We ran away.... We left the 5000 miles distance behind!

[Dziubka]

Alle had some good ideas. I would have suggested east europe (Moldavia, Ukraine) and Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaidjan (sp?)).

It is definitely possible to live off less than 34$/person/day in Ukraine, so you can save up for airfare to go to some other place. The world outside of Schengen is HUGE!

You can't really compare your situations, Hollandia, because you weren't "travelling" you were living in different places temporarily.
They already know they'll have to leave Schengen in -what?- 2 months? That's enough time to get from Spain to Moldavia without spending a fortune. You can use blablacar and the likes or long distance buses. If you're not on a tight schedule, it's definitely doable. For some reason you sound really bitter about this?
They're young. Let them travel and have fun. It wouldn't be for me, because my need for security is too big and I would worry myself into a heart attack not having a place to stay while travelling to an unkown country, but lots of people do and enjoy it and have awesome stories to tell afterwards.

Going on an around the world backpacking trip with your new SO, which is essentially what they're doing, sounds like a good idea to get to know each other and have tons of fun and unique experiences. No, it doesn't really help you close the distance for good, but you can still figure out your future plans while you're travelling and work towards them once you get back.


I don't think 22 is the age to worry about retirement either. Sure it is important, but you can't always live for the future. At 22 you still have a lot of time to get an education or skills that will allow you to make enough money to save up for when you're old. (Says the 26yr old who still has 2,5yrs of university ahead of her, before she can make any real money. I guess I'M DOOOOMED. I'll die of starvation at 80.)

[Hollandia]

Alle had some good ideas. I would have suggested east europe (Moldavia, Ukraine) and Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaidjan (sp?)).

It is definitely possible to live off less than 34$/person/day in Ukraine, so you can save up for airfare to go to some other place. The world outside of Schengen is HUGE!

You can't really compare your situations, Hollandia, because you weren't "travelling" you were living in different places temporarily.
They already know they'll have to leave Schengen in -what?- 2 months? That's enough time to get from Spain to Moldavia without spending a fortune. You can use blablacar and the likes or long distance buses. If you're not on a tight schedule, it's definitely doable. For some reason you sound really bitter about this?
They're young. Let them travel and have fun. It wouldn't be for me, because my need for security is too big and I would worry myself into a heart attack not having a place to stay while travelling to an unkown country, but lots of people do and enjoy it and have awesome stories to tell afterwards.

Going on an around the world backpacking trip with your new SO, which is essentially what they're doing, sounds like a good idea to get to know each other and have tons of fun and unique experiences. No, it doesn't really help you close the distance for good, but you can still figure out your future plans while you're travelling and work towards them once you get back.


I don't think 22 is the age to worry about retirement either. Sure it is important, but you can't always live for the future. At 22 you still have a lot of time to get an education or skills that will allow you to make enough money to save up for when you're old. (Says the 26yr old who still has 2,5yrs of university ahead of her, before she can make any real money. I guess I'M DOOOOMED. I'll die of starvation at 80.)

I assure you I was not living in Croatia or London or Dublin or Netherlands. I am a USA citizen and I am not allowed to. I live in Delaware to this day but have been outside of it since December. I have been over this with an attorney in USA for a legal matter and also had a discussion with a UK attorney my SO is renting the house from.

[Dziubka]

I assure you I was not living in Croatia or London or Dublin or Netherlands. I am a USA citizen and I am not allowed to. I live in Delaware to this day but have been outside of it since December. I have been over this with an attorney in USA for a legal matter and also had a discussion with a UK attorney my SO is renting the house from.

I'm not concerned with legal definitions. To me if you stay in the same place for a month+, then you're living there. If you're not there as a tourist on vacation, you're living there.
The difference is, if you travel, you don't stay in the same place for a long time. You travel (!) around and stay at different places. To my knowledge, you never planned to travel the world with your SO, so your experience doesn't really apply to them.

(I guess for me the definition would be: If I unpack my cosmetic bag in a shelf, then I'm living there. If I leave it unpacked, I consider myself travelling. But that's just me personally).

[Alle1770]

(I guess for me the definition would be: If I unpack my cosmetic bag in a shelf, then I'm living there. If I leave it unpacked, I consider myself travelling. But that's just me personally).

Best definition ever!

But yeah, as you say, I agree with you. There are plenty of countries that are really, really cheap to live in - especially if you come from relatively expensive countries such as Denmark and the States. And exactly like you say, travelling the way they do may not be for everyone, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible.

[CynicalQuixotic]

They could apply without having to wait for her turn 24. They could have a cosponsor if they don't have enough money. They wouldn't have to run from Visa laws, but they can do whatever they want to do. It just seems easier and a little cheaper.

Fair enough, but hopefully American Dude's parents would be willing to co-sponsor, or else they are right back where they started.

I have to agree with Alle and Dzu here--multiple people have established that what they are doing is entirely unsustainable in the long term, which they seem to more or less understand. As long as they budget and plan well enough to not run out of money and/or overstay their 90-day limit, I really don't understand Hollandia's outrage either. It's just an extended backpacking vacation.

[Moon]

It makes me sad to read how many people here forget what it's like to be young and irresponsible. I wish I could be young and irresponsible again! Anyway, the OP established that she's not breaking any laws, so what's the problem, really? Sure, young people should be thinking of savings, retirement and health insurance, but are they really? No. Not for the most part, anyway. And, the OP isn't any more likely to get knocked up than the rest of us.

The window in life to be young, dumb and irresponsible is very, very small. Enjoy it while you can OP, if nothing else you'll learn a lot from it. I've no doubt you'll seriously screw some things up along the way, but that happens to all of us, regardless of the situation we're in. You do though need to really think about what you're going to do when this grand adventure inevitably ends; where you want to live, how to get visas, what kind of work you can do, etc. You don't want it to end with him on a plane by himself, back to the US.

[Hollandia]

I'm not concerned with legal definitions. To me if you stay in the same place for a month+, then you're living there. If you're not there as a tourist on vacation, you're living there.
The difference is, if you travel, you don't stay in the same place for a long time. You travel (!) around and stay at different places. To my knowledge, you never planned to travel the world with your SO, so your experience doesn't really apply to them.

(I guess for me the definition would be: If I unpack my cosmetic bag in a shelf, then I'm living there. If I leave it unpacked, I consider myself travelling. But that's just me personally).

Well, you are wrong. If anything it was cheaper staying in NL from time to time. I never unpacked my suitcases and still have not. I cannot wait to unpack a back and hang my stuff up. I have lived in transit for a very long long time.

Yes we did plan the travel, these are pretty ignorant assumptions on your part and you have no experience with visa jumping and I do. Why the frak do you think we did what we did? We did it to be able to be together and not break any immigration laws. We waited for three years and when were near end of closing the distance but it is EXACTLY the same. She is also not staying for a night or two here and there either.

[silvermoonfairy3]

It makes me sad to read how many people here forget what it's like to be young and irresponsible. I wish I could be young and irresponsible again! Anyway, the OP established that she's not breaking any laws, so what's the problem, really? Sure, young people should be thinking of savings, retirement and health insurance, but are they really? No. Not for the most part, anyway. And, the OP isn't any more likely to get knocked up than the rest of us.

Oh, I said somewhere else that now's the time to do it if they want to run around and travel, etc. Go forth, be young and travel.
Retirement stuff for young people has just become one of my personal-crusades, because SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS it's insaaaaane how much more your money will grow in a retirement account if you can just manage to start in your 20s or even early 30s. So I tend to bring that up at any opening where retirement is mentioned even vaguely.

[Hollandia]

Fair enough, but hopefully American Dude's parents would be willing to co-sponsor, or else they are right back where they started.

I have to agree with Alle and Dzu here--multiple people have established that what they are doing is entirely unsustainable in the long term, which they seem to more or less understand. As long as they budget and plan well enough to not run out of money and/or overstay their 90-day limit, I really don't understand Hollandia's outrage either. It's just an extended backpacking vacation.

I am not outraged. I just wanted to give a heads up on how much it will actually cost from someone who did it and not some of the others just waxing on about how grand it will be and how easy it is to do. I do hope they enjoy the adventure and it does not cost them in the end.

[Alle1770]

I am not outraged. I just wanted to give a heads up on how much it will actually cost from someone who did it and not some of the others just waxing on about how grand it will be and how easy it is to do. I do hope they enjoy the adventure and it does not cost them in the end.

Because it IS grand and because IT IS easy to do. I might not have been running away from visas (and neither are they, in fact), but hell, I know a lot about travelling on a budget. My SO and I had a two week vacation in Greece that cost us less than two weeks here in Sweden would. We slept in a tent on the beach instead of at a fancy hotel, and bought groceries at the local market that we cooked ourselves instead of eating out. Living cheaply really isn't hard if you know what to do and how to do it. You make it sound like you're the sole expert on this area, but I can promise you that you are not.

[silvermoonfairy3]

but hell, I know a lot about travelling on a budget.

Yeah, there are definitely ways to keep things very cheap, and really, 20-somethings often have a knack for it.
When I lived in the UK for 6 months, there was a month off for spring break, but many of the Americans I knew were doing tons of traveling aside from just that one month, and on shoestring budgets, and many of the college-age Brits had good tips for getting the most from that money.

I remember laughing and demanding proof at one point when one of my guy friends was like "I figured out that if I only eat Tesco pasta and breakfast if it's included at the hostel, I can eat for like 12 pounds a month."

A friend of mine traveled for almost 3 months by getting one of the overnight-included Euro rail passes, so she just always slept on the train going from location to location, combining travel cost and accommodation cost into one.

I had a night in between getting in to an airport on one cheap flight and flying out on a second cheap flight, so I just crashed on the floor in Heathrow because I wasn't about to waste the money on a hotel or hostel and taxi or bus to/from the airport. (FYI, Heathrow gets f-ing cold overnight!) There's lots of things like that.

And that's the kind of stuff 20somethings can do and be fine with. I would be a cranky 30 year old if I tried sleeping on a train for more than a few days, or ate only pasta at every meal. :P

[Moon]

And that's the kind of stuff 20somethings can do and be fine with. I would be a cranky 30 year old if I tried sleeping on a train for more than a few days, or ate only pasta at every meal. :P

YES! At this point I'd rather stay on a park bench than in a hostel, but for the 20 something sect, it seems to be the way to go. They're way more adept at putting up with that kind of inconvenience, because they don't know the alternatives yet, and are just getting things figured out

[silvermoonfairy3]

YES! At this point I'd rather stay on a park bench than in a hostel, but for the 20 something sect, it seems to be the way to go. They're way more adept at putting up with that kind of inconvenience, because they don't know the alternatives yet, and are just getting things figured out

And, I swear, just bounce back quicker. It's really kind of crazy how different that is now than when I was in college.. if I got 2-3 hours of sleep before a class, I'd have coffee in the morning, be fine. Now if I do that, getting up is like zombie-time, and I don't seem to wake up fully the entire day and it seems to take longer to recover. Ditto drinking.

Also this damp weather hurts my hip.

[Dziubka]

Oh, I said somewhere else that now's the time to do it if they want to run around and travel, etc. Go forth, be young and travel.
Retirement stuff for young people has just become one of my personal-crusades, because SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS it's insaaaaane how much more your money will grow in a retirement account if you can just manage to start in your 20s or even early 30s. So I tend to bring that up at any opening where retirement is mentioned even vaguely.

There's a reason that most 20somethings don't save up for retirement and it's not because they don't care. Just sayin.

Well, you are wrong. If anything it was cheaper staying in NL from time to time. I never unpacked my suitcases and still have not. I cannot wait to unpack a back and hang my stuff up. I have lived in transit for a very long long time.

Yes we did plan the travel, these are pretty ignorant assumptions on your part and you have no experience with visa jumping and I do. Why the frak do you think we did what we did? We did it to be able to be together and not break any immigration laws. We waited for three years and when were near end of closing the distance but it is EXACTLY the same. She is also not staying for a night or two here and there either.

I don't know what I'm wrong about or what you're talking about in the first paragraph.

But what you did (unless I'm mistaken about your situation) was stay in the same place as long as you could (as illustrated by you not even having enough time to take a bus to Croatia) and that does not fulfil my personal definition of traveling. Sorry.
I once stayed in Poland for three months and I very much considered myself living there. (Even though I didn't register because I didn't need to).


I'm too much of a princess to do the hostel dorm, living off spinach (this one is really cheap 0.40€ for a pack of frozen spinach) and pasta, but you really don't technically need a lot of money to get by, especially if you avoid expensive countries.

[conejita_hada]

And, I swear, just bounce back quicker. It's really kind of crazy how different that is now than when I was in college.. if I got 2-3 hours of sleep before a class, I'd have coffee in the morning, be fine. Now if I do that, getting up is like zombie-time, and I don't seem to wake up fully the entire day and it seems to take longer to recover. Ditto drinking.

Also this damp weather hurts my hip.

I feel like last year it all just ended for me on the ability to bounce back. I'm a compete zombie on anything less than 6 hours of sleep but need at least 8 for a good functioning day. I miss the ability to do a 2 hour night, or drink more than 1 drink!

OP, the adventure sounds exciting and something I would love to do with my SO, given the chance! Getting to experience different places for more than just a day or two with your love by your side sounds fantastic! Some of the posters have also provided good advice. Accounting for the future in your budget is a smart move, one I wish I knew before now and being cautious about safety, since unless your SO got international health insurance, it's going to suck for him if something happens.

Oh, I don't know if Denmark does this but your SO can register with the US State Department and list the countries you're planning to stay, it's not a "police" mechanism but sends alerts/notifications that might be of concern for current events in those countries through e-mail. I did it the first time I stayed in Guatemala for an extended period and it did actually let me know about violence in the region.