quality
Good value
Multi-functional
Light-weight, this is definitely the most important!
Compact
With special qualities like: waterproof, warmth-retaining or anti-transpirant

All we have left to buy at the moment is the packing items. When we started making the list we decided we wouldn't buy the backpacks until we had everything we need, this way we can see the volume of our belonging and buy the best backpack for our circumstances.

Once we have completed our list I will share the spreadsheet and give a bit of information

regarding the best gear we have found.

3) Test Packing

Once you have all the items on your backpacking list, it is time to buy a backpack that will fit all your gear. This way you won't be carrying extra weight and you won't have extra space that tends to encourage over-packing.

If you are going away for a weekend, or you have a holiday planned before your actual adventure, you can use that occasion to bring your backpack with you and test it out. Does it feel comfortable? Is it too heavy? Where there some things that you didn't use or didn't need which could be superfluous? It is better to be sure than sorry when you have a whole world to explore and you have to carry your possessions on your back.

If you bought any new items or electronics make sure to try them and see if they are fit for purpose and that they are the best item for the job. You definitely don't want to be in the middle on nowhere and try your gear for the first time only to discover it is faulty or you don't know how to use it.

4) Security

One thing I have been looking into is security while travelling, how to make sure our possessions are safe, and what precautions we can take to prevent issues:

1) Learn the language, or some useful sentences to help you out in an emergency

2) Be informed about your destination, read Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts for your destination and check the embassy or government websites for the latest security messages

3) Keep an eye on your belongings

4) Only withdrawal money in banks

5) Only carry valuables you need for the day

6) Carry passport and cards close to your body

7) Be aware of scams

8) Have a list with emergency numbers

9) Password-protect phones and add tracking tools

10) Enroll for free to the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at STEP.state.gov to receive travel and security updates about your destination, which also helps them reach you in an emergency