Podcast #117: Death and Taxes

A cosy but slightly cluttered living room corner, with a worn brown leather armchair beside a wooden cabinet stacked with hi-fi equipment and speakers. Loose cables and electronics spill onto the shelf below, while a pair of sandals and a small metal bowl sit on the wooden floor in front. Framed prints hang on the wall above, and a trailing cable stretches across the floor, adding to the lived-in, everyday feel of the scene.

Welcome to Episode 117 of my “Travel Tales From Beyond The Brochure” podcast.

It was one of those ideas that suddenly came to me when I was lying in bed, having been seeded I think by a conversation I’d had with one of my travel content creator friends, Hayley, about how much it cost to live at home in the UK and how much less expensive it is to travel. I said I’d written a blog post about that very issue back in 2015 but that it probably needed updating and anyway it would make a better pod. So here we are. Stick two other vaguely related topics with it, one of which I also wrote a blog post about in 2015, and Bob’s Your Nepo-Parent, as it were.

Content Warning: It … all turned out quite less cheerful than I was anticipating. And to anticipate comments, no I do not have a terminal illness. I’m just … dour!

Topics discussed in this episode are:
Part One: Housekeeping

  • It’s getting sunny; Laura is unimpressed”
  • I’m a professional comedian?”
  • I’ve been writing blog posts”

Part Two: The Costs Of Staying At Home And Not Travelling

  • You can’t just leave if you own a house”
  • I own a house, for a given definition of house”
  • How much it costs me to have a house”
  • How much cheaper it is to travel”
  • But I can’t do that”

Part Three: Older People Can Backpack Too

  • Travelling is a young person’s game? Nah”
  • You can afford to travel, and tweak the way you do it”
  • The older you are the more you change your wants and needs”
  • Self-Comfortable-ness”
  • Respect v Invisibility”
  • Barefoot Backpackers Just Want To Have Fun …”
  • … while they can”

Part Four: Responsibilities

  • Making a Will”
  • Your legacy is your impact on the world”
  • Self-responsibility and self-care are important”
  • Leaving the world a better place for the children you don’t have”
  • My retirement plan, to go out with a bang”

You can listen via the feed above, or via Spotify, or on your podcast app of choice. Let me know if it isn’t, by the way, and I’ll see what I can do. In addition, a PDF transcript of this episode is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I now have a newsletter you can subscribe to, containing extra content, and it’s where I’ll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also now have a Patreon! If you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over to my page and donate to me!

There are no contributions in this pod, although Amanda of “The Thoughtful Travel Pod” provided my cold open, and yes, of course, V drops in a quick word.

Until next time, bye for now. 🙂

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