Friluftsliv — pronounced free-loofts-liv translates directly from Norwegian as "free air life."
It's a concept we don't really have a word for in English, and doesn't translate easily, but it's a word used in Norway to describe a life spent exploring and appreciating nature.
YES!
(I know, I used that water photo in a previous post. So what. It's pretty.)
Read more about friluftsliv here
My second-favorite new word is the Danish word "hygge" but it has more to do with winter, so it moved to number two, because it's March and things are blooming, but it's fabulous, and you can read about its meaning here.
Wonderful post. Kevin’s response was perfect. Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks Michael. So glad you liked it! 🙂
Excellent article! I’ve read your blog for a long time, but rarely comment. In this case I just had to since we often hear exactly the same “you’re so lucky” comment and, like you, we’ve worked for every cent that got us here. Great, inspiring story! Thanks so much for sharing it.
Nina
Thanks so much, Nina! We’ve been wanting to write this post for a while…I’m glad we finally got it out! 🙂
Awesome post and so spot on! Even though we don’t full time yet, we are off hiking or camping and exploring every chance we get. People tell us how lucky we are too and we haven’t even started fulltiming yet. I tell them that we believe life should be lived to the fullest instead of having the stereotypical suburbia lifestyle. I agree that life is just too short to not get out there, work hard and play hard. Thank you for the great article!
Thank you Karen! And yes, of course we agree with you completely. 🙂
Extremely well put Laura. And Kevin is spot on about not waiting around. Sadly sometimes it is later than you think. You two are amazing and inspiring. From just what you share in this blog, I am so often impressed with your daily activities and the speed with which you pull all the blog elements together. Your witty writing, photos, music, film, maps, charts, editing, branding, etc. etc. etc. create an excellent and fun reader experience. Clearly your life isn’t about luck. You deserve it, and so much more. Thanks for sharing! Happy Trails! Susan and Brock
thanks you guys…happy you liked the post. (and yes, i’m definitely a fast blogger.)
I love what you’ve written, Laura. It makes me want to retire even more.
Thanks Terri! 🙂
Thanks for sharing an insight into your past. I have followed your blog for a while now and, as a full-time RV’er in my early 40’s, can relate to the questions, insinuations, and stares from older RV’ers. We all make decisions in life and hope they put us in a place where we want to be. Life is to be lived in what ever way one feels right. Keep posting sharing – I can’t get enough of the Airship.
You’re welcome, and thank you for sharing your thoughts as well. Seems like there are a lot of us who craft this kind of roving lifestyle who get this sentiment often and can relate to this post. Who knew?
And OMG I can’t get enough of Airship, either!!! 🙂
What you’re really saying is that you guys are an overnight sensation … 10+ years in the making. I get it. My wife and I are just starting our 6th year of full-time RVing. I run a consulting business. My wife – GoPetFriendly.com. We work our butts off to create the life we have. And love it! Though my mom thinks we’re still on vacation.
We’ll be in the Pacific Northwest in Sep-Oct. would love to make a concerted effort to run into you guys 🙂
Exactly! 🙂
Congrats on your 6th year, and on running your businesses from the road. Definitely shoot us a note when you know what your PNW plan is. If we’re in town (or close to where you’ll be) we’ll definitely try to meet up with you!
Great post. I never pay attention to the negativity. We get it all the time and we are not full timers. You made choices to arrange your life so you can live on your own terms. Many people misunderstand that critical point. Mobile work will be so commonplace in the future that it will hardly raise an eyebrow. At the end of the day people simply get jealous of someone else’s lifestyle but are completely unaware of the sacrifices it took to get there. That can happen when you reveal something about yourself publicly. I find it inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Doug! 🙂
Good post and great comments. I just lost half my income, which only motivated me to work my butt off to build my mobile online business. Yet I wouldn’t trade it. It enables me to homeschool my son, and enables us to travel full-time. I try to let the snide remarks roll off my back and keep my focus on enjoying the journey.
Robyn,
Thanks so much for your feedback, and continued success to you as you work toward your dreams!
Laura, I feel privileged to have read this post. The message I took away was we can all live a dream if we’re willing to work for it. The dream doesn’t have to be about Airstreams, Airships, travel or whatever, but it has to be one’s own dream. Our most recent adventure has been to leave our home of the past 30 years in the South set on 40 acres in the woods (another dream realized) and set up shop in Seattle, on the coast, in a city, near family and explore urban life. We see ourselves as Southern refugees who look forward to living in a blue city with progressive goals. We are loving it. It’s been a challenge at our age, nearing seventy, and physically challenging and stressful, but worth it.
I’m happy to know that you and Kevin live your lives to the fullest. Keep it up. Thanks for sharing your story, you inspire me.
Dear Elaine, thank you SO much for your kind comments. I’m always incredibly happy to hear that we inspire someone (it’s the main reason we do the blog in the first place, really). Congratulations on all of your dream-following as well. It’s definitely not always easy, but there’s nothing like the feeling of empowerment that comes from making choices to support a dream (or dreams!) Looking forward to when we can meet in person one of these days. 🙂
I can really relate to this post. My husband and I travel throughout the Midwest as wedding photographers and don’t have kids (yet) and we hear this comment from friends and family ALL of the time. I completely agree it’s all about hard work NOT luck! Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely wonderful post! Thank you for sharing. I am always interested in what people do for work that allows them to live on the road. I currently live full-time in an Airstream, but as of yet I’m still tied to my physical location for work. Stories like this encourage me to keep working toward the goal. Thanks.