Life’s a funny thing. When one door closes – perhaps you leave a job that doesn’t fulfill you – the most unexpected window can open – perhaps you meet your future partner because you’ve both decided to make the same big life change. That’s what happened to Ola and Chris, the nomads and travel bloggers behind Being a Nomad. And now, they’re married, full-time travellers and nomads, hopping from one end of the globe to the other and exploring life together. Happily, this unique couple is sharing some of their experiences and words of wisdom with us!
What’s your story?
We’re Ola and Chris, a married couple who live a nomadic life, hopping from place to place and working abroad.
We met when we’d both independently decided that we wanted to teach English abroad. We were living in London at the time, both in jobs that we didn’t enjoy so much. So we decided to work towards an English teaching certificate at a language school in London.
There we met and came closer. Problem was, Chris had landed himself a job in South Korea, and it wasn’t until we’d been seeing other for several months that Ola decided to give up her job and move to South Korea, too.
To cut a long story short, that was where our adventures as a couple started and we’ve been travelling together ever since. We’ve lived together in South Korea, Poland, China, Spain and England and we’re now getting ready to move to Vietnam.
Do you have the same travel style or different travel styles? How does this impact your adventures together?
We’re probably a little different in travelling styles. Ola loves learning languages and can communicate with the locals while Chris has a natural explorer’s spirit and likes to throw himself into unusual situations. Also, Ola prefers to have the travels planned in advance, while Chris tends to divert from the plan a little and explore random things.
Strangely, this doesn’t create a tug-of-war between us, but rather a balance. We can quickly climb out of potential trouble before it occurs, while not being so scared of adventure that we fail to have any of it.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned from traveling as partners? What makes your partnership work on the road?
We find that we complement each other well as travelers. Our ability to work together makes our travels run much more smoothly than we think they would if we traveled alone. In the end, we both believe in taking things slowly and making our journeys meaningful, despite our differences.
The biggest thing we’ve learned is that people often have different agendas, but it’s always possible to find a way that everyone will be satisfied. This is probably what makes our relationship work, that we’re aware we both have needs and always find ways to compromise. Chris, for example, can take half an hour shooting photographs while Ola takes some time to talk to the locals.
What’s the best part about traveling as partners? And the biggest challenge?
Travelling as partners makes us more aware of what’s happening around us. On the train, one of us might miss a double rainbow emerging over the horizon until the other points it out. Travelling together ensures that we’re less likely to miss beautiful and awe-inspiring things and it’s even more spectacular to share a moment like that with a loved one.
Saying that though, the biggest challenge is probably that we sometimes need to spend time apart. One caveat of having different agendas is that often the best compromise is to do separate things. Even if it can feel a little awkward at first, this means we can both bring back our own stories, which gives us something to share later on.
Based on your experience, what’s the best advice you have for couples who have just scheduled their first trip together?
Make sure you communicate. Talk about what you both want to do and understand that things might not always go as either of you planned. If you’re used to travelling solo, you’ll probably have an entirely different experience travelling as a couple. Embrace that. Examine your collective strengths and weaknesses and find ways to work together as a team.
But most importantly, don’t overthink it. You’re in a relationship because you enjoy spending time together. So enjoy solving the problems that travel presents together, and we’re sure the experience will be even more enriching for you.
Any additional thoughts or words of wisdom?
Make it fun. Travel is a fantastic experience that can augment your relationship in ways you’ve never thought possible. We’ve learnt so much about each other through our travels, and we’re a much stronger couple as a result.
Don’t forget to share the wisdom!
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