Our Version of How
When we out started traveling full-time, we wanted to accomplish multiple things during the time we set aside for our travels, and do it on the budget we laid out. We set out on an initial course to travel to 100 countries, and we put in motion a plan to be able to reside in multiple countries through additional residency programs, and a second passport.
There are numerous reasons why many people throughout the world seek additional residency and or citizenship in multiple countries. For us, it’s as simple as we want to be able split our time in the future between the US, Malaysia, and Italy. There are not only restrictions on how long you can stay for both countries if you don’t have a passport or are part of a residency program, but there are huge benefits in the countries when you do.
In the case of Malaysia, they are a country that does not allow dual citizenship, so that is not an option for us, but permanent residency is available, and one that provides health care benefits, more affordable real estate options, and other advantages for expats willing to go through their residency program.
In the case of gaining citizenship in Italy through descent, it’s about the ability to stay in the country longer that 90 days out of every 180 days, which is currently the amount of days allowed for non-EU citizens. Malaysia and Italy, in our case, southern Italy, make a lot of sense for us for many reasons. We not only love both areas, the weather, the food, the people, and the way of life, but the cost of living will allow us to offset our time in United States and help fund our additional travels long term.
Like many fellow travelers we talk to, they have some form of steady income from either past investments, rental of their primary residence, military pension, social security, and/or other retirement income, but the common factor for most is that there is a fixed amount, and staying on budget is key.
For us, we have a tendency to exceed the budget when we are in the States, but make up for it when we are out of the states. These machinations, along with our propensity to seek out and find the best travel deals without skimping on how we travel, makes up our “how”.