Welcome to our Blog.
We are Michael and Yvonne who at the ages of 44 and 53 became early retirees. Yes retires. We quit our jobs, gave away or sold most of our possessions, rented out our house and decided to see the world.
We flew out of Vancouver BC, Canada in April 2012 and have been pursuing our passion for travel ever since.
Neither of us was born with silver spoons in our mouths and we are certainly not rich in the conventional sense. However we had worked hard and had managed to create a moderate monthly income. By combining that income with reduced expenses (we spend a lot less than we used to whilst living in Vancouver) we have managed to travel in Europe, North, Central and South America, Asia, Africa and extensively in the Caribbean.
This blog ‘Your Escape Blueprint’ is our way of documenting our travels. Sharing our videos and photography and our personal insights into the places we visit. There may even be the odd rant or two along the way, however we tell the truth as we see it, no whitewashing here!
You are welcome to follow along and even live vicariously through us if you wish.
If you want more information on how we were able to become roving retirees at such a young age. We invite you to head on over to our new website Nomadic Retirement Living.
House -sitting is the key to our lifestyle. Over the last decade we have house-sat in a 15th-century home in London during the 2012 Olympics, a Tuscan farmhouse, a French vineyard, a Spanish casita, a luxury villa in Costa Rica, deep in the Belize jungle, a finca in Mendoza, Argentina, a luxury home just outside of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a quaint village home in Cyprus and a villa on the shores of the Red Sea, Egypt, plus several ocean-view villas in the Caribbean.
About Michael
Apparently born under a wandering star, Michael spent hours as a kid poring over maps, atlases and plotting where he wanted to travel when he grew up. Sadly Engineering school got in the way….. as he often says “it takes 5 years to complete and a lot longer to get over. He still considers himself a “recovering” Professional Engineer.
He escaped the rat race at 44 and now pursues his passions for travel, photography, Tai chi, scuba diving, cooking and sampling the world’s wines. Michael is also… fiercely independent, a bit of a rebel, is on a self-imposed media diet and married to an incredible lady.
About Yvonne
Born in the UK, with what must be more than a dash of Romany blood in her veins, Yvonne loved to travel even before she met Michael.
Yvonne has a varied career history, which includes several laborious years as a laboratory manager, followed by a fun few years as a scuba instructor and crew in the British Virgin Islands, and then many boring years in financial services. Her discontent along with the passing of a dear friend was the prod that led to the realization that there was a lot more fun to be had in life.
It has taken almost 50 years to come full circle and realize what Yvonne’s English teacher saw all those years ago……… Yvonne does have a flair for writing and she now finds herself fortunate to have the time to follow her bliss and combine the two as a blogger, travel writer and author. Most recently she has also taken up the brush and is exploring the world of watercolor painting. Yvonne’s watercolor gallery can be viewed here.