Welcome to PackYourBags.org!
What started as a personal travel diary back in 2017, has since evolved into a resource in which we talk about three things that make our semi-nomadic life possible. They say you should write about what you know. It turns out we know a lot about:
- Moving to & living in Aix-en-Provence, France
- Travel – especially around Europe
- Time & freedom – a.k.a. the Digital Nomad lifestyle
We are a family of three who got bored with living a normal life. So back in 2014 we said goodbye to our suburban existence in Canada and moved to France with our young son. We chose Aix-en-Provence, a place we had never been to before. We made our choice based solely on a novel by a Canadian writer Guy Gavriel Kay entitled “Ysabel”. Until we read it, we had never even heard of Aix-en-Provence. The way this small city was described in the book touched us deeply. It seemed like a perfect place for us – with its history, culture and a Provencal setting. Our friends and family back home thought we were crazy to move somewhere because of a book and without first scouting out the place. Some thought we were “all talk and no action”. But we were just crazy enough to go through with it. Talk about a life-changing book!
We’ve been living in Aix-en-Provence for a few years now and we have experienced everything you can expect one would experience when moving to a new place as a family. And so we want to share with you our tips and advice about settling in this gem of a town. So whether you’re coming to Aix-en-Provence for a holiday, plan on spending your gap year here, or moving to France for good, we hope you’ll find our blog helpful.
A great thing about Europe is how varied it is – culturally and geographically. And another great thing about it is how relatively small it is and easy to travel around – whether by plane, train, car or ferry. Since we’ve arrived we have made sure not to waste any amazing travel opportunities. In total, we have now been to over 30 countries, two of them in Africa. Which brings us to our final point: time.
How do we get all this time to travel and explore? Years ago, long before “Ysabel”, we read another life changing book: “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss. That book set us on a course to rearrange our professional lives in such a way that we could dedicate our best years to living well and not postponing our dreams. With Tim’s advice, some dry runs of his strategies and some tweaks over the years, we have arrived at a lifestyle that is ideal for us. To make a long story short, we can work anywhere in the world location-independent. You don’t need to be a millionaire to travel a lot and live anywhere. You just need to think differently and organize your life accordingly. If the year 2020 has taught the world anything it is that it is possible to work remotely. And with certain adjustments, it can be done from anywhere in the world, more efficiently than in the office and all the while living in your dream location and exploring the world.
So if you dream of moving abroad and traveling far and wide without having to worry about how you will survive financially, stick around and we will show you how we have done it. We’ve tested strategies, failed, tweaked and tried again until we got it right. And we want to tell you about it so that you can skip all the hard stuff and get straight to the good stuff.
To make a long story short, in our blog, you will find:
- advice about moving to and living in Aix-en-Provence and France in general
- travel guides, itineraries and travel inspiration
- tips on the Digital Nomad lifestyle
Thanks for being here.
~ Bea, Pete & Kas
P.S. We pride ourselves in providing accurate information. But since it’s just the three of us and things change quickly we have a favour to ask. If you find an error or an inaccuracy in any of our posts, please let us know through our contact form.