Anyone can travel: Introducing EverydayNomad.com and me

It’s just before New Year 2013 as I am writing this post readying for the launch of EverydayNomad.com. Here is a little about me and what the site will be aiming to bring to you.

At 22 years old the time came. I was finally booked to go on a plane. My childhood holidays generally consisted of driving for an hour to the coast, so this was big big news!

I was finally getting my wings, leaving the planet’s surface, I was travelling for real! Something I had dreamed of doing since I first saw far away lands in books and on the TV.

Strapping myself into the cumbersome seat I pondered over the idea that the plane may crash, maybe my head would explode from the pressure or some other ghastly end would overcome me! Then the plane’s engines started up. Chug, chug, chug the little beast built up speed, my head glued itself to the back of the chair and we soared into the air.

25 minutes later we landed in the Island of Guernsey. I hadn’t even left British territory! However it felt exotic enough for me with its palm trees and Puffins. I knew then I was going to LOVE travel.

It took until a few years later when I really left. I went on an amazing snowboard holiday to Andorra and then a year later to the Rockies in Canada. I had no clue at that time that I would end up living in Maple country for 2 years and it would be the start of my life as a nomad.

Introducing EverydayNomad.com

So, what is a Nomad?

Nomad
Pronunciation: /ˈnəʊmad/

Noun
• A person who does not stay long in the same place; a wanderer (OxfordDictionaries.com).

It’s been almost 6 years since I left my life behind in the UK. I’m nothing special, a normal everyday guy, but I do love to slowly travel to new places and experience new cultures.

People have often said “You should start a travel blog” in response to me giving travel advice or reeling off one of my travel stories. Of course they may have just been trying to shut me up!

So, what is the point of Everyday Nomad?

To share my travel stories, experiences, tips, hacks and ideas.
To learn from and interact with other nomads, casual travellers and anyone who wants to travel. Even though I have been on the road for 6 years there is still a lot to learn!
To create a community of online friends where everyone involved can benefit.

Travel is amazing and even better when shared!

Articles will include those aimed at interesting travel stories, general travel tips, specific how to articles and destination guides from my perspective. If you have any ideas or feedback regarding what you would like to see published I would love to hear from you.

I’ll be sharing photos and other cool stuff most days via Facebook and Twitter, please take the time to join me there.

More about me

My name is Forest Parks. As I mentioned I have been traveling for around 6 years and have no plans to stop.

My first true place living away from home was Montreal, Canada. After that I ventured to Egypt for two years, witnessing the 2011 uprising, and have continued onto New Zealand, where I have been for the last year. I have also visited many countries through Europe and spent a lot of time in USA but have so much more of the world to see!

You may be wondering how I afford to live unhinged from an office desk? Well, through an idea in Canada that I wanted to live “free of geographical constraints” I started learning how to work online and now manage to earn my living through graphic design work and various websites that I run.

I would love to visit Asia extensively and dream of living in India for a while and everywhere else in between. One day I would love to visit the kingdom of Bhutan.

I feel I have a lot to share about minimal living, travel hacks and the mental side of life on the road. Some amazing things have happened on my journey and I have met the best people I could ever wish for.

I love travel.

What You Can Do Now?

Ok, so I hope you enjoyed the introduction post. I would love it for you to stick around and get involved. Here is what you can do.

Leave a comment below, share your thoughts or anything else you have to add.
Sign up to the mailing list using the form in the top right of the sidebar.
Join me on Facebook and Twitter and get in on the discussion.

Thanks a million.

Forest.

43 thoughts on “Anyone can travel: Introducing EverydayNomad.com and me”

Miranda Marquit January 1, 2013 at 12:17 am

Congrats on the new site. Can’t wait to read more about your adventures!

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 12:23 am
  
  Thanks very much Miranda.
  
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Milan Detroja January 1, 2013 at 1:26 am

Hey Forest ! Congratulations on this new website.
Looking forward to your stories and photos

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 2:44 am
  
  Thanks Milan.
  
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Tom Drake January 1, 2013 at 2:12 am

Love the new site Forest, looking forward to reading about your adventures!

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 2:44 am
  
  Thank you Tom.
  
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Assaf January 1, 2013 at 2:34 am

Site looks great, I love it. Congrats and have a happy new year Forest.

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 2:44 am
  
  Thank you very much Assaf, happy New Year to you too.
  
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eemusings January 1, 2013 at 4:43 am

Interesting! Love the new concept!

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 4:56 am
  
  Thanks very much. I’m looking forward to writing.
  
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Kate Arnold January 1, 2013 at 4:53 am

Forest,this is great; Good Luck!

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 4:56 am
  
  Thanks you Kate.
  
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David Leonhardt January 1, 2013 at 8:49 am

Where will the nomad roam to next, I wonder…

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 4:49 pm
  
  Thanks David. UK is next up in March (a short trip home) and then off to Germany or Hungary with current plans.
  
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Glen Craig January 1, 2013 at 10:25 am

Congrats on the launch! Looking forward to hearing about your travels.

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 4:48 pm
  
  Thank you Glen .
  
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Kevin@OutOfYourRut January 1, 2013 at 12:14 pm

Hi Forest–This site has been waiting to happen for a few years–you won’t even have to work at it! (Looks good already) I’m looking forward to your thoughts on “the mental side of life on the road”. That’s an underappreciated aspect of the nomad lifestyle. A lot of people would love the lifestyle but not everyone can handle the detachment. You’ll bring interesting perspective to the mix.

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 4:48 pm
  
  Thanks Kevin. I really should have started sooner! It’s going to be hard to cover all angles but I am sure my direction will carve itself out.
  
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Miss T January 1, 2013 at 12:45 pm

Congrats Forest. This site looks like it will be really interesting. Best of luck and I look forward to reading your future posts.

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1. Forest Parks Post authorJanuary 1, 2013 at 4:42 pm
  
  Thanks you Miss T. Look forward to your comments.
  
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2. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 4:47 pm
  
  Thanks Miss T. I look forward to your interaction.
  
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Sandy Smith January 1, 2013 at 2:15 pm

This is right up your alley! Look me up the next time that you’re back in New York. There’s a cold beer waiting for you.

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1. Forest Parks Post authorJanuary 1, 2013 at 4:38 pm
  
  Thanks very much Sandy! I love that city so I WILL be back .
  
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2. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 4:47 pm
  
  Thanks Sandy . I love that city so I WILL be back!
  
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Andy Beveridge January 1, 2013 at 5:17 pm

Great idea to blog about your travels. I look forward reading more about your adventures,

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1. Forest Parks January 1, 2013 at 5:54 pm
  
  Thanks Andy. How is France going for you?
  
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JamaicaMyWay January 2, 2013 at 1:44 am

Ain’t it great being a nomad?? Such a sense of freedom. Congrats on this site and I hope your feet never touch the ground for long!

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1. Forest Parks January 2, 2013 at 2:56 am
  
  It really is awesome and the freedom is great! Of course there are boulders to climb over on the journey but that is all part of it! Same to you, hope your travels are going awesome.
  
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Jo. Unrau January 2, 2013 at 11:48 am

Enjoyed reading. I live in Nanaimo, B.C. Canada. Have travelled all over Canada & parts of the US, Can’t afford more but there’s always books & the .net.

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1. Forest Parks January 2, 2013 at 2:58 pm
  
  Hey Jo, maybe one day. If it’s your goal maybe you can make a fund and start building. Don’t matter if it takes 1 year or 10 years! Still, USA and Canada is quite an achievement I have a lot of that continent left to explore!!!
  
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Mike Collins January 2, 2013 at 9:19 pm

Congrats on the new site Forest! Can’t wait to read about your continuing adventures.

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1. Forest Parks January 6, 2013 at 2:51 pm
  
  Cheers Mike .
  
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Nate Robert January 3, 2013 at 4:05 pm

Good luck with the journey.

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1. Forest Parks January 6, 2013 at 2:51 pm
  
  Thank you Nate.
  
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thetravelchica January 3, 2013 at 7:25 pm

Looking forward to reading more about your travel stories and tips for your digital nomad life. Hope you write about some of the places you’ve already been…. bet you have some great stories from Egypt.

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1. Forest Parks January 6, 2013 at 2:50 pm
  
  Thanks Travel Chica, I just published one on Egypt . Would love your thoughts: http://everydaynomad.com/confronting-a-conman-in-cairo/
  
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BeyondBlighty January 5, 2013 at 3:09 pm

Awesome name! I hope you’re intending to live up to it an report from some beautiful landscapes across the globe!

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1. Forest Parks January 6, 2013 at 2:49 pm
  
  Thanks Beyond Blighty (cool name too!). I sure hope so!!!
  
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James Clark January 6, 2013 at 7:20 am

Congrats, Forest. Look forward to reading more nomadic posts

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1. Forest Parks January 6, 2013 at 2:48 pm
  
  Thank you James .
  
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Forest Parks January 8, 2013 at 9:45 pm

Thanks Barbara .

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Kaite Bell February 1, 2013 at 9:38 pm

Hi Forest, I just had a question about visas. As you are doing your work online, do you stay in the countries you have been living in on tourist visas? If so do you have any trouble when your visa runs out and you have to renew it. Thanks, Katie

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1. Forest Parks February 2, 2013 at 4:31 am
  
  Hi Kaite, well Visas are always a tricky part of travel so i’ll explain a little about how things have worked for me so far.
  
  I was in Canada for two years and there I had a Visa that allowed me to work. So as much of my business that could be done through Canadian bank accounts I did. Some still went through UK which meant I needed to file taxes in both countries (mega pain!).
  
  Egypt, I was able to keep extending my tourist visa through the University because my partner was a student there. This however was just a renewed tourist visa so all my work had to be done through the UK (although remotely). Tourist visas used to be renewable pretty much forever if you could come up with a reason in Egypt. That may have changed in the last two years.
  
  In New Zealand I am here on a working holiday visa. I have done a little work here such as some Extras work for TV and Advertisements. However I decided to keep my online business running through the UK. Sadly it looks like I will need to file two sets of taxes!
  
  So, that’s basically how it has been. My next move is looking like it may be Hungary and although i’ll be a resident (It’s an EU member state) I will probably still opt to operate and pay taxes solely in the UK but of course I need to look at the details of this.
  
  I hope that helps somewhat.
  
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