What It Really Costs to Travel the World Full-Time for a Year

What does it really cost to travel the world full-time for a year? In 2025, we slow traveled across 6+ countries—living for months at a time in Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hungary—before taking a transatlantic cruise back to the United States. In this video, we break down exactly what we spent—from accommodations and groceries to transportation, healthcare, experiences, and everything in between. If you’re new here, we’re Karen and Nick. We retired early in 2022, sold everything, and have been slow traveling the world ever since. This isn’t a vacation budget—this is what it actually costs to live abroad long-term. We tracked every dollar so you can see what this lifestyle really looks like financially. We also include expenses we don’t normally show—like flights between countries and personal extras—making this our most complete cost breakdown yet. 👉 Stick around to the end to see our total annual spend and monthly average. If you’re considering long-term travel, early retirement, or just curious what this lifestyle costs, this video will give you a real-world look at what to expect. We’ve also created detailed cost of living videos for each destination, so be sure to check those out if you want a deeper dive. #SlowTravel #costofliving #fulltimetravel 👋 About Us Hi, we’re Nick and Karen! In 2022, we sold everything to pursue our dream of slow travel. Now we spend at least a month (often longer) in each location, experiencing daily life, culture, food, fitness, and what it really costs to live abroad. Subscribe and join us as we share long stays around the world — from practical tips to real experiences, honest costs, and what life is actually like beyond a short vacation. Our Slow Travel Essentials: These are the tools that make 1–3 month stays simple and stress-free. International Health Insurance Genki → https://genki.world/with/2620 US Phone Plan for 2FA While Abroad Tello → https://www.dpbolvw.net/click-1013323... Favorite eSIM Provider MobiMatter → https://mobimatter.com/#SlowTravelWithUs VPN for Banking & Streaming Surfshark → https://get.surfshark.net/SH47N Gear We Actually Travel With: Portable SSD https://amzn.to/4bcfuvz Travel Adapter https://amzn.to/3PrijgF Luggage Scale https://amzn.to/40cohXK Moka Pot https://amzn.to/4h5UvL1 Some links may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. We only share tools we personally use. If you’ve found our videos helpful, you can support the channel here:https://buymeacoffee.com/SlowTravelWi...