Or my attempt to answer to your question about where I live. :)

Such simple question as “Where do you live?” is a very tricky one for me because we don’t have a set home anywhere for the last 2 years as we are doing our version of vagabonding. In these two year we lived in 8 cities in 4 different countries (1-4 months each) + visited a dozen of other cities with a short 2-5 day stays.⁣⁣

We gave up on our cute rented apartment, packed all belongings, put everything on a locker, and left for the adventures. Usually we don’t even plan more than 1-2 months in advance where we gonna go.

Before it would stress me out so much... what do you mean you don’t know where you’ll be in 3-4 weeks? What do you mean you don’t have an apartment to come back? What do you mean you decide and get ready to travel in just 3 days?⁣⁣ But now, I actually enjoy it. It feels free not to be bound to any specific place. It feels joyful to be in a place which you actually chose to be: with the weather you like , with the scenery or activities you enjoy.

But mainly: it brings me some strange calmness. And realization that my home is inside me. It’s not the walls around, but the whole world that we carry inside ourselves. And I wanted to share a bit of that joy and piece with you. Wishing everyone to find their own happy home.

Travelling as a lifestyle is not that complicated as it looks. If you manage to transfer your work online, then does it matter from which country you work? It’s usually our fears that hold us back. ⁣⁣⠀

Last summer we spent an amazing three months in Turkey: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Izmir, Pamukkale and Ankara. That trip was a complete blast: new places, new activities, lots of creative and educational recordings, collabs with people. Although our most recent stay in Istanbul (in Feb/Mar 2022) was not for any travelling purposes at all.⁣⁣

Originally we planned to spend the entire winter and early spring in Ukraine (at least till the end of March), but the war did some adjustments to our plans…⁣⁣

Why we chose specifically Istanbul as our ‘emergency’ destination in February?⁣⁣⠀

We were familiar with the city and knew what to expect⁣⁣⠀
It was not far from Ukraine⁣⁣⠀
There was a cheap AND direct flight from Odessa⁣⁣

We left mid-February, literally the day before major flight interruptions started happening in Ukraine. And we thought we were going just for a month as a precaution… and that we’d come back to Ukraine right after that… All our belongings are still in Ukraine, and who knows when we’ll switch items in our luggages. Although who really cares about it at all…⁣⁣

As for current moment… We are in Brazil, trying to recenter and rethink what it going to happens. Once again, without any particular plans, but just looking forward to when we’ll get back in active traveling mood.⁣⁣

Travel is still considered as something out of ordinary, something that you do during your vacations once per year. But being a tourist for a week, and living in a place for extended period of time, are two completely different experiences. There is nothing wrong with either of them. They are just different.

If you enjoyed this article, don’t forget to like and share! :)

Author: Iana Komarnytska
Photographer: Pedro Bonatto