I have always been one of those people who hopes to travel the world when I retire. Reading this article in Forbes really fanned the flames of that desire. Lynn and Tim Martin, two self-described senior gypsies in their seventies, have been traveling and living abroad since 2011. They sold their house in California and everything else that wouldn’t fit into a 10 x 15 storage unit, and set off to live, as they describe it, “home free”. It has worked out incredibly well for them, and that is very encouraging to me.

It’s a very bold step, and not one that everyone is prepared to take, even with adequate financial means. But there are other ways to make travel a part of your retirement plan:

• One option might include an extended stay abroad while renting out your home.
• Some people might prefer many shorter hops dotted throughout the year.
• House swapping is a popular, and economical, new way to see the world.

A good thing to keep in mind is that you should begin travelling as early as possible in your retirement, before age and health issues interfere with achieving all your travel goals.

Whether you decide to sell your home or just rent it out, there is the problem of what to do with all your stuff.  Even in the house swapping scenario, there are things you are not going to want to have lying around while there are strangers in your home.

Obviously, renting a storage unit is an affordable and convenient solution to this dilemma. Not only can you select a climate-controlled unit, you may also be able to store your vehicle at the same location (see our previous post on vehicle storage).

Long-term travel can present opportunities and challenges. An advantage to renting a storage unit from Dollar are our month-to-month leases – you have the flexibility to stay longer (or return early) if your original plan changes for some reason. (Click here to see all our locations.)

Don’t let your stuff weigh you down and cause you to miss out on a great opportunity for travel – our clean, safe and secure storage units are standing by!