Many long term travelers “sell it all” and go out in to the world. If that’s what you want to do then sure, go for it.
However, do not sell your house, spend all of your money, go broke then expect to move right back where you started. Some of the groups that I watch on facebook are filled with I sold it all, bought an RV and now I can’t sell the RV posts. Be smart. If you do sell all of your stuff then set aside the money where you are unlikely to touch it and keep it for when you return.
Selling everything may be a good idea for people who don’t like their current house or don’t like the hassle of renting. If you’re wanting to upsize, downsize or just move anyway then selling may be an OK option. Selling a house can also be very expensive. Always make sure you add in closing costs, real estate commissions and taxes when your calculating the best way to go. We originally were planning on selling our house and keeping the money we made from equity to reinvest in our next house. We could live comfortably in a smaller house and we were betting on a downturn in the housing market. If we sold high we could just sit, wait and move fast when we found the next deal. I still think this is not a bad idea (if you don’t spend the money you take out). If we were travelling for 2-3 years then it would also make more sense (especially if the marked drops). However, since we are only gone for one year, we may have gotten stuck paying rent when we returned and (at $2000 per month minimum in our neighborhood – ouch).
In May we found the realtor, listed our house, and had one good offer that fell through. After just a few weeks, we pulled it off the market. In our neighborhood houses sell fast and since we didn’t get the price that made since to us, we decided to rent.
We also really do love our house – especially after we finished our projects to list if for sell. It’s actually perfect for us and the neighbors are fantastic.
Instead we went for plan B. After listing the house for rent on Craigslist we had 2 offers withing 24 hours – and about 10 calls and e-mails the following day. When we are done traveling we get to move back in to our house. It’s a win, win. Just do your research and do what you can to mitigate your risk. You may find out you’re meant to be an indefinite nomad, you may move to some exotic location, or you might just miss home. If you rent, you can always go home (after the contract is up of course). If you are in a high demand area you may also consider renting AirBnb, VRBO, or finding an executive rental company. That way you can travel 3 months at a time and come back in between or for holidays. It would take more work and it’s riskier but you may also get more income. You could even rent for summer (during tourist season) and stay in your home in low season.
Travel is not a one size fits all approach.
Just make sure your plan still fits in with your priorities. When you look out 1 year, 5 years and 20 years make sure you’re not broke. Do you research and look ahead.
