Share Where I've Been The Practice of Healthy Living and Full-Time Travel with Nomad Nathan Agin

How long have you been a “full time traveler”? What prompted your life change and what were you doing before?

Why do you travel?  

• To test and challenge myself
• To meet and connect with people
• To absorb and share information
• To see what is in this world and what is going on out there
• To discover what fires me up, makes me tick, and how I can make a difference

Traveling keeps me on my toes; it forces me to adapt, be flexible, open, and always on the edge of my comfort zone. It also opens me up to people, ideas, and sights I never even dreamed possible.

What have your travels taught you?

• People are so generous, hospitable, and kind.
• It’s easier (and cheaper) to travel than I thought.  
• I need very little. It’s taken a bit of time, but I’ve pared down my belongings to a small backpack. I don’t carry many clothes or other items, and I do just fine. If I need something else, I can always purchase it (and then donate it). We’re lucky to live in such a digital age that with a couple electronics, we can still have so much.
• Relax. I used to get annoyed and frustrated pretty easily (before I began traveling). If I still had that approach, I’d go insane. There are so many variables and circumstances outside our control that we have to just step back, breathe, and often laugh if we’re going to make it. 

If all planes were grounded indefinitely, where would you want to be "stranded"? Why?

North America: there is so much here to take in (from all across the States, to Canada and Mexico), so many friends and family (and new friends), and there are still many other ways to travel (car, bus, train) – plus, it is possible to get down to South America from here without flying, too!  

I’ve been visiting many of the National Parks recently, and I intend to see as many as I can while I have this annual pass (only $80!). These parks are so stunningly gorgeous, and to my surprise (living in cities for so many years), I have an absolute blast going out on hikes – it’s so amazing to be out in nature, far from distractions, and surrounded by peace, wildlife, and beauty.

Which destinations are on your bucket list?

• India: would love to check out the Himalayas and spend time at Ashrams
• Europe: Austria, Prague, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark
• New Zealand
• Kenya
• Alaska: my “dream” trip for 2012 is to drive from Portland, OR (I’ll be there in July) all through Canada up to Alaska next summer.
• Southeast Asia: Thailand, Laos, and Indonesia
• An island way out in the middle of nowhere: maybe the Marshall Islands?
• For 2013, I'm strongly thinking about a Round-the-World trip (I have just about enough points/miles) - so I may get to many of these places sooner than I thought!

What are your best tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle on vacation?

Know what keeps you going and commit to that! Your routine may look different than at home, and it’s important to have that foundation instead of taking the “well, I’m traveling, so I won’t be able to…” mentality.


Identify your practices: the activities you know maintain, sustain, energize and inspire you. This could be what you eat, how you exercise, what you read or listen to, or any other number of things. It’s vital to keep these activities going while you travel, at least to some degree.

Find the resources that can support you and your practices, such as restaurants, attractions, hotels, and parks. Check out my Healthy Living Guides for more on this!

Being flexible is also key! While guidelines can be helpful and can keep us on track, life also likes to throw curveballs our way. Be able to improvise and change up what you’re doing at any moment; let’s not be so rigid that we don’t have any fun! If you need to skip a day of exercise or want to eat something extravagant, go right ahead – that old cliché works, though: everything in moderation!

Specific ideas:

• Carry fruit and nuts with you, and eat lots of vegetables
• Take the stairs – in fact, MASTER them (three at a time!)
• Find time to close your eyes and focus on your breathing
• Rest before you need to, and get enough sleep (for most people, at least 7 hours)
• Expose yourself to direct sunlight (about 15-20 minutes per day)
• Engage your mind with reading, listening, conversation, and lectures
• I believe that health and vitality are possible when we travel, that we don’t have to sacrifice either; with focus, commitment, and fun, we can have an amazing experience, every day, no matter where we are!

What’s the greatest travel bargain you’ve ever scored? How much did you pay and where did you go? 

Riding first-class in Amtrak from Boston, MA to Portland, OR for $0. I had my own private car with a bed and shower facilities, as I traveled from Massachusetts through upstate New York, down to Chicago, up to Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana, and finally to Oregon.

All meals in the dining car (full service) were included – I ended up paying about $20 total, just in tips for the wait staff and porters. It was an amazing few days on the train, and such a cool way to see the country – I couldn’t believe I was doing it for free! One of my favorite memories from this trip is reading Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express (in one day!) – it is such an intriguing story, and it was so cool to be in the same kind of surroundings as the characters were.

I secured this trip with the sign-up bonus points from two credit cards. This is actually a very easy process, and luckily not the only way to rack up points! I even published a guide, Take the Train for Free + Other Legal Amtrak Hacks, so that others can see and experience how accessible and fun train travel can be!

What are your best tips for getting a deal when traveling?

When you narrow down exactly where you want to go and how you want to get there, then you can focus your attention on possible travel deals: search online for “coupons,” “discounts,” and “promotional codes.” 

You can also check the websites of how you’re going (airplane, train, etc.) to see if they have a loyalty program (like frequent flyer miles), and look for all the different ways you can earn points (some do not require purchases).

I’m also a big fan of leveraging credit card bonuses toward loyalty programs. Travel has almost become exclusively for the rich, and many of these programs are designed to benefit the companies, so by “hacking” and sharing this information, this is my way to level out the playing field! 

I’ve even launched omg! travel deals, a full-service business that gives people a customized plan of exactly the steps they need to take advantage of the amazing deals out there. I think one of the only reasons more people don’t do this is because they don’t know about it! 

It can take a bit of time and energy to understand how to do this, and my goal is to help people cut through all of that as much as possible. While there’s so much terrific information out there, I felt a customer service/coaching/strategizing piece was missing from the travel hacking industry, and that’s where I wanted to step in.

It’s time to see more people take advantage of the insane prices available – it’s time for everyone to save 98% off the cost of a ticket! :-)

Tell us about your travel guides. How are they different?

I created the Healthy Living Guides to give people in unfamiliar cities a quick reference to some of the healthiest options around. 

When you go somewhere new, there are usually lots of logistical and other important details you have to manage – your health can often be at the bottom of the list (if it’s on there at all) – these guides help you quickly find healthy ways to eat, play, relax and learn!

I feature restaurants that are organic, gluten-free, and have sustainable practices; large parks where you can run, swim, bike, or hike; meditation centers and gatherings that are often free; lecture series where your mind can be engaged; and much more! 

These came out of my own experiences: I would find myself wandering around hoping to find fresh and local food; more often than not, I would end the night hungry and with tired feet. When I sat down and did some quick research online, I discovered many places I would never have found walking, so it then became a quest of “where would I love to eat?” and “what would I love to see and do?” I began publishing these findings, as I believe others are looking for this information, too!

I also see these guides as living documents, and as such, anyone who purchases a guide receives free updates for life. There are many ideas of what else to incorporate and how to improve these guides – I’m excited to see where the project goes!

  

In 140 characters or less, please tell me why someone should travel.

Discover how you can make a difference in this world. Have fun, learn, connect, and share. Across town or across the globe – just go! :-)

  

THANKS!

If you want to see more of my travels and where I’ve been, I put together this video for a new show on the Travel Channel:

Thanks to Where I’ve Been for the opportunity to share my story! 

If you have any questions about what I’m doing and how you can do it too, please feel free to contact me at nathan[dot]agin[at]gmail.com - I’d love to connect further with any readers!

As for a Bio...



Nathan Agin practices and believes in a life of Nonstop Awesomeness, that life is always awesome when we bring our best to each moment. He spent many years in Los Angeles as an actor (he did get paid!) until he decided to get rid of everything and travel full-time. He writes for his own site, consults on how to travel for free, lives life to the fullest, and loves connecting with amazing people. He’s currently traveling to and living in different cities around the United States, as he examines the question what does healthy travel look like?

Blog:  http://www.nonstopawesomeness.me

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/nathanagin
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/NonstopAwesomeness

Products:

omg! travel deals:  http://www.omgtraveldeals.com

Healthy Living Guides:  http://www.healthylivingguides.com

Take the Train for Free + Other Legal Amtrak Hacks: http://www.takethetrainforfree.com