I read an interesting article on EscapeArtist.com today about being a “Full-Time PT”. The author of the article happily shares his advice on what he calls being a full time perpetual traveler, and deliberately homeless.

I’ve heard of expats and people who take long amounts of time off for traveling and exploring. But never heard of a perpetual traveler – or for that matter anyone who is deliberately homeless (and so happy about it!).

Like many other adventurous types I’ve heard about recently who take long periods of time off to travel, Paul’s story begins the same way…worked the typical living, was a CPA for a big firm and wanted more from life.  So he says he finally decided to “hang up his pencil” and job as a CPA and retired at age 35.

He and his wife traveled most of the time once he decided to retire but sill had an apartment to go home to. Then finally he and his wife decided it was time to get rid of the apartment because they wanted to become full-time PT’s.  He says that when you have a home base (aka a home, apartment etc.), you have to go back and check in every once in a while. They did not want to do that anymore. They wanted to be free to be able to go wherever they wanted whenever they wanted.

Sound fun? No ties to anything, and freedom to go anywhere? A life full of exciting travel adventures! It sounds fun to me. But Paul says that the PT life is not for everyone. He says that there are three things that you need to ask yourself to see if you would be a good candidate for becoming a PT before you quit your job to travel the world.

1)      Whom do you trust?

Do you trust the government and/or institutions?  He says that PT’s like people, not institutions. He points out that people who need  insurance companies, government, and lawyers are probably not going to be too happy as a PT. Paul says that you can get all the security, advice and help you need from a fellow traveler or a friend you make along the way. PT’s work with other people who are willing to lend a helping hand. PT’s like people not institutions.

2)      How attached are you to your stuff?

This is one of the qualifications for being a PT that is a little challenging for me (I like my stuff, although my move to Norway forced me to sell my car that I loved and reduce all my belongings to three very heavy suitcases. So I think that even though I love my stuff, I could make it as a PT).

The author of the article and his wife have reduced all of their belongings in the world to a few boxes stored at various locations and no longer need a residence for all of their stuff.  Paul says that “The point is not how much stuff you have but to what extent your stuff controls your life. In general, if you find yourself flying back home to take care of your stuff, when you’d rather be doing something else, you probably have a long way to go before becoming a PT.”

He says that if your too attached to your things, then you will never make it as a PT. If you can travel light and do without all the stuff then you could possibly make it.

3)      Do you use the internet and email?

I think if your reading my blog right now that this is probably a yes. But Paul says this is an essential  key to becoming a full time perpetual traveler. He calls his email address his home address. He and his wife stay connected to their friends and family through email and the internet alone. So its very important to be proficient and comfortable using email and internet as your “home”.

In his  article he goes on to explain the steps to becoming a full time PT and what is involved. I think it sounds exciting and fun, but since I just moved to Norway I think I will be here for a while. I will work my way up to becoming a PT like Paul and his wife.

Read the whole article here Deliberately Homeless: What it means to be a full-time PT by Paul Terhorst