Simply put, I like to leave the tiny house behind me and wander. Not because it's claustrophobic, as I've been asked. Not because living here is hard, as I've also been asked. Instead, it's because I happily "suffer" from a life-long, incurable case of wanderlust, and it's easier now than ever before to treat my ailment with a week or a month or more exploring new horizons.
Living in this 250-square-foot house has reduced our monthly housing expenses to the point we no longer need to work in full-time jobs. When we spent thousands a month for our house, we were earning a lot of money, but it was largely spoken for—and so was our time. (Two weeks of vacation doesn't get you very far.) Selling that house allowed us to quit our jobs, giving us the time and money to build this house. Now, with our monthly expenses down to a few hundred a month, we can work part time to support this way of life—leaving us as much vacation time as we want and can afford.
We're not extravagant travelers, so that helps. We favor AirBnBs over big hotels; we've stayed in our share of hostels and we've camped across the country. This sort of travel isn't for everyone, but it works wonderfully for us. We like making our own coffee in the morning, eating picnic lunches and finding the best happy hour deals. We also save money on trips by using award miles for our flights. We charge everything we buy (even our car!), using cards with the most flexible award programs and paying off the balance each month to avoid any interest. All our flights for our upcoming trip to Greece were booked this way.
Weary of the winter freeze, we recently took a last-minute trip to south Florida. Our flights were booked with award miles. We stayed in a nice motel listed on AirBnB that offered a 25% discount for stays of a week or more. We hunted for the best deal on a car. For very little money, we happily explored lush parks by day and tested the taps at breweries each evening. (Favorite park: Fern Forest. Favorite brewery: Funky Buddha.)
After Greece this spring, we've got a few ideas brewing for future trips. Nicaragua? Portugal? Prague? Where should we wander next?